Pens

[expendable]

Damn. No Panthers.

 

[expendable]

Uniball micro, blue. That's how I roll.
Slight threadjack: I used to work at a dump where we bought our own notebooks...had to give some unpleasant troll of a secretary a buck then she would unlock a filing cabinet and hand over a notebook. Anyone hear of this crap?

Man, that sucks.

First job I had out of college, the paper didn't have the reporters' notebooks, just steno pads. So another guy and I went in on a case of reporters' notebooks from a supply house.

Before that paper got steno pads, word was that you took all your notes on copy paper. And you did have to turn in pencil stubs to get a new pencil. But you didn't have to pay for it.

As a lefty, I find it hard to use a reporter's notebook. Just the funny way I hold a pen I guess. I always use a leagal pad and leave a left margin of two or three inches. I'm happy the pencil keepers don't see the waste.

As for the pencils, that's funny right there I don't care who you are.

 

[MertWindu]

Pilot G2s are generally the best pens I've ever used. I occasionally get one (or in the case of yesterday, two) that don't want to produce, but it's one or two out of about 30-40. For all those who've mentioned pencil, I appreciate the positives, but don't try to tell me that using a pencil on a wet piece of paper is any better than pen. Sure, the ink gets smudged, but at least the paper is still intact.

By the way, thanks to the both of you who mentioned the rainrite notebooks. That's a solid 20-30 bucks down the drain, but well worth it, I'm hoping.

 

[Rosie]

Don't let Moddy's wife come to my house -- I have more pens floating around here than an office supply store.

I am also a fan of the Pilot gel pens -- I HAVE to have them when I cover a game, and I have yet to have one freeze on me (and if it didn't last Friday night, it simply isn't going to.)

I usually have two or three of them in my purse at all times.

 

[Chi City 81]

I'm a southpaw. The moniker "ink-stained wretch" was invented for my kind. ;D

I use Papermates mostly, much to my chagrin. I'm not a big fan. When I get too frustrated with them, which is often, I switch back to Pilots.

Years of Pilot use has left the underside of my left hand in a permanent smattering of black and blue, with a little red mixed in from the occasional Sharpie.

Viva la lefty!

Seriously, I've noticed this. Statistics show that 11 percent of the world population is left-handed. Doesn't that figure skyrocket among journalists? I'd say one-third of journalists, myself included, are left-handed (of the ones I've met, at least).

 

[HoopsMcCann]

on our baseball beat, all of the regular beat writers are left-handed. and so is the main radio guy (not sure about his new partner)

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Damn. No Panthers.

Then, it's obviously worthless.

Seriously, I've rarely been in places where excessively cold weather played games with my pens. PaperMates have worked well for me for years. Good enough for me, and also inexpensive and available enough should something happen to it, or someone need to borrow one and conveniently not return it.

Then there's the Pentel mechanical pencil. The 0.5 with the black body, and sliver clamp, et al. Had two over the last 10 years ... durable, dependable and every other glowing compliment one can throw at it.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Uniball micro, blue. That's how I roll.
Slight threadjack: I used to work at a dump where we bought our own notebooks...had to give some unpleasant troll of a secretary a buck then she would unlock a filing cabinet and hand over a notebook. Anyone hear of this crap?

If I was ever at a paper like that, I'd say the hell with that, go out to the local Staples/Office Max/Office Depot/Target, and buy my notebooks there. Then keep MY notebooks under lock and key at my desk.

 

[HoopsMcCann]

god, i loved those

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

 

[doubledown68]

I'm a fan of the Fine Point Zebra pens, in blue. But I used a mech. pencil last Friday, just in case.

The Zebra fine point is money, though.

 

[Bubbler]

god, i loved those

You knew the Cowboys and Steelers pencils were going to be stolen by your buddies, but you could always rely on having the Bills, Saints and Baltimore Colts.

 

[BYH]

god, i loved those

Ibid.

Holy smokes, that sight brings back good memories. Every Christmas, I'd get some sort of team-related pencils. Awesome.

 

[BYH]

Bics SUCK. I wouldn't use a Bic with a gun to my head. The pens always run dry quickly...and I cannot tell you how many pairs of jeans I ruined in high school because a Bic pen exploded in my back right pocket.

Maybe if you didn't put them in your back pocket you wouldn't have sat on them and they wouldn't have exploded. Just a thought.

Bet you thought that was a clever response, huh?

Number of PaperMates to explode in my back pocket in 33 years: Zero.

 

[Clever username]

Bics SUCK. I wouldn't use a Bic with a gun to my head. The pens always run dry quickly...and I cannot tell you how many pairs of jeans I ruined in high school because a Bic pen exploded in my back right pocket.

Maybe if you didn't put them in your back pocket you wouldn't have sat on them and they wouldn't have exploded. Just a thought.

Bet you thought that was a clever response, huh?

Number of PaperMates to explode in my back pocket in 33 years: Zero.

Hey, wow, a pun on my username. Don't I feel stupid now?

 

[BYH]

I just expected more out of a guy with clever username as his screen name. Silly me.

Pretty simple: Bics explode in my back pocket, PaperMates never have. And I usually have several PaperMates in my back pocket.

 

[FuerteJ]

Big fan of the Marriott pens. I find the Courtyard ones, in particular, write the best for me and my style of writing. The red topped Marriott pens are OK as well. But if I don't have a hotel pen I go with the BIC Ultra Round Stic Grip.

 

[DyePack]

It's doing very well.

Oh, you said pens.

 

[BYH]

Pen Is Mightier, Dye?

 

[Cadet]

Minor threadjack: I once used a pica pole to measure my own handwriting on paper without lines. I write in a 14-point font. Scary.

I'll take pen over pencil any day, except keeping book in baseball.

Don't have a preference for brand, but I prefer click pens to capped pens, and have to do different colors for different quarters. Am currently loving some little mini-pens that clip to my backpack. Easy access. Can't use hotel pens in the regular course of business, they feel cheap to me.

I've never had a pen explode on me (knock on wood), but all my jeans have a distinct wear pattern on the right side of the right back pocket from always keeping a pen there. Started that little trend when I was about 13.

And I love the fact that we have a four-page thread on pens.