Try ALL The Pens!

Have I mentioned how hyper-focus can be weird? If not, hyper-focus can be weird. It can cause you to really focus on something that doesn’t really matter. Most recently, I hyper-focused on pens.

Pens weren’t really something I gave a ton of thought to before this. I’ve always been a big fan of the pencil. They have erasers, they’re precise, they’re basically everything my use case called for. Then I started bullet journaling and found that when you go back to the same page daily, pencils get smudgy really fast. So I had to find some pens.

So Many Types…

So no big deal right? I’ll grab a pen from the junk drawer. Nope. The ballpoints have a way thicker line than I like, and just didn’t write smoothly. The gel pens were smeary, bled through the paper, and had a tendency to reactivate and smear when using one over another (like with trackers). Which is a shame, because so many of those come in the ultra-fine point I prefer. I started using some of the Stabilo markers I bought for coloring, and those were finally working for me. Consistent line, precise, dried quick, almost everything I wanted. They still showed through the other side, but that’s something I can deal with.

Felt Pens

I read more on felt tip pens, to see what was out there that was similar. I ended up getting some PaperMate Flair pens and a Sharpie Pen. The PaperMate are OK. They’re cheap and easy to come by, so I don’t feel bad taking them with me. That Sharpie Pen though, I love it. It’s a thicker tip than I normally like but it’s so nice to hold and write with that I’m willing to overlook that. I also really like the Micron pens I bought, but they just don’t feel as comfortable in my hand. They’re also not something I can just buy at the drugstore like the Sharpie or PaperMate pens. You can see several of the pens I tried below. I created a couple of test pages in my Leuchtturm 1917 notebook.

I’m sure I’ll try a ton more going forward. The investment is low, and even if I don’t love them they’re still good for work or shopping lists. Now if only someone made a pencil lead that didn’t smudge….

Disclaimer: I bought all these myself, but Amazon links do give me a kick back.