One of my biggest vices is browsing Amazon, scouring reviews, and recklessly adding to my cart. In prepping for this quarter of class, I did exactly that for back-to-school supplies. Most specifically and enthusiastically for pens.
I. Love. Pens. And I know I’m not alone in this obsession with next-level office supplies:
So reading Baron this week really hit home. He just went on and on about pencil-making. (And about Henry David Thoreau’s pencil expertise, which is just good cocktail conversation.) I could envision the results of upping the clay in the graphite-clay-water mix to create a hard, crisp line. I thought of my wood Ticonderogas chillin’ at home in a “Hugs Not Drugs” mug along with their plastic-bodied Bic counterparts. (I’m left-handed and lead smears, so I don’t actually use either much.)
As I write this I’m also wondering about how writing ink technology advancements differed in evolution from that of pencils. Baron points out that simple as they may seem, pencils are still a feat of engineering, requiring extensive knowledge of the materials, processes, and chemistry involved. I can only imagine that the ink we know today is the end product of an equally colorful and international history.
Despite that pencils were not initially invented to be a writing device, once the modern iteration of the utensil was introduced in the 1560s, people went ham trying to improve the technology. And there’s just something so artistic about perfecting a tool that you wield to put language, your language, down on paper. With a beautiful, expensive instrument, you’re not writing, you’re writing.
At least, that’s how I feel. Clearly, other people feel the same way:
https://clickypost.com/blog/2014/9/12/liking-pens-hobby-or-obsession
And this all culminates in making me question how the artistry of putting pen to paper affects our experience with writing, and by extension, literacy. The perceived benefits of executing the act capably and with flourish. Does someone with a well-organized, color-coded Moleskine have their life together more than I do? About handwriting. Mine is bold and sorta-cursive. Is it better than the sans-serif you’re currently reading for its personality and authenticity?
I’m not going to CSI my penmanship preferences or tendencies. But I am going to buy another pack of Pilot G2s gel pens.
