Pens that Evoke Creativity
I’ve been looking for a nice writing instrument for a while now. I just feel more creative when I’m using equipment that is designed with attention to detail (which is one reason that I use Macs). For years I just used very inexpensive BIC ball point pens (the kind you buy 10 in a pack). These are pretty reliable, don’t glob ink all over, and generally just work well. However, the bland white shaft with black plastic cap don’t exactly inspire any masterpieces.
I have seen Cross pens all over the place from jewelry stores to office supply stores. They looked pretty nice, so I gave one a try. I paid about $30 for it and was quite pleased with the aesthetics and overall feel of the shaft, writing with it left a lot to be desired though. The tip of the pen seemed to collect a lot of ink and I would have to wipe the excess off occasionally. This excess ink would also lead to smearing which is completely unacceptable.
I had read about the Fisher Space Pen on a couple of blogs as well as in the book Mind Performance Hacks, so I thought I’d give one a try. It had some interesting features: pressurized ink cartridge, writes from -30 degrees to 250 degrees, writes an any angle, etc. I picked up the green bullet pen from the local REI (the green one just seemed the most creative ;). I’ve had it for a couple of weeks and I am very pleased. It hasn’t leaked any ink, the casing is very smooth and pleasant to hold, and it also writes very smoothly. The bullet pen casing is also very interesting. It is very short when the pen is closed. But when you take the cap off and put it on the other end for writing, it becomes a full length pen. This makes it very easy to carry in your pocket without any unsightly bulges or worries about leaking ink. I’m sure that there may be better pens in the world somewhere, but if you want a nice piece of writing equipment for a decent price, you might want to check out the Fisher Space Pen.
