| by Gil Kinnunen |
January, 2001
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Pen Ultimate Tools
There is great satisfaction in building good tools for other people to use.
Freeman Dyson in Disturbing the Universe (1979, 2001)
IN THE NEW FILM, Finding Forrester, reclusive author William Forrester is introducing to his serendipitous 16-year-old protégé, Jamal, the tools of the writing trade. The computer-savvy Jamal isn't quite sure what to do with the archaic manual typewriter keyboard beneath his fingers. Forrester tells him to begin typing, and Jamal responds with the soft touch given to electronic keyboards. Forrester hears this from the next room and demands that he strike the keys with more assertion. Jamal does so, and Forrester accepts Jamal's second effort.
Hand-held writing tools also play an important role in this film. Jamal uses a pen, while William seems to prefer a pencil, which he sharpens with six-inch knife blade, or a red pen for editing. As I watched the movie, I got to thinking about my father and my high school typing and shorthand teacher and their approaches to the technology of writing. My father always used a No. 2 yellow pencil, which he sharpened with the jackknife he always kept in his pocket. I remember discovering a mechanical pencil that looked just like a No. 2 yellow. It was made of plastic, and the lead automatically came out; so it didn't need sharpening. I bought one and gave it to my father. He tried it out and thought it was pretty clever. But he didn't like the idea of plastic made to look like wood, and he said it seemed unnatural to write with a pencil that didn't get shorter as you used it. I think he missed the interaction of his pocket knife and his writing instrument. So he never used my high-tech, labor-saving, disposable tool; but he kept it next to his standard No. 2s, knowing that I would use it when I came to visit.
My high school typing and shorthand teacher, Lois Gray, admonished us students to remove the caps from our ballpoint pens and set them aside before attempting to write. She believed that leaving the cap on a pen affected the balance and impeded the natural flow of writing. Pens have changed over the years, but this ingrained behavior hasn't. I sometimes think I should send Lois Gray a bill for all the pen and marker caps that I have lost or misplaced over the years.
Natalie Goldberg argues that our tools affect the way we form our thoughts. In Writing Down the Bones, she begins with choosing the right pen. "It should be a fast-writing pen," she says, "because your thoughts are always much faster than your hand. A ballpoint, a pencil, a felt tip, for sure, are slow. Go to a stationery store and see what feels good to you. Try out different kinds. . . . You want to be able to feel the connection and texture of the pen on paper." She uses a cheap fountain pen with replaceable cartridges. She says they sometimes leak, but they're fast and more controllable than roller points.
I've spent a lot of time in stationery and office supply stores-plus catalogs and Web sites-looking for the right writing tools. Others must be doing that, too, because there seem to be more choices every month. I would like to know what William Forrester, Lois Gray, Natalie Goldberg, and my father would think about this assortment of pens and pencils:
A Ph.D. from Sanford
Sanford Corporation in Illinois manufactures the Ph.D. Mechanical Pencil- The
Highest Degree of Writing Comfort. About the size and shape of a Corona cigar,
it has a retractable eraser about the size of a half-spent cigarette, and an
ergonomically designed triangular rubber finger grip that "reduces required
gripping pressure by increasing the hand to grip contact surface." Sanford maintains
that a round grip only allows 46% hand to grip contact, while its triangular
design allows 67% hand to grip contact, thus reducing the amount of gripping
power needed. The result is less fatigue and more comfort and control. I bought
one a couple of years ago, and it's still my pencil of choice. And the leads
can be replenished.
Ergonomic Choices
Ergonomic Products in Houston, Texas, has created two pens that are even more
revolutionary in ergonomic design than the Sanford Ph.D. The Ring Pen has a
hole in the middle of the barrel where you insert your index finger. No more
bumps or blisters on your middle finger; no more tendon swelling, finger numbness,
or muscle tension. You no longer need to squeeze the pen when you are writing,
because the pen is now an extension of your index finger. It sells for $9, and
you can buy refill cartridges. The Houston company also manufactures another
unique writing device, the evo.pen ("evo-lutionary"), "the first viable alternative
to the stick pen." The short, squat pen is designed to be held between your
thumb and index finger; and works especially well for people with arthritis,
carpal tunnel syndrome, radial nerve damage, hand dystonia, and writer's cramp.
Should you be interested in the Ring Pen or the evo.pen, visit the company's
Web site at www.ergopro.com.
Get a Grip
Is it possible to ergonomically adapt existing pens and pencils? Of course.
Duct tape is one solution. Simply wrap several layers of tape around the part
of your pencil that you grip. If you want something a bit more stylish and more
carefully designed from an ergonomic standpoint, invest $1.79 (plus shipping)
on The Pencil Grip, a sleeve made of custom synthetic rubber that slips over
the barrel of your pencil or pen. By design, the increased surface area and
proper angling for both right-handed and left-handed users allows one to write
smoother, longer, and with less pain. To find out more, check www.thepencilgrip.com.
Spaced Out
Back in 1965, Paul Fisher and his associates invented a pressurized space pen
that NASA tested and consequently used on all its manned space flights. With
its sealed, pressurized ink cartridge, the Fisher Space Pen the only type of
pen that writes "a smooth, reliable line" upside down, under water, in temperatures
below -30o F. and above 300o F., over most grease, and in the gravity-free vacuum
of space. It's very compact, and you have to put the cap on the other end to
hold it comfortably. Sorry, Lois, but that's the way it is.
Message and Massage
If you use the Fisher Space Pen in all the environments for which it is designed,
you will probably need the Acura J-Mo to help you recover. On one end, it's
a ballpoint pen without a removable cap; just twist the barrel and out comes
the point. On the other end, it's a massage ball. In the middle is a tiny battery
to activate the massage ball when you press it against one of your body's pressure
points (defined in the illustrated instruction leaflet). With patents from five
countries, this pen is designed to help you get rid of headaches, sinus problems,
back aches, neck pain, and eyestrain tension due to stress (from excessive writing?)
BMW of Pens
If money is no object for an ergonomic writing instrument, consider a Sensa
by Willat pen or pencil. made by Sensa. Winner of the Silver Industrial Design
Award, these writing instruments present "perfect ergonomic balance of 52% front
tilt and 48% rear tilt" and feature a Plasmium displacement grip that "warms
to your touch and responds to the slightest pressure of your fingers for the
ultimate in writing pleasure." The pen case even serves as a pen reset and business
card holder. And the pen cartridge made by Fisher will function under water,
over grease, in zero gravity, upside down, and in temperatures from 150o to
minus 40o F. Expect to pay a minimum of $50 each for pen and pencil, and the
price goes up to $295 if you elect 24k gold vermeil, "worthy of the most discerning
tastes." Check www.sensa.com.
If you want to learn more about the development of writing tools (which sheds light on creation of other performance tools), consider these books: