Daily survival kit

When I go, these will go with me...

Women in general are infamous for the amount of things they "need" to carry around with them on a daily basis. In fact though, most people of either sex have a basic "survival kit" of items which they like to have close most of the time. So do I on most occasions when I leave the house for a longer period of time. Here's some of my daily stuff, in random order:

- notebook with handmade leather cover: for some work basics, intermittent strokes of genius as well as random things important enough to be put in writing. I made a separate post about this kind of notebooks here: Hand made leather journals - the work journal


 - appearance rescue kit: comb, powder, lip balm. Probably the one "female" point in this list. The comb is a really cute little toy made from horn which was a gift from a dear friend - an essential since I have long hair. Can't do without the lip balm either. At the moment it's plain shea butter, but I also like scented ones. Also like Blistex and Carmex for that cool-mint feeling.

- phone (SGS III): I'm not a huge fan of talking on the phone. Mobile phones became attractive to me when they started offering mobile internet access (and the phone companies started offering reasonable prices for using it). I rarely call people or receive phone calls on it but still find lots of uses.

- e-reader (Kindle PW): There has hardly been any time in my life where I haven't gone through a few pages of a book every day. Like most bibliophiles I love the look and feel of a printed book. I also want to keep my paper books in the best possible condition. Carrying them around doesn't add to that whereas the kindle sits safely in his rugged leather sleeve, bearing no notice of harsh environments. I've had a Sony e-ink reader for two years until I received the PW as an early birthday present. (Thanks!) Awesome: some of the default screensavers show fountain pens and dip pens.
Currently reading: Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series.

- Visconti 6 pen case: This is definitely one of the more awesome cases around. When it comes to pen cases, I'm a cheapass or, maybe more accurate: My standards of what is a reasonable price for an item may be distorted, but only when it comes to fountain pens. I'm not ready to shell out ridiculous amounts of money for pen cases though I do want to have my pens protected. The Visconti pen case comes in several sizes from 1 to 12 pens, it's a leather covered hard shell case and very reasonably priced. It carries the six pens I can't live without for the moment. The one that's peeping out is a Nakaya Negoro, you can find out more about that pen here: Oh noes it's broken!

Are you a watch-wallet-keys minimalist or do you lug half your household around for the day? What are your daily carry items?

P. S.: Of course I also carry keys, a wallet, something to eat and a bottle of ink! I just don't deem those interesting enough.

P. P. S.: I'm glad I took those pictures last week because today I'd freeze on the balcony. Brr! Spring, get a grip already!

Visconti Homo Sapiens - The coolest piece of rock

Personal Best of, Part 6

A few years ago, Italian pen manufacturer Visconti started to make a compound of plastics and lava stone from the Aetna. They made fittings and the clip out of bronze and gave the pen a two-tone Palladium nib. I think this is a rather brilliant marketing idea, but it wouldn't have helped much if the pens weren't pretty. They are, and more, at least to me.

Visconti Homo Sapiens "Bronze" and "Steel Age", oversize models.

Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze fountain pen

The bronze pen has been the first. The metal's surface is untreated so it will develop a patina over time. This can be seen on the clip, where the egdes are shinier than the flats. This could easily be polished to a bright shine if you wanted to, but many owners, me included, like to keep a certain patina.

Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze fountain pen

The knob on the top of the cap, sporting the Visconti logo by default, is magnetic and can be exchanged with gemstones and all sorts of stuff Visconti offers for this purpose. I haven't tried that though and don't intend to.

These pens have a lot going for them. Do you see the matte surface? It's a unique thing to touch. It reminds of me of soft rubber, also feels yielding, though of course it isn't. It will provide good grip without feeling rough. Neither fingerprints nor scratches will show. It will absorb a bit of your hand oils and sweat and always feel dry.

Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze fountain pen

Some - among which, of course, Visconti themselves - have claimed this to be the most indestructible material that has ever been in use for a fountain pen. I heard a story of a guy whose "Homo Sapiens" fell down three flights of stairs and didn't have a scratch when it reached the ground floor. My "Steel Age", however, has a slight chip on the barrel and it surely didn't endure that much, so... I'd say, it depends.

Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze fountain pen

That nib is the next special thing. It's Visconti's "Dreamtouch Nib" made of Palladium, and they are nice nibs indeed when working properly (which, sadly, isn't always the case right out of the box) - but is this due to the Palladium? I couldn't say.

To me, and despite writing with fountain pens pretty much, a nib is still a mysterium. Why will some of them feel soft though they aren't more flexible than others? Why will some of them make your handwriting pretty and with others you'll be struggling and never get it quite right? No wonder it seems they have a personality of their own.

Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze fountain pen

The "Bronze" nib is a rather charming persona. Like all of the well working Visconti nibs it is very wet. It was a factory broad which I sent to John Sorowka for a regrind to cursive italic. There's a writing sample at the end of the post. It's beautiful.

The "Steel Age" nib is a little more diva. It's a factory stub with really likeable line variation - I don't have any other stub/italic quite like this one -, but doesn't like all inks. I had to have it tweaked before it was usable without being totally frustrating because it wouldn't start half of the time. Unfortunately, the chance this happens to your new Visconti nib is relatively high, especially if it's a stub. I hope they will fix this sometime.

 Visconti Homo Sapiens Steel Age fountain pen 

Except for the metal details, the Bronze and Steel Age Homo Sapiens pens are quite the same but the overall impression is very different. You can see that the steel is glossier, the pen looks more grave and businesslike and also more "modern days" than the Bronze one.

Another difference, invisible at first glance, is the filling system. The Bronze is a "power filler" which holds quite a lot of ink even with this gusher of a nib. The Steel Age is a plain piston filler with relatively low capacity, especially with the stub nib using up even more ink than the broad.

  Visconti Homo Sapiens Steel Age fountain pen - single colour nib 

The last picture also shows very clearly one thing speaking against the pen: It is a lot more prone to staining than your average plastic. The greenish shimmer on the edge of the section originates from J. Herbins "Rouge Hématite" the pen is filled with. The section already has been wiped down but it still shows. These stains will eventually go away with a long soak in soapy water and extended rubbing of the barrel with a soft cloth, but I have also heard of stains that have left discolorations, especially the infamous Baystate Blue. In any case, wiping the pen thoroughly with a wet paper towel after filling doesn't hurt.

Some Homo Sapiens also will sweat ink at the very edge of the section, thus potentially staining your fingers. This can easily be fixed by carefully unscrewing the nib unit and applying some silicone grease to the threads.

Visconti Homo Sapiens writing samples: the 1.3 mm stub with J. Herbin Rouge Hematite, the broad cursive italice with Diamine Steel Blue (who names their inks? Does this look like steel blue to anyone?)