UPDATE November 30, 2006: Arrrrghhhh! Bad news on these pens. They freakin LEAK. I opened one today, started writing in my Moleskine, and noticed my fingers were covered in blue ink! In the bin they go!
As I sit here this morning doing my GTD Weekly Review (before my Productivity Buddy Michael Specht emails me to tell me he’s done his), I am impressed with my new Moleskine (yes, I’m still doing the Moleskine thing and LOVING it… quite the obsession) pen – the BIC Grip Roller. I think I picked this one up at Officeworks last week and they are inexpensive, fat, nice grip and, most importantly for the Moleskine, they dry VERY fast. The other pens I’ve been using over the last couple of months tend to smudge and blur if I don’t leave the page open for a few minutes after writing. And as I’m usually scribbling down notes and then shutting the book, it ends up looking very messy indeed.
Did you know…
BIC was founded in France by Marcel Bich with Edouard Buffard in 1945. The two bought a factory and set up a business making parts for mechanical pencils and fountain pens. In December 1950, Marcel Bich introduced his own ballpoint pen, and named it the BIC. The ‘h’ from Bich was dropped in order to avoid a potentially inappropriate English pronunciation of the name. Although the pens weren’t entirely new (Bich obtained patent rights from Hungarian inventor, László BÃÂró), the process of manufacturing was. An inexpensive, and at the same time reliable, ballpoint pen was introduced to the world. In early September 2005, BIC announced that it had sold its 100 billionth disposable ballpoint pen, making it the world’s best-selling pen.
It seems you had done the review when we spoke this morning :-).
Hey were is the best place to get a Moleskin in Melbourne?
I got mine at borders.
BIC also make the best pens for repairing a car’s fuel intake hose (the cheap & cheery yellow BIC with a blue nib, beloved by banks and other cheapskates).
Simply cut out the damaged section of clear rubber hose, strip out the innards of your pen (you are left with a thin yellow tube containing no holes) and squeeze the pen ends inside the cut ends of the rubber hose.
You now have a fuel line that will get you to the nearest mechanic, or possibly last a couple of weeks if you don’t drive bumpy roads and can’t afford a mechanic.
Ensure after driving 100m that the hose is not leaking, fuel isn’t just flammable, it explodes.
Michael – I buy mine from Borders, but there’s also Pepe’s Paperie and other high end paper stores. Buying online is great if you already know what they look like. There are also limited edition ones and a lot of fakes. The fakes don’t feel the same.
I’ll have three different ones with me at Cam’s next weekend, if anyone wants to see them.
Yes, Borders is probably easiest for your first purchase, but you’ll pay a premium. Once you’re sure you like them, you might even find them cheaper to pull in from o/s.
try here:
http://wiki.43folders.com/index.php/Moleskine/Where_To_Buy_In_Person/Oceania/Australia
or ebay.
Hmm 43 Folders…Cam is visiting a primarily Mac site. I am impressed.
Cam, have you tried the Paper Mate GEL Roller II? Gel pen dries fast – I think it might be a bit higher quality than the BIC. I find that if you brush it straight after you have written something it will smudge but after about 3-5 seconds it is dry.
Pens are such a personal choice. I have avoided Gel pens till now. I am a fussy bastard and the whole smudge factor of the Gels was a drawback. I hate it when you can’t get “your” pen or they change the model.
The other thing is that I have a “paper” diary – not a Moleskine but a Debden. I was wondering what about a Moleskine that sets it apart from other products. I thought they were just lined blank pages as opposed to a diary. Cheers
The Moleskine is basically just a good quality black notebook with nice paper, properly sewn pages and a lot of ‘history’.
The real advantage to them is the psychology of working with a really good quality notebook. It makes you treat it, and what is written in it with more respect.
Moleskines are archive quality. A writer friend has decades of notebooks, with all his writing ideas in draft form. The hard cover protects the pages and the paper quality is great. The hard cover is also hard enough when a table is unavailable.
Thanks for the tips on where to get one… off Christmas shopping.
I’ve got to say that my Fischer Space Pen (with fine blue ink) has been the best pen I’ve found for use in the moleskines. I’d reccomend it.
Why not try a FLAT PEN?
Seen here in action with a moleskine http://davidseah.com/archives/2006/11/19/flat-pens-and-moleskines/
and here by them selves http://davidseah.com/archives/2006/11/14/flat-pens-revisited/
Ben: I tried out the Fisher Space Pen over the weekend. I didn’t get the allure. Expensive too. Don’t you find pens are like sunglasses and watches? The more you spend on them, the faster you lose them?
Hugo: they look convenient but not very comfortable to write with.
Here’s an unleakable pen
http://www.popgadget.net/2006/12/inkless_pens_fr.php