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Thinking with pen and paper

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Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#151

Post by ubermonkey »

BeetleB wrote: post #53
ubermonkey wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I said, the only converter of mine that seems to have a capacity problem is the Namiki, but for practical reasons I also almost always run carts in that pen anyway. I don't need a project, and I'm not super interested in locking a pen into a single mode of operation. The beauty of most pens is that you can go with carts OR with a converter, depending on mood. (Obviously some, like Pelikans and TWSBI, are bottle-fi…

Yeah, I don't do cartridges for the same reason as others: I change the ink often, and the selection with cartridges is almost non-existent (and much more expensive per ml). For a lot of pens, there is no "locking". You just remove the cartridge/converter, and add silicone, and you're good to go. You can always revert back.

Fair.

I ran carts only in my Vanishing Point(s) for years, but largely because it was easier for travel and I found the ink color and consistency very pleasant.

Once I stopped traveling so much I started using more bottled ink, which is fun, but then you get to a point where you have a mental matrix about which inks work best with which paper in which nibs…

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#152

Post by nordsieck »

tsg wrote: post #148
Syzygies wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the objections to blackboards or whiteboards can be mitigated by carrying one's own tools. For blackboards, I bring my own Hagoromo chalk [1,2] which has a wonderful touch and is radically less dusty, and several Korean microfiber auto detailing cloths [3]. I use a damp cloth to wipe the board before and after teaching, and a dry cloth as an erasor while teaching. Every month or so, I do a laundry load of all…

What would you be bringing for a whiteboard? I also use microfiber cloths for cleaning these, but I don't know any other tricks.

* Isopropyl alcohol is one of the most effective cleaners along with being readily available almost everywhere, and very inexpensive.

* If you want to erase permanent marker from a white board, it sometimes works to color over it with dry erase marker, and then erase it like normal. Often you need multiple passes for the full effect.

* Always bring an emergency pen with you.

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#153

Post by d4rkp4ttern »

flakiness wrote: post #2

For me pen and paper being beneficial is a strong signal of an interesting project. A large part of day-job work doesn't deserve the pen and paper - We just need to track TODOs, links and some other bullet points for them. Digital tools are very good at these because it's optimized for them. On the other hand, if a problem demands the flexibility and the visual capacity of the pen and paper, it's a good sign of the s…

Great point here. I recently was fascinated by a new topic and filled two notebooks of 200 pages with my notes written with a fountain pen.

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#154

Post by InitialLastName »

Archelaos wrote: post #81
Syzygies wrote: post #55

I can remember rolling my eyes at a writer using a mechanical typewriter decades after word processors had taken over. Did they thaw out of a glacier? At the same time I love physical media. As a math professor I defend a widespread preference for blackboards over soul-sucking whiteboards, imagining that musicians will still play grand pianos in a century, and they'll still snicker over Ryan Gosling playing a toy pia…

> I defend a widespread preference for blackboards over soul-sucking whiteboards To this day it is a real mystery to me why people would prefer whiteboards over blackboards.

For me:

- writing left-handed, whiteboards are somewhat easier to write on legibly without both erasing some of what you wrote and covering yourself with residue (which then transfers less to your clothing).

- The sound and feeling of chalk on a chalkboard makes my skin crawl.

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#155

Post by ycombinete »

wrp wrote: post #146
ycombinete wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which ones do you like?

If you have no special requirement in mind, the Pentel lead that is available practically everywhere is nothing to sneeze at. I probably use more of Pentel than anything else. The benefit in choosing other brands mainly comes when you want a particular effect or want to optimize for a particular situation. For example, Pentel leads run a bit harder than other Japanese brands. This makes them a bit more brittle. For a…

wow, that was far more thorough an answer than I expected, thank you!

I'll bet you have favourite pencil/s as well?

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#156

Post by wrp »

ycombinete wrote: post #155
wrp wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have no special requirement in mind, the Pentel lead that is available practically everywhere is nothing to sneeze at. I probably use more of Pentel than anything else. The benefit in choosing other brands mainly comes when you want a particular effect or want to optimize for a particular situation. For example, Pentel leads run a bit harder than other Japanese brands. This makes them a bit more brittle. For a…

wow, that was far more thorough an answer than I expected, thank you! I'll bet you have favourite pencil/s as well?

Wood-cased pencils have lead that is darker and less smudgy than MP lead, because wood-cased use a graphite+clay mix while MPs use graphite+polymer. Some people even prefer the feel of wood-cased pencils in hand, but I personally prefer the convenience of MPs.

The all-round best line of wood-cased pencils is the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni. The Tombow Mono 100 series was a consistent second, but I heard quality changed after moving production out of Japan. Some people like the Faber-Castell 9000 series because its hardest grades are smoother than other brands. The Staedtler Mars Lumograph series is known to give a particularly rich black with the softest grades. That may not be relevant to you if you just want them for writing, because I find it practically impossible to write with a wood-cased softer than 4B.

Some fanatics claim that the discontinued Sanford Blackwing 602 was the greatest pencil ever. The lead hardness was about 4B and was unusual for including wax with the graphite and clay. The point wore down quickly, but the lead was particularly resistant to crumbling and it was very slippery on the paper. The line on paper was not as dark as you would expect from a 4B. I would say that the best current pencils give a better line but aren't as slippery. There have been a couple attempts at reproducing the Blackwing, but I've heard mixed reports of how successful they were.

My philosophy of buying pencils is that since there is so little absolute difference in cost between the best and the mediocre, there is no sense in trying to economize there.

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#157

Post by ycombinete »

wrp wrote: post #156
ycombinete wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wow, that was far more thorough an answer than I expected, thank you! I'll bet you have favourite pencil/s as well?

Wood-cased pencils have lead that is darker and less smudgy than MP lead, because wood-cased use a graphite+clay mix while MPs use graphite+polymer. Some people even prefer the feel of wood-cased pencils in hand, but I personally prefer the convenience of MPs. The all-round best line of wood-cased pencils is the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni. The Tombow Mono 100 series was a consistent second, but I heard quality changed after m…

This is all fascinating! I have been using Faber-Castell 1320 HB for my D&D games, and they've been great. They're not exactly rich in colour, but a single sharpen is more than enough for a whole day's session. I don't have anything to compare them to though.

I'm going to have to research what you mean by grades.

You mentioned preferring mechanical, but didn't say what kind you like. I've always heard that Rotring's are the grail there, but never looked into it.

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#158

Post by wrp »

ycombinete wrote: post #157
wrp wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wood-cased pencils have lead that is darker and less smudgy than MP lead, because wood-cased use a graphite+clay mix while MPs use graphite+polymer. Some people even prefer the feel of wood-cased pencils in hand, but I personally prefer the convenience of MPs. The all-round best line of wood-cased pencils is the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni. The Tombow Mono 100 series was a consistent second, but I heard quality changed after m…

This is all fascinating! I have been using Faber-Castell 1320 HB for my D&D games, and they've been great. They're not exactly rich in colour, but a single sharpen is more than enough for a whole day's session. I don't have anything to compare them to though. I'm going to have to research what you mean by grades. You mentioned preferring mechanical, but didn't say what kind you like. I've always heard that Rotring's…

If you have never tried using different hardness grades, just find an art supply shop with a display of drawing pencils and try a little scribble with each grade. Note that since every brand is a bit different, you can't use your experience with one to exactly predict the quality of another, even more so when comparing wood-cased with mechanical pencil leads.

As for MPs, if you really get into it, you could end up with many different ones for different situations, sort of like with paint brushes or golf clubs. Even cheap ones can be comfortable and durable. Some people like the Rotring because of the heft, but they are a bit sharp and the weight can get tiring, rather like with using metal polyhedral dice.

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#159

Post by bsima »

ozzydave wrote: post #72
tevrede wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you ever refer back to them?

For me, only occasionally, but when I do it’s often a huge help - can save an immense amount of time not re-doing that work. Most of the value is in helping align my thoughts as I go though.

Yeah and sometimes I go back to them just for nostalgia. But truly the archiving doesn't matter all that much. I like the Field Notes tagline: "I'm not writing it down to remember it later, I'm writing it down to remember it now."

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#160

Post by CRConrad »

ontouchstart wrote: post #44
jxy wrote: post #29

People thinking pen and paper is simple have intentionally made it simple. Have you considered how many different kinds of paper/notebooks/slides/cards, kinds of pen/pencil/brush? Soon you'll start fiddling with your pens and papers, as some comments here have already started suggesting their personal favorite, including making your custom "eye dropper" pen. Taking the same approach to pen and paper, digital interfac…

cat > note.txt … EOF

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