Writing Tools
I started collecting mechanical pencils as a little kid in middle school. Shortly after, I got my first fountain pen - a cheap stabilo - at my local stationery shop. I still remember what the woman behind the counter told me that day, as she handed over my new tool: “I haven’t seen anyone buy a fountain pen in ages!”. I guess it was a nicher, online-bound hobby in the early 2010s. Just kidding, I’m sure it really was because I lived in a small town. Over the years I’ve slowly come to realize the main reason for my affinity for these seemingly uninteresting objects: their “efficiency”. Both fountain pens and mechanical pencils tend to be cost-effective (at least in the long run) since you only have to buy their refills - ink or leads (and pencil marks are waterproof!) This same foresight shaped most of my taste in stationery, from notebooks (with standardized sizes) to bags/pouches/any kind of container. The reason why, as a child, I began being so aware of and entranced by this efficiency aspect, collecting things as if I were soon to be the victim of an apocalypse of some sort, needing to choose my supplies in the wisest, most survivalist way… Well, actually, I have no idea. I just do and I like doing it and I consider my tools as my own handsome children. I did acquire a cool party trick wherein I can usually tell you a mechanical pencil’s brand and model by just looking at it, the same way some car nerds do, though. Nevertheless, I have been trying to slowly size down my collection, by either selling or donating items, so that I can travel lighter and keep only the things that I do use and not just stare at (though I do still have a perverse weakness for beautifully engineered mechanisms). So: here’s my current collection.
Fountain Pens
I have a knack for limited-edition colorings, and I have also had a couple of kakunos in the past!
Sailor Professional Gear Slim Shikiori Dragon Palace
The smoothest nib I’ve ever owned. Gifted by G. Super grateful and will keep it forever till the end of time. I hope it outlives me. (I doubt it will outlive our love.)
Kaweco Sport Iridescent Pearl
Not sure if I got a faulty one, but this one does skip sometimes! I love the color and its tiny size makes it incredibly portable so I’ll keep it, but it was kind of a bummer.
Mechanical Pencils
My mechanical pencil collection used to be my pride and joy as a kid and teenager. I used to have all kinds of mechanical pencils. From the european ones such as Faber-Castell or Caran d’Ache, to the japanese Zebra Delguard, Kurutoga, Orenznero, Pilot. Here are the ones I ended up keeping:
Rotring 800
Rotring 600
Miffy Tombow Mono Graph
A sweet gift I was given by a friend, purchased in Japan -not sure if you’ll ever read this, but hi! and thank you so much :). It uses a knock mechanism, in which you have to shake the pencil to advance the lead. Especially useful if you value speed, I think.