This has to be one of the most unique pen designs we’ve seen in quite a while, so we wanted to share it with our readers and find out whether anyone would actually use it. In short, it’s an interchangeable ballpoint/fountain pen/mechanical pencil/digital pen with a built-in torch, music player and Bluetooth transmitter.
Tony Bridges
A review of the classic Pilot H-1010 ‘The Shaker’ pencil
I have had a variety of vintage pencils in the locker but have refrained from using any of these at the office as I do not want to lose them or they are getting a little fragile. As a result, over the past couple of years, my workplace pen has been the standard HB pencil or a disposable plastic make. About a year ago, the manager came back from New York with a fistful of Pilot H1010 ‘The Shaker’ pencils that he had picked up at a very reasonable price. Dropping one on each desk with the instruction “Use these, they are great” he walked away leaving us all a bit bemused.
Totally Random Pen Stuff 3
Totally Random Pen Stuff 3 is a round-up of interesting pen related blog posts that we have recently come across.
A New Life for Old Sharpie Pens
American fans of Sharpie pens and recycling have an option to do some good with their used pens – send them in to be recycled and earn 2 cents per pen for a charity of your choice.
Newell Rubbermaid, the company that owns Sharpie, Paper Mate pens and Expo markers, is working with recycler TerraCycle to run the program. The way it works is this:
You form a group – the company calls it joining the “Writing Instrument Brigade – at work or school and register with TerraCycle. When you sign up, you’ll need to designate a charity or school to receive the money. Then, you collect the pens and markers and send them to TerraCycle using a pre-paid shipping form. The company will break them down for reuse into anything from flower pots to shopping bags and pay the charity you selected.
Newhaven has Competition for Parker Pen Archives
The town of Janesville, Wisconsin is speaking up about the future of the Parker Pen archives.
You might remember we mentioned last month that the iconic pen company was closing down its Newhaven manufacturing plant and shifting everything to France. Pen collector Tony Fischier, who runs ParkerCollector.com, has launched an online petition to keep the company’s extensive archives of pen designs and classic Parker writing instruments in Newhaven.