Ask Slashdot: The Search For the Ultimate Engineer's Pen 712
First time accepted submitter Laser Dan writes "I'm an engineer (robotics) who can't seem to find a pen that satisfies me. Most of my writing is just temporary "thinking notes" on random bits of paper, like diagrams, flowcharts, equations etc, but pens always seem to have one or more of the following issues:
1. They write too thickly — I write very small, and when I start adding extra details to diagrams it gets even smaller. A line width of about 0.2-0.4mm would be good.
2. The ink bleeds, making the lines thick and unclear.
3. The ink is slow to dry or the tip grows blobs of ink, causing smudges everywhere.
4. The first line drawn is not fully dark, as the ink takes a short distance to get going.
5. The lines drawn are faint unless you press hard (I don't).
I have been given several fancy pens (Parker etc) over the years but they all suffered from problems 1, 3 (blobs), 4 and 5. I'm considering trying a Fisher space pen, but it looks like even the fine cartridge writes rather thickly. Have any fellow Slashdotters found their ultimate pen?"
1. They write too thickly — I write very small, and when I start adding extra details to diagrams it gets even smaller. A line width of about 0.2-0.4mm would be good.
2. The ink bleeds, making the lines thick and unclear.
3. The ink is slow to dry or the tip grows blobs of ink, causing smudges everywhere.
4. The first line drawn is not fully dark, as the ink takes a short distance to get going.
5. The lines drawn are faint unless you press hard (I don't).
I have been given several fancy pens (Parker etc) over the years but they all suffered from problems 1, 3 (blobs), 4 and 5. I'm considering trying a Fisher space pen, but it looks like even the fine cartridge writes rather thickly. Have any fellow Slashdotters found their ultimate pen?"
Yes (Score:5, Funny)
It's called a pencil.
Skilcraft U.S. Government, Black, Fine Point (Score:5, Funny)
Re:why ink? (Score:5, Funny)
Apparently 0.7mm is too thick for Mr. Writes-Really-Small.
I'd recommend a 0.2mm mechanical drafting pencil, but there's an even simpler solution: don't write so damn small.
As a bonus, your notes won't look like they were written by a serial killer.
Re:Pilot V5 (Score:5, Funny)
Can't think of a better pen than the Pilot V5
I'll second that - the Palm Pilot V was great for taking notes. Once you learn Graffiti.
Quill? (Score:5, Funny)
1) Find a goose.
2) Pluck a large quill feather.
3) If the point isn't fine enough, keep plucking
Note: the goose will probably be annoyed after your first choice. Annoyed gueese have a way of convincing you that your current quill selection is good enough.
Cheers,
Dave
Re:Skilcraft U.S. Government, Black, Fine Point (Score:5, Funny)
Now I want one.
Re:Yes (Score:5, Funny)
Absolutely true.
For jutting down notes, I prefer to pluck a single hair from the ass of the nearest ermine, dip it in kokeiboku ink made from Visayan deer horn and charcoaled relictus cycad, then waft my thoughts across 15-momme silken paper balanced on the ass of a Xianbei virgin.
Crayons are good too.
Re:Pilot V5 (Score:5, Funny)
The Pilot V5 breaks after I take it on an airplane(*). The pressure change must break a seal or something, because from then on it will bleed around the edges and leave ink all over my fingers. In general it is a great pen that is easy to find in shops, but for being called a "Pilot" pen, it sure doesn't handle flying well.
Re:Yes (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, but they go through batteries like crazy.
Re:Yes (Score:5, Funny)
You have to use a female ermine, but yes, this is correct otherwise.
Re:Yes (Score:5, Funny)
Reading the question, seeing that that there were over 300 comments, I thought I was in for an hour of reading one-liners marked funny +5.
This being slashdot I was confronted with hundreds of comments containing advise, sympathy and conflicts over why it is illegal to own certain kinds of pens.
Take a step back people, we're talking about pens here.