Two hunnerd dollars, American. That's what they cost -- a 2- or 3-novel supply of Blackwing 602 pencils, a quality fountain pen, a new typewriter or a functionally-restored old one, or a netbook computer with a decent keyboard. Come to that, you should be able to find a desktop for something ball-parkish; I am writing this blog post on a Woot screamin'-deal Acer that I believe came in under $200.
Why this should be, I cannot say. It just is.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
9 comments:
Debatable. In my pocket sits a fantastic old Esterbrook with an EF nib that set me back $2.50 at an antique store, with another couple of bucks for a bag of sacs to resac it. If I include the cost of the can of shellac (enough to resac a thousand pens, at least), I'm still in for an order of magnitude less.
Of course, yesterday's pen was a Pilot 823....
I'm not saying you can't shop around and get some fantastic deals -- but, in general, parachuted into an unknown city, you'll want to have $200 in your pocket if you came there, empty-handed,* to write.
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* Not completely empty-handed: "Mr. shopkeeper, I have here a perfectly-good and barely-used parachute! Look at that material, feel it, as good as the finest silk! Surely the cloth alone is worth the price of that fine writing instrument...!" Etc.
You are thinking of NaNoWriMo-ing it aren't you? If so, GREAT.
$200 in 2013 money to get the writing on... sorta like "It costs one 20 dollar gold piece to get a good pistol" truism.
I'm kinda thinking of it. Still pondering outline of a Hidden Frontier story about what Sgt. Thomas T. Thomas did during the Lukewarm War, when he was (briefly) captured by Far Edge adventurers performing non-FCS-initiated actions against USSF/NATO bases on the Moon.
But I've already got writing instruments. It was thinking about what they were and the typical price that led deciding they all kind of tended towards the same price.
I'd spend $200 on Kentucky sippin bourbon before i got to the 6th chapter.
Half the pressure, Twice the Speed. I bought a box of 12 to see if they're all they are cracked up to be. They flow like a soft No.1, but draw a darker line, and don't blunt as quickly as the No.1. Lead is perfectly centered. Love the replaceable and indexable eraser.
It is the best pencil, IN THE WORLD.
I just bought a pack of Ticonderoga basic pencils to put in the bug-out kit. Now I feel so inadequate. ;-)
I have a bunch of pens and mechanical pencils. Rarely use them though. Everything on the 'pooter these days, except at work where much of it is, but I go through a lot of red ink too, but there I use what the company issues.
When I find myself wanting to draw (as in a circuit, e.g.) I reach for the MARS 780 lead holder.
Difficult to think of justifying $40 for a single Eberhard-Faber Blackwing, and in 1960's money?
Good Chinese and Indian pens can be had for $15 or so.
RE: Blackwing 602 pencil
Well, yet another writing instrument to buy and try...
In the past year or so, I've taken to writing with vintage dip pens (haven't quite gotten 'round to ordering the repro Spencerian script practice books, though they are on my radar). Predictably, there are websites devoted to discussing the merits and demerits of various nibs, inks, papers, etc. This leads me to wonder:
Is there ANY tool, implement, device, gizmo or widget the mention of which WON'T cause an instant debate over which is "best"?
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