Three Questions With Patrick Rhone

To know Patrick Rhone is to love him. I'm a big fan of all of his work, from Minimal Mac, to The Cramped, to his many books. Did you know Patrick is one of the reasons the Pen Addict Podcast exists? Yep, that too. My thanks to Patrick for taking the time to answer Three Questions.

1. What role do analog tools such as pens, pencils, and paper play in your day to day life?

That's like asking me what role does walking play in my day to day life. I mean, I find that rarely a few minutes go by when I'm not interacting with some analog tool or resource. Be it writing notes, changing the status of items on a task list, reading a book (yes, the dead tree kind), or logging something in my daily log. I just simply love paper and use paper and pen constantly. I always have it within reach. Even when I'm sleeping because I have had whole books reveal themselves in dreams and I need to make sure I can capture those when I'm startled awake by them.

2. What are your favorite products you are currently using?

Gosh, not sure where to start. Here are a few:

I'm really loving the Pilot Metropolitan right now. I have a ton of fountain pens at all price and quality levels but find I use this one mainly these days. It's not only a great "starter" fountain pen it is a reliable and steadfast "every day" pen.

I also have pretty much abandoned all other pocket notebooks in favor of the Muji A6 Craft Cover notebooks. They actually take fountain pen ink very well despite the fact the paper is recycled. I use fine nibs as my handwriting is pretty small so your millage here may vary. But, I have also fallen in love with the A6 as a size. I have found that it is the perfect size of notebook for me — a bit more wide than the US standard. This is likely due to my love of...

The Hobonichi Techo that I use as a Journal and Daily Log. This has become my most prized possession. Like, if the house caught fire I'd grab my wife, my kid, my pets, and this thing and go running out the door still in my underwear and watch the rest of it burn to the ground (the fire would keep me warm so who needs clothes, right?). It is the only journal or log that I have continuously maintained for more than a few months. And, thats because it is a joy and pleasure to use. Especially the Tomoe River paper that it is filled with.

Speaking of Tomoe River paper, I'm currently researching and writing my next book in a Seven Seas "WRITER" A5 Journal from Nanami Paper and Supply. I also got the faux leather cover for mine at the same time. It, also, is a pleasure to write in with a fine pen and gives the work a greater elegance and gravity. Makes my writing feel important even if it is not.

3. What post are you the most proud of on your blog?

Actually, on The Cramped it is a post that I felt was more of a manifesto so I made it a page, Why Analog?

It states, definitively, why I use analog tools, why they still matter, and why they remain better than digital for so many reasons.

Three Questions With Thomas Hall

King of the Enablers. That is all you need to know about Thomas. Well, you also need to know he is one of the nicest and most generous people you could ever hope to meet. He has taught me more about fountain pens than I could have ever hoped to learn on my own. My thanks to Thomas for answering Three Questions.

1. What role do analog tools such as pens, pencils, and paper play in your day to day life?

There was a point in time when I tried to go completely digital with all of my tools. But now I have returned to a good balance between analog and digital. For both work and personal use, I take notes, draw initial versions of diagrams, and do all of my brainstorming and planning using pens and paper. I transfer things into digital format only when it makes sense to. I find that this helps me focus more, and I get a lot of satisfaction and joy from using them. Even something mundane like taking notes feels more creative when I'm using a direct system like pen and paper.

On a creative front, I often outline and write drafts of my blog posts using pen and paper as well. I also have aspirations of getting back into drawing and watercolor again. Maybe even calligraphy (both western and Chinese brush).

But don't try to take away my mobile devices away from me, though. Both analog and digital tools coexist in my life.

2. What are your favorite products you are currently using?

On the stationery front, I've pretty much settled into a good groove. For quick notes, I keep Nock Co. DotDash Note Cards (Dusty Blue) and a TWSBI Diamond 540/580 filled with Pilot Blue Black ink in a Nock Co. Fodderstack.

Other pens are carried in either a Nock Co. Lookout or one of the many EXB Pen Wraps I own. Usually, I'm carrying an Edison Double-Ended Pearl, Newton Shinobi, and one of my many Pilot or Danitrio pens. Unless the pen has a Japanese nib, most of my pens are custom ground to 0.2mm (Japanese EF) or 0.4mm Cursive Italic by Michael Masuyama or Shawn Newton.

If I could only choose one ink, it would be Pilot Blue Black. Favorite ink brands include Pilot, Sailor, Diamine, and R&K. I use the Levenger Circa system for my notes, as I appreciate the flexibility of the system to reorder pages, remove pages for writing, and even use different size paper in the same notebook. I create my own templates using HP 32 lb. Premium Laser paper or use the Rhodia refills they have. All my letters are written on Rhodia DotPad paper, and stamped with my chop.

On the technology side, I'm usually carrying an iPhone, iPad, and an Android phone. My MacBook Air comes along when needed. I'm looking forward to receiving my TextBlade to see if I can primarily use my iPad on the go.

All of this is carried in one of my Tom Bihn bags. I carry a (now discontinued) Buzz bag to work. If I'm on the go, I'm carrying a Small Cafe Bag or Ristretto for iPad. Using Small Organizer Pouches, I can swap contents between bags quickly without having to individually remove items.

3. What pen are you the most proud you enabled me to purchase?

This "enabler" title should be yours alone. My original goal was to try help educate people by sharing knowledge and sometimes even letting people borrow pens so they can make informed decisions before purchasing. Somehow, that clearly backfired with you, as it seems you've bought the majority of pens you borrowed! :)

You would think I would say I'm most proud of the Pilot Custom Heritage 912 PO. Or any of the Edisons. Or one of the many pens from the big three Japanese pen companies. Or Pelikan. But there is one specific pen I'm most happy that you purchased. Even though it's only been just over 2 years since your first Fountain Pen Education post, I honestly think I'm most proud of you for purchasing your first Nakaya pen.

Is this because I think you choose an excellent color in the Ao Tamenuri? Or because it's an expensive pen? Or it's Japanese, which are arguably my favorite? None of the above. It's because you broke through a mental barrier of worrying about damaging an expensive pen. Now you just use them. This is what we all should do with our pens. They're meant to be used and loved, not just collected.

Then again, there will always be that next pen. The one you don't even know about yet that I will convince you to purchase. So the Nakaya is my answer. For now...

Three Questions With Harry Marks

Harry Marks takes the written word seriously, as you can tell by his writing at Curious Rat, and with Covered, his podcast described as a “conversation about books with the people who write them.” My thanks to Harry for answering Three Questions.

1. What role do analog tools such as pens, pencils, and paper play in your day to day life?

I view analog tools as life preservers on a digital current. There are new social networks and services popping up every day and whenever one starts to gain traction, I think, Is this necessary? Is it useful to me? More and more, I find myself immediately answering, “No.” My notebook will never be bought by Google. My pen doesn’t need VC funding to keep running. My typewriter doesn’t have to worry about being “the Uber of words.” I’m simplifying my life with analog tools. Simple is good. I hope to increase my use of analog tools this year by hand-writing more letters to friends and keeping correspondence via post instead of email or Twitter.

2. What are your favorite products you are currently using?

Right now, I use a Midori Traveler’s Notebook as my reading journal and general keeper of random notes (which are kept nice and even thanks to line guides from The Well-Appointed Desk). I like to transcribe passages from books I’m currently reading that I find particularly beautiful or resonate with me. My pen of choice is the 0.3mm Pilot Hi-Tec-C, which I used to write the entire first draft of my last novel. I wrote the book in a large Moleskine notebook, but I’ve got a brand new Baron Fig Confidant on my desk just waiting for my next one. I’m hoping to get into Tomoe River Paper soon - there’s a small online shop that makes Traveler’s Notebook-compatible Tomoe notebooks. When I’m not writing my fiction by hand, I’m drafting it on my trusty Smith-Corona typewriter from the 1950s. I love that beast of a machine.

3. What post are you the most proud of on your blog?

My essay on the 2014 BookCon is the post of which I’m proudest. The cohost of one of my favorite podcasts, Books on the Nightstand, read it and tweeted back to me, "LOVE your post; full of awesomeness. If that's any indication of your novel in progress, close your twitter and get to work!” which is exactly what I did. The kicker? She’s a sales person for Random House, so she reads A LOT of books and her compliment carries a lot of weight for me. Ever since I moved away from reporting on tech and focusing more on books and writing, I’ve become happier with the quality of the content I share, as well as the writing I post to the site.