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| 5/25 |
| 2005/2/8-10 [Politics/Domestic/California, Science/Space] UID:36111 Activity:very high |
2/8 What's the best pen?
\_ bic round stick. just ask any writer or john stewart.
\_ jon
\_ they leak.
\_ they're acceptable sometimes. not very slick.
\_ uni-ball VISION, the micro version, blue.
\_ how often does this thing leave a blot?
\_ If you're not used to it, it can blot, and it depends on
your writing/drawing style, but I agree with pp that once
you're used to it, it's the best.
\_ Uni-Ball Vision black, biyotch!
\_ how are those Fisher Space Pens for general use?
\_ Impractical but cute; they write just fine. If you want really
stylish, go for a Graf von Faber Castell fountain pen. Never
blots, nice heft, real pleasure to write with. What are you
looking for? Drawing/drafting, writing, doodling? -John
\_ Just whatever. Not drawing/drafting. And uh, under $20.
\_ Ah. I like Lamy Vista rollerball pens with M62 super
plus 205 ink cartridges. http://www.lamy.de . -John
\_ a pen connoisseur! I have a Lamy 2000 fountain pen,
nothing else writes so smoothly - it's awesome!
\_ Well I just got it on a lark once when I bought
about 4 or 5 decent pens to try out. I still
think the F-C fountain pen my gf gave me blows away
all the Cross or other expensive pens I've ever
had by a mile. The really nice ones are at
http://www.graf-von-faber-castell.com although
<DEAD>faber-castell.com<DEAD> has really good quality pens too.
So does Caran d'Ache if you're into this sort of
thing -- http://www.carandache.ch . $$$ but
really worth it. -John
\_ Ever try a S.T. Dupont? If so, how's it compare
to the F-C? -nivra
\_ Not tried, seen. Dunno, go to an expensive
pen shop and try them all. If they balk at
letting you try out every pen in the place
before you blow $700 on a writing implement,
vote with your wallet. -John
\_ The Lamy Safari is worth taking a look at if you
want to try a fountain pen. Quite decent, sturdy,
costs $25 to $30. -pvg
\_ "During the space race back in the 1960's, NASA was faced with a
major problem. The astronaut needed a pen that would write in the
vacuum of space. NASA went to work. At a cost of $1.5 million
they developed the "Astronaut Pen". Some of you may remember. It
enjoyed minor success on the commercial market.
The Russians were faced with the same dilemma.
They used a pencil."
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp
\_ Pilot G5
\_ I'm not a pen connoisseur, but these days, I usually buy whatever
pen that uses gel ink.
\_ That doesn't smear right? I don't know if I've ever tried it.
It sounds like the hot ticket... no smear and water resistant.
\_ I mainly like it, because they write smoothly. -pp
\_ Why use pen anyway except for throw-away doodling?
\_ Lab notebooks have to be in pen.
\_ I love the Sensa, it actually uses the "Space Pen" refills
mentioned above. The plasium shell is great, it's very
comfortible, molds around your finger (ergonomic). Also
equally counter-balanced and looks way too cool! Had mine for
3 years, works like a charm, highly recommended!
\_ I thought people from China blowing off thousands for expensive
watches were dumb. Didn't know it's the same over here, just
that it's pens. |
| 5/25 |
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| www.graf-von-faber-castell.com FRAME: Startframe Graf von Faber-Castell |
| www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp Advertisement Claim: NASA spent millions of dollars developing an "astronaut pen" whi ch would work in outer space while the Soviets solved the same problem b y simply using pencils. There is a charming anecdote that roams from e-mail box to e-mail box aro und the world about how, at the height of the space race, the Americans and Soviets approached the same problem: how an astronaut (or cosmonaut) could use a pen to write in zero gravity. As the story goes, the Americans spent hundreds of thousands of dollars o n an ambitious, gravity-immune ballpoint pen; and this pen went on to become a massive commercial succes s in the private sector. The Soviets - with the simple elegance their sc ientists are so rightly famed for - opted instead to use a pencil. Origins: The Write stuff lesson of this anecdote is a valid one, that we sometimes exp end a great deal of time, effort, and money to create a "high-tech" solu tion to a problem, when a perfectly good, cheap, and simple solution is right before our eyes. The anecdote offered above isn't a real example o f this syndrome, however. Fisher did ultimately develop a pressurized pe n for use by NASA astronauts (now known as the famous "Fisher Space Pen" ), but both American and Soviet space missions initially used pencils, N ASA did not seek out Fisher and ask them to develop a "space pen," Fishe r did not charge NASA for the cost of developing the pen, and the Fisher pen was eventually used by both American and Soviet astronauts. Here's how Fisher themselves described it: NASA never asked Paul C Fisher to produce a pen. They could float into an eye or nose or cause a short in an electrical device. In addition, both the lead and the wood of the pencil could burn rapidly in the pure oxygen atmosphere. Paul Fis her realized the astronauts needed a safer and more dependable writing i nstrument, so in July 1965 he developed the pressurized ball pen, with i ts ink enclosed in a sealed, pressurized ink cartridge. Robert Gilruth, Director of the Houston Space Cente r The pens were all metal except for the ink, which had a flash point a bove 200C. They p assed all the tests and have been used ever since on all manned space fl ights, American and Russian. All research and developement costs were pa id by Paul Fisher. No development costs have ever been charged to the go vernment. Because of the fire in Apollo 1, in which three Astronauts died, NASA req uired a writing instrument that would not burn in a 100% oxygen atmosphe re. It also had to work in the extreme conditions of outer space: 1 In a vacuum. Robert Gilruth, Manager of the Houston S pace Center, where they were thoroughly tested and approved for use in S pace in September 1965. Lead pencils were used on all Mercury and Gemini space flights and all Ru ssian space flights prior to 1968. Fisher Space Pens are more dependable than lead pencils and cannot create the hazard of a broken piece of lea d floating through the gravity-less atmosphere. Sightings: This legend was mentioned in an episode of NBC's The West Wi ng TV series ("We Killed Yamamoto"; here to e-mail this page to a friend Urban Legends Reference Pages 1995-2005 by Barbara and David P Mikkelson This material may not be reproduced without permission Sources Sources: The Moscow Times. |