The Craftsman's Pleasure in His Tools

I write my books with a simple word processor rather than Scrivener, and I take notes on mere paper instead of using Penultimate. I guess you could call me a throwback. Although I have both pieces of software -- I've even tried to use them -- the fact is, I prefer more traditional tools. That's just the way my mind works. 

Did I mention I also have a tool fetish?

Above: If you keep track of such things, the outside pens are both Pelikans, 
the black ones are Mont Blancs, the yellow ones are a Bexley fountain pen 
and a Visconti rollerball, and in the center is a Montegrappa.

Despite my computer literacy, I do a lot of my work with pen and ink and paper. Any pen or paper will do, but if I have a choice in the matter, I prefer the good stuff. Carpenters probably feel the same way about their hammers -- or do they use nail guns now? (As a crime novelist, I'm more accustomed to thinking of how nail guns can be misused. And hammers, for that matter.)

For years I preferred rollerballs because they shared the fountain pen aesthetic without squirting ink all over the place. Plus they wrote a much finer line, and I have small handwriting. Then I discovered that fountain pen nibs come in a variety of sizes. My first pen, the Pelikan up top, was purchased in West Germany in the late 1980s and came with a Broad nib, which forced me to write much larger than normal. As a result, many of the love letters I wrote to my future wife look like they were written by an elderly man. I insisted on cursive, despite having switched to block letters in junior high, so they're not only large print but also shaky. 

Now I've got the fountain pen thing under control. My only problem is finding the ultimate pen. Like so many inadvertant collectors, I ended up with a lot of pens when in reality I only want one. But it has to be the right one, know what I mean? Fortuately I've narrowed the field down to two or three possibilities. 

The niftiest pen in the world has to be the Sheaffer Oversize Balance from the 1930s. I've been on the lookout for one of these for quite some time:

Then again, there is something to be said for taking the custom pen plunge. I find some of Brian Edison's work extremely appealing:

I may write tough-minded modern crime fiction, but my tastes in writing instrument seem to be decidely cozy mystery, eh? One day, when I find the perfect pen, I fully intend to get rid of all the others. That's what I tell myself, anyway, as the pile continues to grow!

Comments

[Norman Haase]

Hi Mark,

A nice collection. You did, of course, make me laugh out loud with "One day, when I find the perfect pen, I fully intend to get rid of all the others.".

I have thousands now an am still searching.

Regards,

Norman

[WendyKinney]

I'm intrigued by the concept that satisfaction from one (of anything) is possible.

Does that mean I should be on the lookout for the one book that would satisfy every future need? One author? One cheesecake recipe? One vacation spot? One font, app, picture, niece?

For me, the thrill of finding includes finding highest and best purpose. That, for me, supersedes the concept of recent replacing prior.

A fountain pen is a memory of a time and place (your Pelikan from West Germany) regardless of its suitability for the purpose of writing love letters. There could come a day when using it to write a scene set in Dortmund with a protagonist who can only fit three words on a page will result in dialog that is harmonically relevant.

And if, until then, it waits patiently in a felt lined drawer, well---okay.

(All of that to reveal only that I'm not telling you how many fountain pens I have, or how many bottles of ink. Nor the number of books on my shelves, iPod and phone, or authors who have a date on my calendar -- Eisler on September 15th, Child on the 27th. Though, because a fellow fountain pen aficionado sent me the link to this post, I did just add Back on Murder, and might squeeze in time to read it tonight!)

***Found an exception: I have happily found satisfaction with one husband for the last 31 years.

[J. Mark Bertrand]

Norman -- I'm happy to have put a smile on your face, knowing full well how many times I've said to myself: "Just one more, then I'll stop." A few Edisons and an OS Sheaffer Balance and I'm sure I'd stop after that ... :)

Wendy -- It's silly, I know, to imagine "one pen to rule them all" ... there's just something appealing to me about the idea of purging and refining the selection over time, through use and abuse. Not that I put it into practice all that often!

[Jon Stanton]

I too love a nice fountain pen and for that reason am grateful to be right handed, but being an accountant and musician I also appreciate fine pencils. For years my choice was drafting pencils with pointer sharpeners, pentel now makes a wonderful automatic pencil with leads in .3, .5, .7 and .9mm. Finding a perfect eraser is another adventure.