Accessories for Planning and Travel

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Over the last several months, I've accumulated numerous accessories that I use for planning and travel. Some I use every day, others occasionally, but all of them are quite useful.

Washi Tape

I love washi tape. It can be used for so many things–marking cables, attaching photos, decorating items. Mark's Maste Washi Tape and collection boxes are wonderful. The box holds the tape and has a serrated edge so you can easily cut the tape without having to use scissors. $14.40 for a set of 8 tapes. $13.75 for the collection box in either black or ivory.

I like to use washi tape to mark special occasions in my Hobonichi planner, such as an upcoming trip to France with my daughter. The camera washi tape is $3.35 on JetPens.

Sticky Notes and Stickers

I can't get enough of these. I found the Paris sticky notes ($5.75) before Christmas and put them in my daughter's stocking and kept a set for myself.

I also use tiny stickers in my planner to mark special dates like birthdays, holidays, etc. The Kurochiku puffy cat stickers are $5.50, Pine Book Kraft Stickers are $2.65, and Midori Film Sticky Notes Birds are $6.75 on Jet Pens.

Adventure Log

Word Notebooks come in many different designs. But I wanted the Adventure Log to record our trip to France. I used some washi tape and my Paris sticky notes to decorate the outside of my notebook. $9.99 on JetPens.

RayMay Swingcut Scissors

I love this set of titanium-coated scissors which are small enough to carry in the pocket of your planner or in a purse/backpack. They are sharp and comfortable to use. $15.50 on JetPens.

Sun-Star Stickyle Pen-Style Stapler

I never seem to have a stapler when I need one, so this portable stapler is terrific. Although it's called a "pen-style" stapler, it's much thicker than a pen. Still, it fits well in a medium-sized purse, and will definitely work in a backpack. At one end is a compartment for extra staples.

The other end is the stapler itself. Simply lift the hinged top, push the button forward (this moves a plate underneath the staple so it will bend when you press down), put your paper in and press.

The staples are small, so you obviously can't use this for large documents or really thick paper. But for a few sheets, ticket stubs, and other small things it works well. $9.90 on JetPens.

Kutsuwa Stad Double Template

This foldable stencil is great to slip into a pocket of your planner. You can use it to make boxes, circles, letters and other designs in your planner. $2.50 on JetPens.

Sketchy Notebook Master Collection Templates and Sketchbook

Sketchy Notebook Templates originated on Kickstarter, but you can order a master pack (6 templates and one notebook for $35) here. The master collection includes lined style, grid style, storyboard, perspective grid, iPhone app mockup and website mockup templates. These templates make using unlined paper fun and simple.

The Sketchy Notebook contains 240 blank, tearable pages with 80 gsm acid-free paper. There's an elastic band to keep the notebook closed when not in use. Plus, the expandable envelope in the back contains two cardboard ruler bookmarks. The paper is creamy and fountain-pen friendly (juicy nibs don't bleed through, but there's definitely show through). I can use this notebook for fountain pen testing, ink swabs, and occasional sketches. I may even bring it to France and pretend I'm an artist.

ArtBird Crossbody Sling

The ArtBird Crossbody Sling $24.95 will be perfect for my trip to France. I'm planning to use my iPhone as my primary camera, so I bought Moment Lenses and a Moment Case for it. My iPhone, all three Moment lenses, and my Adventure Log will all fit easily into this bag.

(JetPens provided these products at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 190 - The Pilly Phen Show

Winter Storm Jonas wasn't stopping fountain pen fans from all over the country from descending on Philadelphia this past weekend. We cover that plus my updated Top 5 Pens list, strange podcasts, and a $100,000 fountain pen. And Myke needs your help.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Harry's: An exceptional shave at a fraction of the price. Use code PENADDICT for $5 off your first purchase.

Lamy 2000 Rollerball Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Back in 2014, I wrote about the iconic Lamy 2000 fountain pen, and talked about my love for the design and the writing experience of the pen. Well, here we are in 2016 and I've expanded my Lamy collection to include a Lamy 2000 rollerball. A lot about the rollerball is the same as the fountain pen version, but this one is obviously a bit more simple since it only has a rollerball cartridge inside. Even though there are a lot of differences between this and the fountain pen, it's a great pen that would be perfect for a lot of people looking for an elegant, classy, and reliable pen for daily use.

Aesthetics

In my original Lamy 2000 review, I wrote about the design of the pen:

The Lamy 2000 is unique. There isn't another pen like it in design. It's sleek, modern, and welcoming at the same time. It looks like a pen meant to write, but classy at the same time. It works with casual and dress clothes splendidly. It always gets comments out in the wild.

I don't think it's fair to call this a "different" pen, since the exterior is completely identical aside from the nib area. When the pens are capped, it's difficult to determine which is which. From what I can tell, there's only one way to tell from the outside: the top of the cap has a small dimple in the rollerball version, whereas the fountain version is completely flat and smooth. The fountain pen version also feels like it might weigh a few grams more, but not much.

Obviously, it's pretty easy to tell them apart once the caps are off, but the differences are limited to the nib area only. The grip section is identical, the cap fitting is identical, and even the piston knob is identical. But, why does the rollerball version have a piston knob? Well, it's not actually a piston knob — just a section that screws off to give you access to the cartridge. But, the thing is the back cap is the same length and location as the piston knob, and equally difficult to notice when closed.

Saying that the attention to detail that went into the rollerball version of the 2000 is impressive almost does it justice. Lamy went above and beyond to ensure this looks every bit as classy, timeless, and modern as the older, more sophisticated cousin.

This is a rollerball that can stand its ground in any board room.

Writing experience

That's great that it looks just like the fountain pen version, but the fountain pen version writes so well (provided you don't have a faulty nib), right? Right, but that doesn't mean that the rollerball version has a bad writing experience. Quite the opposite, actually.

From what I can tell, Lamy sourced the cartridge through Schmidt, and we all know what that means. This is a smooth writer. Coming from the same company that provides the ever-so-glassy-smooth Retro 51 refills, this Lamy 2000 refill is no slouch. Lamy dubs it the M63, and it retails for $5.

Like the Retro 51 stock refill, the Lamy 2000 is also a 0.7mm size, and it is smooth and well-flowing. I'm a huge fan of Schmidt refills of all kinds, and this one is no exception. There really isn't anything I dislike about the way it writes — it's smooth, it always starts right away, never skips, and lays down a dark, crisp line of inky pitch black.

My only gripe is the line width, which is the same "problem" I have with the Retro 51 stock refill. To get a smaller size (like a 0.5 or so), you'll have to find the refill directly from Schmidt. While this is fairly easy for the Retro 51 refills (Schmidt P8127), the Lamy version can be a bit difficult to locate. From what I can tell from reading this Schmidt catalog (pg. 25), the Schmidt SRC5888F (0.6mm) and SRC5888M (0.7mm) refills would work in the Lamy 2000 if you had a small extension for the base — about 2mm long. Still, the price is about the same, so unless you want the slightly smaller tip size, I'd stick with the Lamy-branded refills.

Conclusion

If you're a fan of the Lamy 2000 design, but are looking for a non-fountain pen version, the rollerball is perfect for you. It's a bit cheaper than the fountain pen version, just over $100. It's not "cheap," but it's also a price that I feel is fair given the attention to detail, prestige of the 2000 line, and the beautiful design and writing experience.

If you're nervous about jumping on a Lamy 2000 because you're new to fountain pens, this might be the perfect entry point into fine pens.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)