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Writing Instruments
Fountain pens. These are the creme de la creme of writing instruments and so they call for the finest in materials for the body and the most durable finishes for the hardware. Materials in this class include ironwood burl and curly koa and lapis lazuli. The standard for these pens is an iridium-tip steel nib made in Germany with a medium point. The iridium tip produces a low-friction writing tip. The nibs can be changed to a different width, like fine or broad, or can be upgraded to an 18K gold nib. The pens take a standard Schaeffer cartridge and they come with a converter pump so you can use your own ink.
Rollerball Pens. Fountain pens may be the creme de la creme, but I like rollerballs the best. They combine the writing ease of a fountain pen with the ability to make impression writing of a ballpoint pen. The refill I use is a Schmidt non-drying refill that comes in blue or black ink. So if you leave the pen uncapped, you don’t have to worry about it drying out.
Ballpoint pens. These are the workhorse of writing instruments. My pens take either a Cross or Parker refill. The tip is extended by twisting the body.
Mechanical pencils. The mechanical pencils I create are based on the Pentel mechanical pencil. I replace the plastic body tube with wood. The wood must be fairly straight-grained to work in this design because there is no tube to reinforce the body like other pens.
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