Pens'n'Paper

A blog for those of us who happen to be picky about the pens, papers, and even pencils that we use.

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The End of Pens'n'Paper...

So, time for the bad news... Pens'n'Paper is officially done. As of 9-12-11, I won't be updating this blog anymore, due to having no time, and even more essentially, no cash. Due to circumstances beyond my control (ie. school, work, other obligations, etc.), I just haven't had the time to put into the blog, and I don't see myself gaining any more time in the near future.

So, to the best of my knowledge, this is the last post on this blog. Thank you guys for all continuing to read and enjoy the blog, and I appreciate all of you for taking part in discussions and giveaways.

You all can still keep up with me on my personal website (http://www.daviswww.com), but as for Pens'n'Paper, I'm going to leave the content up here at Tumblr, as well as the old content that's still at Wordpress (http://daviswebtech.wordpress.com).

Thanks again for an awesome couple of years, guys!

-Chris

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Rad & Hungry Pencil Pals Program

So, sorry for the lack of posts guys, but it has been an extremely busy couple weeks! Between getting ready for the new college semester, a two week trip to Texas (getting back one day before school started), and trying to work a full-time job in between, things have just been busy! But, I had a couple minutes to spare this morning, so I figured a new post and update was in order!

Have you heard about Rad & Hungry's new Pencil Pal Program? It's kind of like a pen-pal program, except it's for pencil geeks! What you do is, you sign up over at their website (http://www.radandhungry.com/pages/pencil-pals), and then they'll put you on the list to receive a pencil from either R&H or from another Pencil Pal. When you get the pencil, you in turn write a short note including instructions on how to get a new address to send a pencil, and include a pencil of your own. Now, it can't just be a stub, but it has to be a good pencil in new or slightly used condition. For example, I sent out a slightly used Papermate Mirado Black Warrior, since it's one of my favorite pencils of all time, but I also added in a brand new Mexican Berol Mirado from my personal pencil hoard, that way I was sure the person would get one they would like.

In my package, I got a Roco HB Pencil which was made in Indonesia, but has some Arabic lettering on it. The note from R&H said that it is actually from Saudi Arabia, and I must say that it writes pretty smoothly.

So, if you're interested in receiving a pencil from a complete stranger in the mail, sign up for Rad & Hungry's Pencil Pal Program today!

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Not Really a Review...

So, I was cruisin' my local Big Lots (lookin' for some pen and paper deals as well as some hardware and storage deals for my leatherwork) and I spotted a couple DayRunner LifeTracker planners sitting on the shelf for $5.00 each. So I grab one, looking quickly at the label and seeing that it has a "bonded leather" cover. After I get home, I took a closer look at it, and quickly noticed that the cover has never even seen a cow... It's vinyl... So, I decided it might be time to attempt to remedy the situation.

Before:

After:

So, what do you guys think? Which one looks better to you?

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Kokuyo 2-Hole Punch and King Jim 2-Way Super Dotch File Mechanism from MyMaido.com!

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Kokuyo 2-Hole Punch and King Jim 2-Way Super Dotch Files

So, up for review today, we actually have three more items from Andrew over at MyMaido.com. He sent over the King Jim 2-Way Super Dotch Files with the Sept Couleur notebooks from last time, but forgot to include a 2-hole punch (you'll see why it was necessary here in just a minute), which came in a couple days later.

Well, we'll start with the Kokuyo 2-Hole Punch. Available from MyMaido for $9.95 (+ tax) in a beautiful metallic blue finish, this little hole punch wasily punched through upt to 20-30 sheets of notebook paper (no, I didn't count the pages, but I put enough paper in the "slot" that you couldn't fit anymore), even though the advertised amount is 10 pages. Also included is a small plastic rule which slides into the plastic "punch tray" and allows you to measure the paper correctly for your holes (although the only sizes marked are the European sizes, not US sizes).

As I mentioned, this little device worked very well, and I'm extremely glad that Andrew sent it to me, since it's an absolute necessity when it comes to using the other two things he sent me...

Next up are the King Jim 2-Way Super Dotch File Binders. These ecologically friendly binders are made from new raw material and recycled paper. Andrew was kind enough to send me one of the ones that holds 300 pages, as well as one that holds 500 pages. Each binder comes with 5 indexed organizer tabs, so you can keep track of different types of papers and projects (definitely useful for a college student like me).

However, the most interesting thing about these binders is the binding mechanism. Instead of the usual two or three ring binding system (the kind that causes your binders to bend and form around the clumsy rings), the Super Dotch binders feature a two ring removable binding system. This binding system can be completely removed in order to switch notebooks, and even can be removed from the binder altogether, to assure "classified disposal". Both binders measure 9.5" wide x 12" high and the 300 page one is 2" deep while the 500 page is 2.5" deep.

The 300 page binder is $10.95 at MyMaido.com The 500 page binder is $11.95 at MyMaido.com

For a better view of the "binding mechanism", check out the Youtube video that is posted right after this post...

Thanks again to Andrew at MyMaido.com for giving me the chance to try out these awesome products!

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Maruman Sept Couleur A5 and B5 Notebooks from MyMaido.com

Well, for the first review on the new Pens'n'Paper Tumblr, we have some neat notebooks that Andrew over at MyMaido.com sent me! These fun, bright colored notebooks (hence the name Sept Couleur, which is French for "seven colors") feature vibrant, transparent plastic covers, a strong spiral binding, and decent quality paper.

The A5 notebook measures in at 5.8" x 8.3", and contains 80 pages of 7mm ruled paper (which comes out to 26 lines per page), while the B5 measures in at 7.3" x 10", and is also ruled at 7mm (which comes out to 31 lines per page). The line width is somewhere between wide and college rule, and to be honest, it seemed just about right for my handwriting (which can vary between microscopic and normal sized, depending upon my mood, lol).

When I opened up these two notebooks, the first thing that caught my attention was the fact that, behind the vinyl cover, there was a blank sheet of paper, which seemed to be a little bit heavier than that of the rest of the notebooks. One of my main qualms with transparent covers is the fact that anyone can see what's written on the first page of your notebooks, but with this one simple design innovation, that problem has been averted.

As for the paper, it's actually pretty decent quality. Is it the best I've seen? No... But it definitely stands head and shoulders above regular old notebook paper. Most of the pens (sans the rollerballs) did not bleed through, although there is a bit of show-through on anything with wet ink, so if you're a back of the page writer, this might not be for you unless you use pencils, ballpoints, or gel pens exclusively.

So, if you're placing an order at MyMaido.com, I would definitely consider adding these notebooks to your collection. The a5 weighs in at $8.00, and the b5 at $9.00, but I can say that they would probably be worth your money (son long as you're not fountain pen dependent).

Maruman Sept Couleur A5 Notebook at MyMaido.com Maruman Sept Couleur B5 Notebook at MyMaido.com 

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A New Beginning...

So, here we are, and here we be... Instead of going through Joomla, I ended up changing my mind and went to Tumblr. As of today, July 23, 2011, Pens'n'Paper will be published exclusively here. You can still visit our old articles back on Pens'n'Paper (http://daviswebtech.wordpress.com), but no new updates will be posted there.

So, I guess we'll see how this works out, so until the first "official" blog post...

Best Regards, Chris 

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WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?

I would love to visit Ireland sometime in the near future! Such a beautiful country...

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“In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write.”

-Pearl S. Buck