Journal pen or pencil

[Pignut]

All,

I got myself a moleskine (Thanks all for you input) and am in the process of having a leather cover made to protect it.

my question is...... do you folk use a pen or pencil to fill in your journals (i am looking for something that will last and not fade

 

[RichardIT]

I bought a space pen; though haven't used it yet

 

[Pignut]

my worry with ink is

It will fade
It wont work on damp paper
It cant be errased

My worry with pencil is

Does it fade?
It smudges
It will pass from page to page when the journal is shut

........................ or perhaps I am worrying about this too much

Any help much appreciated

 

[JohnC]

I have read somewhere that autograph hunters prefer pencil, as it doesnt fade (although can be rubbed out).. I guess it wouldnt wash off paper easily either.

 

[udamiano]

I think I read somewhere that NASA spent $10M developing the space pen! the Russian answer "we use a pencil" says it all really

You can sharpen a pencil, it costs very little, and there is not a lot to go wrong.

Oh and it writes in zero gravity, and underwater !

 

[Shewie]

I use a pencil in mine, comes in handy for sketching etc

 

[Retired Member southey]

I think I read somewhere that NASA spent $10M developing the space pen! the Russian answer "we use a pencil" says it all really

You can sharpen a pencil, it costs very little, and there is not a lot to go wrong.

Oh and it writes in zero gravity, and underwater !

¡uʍop ǝpısdn puɐ

 

[Tadpole]

I think I read somewhere that NASA spent $10M developing the space pen! the Russian answer "we use a pencil" says it all really

You can sharpen a pencil, it costs very little, and there is not a lot to go wrong.

Oh and it writes in zero gravity, and underwater !

NASA didn't spend any money on the space pen, they and the Russian use Pentels. I'd not want to use a pencil in zero gravity, imagine the risk from the wood shavings.

 

[Pignut]

I use a pencil in mine, comes in handy for sketching etc

Good enough for me! do you get a problem with pencil "copying" from one page to the next

I do think a pencil is the answer, just wondered on other views

 

[Pignut]

NASA didn't spend any money on the space pen, they and the Russian use Pentels. I'd not want to use a pencil in zero gravity, imagine the risk from the wood shavings.

Ironically I am using a pentel P207 in my journal at present

 

[Shewie]

Good enough for me! do you get a problem with pencil "copying" from one page to the next

I do think a pencil is the answer, just wondered on other views

Not really mate, I use a 2B in mine so maybe something a little softer would "copy" over

 

[udamiano]

NASA didn't spend any money on the space pen, they and the Russian use Pentels. I'd not want to use a pencil in zero gravity, imagine the risk from the wood shavings.

yep and you can never find the sharpener when you need it!!

anyway here a link to someone who researched it

http://astroprofspage.com/archives/1601

 

[Tank]

I think I read somewhere that NASA spent $10M developing the space pen! the Russian answer "we use a pencil" says it all really

You can sharpen a pencil, it costs very little, and there is not a lot to go wrong.

Oh and it writes in zero gravity, and underwater !

I think thats a myth. I am think nasa used a mechanical pencil which cost like £100 each which when the puplic found out about there was a public outcry, Nasa were worreid about using pencil as they could break and get into the shuttles parts. Fisher developed the Space Pen and offered it to NASA.

but back to the subject of pen or pencil i would say how long do you want it to last? I have a diary from my grandad from when he was 20 writen in pen and it has not faded yet.

 

[resnikov]

NASA didn't spend any money on the space pen, they and the Russian use Pentels. I'd not want to use a pencil in zero gravity, imagine the risk from the wood shavings.

Its not the wood shavings, its the graphite that would be a big problem. It could also short out the electrics. You ever put an electrical current through graphite? We did in GCSE electronics and got in to a bit of trouble

Though if the russians did use them, maybe they just took the risk?

 

[stuey]

I tend to use a 2b pencil for all my notes either on normal paper or in the waterproof notebooks we use at work. All of my surveying is done into Chartwell Watershed notebooks with a 2b pencil. I get through maybe half a dozen waterproof notebooks a year so write a lot of notes! All of my other notes tend to go into a moleskine. No transferrence, minimal smudging on the Chartwell plastic paper and no smudgin in the moleskine. Always have either a knife of some sort with me to sharpen it. Nothing to go wrong. If you want crazy spendy poshness have a look at http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Faber-Castell-Perfect-Pencil-Gift-Set.html
No connection just googled perfect pencil for an example
Stu

 

[DavidJT]

And fine pencil shavings from a sharpener make great tinder... dual use!

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Pencil & watercolour paintbrush. Don't worry too much about smudges & fading, after all it's an 'on the spot' field journal you're looking for, not a school project....... little imperfections will give it character, originality & authenticity

 

[Highbinder]

If you're worried about fading and water damage maybe you should go with a cheap fountain pen and some appropriate ink? Iron Gall ink would be perfect IMO, but if you don't want the hassle of it (as it's not pH neutral) there are plenty of cheap eternal inks from Noodlers.

Personally I use a FP and Noodler's Zhivago, which is a dark green. The green component of the ink isn't water resistant but the black is, so if pages get wet I should still be able to salvage what I've written. When I'm out camping or hiking the notebook I have with me will eventually have the most important bits transposed into a journal at home so it's not so much an issue and I usually take a pencil for ease.

 

[rik_uk3]

As a 'Bushcrafter' you should write with a quill and blood of course.

 

[resnikov]

As a 'Bushcrafter' you should write with a quill and blood of course.

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