Note taking and Fountain Pens

[roogles]

There was a rabbit-trail/tangent in a thread in the Tobacco Jar about journaling, note-keeping, and fountain pens…

Rather than continue to derail that thread, I'm quoting the pertinent parts of the tangent here and picking up where they left off…

The original posts were in Pipes & Tobacco::The Tobacco Jar::Balkan/English/Sublime Tobaccos to Order?

One thing I've been doing is keeping a journal and list, along with space for notes as I go along. I have kind of a scattered, non-alphabetical list that's organized by type (English, Balkan, Other Lat Blends, Perique Blends, etc), and sometimes I learn more and switch one tobacco to another as I see it fitting better. I color-code by text things I like a lot, stuff that is just "Meh," and light gray stuff that I'm probably going to avoid for now.

What this does for me is keeps the names, makers, tobacco makeup and whether or not I have it on hand to try, in a way I can refer back to it, see if there's any patterns, and remember sometimes who gave them to me to eventually ask suggestions of those who might have similar taste.

It has grown to about 100 tobaccos. That seems overwhelming, but it's a small percentage of what is out there. It's a small price to pay in work to make sure I'm approaching this with some rationale and see where my tastes are going.

Might be worth doing. *shrug* 8)

Yeah! Now we're getting somewhere! Indexing and cross-referencing! :cheers:

I've been using Evernote to keep track of pipes, tobacco, techniques, tastes, a list of things to try, etc. Each tobacco I'm smoking has its own note and I add observations. It's a cool program because it runs on Android as well as PC, does web clipping, and supports tagging, so I can sit on the porch and type on my phone while smoking (writing about smoking while smoking). In a notebook, I keep a dated list of what I smoke and in which pipe and add a couple of words on how it was. I anticipate moving toward a spreadsheet in the future, but I'm very fond of fountain pens.

Your idea of color-coding seems a terrific idea. /hadntthoughtofthat

I seriously think that the bookkeeping qualities of pipe smoking is part of what I enjoy about it. As you note, there's so much out there that some rationale is necessary to keep track. Thanks for sharing your research and notekeeping.

Continuing along this thread might be considered thread derailment (or hijacking) - but I had to pipe up here.

<geek>
I'm a HUGE note taker, love writing, and echo that I am very fond of fountain pens. I burn through moleskine notebooks and Pilot varsity disposable fountain pens way faster then I burn through pipe tobacco. I find writing and note taking relaxing, cathartic, and often have often been accused that I use note-taking as a coping mechanism (pffff).

My brother got me a really cool leather journal for Christmas, as well as a large box of disposable fountain pens and I've decided to make it my pipe and tobacco journal. I'm taking notes on what I smoke, tastes, thoughts about packing, lighting, etc. Hoping that it will be a good resource as I learn about and try more tobacco.

Just since early December I took the time to catalog my small pipe collection, make notes about where they came from, how they smoke, what I like/don't like about them, etc... I'm keeping that in the back part of this same notebook.

This aspect of pipe smoking - the note taking, research, almost scientific aspect of it - has huge appeal for me.
</geek>

Derailment? Hijacking? Perish the thought. Let's call it a pleasant digression.

If you haven't, you owe it to yourself to step up from disposable fountains to refillable ones. The Lamy Safari line is very affordable (around $30) and offers a fine writing experience. While they're sold with cartridges, they convert readily to refill. A Safari, the refill thingie, and a bottle of Noodler's and you're set for the price of a used Peterson. Don't get me wrong, I like the Pilot Varsity pens, but there's just no comparison. Especially if you're writing on that nice Moleskine paper.

I think the note taking is the Robinson Crusoe aspect of pipe smoking, rather than the Sherlock Holmes part. Crusoe was quite the book-keeper.

 

[roogles]

Continuation:

Although it is a bit random, I thought I'd post a photo of the journal that I'm using to keep track of all my notes/thoughts/ramblings/etc in. It's something I likely wouldn't have bought for myself, but it seems to fit me well for this purpose.

Secondly - I bought a Lamy Safari medium point fountain pen at the Paradise Pen in Columbus on Friday! This thing is fantastic!

The pen, a refillable converter, and a bottle of the house black quick-dry ink was less than $50 and the difference between this and the disposable Pilot Varsity pens is a HUGE one.

Thank you Nonsailor for turning me onto this! The Paradise Pen didn't stock Noodler's, but I have a bottle the bulletproof on order from Amazon.

It occurs to me that pipes and fountain pens tend to attract the same type of mentality in their fanatics, so I thought it would be interesting to hear other ink pen, notebook, note taking, journaling thoughts or ramblings from the brotherhood?

Do share??

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Mine are largely comprised of "I just tried..." tobaccos, as I see this as the most relevant to me (and others) here, in the form of opinion and approach...so, stay tuned for those if you like. My "on paper" notes (incidentally, are not on paper, I keep them in a Word document) are simple run-downs, and the postings here tend to be creative takes on this. You don't want to read other musings--trust me...

...fountain pens, eh? They look great, are cool in many ways, but they'd get lost, explode, and fall apart under the rigors of my work--I can't use them. A good mechanical pencil or a cheap Bic pen? Function over form, sometimes. Except pipes and tobacco. :lol:

Always glad to see someone else writing.

 

[user 2031]

I wish my handwriting was that nice, I would make notes too... mine looks like a doctor's prescription.

 

[roogles]

Mine are largely comprised of "I just tried..." tobaccos, as I see this as the most relevant to me (and others) here, in the form of opinion and approach...so, stay tuned for those if you like. My "on paper" notes (incidentally, are not on paper, I keep them in a Word document) are simple run-downs, and the postings here tend to be creative takes on this. You don't want to read other musings--trust me...

I read the reviews you've posted on here and I appreciate them a lot. They seem to include much more nuance than I think I'm getting from anything that I've smoked so far. Chalk that up to my own inexperience, cheap pipes, or something else? Not sure which.

...fountain pens, eh? They look great, are cool in many ways, but they'd get lost, explode, and fall apart under the rigors of my work--I can't use them. A good mechanical pencil or a cheap Bic pen? Function over form, sometimes.

I write a lot for both work and pleasure. I'm also a HUGE Post-It Note snob (that would need an entirely new topic to discuss). Between Post-It's, moleskine style notebooks, and general ramblings and writings I go through a lot of ink pens. I write a considerable amount on my computer as well, but I find writing by hand to be cathartic. Writing, rambling, and pipe smoking go together almost perfectly for me. A bit of Bilbo Baggins in me there, perhaps?

Anyway, I digress... After trying lots of pen/pencil combinations the fountain pens are the most comfortable thing I've found to write with over a prolonged period.
Function and form for the win!

 

[Carlos]

Glad you guys enjoy fountain pens. I use them all the time. My ham shack pen is a Sailor 1911M in yellow with Waterman Florida Blue. My blood sugar test kit has a Sailor pocket pen from the 1960's with a 21k fine nib. It prefers a bit thinner ink. Currently using Iroshizuku Asa-gao Morning Glory. My favorite daily writer is listed in my signature, and made in 1955. I use all sorts of inks in the Pelikan with no problem.

Just an added note. Avoid Noodler's Baystate inks in your Lamy. Some of the plastics used in certain models and generations have had a problem with those inks.

 

[puros_bran]

Noodles Baystate blue used exclusively in my canary yellow Noodlers piston fill M?
Noodlers Habanero in my Sailor 1911 F
Noodlers BP Black in my Parker 45. M
Diamine Monacco Red in my Sheaffer Snorkel XF

That's about all out of my collection I really use.
I'm not as big a fan of Noodlers as it looks. I am just big on supporting American Companies when I can.

 

[Hermit]

I press too hard to use a fountain pen.
I like gel ball points. Like Pentel EnerGel.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I read the reviews you've posted on here and I appreciate them a lot. They seem to include much more nuance than I think I'm getting from anything that I've smoked so far. Chalk that up to my own inexperience, cheap pipes, or something else? Not sure which.

I also roast coffee and love food/drink to the point of obsession. Tasting and enjoying take on a whole new realm in that case...though some people can drive 55 MPH on the freeway to the grocery store in a Bently, there's a lot more it can do--experimentation and seeking those adventures is up to the individual. 8) Glad I could write something to suit the fancy of others--always the end goal.

I write a lot for both work and pleasure. I'm also a HUGE Post-It Note snob (that would need an entirely new topic to discuss). Between Post-It's, moleskine style notebooks, and general ramblings and writings I go through a lot of ink pens. I write a considerable amount on my computer as well, but I find writing by hand to be cathartic. Writing, rambling, and pipe smoking go together almost perfectly for me. A bit of Bilbo Baggins in me there, perhaps?

Anyway, I digress... After trying lots of pen/pencil combinations the fountain pens are the most comfortable thing I've found to write with over a prolonged period.
Function and form for the win!

Yeah well, doing three days solid in the outback of Nevada, a fountain pen would find itself quite non-functional due to dust, dryness, succumbing to gravity and the force of rocks, getting lost suddenly and becoming an artifact... :lol: I have to write by hand out there, and it's pencils and special wax-treated, weather-resistant paper. I suppose for my check writing when back in the comforts of the office I could bring out the fancy pens...but being made fun of and getting shit by miners is not easy to take though (and I thought truckers were bad)... :lol!:

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

I love fountain pens. It was an obsession of mine a few years back. Unfortunately I find that they require a little too much care for me to use during the work day. Though I always have a my trusty little M400 in my briefcase. I keep toying with the idea of bringing one or two into the office to use while signing letters at the end of the day, but I still haven't.

 

[Fazby]

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/

Lots to learn and drool over... For FP overs only!

 

[PipeLeisure]

I used to collect pens when I was a kid and had some really nice fountain pens, the sad thing is I dont know what happened to that collection

After reading this post I might pick up another one...I just love how well they work...and they look really cool also.

 

[Mozjo33]

I press too hard to use a fountain pen.
I like gel ball points. Like Pentel EnerGel.

Me too. I write so hard that I find it very difficult to write very long periods of time. I love those Gel pens though. It seems to help.

Interesting thread. My father collected pens his entire life. Nothing expensive, but as a kid I loved rummaging through his collection.

Happy writing!

 

[dshpipes]

Very refined hand writing there. It's nice to see that there are people out there who still put some effort into it. I for one could use a lot of practice. My hand writing looks like chicken scratch.

 

[Carlos]

If you write hard, it will ease up when you get used to a fountain pen and be easier on you over long periods. But maybe think about picking up a quality rebuilt Sheaffer with a Triumph nib. Very reasonable, strong, and will write as hard as you want to press.