B is for Bold

And we're now back to regular programming... Err, pens. Yes, we're back to the topic of pens.

As a newbie FP collector, I read (and heard) a lot about Pilot 78Gs as being excellent starter pens. I thought the pens looked simple and unpretentious but I liked that because it made them look classy and neat.

During my first pen meet, I saw my fellow Pinoy fountain pen collectors getting their 78Gs from Sir Butch Dalisay who brought a couple of the pens for them from his Shanghai trip (I got a black Hero 616 from that giveaway, though). And then I read about 78Gs from the FPN forums and good reviews from a lot of pen and paper blogs, but the best are from my good friend Tom and Paul David Krishnan's Phase Ignition.

My Pilot 78G B rests on the rim of my Cusco, Peru shotglass. Another opportunity to mix the stuff I love to hoard: pens and shotglasses. :)

After months of waiting, I made it to Cosmos Bazaar in Binondo, a store recommended by Pidoy Velez, another Pinoy FP collector, and found a couple of 78Gs with medium and fine nibs among a vast selection of other Pilot pens. Typical hoarder that I am, I bought all available colors with medium nibs: black, teal, green. A medium maroon was not in stock so I wasn't able to complete the four-color set, but that's okay. I inked the black pen as soon as I got home, and I was disappointed that despite being a medium, I was not satisfied with how it wrote. I realized that in nib language, Japanese medium becomes a Western fine (or even extra fine). I don't have anything against that, a lot of FP users prefer fine or extra fine nibs, but I am a medium nib user. I always find my writing to be uncomfortably ugly when I use thin nibs. I want wide strokes using broad, bold and wet nibs.

I knew Pilot 78Gs are also available with broad/bold (B) and double broad/bold (BB) nib, yet I couldn't possibly think of a way of getting one. But I had to get one. It's amazing that while chatting with Tom one time, I asked him if he happened to have a 78G with a B nib. And he has! :) Tom kindly sent the pen to me right away. Hurray! Applause!

The black broad/bold 78G did not look any different from the black medium pen I inked earlier, except for its nib. The pen is made of plastic, yes, but still looked classy to me. I don't mind the gold-plated metal clip and the two gold bands near the cap rim. Who cares? I got a classy pen that writes smoothly and that's all that's important, I guess.

The Pilot 78G B. Above: Barrel with the Pilot sticker on, and section with the converter. Below: the pen's cap and barrel.

The name Pilot is imprinted downwards on the clip, and Japan is printed on the back side of the cap, breaking the wider of the two gold bands. The nib is almost a stub, and looking at it through a 10x loupe shows its tines properly aligned. This pen, like the ones before it, has an aerometric filling system, but further reading says it can also be inked using international cartridges. The pen is very light owing to its plastic body, and that makes it easy to hold when writing. Cleaning it is a breeze because the nib assembly can be removed from the section with a slight but firm tug. (Thanks to John Raymond Lim and Mona Caccam for the useful information.)

The section when I fully diassembled it. The pen part on top is the converter. Parts below, from left: nib, feed, and section barell.

Oh, what more can I say about this great pen? I'm happy to have it now that I'm learning to write italic and script. Below is a writing sample using the broad/bold/stub 78G inked with Lamy Black.

And again, as my small token of gratitude for the help extended to me so I can get and enjoy this pen, here's to you, Tom! :)

GPW #2: Pilot Coletos

Here's Gel Pen(s) of the Week (GPW) #2: Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coletos.

Alas, here's my foray into the world of multi-pens. :)

Long after its release, I've seen photos and read reviews of the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto from many pen blogs and websites. During that time, I was seriously into populating my meager fountain pen collection, that I did not pay too much attention into this new multi-pen from Pilot. I wasn't (and still am) too fond of multi-pens, and this was another reason why the Coleto wasn't am instant hit with me.

Then the time came when there was a huge discussion about Pilot 78G pens at FPN-P. That discussion convinced me to get my first Pilot fountain pen, the 78G. Oh, wait, this is about the Coletos, right? But it was the 78G pens that brought me to the Coletos through Cosmos Bazaar in Binondo. The colorful packaging of Pilot Coleto refills caught my eye that time, but the 78Gs held my attention, and I bought three of them: teal, green, and black - all medium-nibbed. Perhaps it wasn't in the stars yet for Coletos to come home with me.

And then another trip to the city brought me near Binondo. I didn't let the chance pass by that time, and off I went to Cosmos Bazaar to get my Coletos.

At Cosmos Bazaar, the Coleto refills are available in the usual black, blue, and red in all tip sizes: 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5mm. The other refill colors, green, turquoise, purple, orange, and pink, and available only in 0.3 and 0.4mm tips. I bought black in 0.5 and 0.4, and blue and red in 0.5mm. Then I bought all remaining refill colors in 0.4mm tip sizes. I also got three of the three-color pens: clear, blue, and gray.

Coleto refills: 2 blacks, blue, turquoise, green, purple, orange, pink, and red. There are two colors missing in my collection: blue-black and brown. But I don't have them only because Cosmos doesn't have them.

Above is a simple writing sample of the Coletos on my Moleskine. These pens use gel ink, and they write very smoothly and does not skip. I do not worry about bleed and smudges on my notebook pages, because the ink dries fast. They are easy to hold, and my hand is not so tired after writing for some time.

It's also a joy that the Coleto comes in 2, 3, and 4 color sizes. This multi-pen is an excellent choice for people such as I am who loves writing in different colors. And it's also important that the pen barrels can be bought empty, because refilling them with my choice of color is very easy. I can mix different colors in one barrel, or have different tip sizes of a single color. Fun!

GPW #1: Pilot G2s

Here's Gel Pen(s) of the Week (GPW) #1: My set of 0.7 Pilot G-2s.

This it it. This is where GPW starts. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I will do a GPW project. GPW, or gel pen(s) of the week is a project I thought of while cleaning out my pen boxes. I realized that even if I want to, I cannot fully shift to full fountain pen use due to the following reasons: (a) I got a lot of non-FP pens; (b) i need a GP or a ballpoint to fill out forms, or sign documents; and (c) finding FP-friendly notebooks and paper in this corner of the planet is just way too difficult. But really, the main reason for the GPW project is that I have too many (and still hoarding) GPs and I want to use them.

And so here's GPW #1, and for this week, my featured pens are my Pilot G2 0.7mm retractables.

I met (or bought) Pilot G2s at the same time I got my first Moleskine. Before my Mollie, I've read excellent reviews about these pens from various websites and blogs, and the most interesting articles and posts (even photos) finally convinced me to get these pens for my Molie. To test them, I bought a 0.5mm black and red to use on my new notebook, and true enough, it's an amazing experience to write with these pens. Later on, I got the 0.7mm G2s as I am more fond of thick, wide, dark lines.

Now, a lot has been said about these pens, and as a G2 user, I agree to all the rave about them. These GPs are very smooth and reliable writers, and their ink is very friendly to Moleskine notebooks. I did not experience any skipping or thinning lines ever since I used them not only on the Moleskine, but also on different papers. The rubber grip on the section is just perfect for my discriminating fingers, and the durable plastic clip is excellent to just clip them anywhere-on my bag's tag, my jean's back pocket, etc. Lastly, I am not a person who loves to post their pens. I hate posting my pens, and the fact that the Pilot G2 uses the retractable system makes it a home-run winner!

Through time, I set aside my G2s as I got fascinated with, and of course, used fountain pens. But I also realized it's difficult to move to full FP use. And so I got back to using the G2s. I even found a better use for them in my GTD (getting things done) kit. It helps that I got these GPs in other colors aside from the black/blue/red inks available here. A friend who went to the United States brought me a three-pack of G2s in turquoise, purple, and pink. Now I got six colors out of the 15 available ink colors that Pilot made for G2s.

Here is my GTD kit, opened. The left flap has pen slots, but only for four pens, so the other two pens are clipped to the paper slots on the other flap. This kit, as I call it, is like a wallet, but with more compartments. I got it from NBS for my FPs, but the garterized pen holders are too tight, that I got scared my FPs will be damaged later on. And like the G2 rediscovery, I found a better use for it. *Wink.*

Both the left and right flaps of this pen holder have big slots which can accommodate other stuff, mostly the multi-colored index cards I use for my GTD system.

The back pocket is also roomy enough for bits of paper, and here I got stamps and tea tags.

So here is my GPW #1. I'll dig into my box again and let's see what I'll come up with next Monday. For now, I'm happy with my G2s.

My Weekend Hoard of (Gel) Pens and A Pencil

I took a much needed respite from blogging recently as I focused on more pressing matters, such as work and health. As I finish those important tasks, I’m happy to be back. With pens.

This is my growing stash of gel pens. For a bigger photo, click here.

The three-day weekend last weekend has brought me to what else, NBS. I went there to get some (more) notebooks (again), but this time of the month is not a good time to visit NBS, or any bookstore/school supply store as people flock to these places to hoard school supplies and similar items. June is the month when classes start here in the Philippines.

I couldn’t get my way through the crowd near the notebooks, so I went to check their pens. Hm. I was instantly attracted to the Pilot Acroballs because they are available in non-black/blue/red colors such as green, pink, and turquoise. But my attraction turned to disappointment when I realized that Acroballs are ballpoints and not gel pens. Oh, well. Moving down the display, I finally gave in to the Coleto when I saw the three-color blue barreled multi-pen. I got the 0.5mm refills of black, blue, and red, the only refills available at NBS.

Since I was at the Pilot section of the pen displays, I saw the yummy H32 mechanical pencils and tried out the transparent red H325. The transparent H32 is available in different barrel colors: clear, red, blue, yellow, green, and gray/black. I got this pencil for its looks, but it proved to be an excellent writing tool. Mine has a 0.5mm tip, but I’d like to get the 0.3mm and the 0.9mm next time.

New pens: a transparent red Pilot H325 mechanical pencil, blue 3-ink refill Pilot Coleto, Zebra Jimnie Gel Rollerball, Foray, and two Uni-Ball Signo Gelsticks. For a bigger and clearer photo, click here.

Lingering on the pen section of NBS is very dangerous. LOL. Because not long after I decided to buy the Pilot H325, the Uni-Ball pens caught my attention. I got several Uni-Ball gel pens in my stash already, but I liked the way the 0.7mm Uni-Ball Signo Gelsticks wrote when I tried them so I got both black and blue, the only colors where the pens are available. They write smoothly and don’t skip, and I’ve used them on the postcards I’m sending out today. No smears, smudges, or skipping lines. Great pens, really.

The other two pens in the tray, a Zebra Jimnie Gel Rollberball in medium black and the blue 0.6mm Foray are gifts to me by my aunt because I kinda fixed her computers last Saturday. Great service fees. *Wink.*

Here's the writing samples of all the gel pens, sans the pencil. For a bigger and clearer photo, click here.

With the growing number of pens on my box, I'm thinking of using one or two pens a week, to rotate using them, together with my fountain pens. I may call it GPW Project, or gel pen(s) of the week project. Cool idea, eh?

A Little Help with Organization

Saw these plastic organizers at a store recently. I bought several of them but it was only last night that I put them into use.

For my pens...

... and for my inks...

I didn't know I have so many pens!

My inks look like this inside the box. That syringe is what I use to transfer inks into cartridges.

The yellow box has the Camel 'Scarlet Red' ink from India. Below, and clockwise: Parker Blue-Black, Parker Black, Schneider blue and black short cartridges, Waterman South Sea Blue, and Cross Blue.

Here the Camel and Parker boxes are seen clearly.

The left end of the box reveals my Private Reserve inks: Copper Burst and Avocado.

Next to the Private Reserve box are smaller boxes of ink cartridges: Waterman Florida Blue, and Parker Quink Ruby, part of Parker's jewel tone inks.

It's such an excellent way to organize stuff! My pens are in a fresh new home, and my inks are well-organized. I got a separate box for black inks which I hope to build later on. I won't put my fountain pens in these boxes, though, but now I can easily organize my pens, pencils, markers, even my small notebooks, pads, and post-its. *Wink.*

Sea of HaPENess*

After postponing it for several weeks, I was finally off to Binondo one bright, sunny, refreshing Saturday. Wee!

Like most of my Saturday trips, I started late, because, there was a heavy downpour just before I was about to leave the house, and... because I woke up late. Gah. By the time I got to Sucat, traffic was moving very, very slow, and I had to endure the loud snoring noise of someone across me from my bus seat. Ew. But I still made it to Taft before 1pm. Great.

I got on a jeepney going to Divisoria, and though the ride took longer, I still enjoyed the cacophony of sounds, sights, and smells that is so Manila. Cosmos Bazaar, the store which I will visit, is just across Binondo Church, also known as the Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz.

The store was easy to find because of its proximity to Binondo Church, and when the jeepney driver told me it's my stop, I almost jumped off. I only needed to cross the street and voila! Cosmos Bazaar is right in front of me. Woo-hoo!!!

Once inside the store, I stood for a moment in wonder and awe. I mean it. Can anyone blame me? Cosmos Bazaar is a literal pen store! A big Pilot store!!! Woo-hoo-hoo!!! I've never seen so many Pilot pens like that. And the store reminded me of those Tokyo stationery shops I've seen in so many internet photos.

I browsed and peeked through the long cabinets and saw familiar pens, old and new to my eyes. Pilot ballpoints, G2s, Hi-Tec Cs, Frixions, and the new Coleto are just among the pens filling up the long cabinets. I was brought to a smaller stand alone cabinet in the middle of the store by one of their clerks, and there, right before my eyes, separated only by glass, are plastic-wrapped Pilot 78G pens. My jaw almost dropped when I saw them.


The 78G pens at Cosmos Bazaar were available in both fine and medium nibs, but the medium pens were available only in black, green, and teal barrels. No red for me. So I got all the three, since the store gave me a big discount off the regular price. I also got myself a green Hi-Tec C 0.4mm which is hard to get elsewhere. After an hour, (and several hundred pesos poorer), I was on my way out to scour the other stores in the area. My only regret though, is not having bought the Coleto, because Cosmos have all the available refills, and these are hard to find elsewhere. Then again, I still have a reason to visit the store again.

Here are some photos inside Cosmos Bazaar.

So many pens! My pen friend Mona Caccam is right. This is truly a sea of *haPENess.