Designer toolkit: The Lamy Safari fountain pen

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A perfect modern, beginner fountain pen

Designer Toolkit is a new weekly series on Sketchbook B that will highlight an analog tool that designers should be using.

 

Why designers will love the Safari:

Colorful inks. The Lamy Safari is a fountain pen that uses ink cartridges or bottled ink. This means that you can write in an absurdly wide range of ink colors. Find a color that’s close to your favorite Pantone color.

Choose your thickness. The nibs on a Lamy Safari are interchangeable. This means that you can select a thickness that works for you. Like really thin pen strokes? Get an extra fine nib. Want to have some variation in stroke thickness? Buy a 1.1 mm caligraphy nib. Customize the writing experience to be exactly what you want.

Modern look. It’s not a “traditional” looking fountain pen. Most people think of fountain pens as archaic devices with a century old design aestitic. A Lamy Safari has a clean, modern look and comes in a range of colors. It’s definitely not an antique.

 

Things to know:

Converter. If you want to use bottled inks — and trust me, you do — you’ll need to by a converter. It’s a little plastic cartridge that lets you draw the ink from the bottle and costs about $5.

Taking care of your Lamy. You’ll need to spend some time cleaning your pen when you change the ink. Thankfully, there are many online resources that talk you through the process.

Cartridges and bottles. The pen comes with a blue ink cartridge, but if you want to start with a different color, you’ll need to buy some other ink cartridges or bottles of ink. If the idea of buying bottles of ink is intimidating, I recommend starting with some of the Lamy ink cartridges. 

 

How much?

A Lamy Safari costs about $30, depending on where you buy it. I recommend Pen Chalet or Goulet Pens. 

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. In his spare time, he endlessly searches for a perfect "Sketchbook B" green ink. Follow Bob on Twitter and Instagram.

Designer Toolkit: The Kuru Toga mechanical pencil

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A mechanical pencil with a twist

Red Kuru Toga with red lead

Designer Toolkit is a new weekly series on Sketchbook B that will highlight an analog tool that designers should be using.

 

Why designers will love THE KURU TOGA:

Precise, consistent lines. The Kuru Toga is a Japanese mechanical pencil with a cool trick... the lead rotates every time you pick up the tip of the pencil, keeping the point even and consistent. Great for sketching or taking notes.

Range of thicknesses. Kuru Togas are available in .03, .05 and .07 mm. Pick the line thickness that's perfect for your sketching style. 

Colored lead. Some Kuru Togas come with colored lead to match their body color. I've got a red Kuru Toga with red lead (pictured above) that's great for marking up proofs. 

 

Things to know:

U.S. vs Japanese models. In U.S. retail channels, you can find a limited selection of Kuru Togas, so you can pick up a basic model at your local Staples. But if you want more options — and trust me, you do — order from a company like Jet Pens and select from a wider variety. 

Disney edition. Love Mickey? You can get Japanese Disney-themed Kuru Togas through Jet Pens. 

 

How much?

The Uni Kuru Toga starts at about $5. You can find the entire range at Jet Pens.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. In his spare time, he apparently talks too much about pens and pencils. Follow Bob on Twitter and Instagram.

Beyond Moleskines, Field Notes and Sharpies

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Finding the best tools for designers

Designers love their Moleskines, Field Notes and Sharpies. And all of these are great tools. Go to any meeting of designers, look around and that’s pretty much all you see.

But about a year ago, I discovered the Pen Addict podcast and an entirely new world of pens, pencils and paper. A range of outstanding tools for writing and sketching that I never knew existed. Modern fountain pens. Japanese pens you can’t get in the standard US retail channels. Nice mechanical pencils. Wooden pencils. Sharpeners. New notebook brands.

Very few designers seem to know about the range of options that are out there and I really think designers would enjoy these writing instruments.

So I’m starting a new weekly series: Designer Toolkit.

Each Friday, I’ll profile a pen, pencil or paper product and tell you why designers should try it out. (The first post — about the Kuru Toga mechanical pencil — is already up.) And since many of these materials aren’t available in your local office supply store, I’ll let you know where you can get them.

These new tools may or may not replace your Moleskines, Field Notes and Sharpies. But they will open up a whole world of tools that you didn’t even know existed.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. In his spare time, he talks too much about pens and pencils. Follow Bob on Twitter and Instagram.

Quick Review: Pilot MR Metropolitan Retro Pop Ballpoint

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Walking through Target a few weeks ago, I noticed they were selling a Pilot MR Metropolitan Retro Pop ballpoint pen. 

I'm familiar with the Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop fountain pen and rollerball. The Metropolitan fountain pen is well regarded as a great pen for beginners. I own a green Pilot Metropolitan fine nib fountain pen and I've really enjoyed it. But I had no idea how there was a ballpoint version available through typical retail channels and I wanted to try it out.

The Metropolitan Retro Pop that I purchased from Target is sharp looking, with a dark gray metal body. The center band is a black and silver houndstooth pattern. The rest of the trim is silver. The point extends with a slight twist on the top of the pen body. If you are used to cheap plastic pens, the Metropolitan feels substantial. 
 
The pen is a 1.0 mm black ballpoint and writes smoothly on a wide variety of papers. I typically use a 0.5 mm or 0.7 mm point so the line is a little thicker than I'm used to. The pen insert is replaceable but uses a shorter Pilot Dr. Grip Center of Gravity refill that is only offered in black or blue and only in 1.0 mm. I'm not sure if other refills will fit it as well. (None of the refills I had around the house fit the pen.)

For such a cool looking pen, the packaging isn't impressive at all. It's clearly designed to blend in with the other Pilot packaging, but it doesn't really do a great job showing off the pen. I'm also a little surprised that the word "Metropolitan" doesn't appear anywhere on the retail packaging, since that's the branding that is more prominent in the fountain pen offerings.

The Metropolitan fountain pen and rollerball models come in a range of colors and patterns. According to the Pilot website, the ballpoint comes in five colors combos, but I've only seen the dark gray and houndstooth on the shelf. 

The pen is a solid and versatile addition to my collection. I enjoy writing with it and it's nice to have a quality ballpoint to supplement my fountain pens. While I like the gray and houndstooth design, I hope Pilot makes the bright colors widely available for people to discover.

If you don't think you are ready for a fountain pen, the Metropolitan ballpoint might be a great option for you. For $13, it's a solid gateway to the world of nicer pens.

Beginner's Guides for Pencils

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One of the things I love about my new obsession with writing utensils is that I know virtually nothing about them. I'm learning more about pens and pencils daily.

I love my Blackwing pencils and wrote about them recently. I came across a pair of posts on CW Pencils with beginner basics for pencil users. The first post details terminology and basic background on selecting a pencil. The second article makes recommendations for the best pencil options for your need. They are extremely helpful and make me realize that I've barely scratched the surface of the pencil world.

Thankfully, pencils are much cheaper than fountain pens.

Review: Nock Co. Brasstown

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When I purchased my second fountain pen, I started to think about purchasing a case to hold my pens, but I wasn’t impressed with most of the options on the market. They didn’t really fit my style and needs.

Finally, I came across cases from Nock Co., co-owned by Brad Dowdy from the Pen Addict podcast. Their cases were exactly what I was looking for. I also love that Nock Co. is located a few hours down I-20 from me in Atlanta* and all of their products are manufactured in the USA. 

BRASSTOWN, closed

BRASSTOWN, closed

I was instantly drawn to the Brasstown, a durable nylon case zippered case with a fold out insert that holds six pens. (Material-wise, it reminds me of my beloved Timbuktu messenger bag.) The Brasstown looked perfect, but it seemed like overkill for my two pens so I ended up not buying anything.

Fast forward a few months and my collection of writing instruments had grown. I started looking for a case again, and this time, the Brasstown made sense.

Nock offers their cases in a selection of “colorways” — pairings of colors that span across all their products. I liked a couple of the options, but wasn’t sure which one to get. When I finally decided to order, though, all of the Brasstowns were out of stock. 

After a couple of weeks, they restocked – and this time – with a new colorway: Red/Midnight. I instantly fell in love and ordered one. 

On the Red/Midnight Brasstown, the outside of the case is a bright red with a navy blue insert. The insert is sewn into the case and unrolls to reveal six slots. Each slot holds a single fountain pen but you can fit two smaller pens into each pocket if you want to.

The stitching is gray and looks sharp, especially on the navy insert. The zipper has two sliders and seems sturdy.

Brasstown, Open

Brasstown, Open

I was pleasantly surprised by how much the Brasstown holds. As expected, it easily holds my three fountain pens, my mechanical pencils and a couple of gel pens. But you can also put other pens and accessories in the main compartment. I’ve got mechanical pencil lead, erasers and more in the bag. And there is plenty of room for more. I can’t imagine ever needing another bag.**

The Brasstown is $35 and I highly recommend one if you are looking for a larger case to tote around your precious writing instruments. I’m very happy with mine.

(If the Brasstown is too big for you, check out some of Nock Co.’s other options. The Chimneytop and Lookout are different approaches, but also look awesome.)

* Their cases are named for mountains in Georgia. Nice touch.

** If they ever release a black/neon green or garnet/black colorway, I’ll be buying the entire line.