My stupid middle-aged man project for the week.

[Aqua Letifer]

So, I'm going to try to never again use a ballpoint or rollerball pen. Ever, for any reason.

Yes, that's ridiculous. No, I don't give a shit.

I realized I need three pens to accomplish this. I have one, had to order the other two.

I've already got a home pen, which is the Parker Sonnet I cobbled together using new parts, and those from my FIL's own Sonnet:

But, I'm not always going to remember to bring this with me, so I need something I can carry around and be attached to my wallet. For this kind of pen, it needs to be portable, reliable, and capable of being beat to shit.

Someone online kept this pen in his jeans pocket when he washed and dried his laundry. No spills, pen blew up in the cap but cleaning took about 30 seconds. Also, it's very small and fits anywhere (which is probably how this happened; he forgot he had it on him.) So, sold.

That's going to cover 99% of all scenarios, but what about while flying? The change in pressure can play hell on fountain pens.

Unless you've got a vac.

Vacuum fillers not only have a novel way of being filled, but this particular design has a piston that plugs up the feed so it's incapable of transferring ink from the chamber to the feed and nib unless you release it. It's ideal for flying. Also, it has a massive enough ink capacity that I don't need to travel with any spare ink—not unless I'm planning on writing about 50 pages worth of shit while I'm traveling.

They all have extra fine nibs, too, so they'll write equally well on nice or shitty paper. (Bonus: the ink I have is permanent. It bonds chemically to the paper so there's no way to remove the writing. So, it's more reliable than a ballpoint or rollerball.)

[Doctor Phibes]

For your next project you should buy a cellular phone that uses vacuum tubes.

I've heard that messages from loved ones are typically much warmer.

[Mik]

When I was in 8th and 9th grade fountain pens were all the rage. I think it's because that's when they came out with cartridges. Many shirts and pants were ruined.

[Aqua Letifer]

@Doctor-Phibes said in My stupid middle-aged man project for the week.:

For your next project you should buy a cellular phone that uses vacuum tubes.

I've heard that messages from loved ones are typically much warmer.

What I'd like to do if I won the lottery: contrive my life so that nothing I use, wear or interact with was made after 1987. I mean everything, as much as fucking possible.

[Aqua Letifer]

@Mik said in My stupid middle-aged man project for the week.:

When I was in 8th and 9th grade fountain pens were all the rage. I think it's because that's when they came out with cartridges. Many shirts and pants were ruined.

There's a hardcore revival going on right now; it started around 10, 15 years ago and it's only picked up more momentum.

I like 'em because it's much easier to write for longer periods with them and, well, that's your handwriting. Ballpoints deprive you of a lot of what it actually looks like.

[jodi]

Very cool. Not stupid at all. I collect these - and I make my own ink. (I do not carry them in my pocket, however). The ink is made from plants and earth pigments. The historical difficulty was making an ink that would not fade or rub off. Adding iron in the form of rust makes tannin rich plants (like oak galls) much more permanent, but a biproduct of that reaction is sulphuric acid which eventually eats away at the paper. Any insoluble pigmented ink (made with carbon or ground earth pigments) won’t do that, but the ink has to be constantly shaken before use (since the insoluble pigments sink to the bottom) and can also be rubbed off - so not good for things that need to be handled a lot.

[Horace]

Those are very cool hobbies.

[taiwan_girl]

@Aqua-Letifer @jodi

Very cool for both of you

[89th]

have u tried pencil

[LuFins Dad]

Pens, bahhh…If you really wanted to test your skill you would work with stone…

Write a chapter with those… That will teach you a few things about word choice….

[Aqua Letifer]

@LuFins-Dad said in My stupid middle-aged man project for the week.:

Pens, bahhh…If you really wanted to test your skill you would work with stone…

Write a chapter with those… That will teach you a few things about word choice….

Okay yeah that's next level hardcore.

[Copper]

@LuFins-Dad said in My stupid middle-aged man project for the week.:

If you really wanted to test your skill you would work with stone…

Or the Speaker's husband