Happy Fountain Pen Day!

by Tony Thomas

I hope that you are having a happy Fountain Pen Day today and will take some time to write with your fountain pen if you own one.  If not, today is the day that you should order one!

By the way, today (11/3), you can buy my bestseller "The Fountain Pen Book" for only $1.99! 

amzn.to/2AaRdT7 

Enjoy the day!

Tony

Speed Writing

I have been experimenting with speed writing to allow me to take notes faster. Do you use shorthand or speed writing?

Also, here are some cool links I found on shorthand and speed writing:

https://collegeinfogeek.com/shorthand...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona...
http://www.alysion.org/handy/althandw....

Handmade Leather Pocket Notebook

by Tony Thomas

I decided to create a pocket notebook out of a piece of tooling leather that I had dyed previously.

 It is great for holding loose pages of Rhodia pad paper, other scraps of paper and receipts.

This notebook was super easy to make.  Just cut the tooling leather (4 to 8 oz.) to size, dye it and fold it.

I secure it by using an elastic hair band that are available at most drugstores.   Great project and very handy!

Pentel Energel Pens

by Tony Thomas

I know I usually write about fountain pens, but I thought I would change things up a bit.

Besides fountain pens, I am also a gel pen and pencil user.  Why?  Due to my frugality, I have a limited supply of really fountain pen friendly paper and sometimes cannot deal with long dry times when using really good paper.

I have recently tried out the Pentel Energel line of gel pens after using pens from Pilot and Uniball for a long time.

What immediately impressed me is their short ink dry time and lack of smearing.  They also produce a nice, dark black line.  And are they smooth!  I have used the needle point and ball point versions and am impressed with both.  

By the way, I was not compensated in any way for my recommendation of this line of pens.  I just love them!

Why the Noodler's Ahab is One of My Favorite Pens

by Tony Thomas

I love Noodler's Ahabs. 

At around $23 or so, they are affordable and the epitome of frugality.  They are also very comfortable in my hand (and I have large hands).   Ahabs are sturdy, hold an ample amount of ink, and they can be easily converted to an eyedropper if you need a truly massive amount of ink.  They have a unique piston cartridge converter and can also use the recently released 2.7 mg re-loadable cartridges.  Also, I find the design very attractive and they come in a wide range of colors as well as a clear, demonstrator version.

Like many other pens from India, they are made of vegetal resin and have a funny smell.  The smell dissipates with time and I have found that it grows on you.  And if you throw an Ahab into a landfill, the pen body will reportedly biodegrade, making it environmentally friendly.

Besides its perfect size, one of my biggest attractions to the Ahab is its easily modified ebonite feed and its ability to use standard #6 nibs.  As I have a growing collection of these sized nibs, it makes it easy to change nibs "on the fly".

Currently, the two Ahabs shown are fitted with Nemosine fine and extra fine nibs.  I also like to use stock italic nibs as well custom-ground stubs.  Every once and awhile, I will also load up the stock Noodler's flex nibs to have some fun.  I heartily recommend the Ahab!

Buy the Noodler's Ahab demonstrator here: http://amzn.to/2kTkOrt

Full Discosure: This is an affiliate link.  You will help support The Frugal Fountain Pen and it won't cost you a penny more.

A Letter and a Pen

by Tony Thomas

 One of my favorite You Tube personalities is Amy Schmittauer (@Schmittastic on Twitter). Her channel, "Savvy, Sexy, Social", offers plenty of valuable information on social media marketing.  I watch her channel regularly as she is a thought leader in the field.

Back in April of last year, I wrote her a short note with one of my fountain pens for which she thanked me on Twitter.

When I heard she was writing a book, I decided to send her another handwritten note and a Platinum Preppy fountain pen and refills.  

From watching her videos, I learned that she likes to write everything down rather than just putting it into a computer.   That made her the perfect candidate for a little bit of "fountain pen evangelism". 

To my surprise, she unpacked the pen and read my note on one of her You Tube videos leading up to the book launch.  You can watch it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBXXtsJsUwk

Amy's book, "Vlog Like a Boss: How to Kill it Online With Video Blogging" drops January 31st (my birthday) on Amazon and you can get yours here.

Enjoy your pen, Amy!  And in the words of my buddy, Brian Goulet, write on!

More on Amy: http://savvysexysocial.com/

The Pocket Notebook Book Review

by Tony Thomas

Ray Blake is well known as champion of personal organizers, notebooks and journaling.  His You Tube video on making your own travelers notebook has received over a quarter of a million views.

When I saw that he wrote a new book on pocket notebooks, I was intrigued. I bought it in Kindle format and began to read.  While it is a short book, it covers a lot of ground.  

He begins by discussing how to buy and set up your notebook.  I would have liked to see some reviews of different notebooks rather than generic descriptions, but I still found his information helpful.  He continues by providing different applications for pocket notebooks. This is the real "meat" of the book and the reason you should buy it.

This is a great book for fountain pen users looking for more ways to use their pens.  Users of rollerballs, gel pens, pencils, etc. will also resonate with its contents.  If you have a pocket notebook or plan to get one, I think this book is essential.  It is fairly priced and it is a book you will turn to often.  Highly recommended!

Buy the book on Amazon

If you use the affiliate link above, you will help support this blog and you won't pay a penny more.

Ray Blake's Web Site