Captain’s Log

Recently, I’ve made a few additions which are tied to my previous entry on writing instruments. New pens and pencils for the first time in years.

On the pen side, two additions from Fisher: the shuttle style Space Pen and the Bullet. The former, mainly because it’s a little piece of American history. Thus, I was sorely tempted by the AG7, but had to settle on the SH4 since it’s meant for household use not collecting dust. There’s also the fact that I come from the age of the Space Shuttle program rather than the Apollo program. I’d also like to think it should lead to no more “Dang it, why are you out of ink!? It’s only been 15-20 years!” Which is what has left the Zebra F-301s as the last functional pens I had. The latter, because I was looking for a compact pen that’s suitable for pocket carry: for those of us who don’t want to carry a damn pen.

There are times I’m left wanting, like buying coffee at Sprouts Farmer’s Market and typically end up using my phone’s camera as a substitute for a pencil. Because Good Freaking Luck spotting where their pencil ended up! My idea anyway, is the bullet is small enough to toss in a pocket with my comb and AirPods, and forget about until actually needed. The cap creates a decent writing size when stuck on the back, and covered or sans cap, it’s about the size of the little pencils we used to use with a compass and household chores when I was a kid. Except you won’t stab yourself in the leg 😜.

For me, it’s kind of an amusing twist of sorts. The Zebras aren’t expensive, they were probably $3.50 to $4 for the pair when I bought them in the grocery store some years back. At the most! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them for nearly half that in my lifetime. Presently, the same model is around $6 – $7 on Amazon for a pair. More if you want a 4-pack. The Bullet on the other hand was $30 and it’s for a role where realistically, it can get lost or stolen. When I was a kid, asking my mom for a pair of F-301s was in that category “You better not lose or break the damn thing.” Needless to say, we had a lot of disposable pens and very few refillable ones when I was a child. Suffice it to say, the Fishers are beyond what I’d ever imagined paying for a pen without taking up drawing comics or calligraphy as a hobby.

Yes, I am fundamentally a cheapskate at heart. But, I also learned that if you are going to solve a problem: then solve it so it doesn’t come back again. Realistically, I expect the refillable pens to outlive me, provided that I don’t use them as an emergency crowbar and that cartridges remain available.

Now, enter the one that gives me glee: Uni’s Kuru Toga Elite. This is the first good mechanical pencil I’ve ever bought myself, and the second mechanical pencil I’ve ever had that has any concept of quality. I was able to get one with replacement leads and erasers on sale for the price of the pencil. I’m pretty sure that my younger self would’ve had a stiffy at that. Compared to the SharpWriters I’ve had to make do with, it’s a joy to use. Hell, it even rotates the lead to wear level the tip!

Mechanical pencils are hardly a new thing. They’ve existed for at least two or three hundred years, and the old Eversharps became a thing around the time my grandparents were born. By the time I was a teenager, they weren’t quite the same scale as free pens but still quite common everyday items. As an adult, I generally found mechanical pencils to be ubiquitous. Although the good quality professional grade sort, tend to be far rarer outside of engineering fields. I’d classify the Kuru Toga in that scope.

I’ve always found mechanical pencils a tad fascinating. Partly, because I’ve rarely had the opportunity to use or enjoy writing with them. Since they’re fidget-able like clicking a ballpoint, I was promptly barred from using our scant few mechanicals when I was like 4 years old or something like that. Thus, by the time I was responsible enough to be trusted with such a writing instrument, and you know, could actually write, the only real resource was ye’ ol’ pencil.

If someone had given me one of these Kuru Toga during the peak of my handwriting, i.e., my teens, I would probably have leapt for joy and hoarded the pencil leads.

ありがとう、ユニ。素晴らしい製品を作ってくれました！

Given two new additions, I’m not sure if I’ve inadvertently started a collection or I’m just now well stocked.

The knives on the left are ones I’ve had a long time. The little Wenger used to ride my keychain as a spare, something that I purchased as a replacement for one of my dad’s that unfortunately made a trip to an airport in the 2010s. The smaller Gerber STL became my “Kitchen knife, utility” and letter opener about ten years ago. You can safely say, I’m not a scissors kind of guy. I received the Ozark Trail as a gift from someone at my old job, it rode my belt for quite a few years until becoming my goto for household use. I used to carry a Leatherman Juice S2 multitool as my EDC, but after it disappeared about 3 years back, I went with the green Leatherman T4 as a replacement.

In the middle are two knifes that I bought for Christmas. A larger Gerber STL to replace its little brother, because I always wished that dainty little knife was bigger and it’s held up superbly. The Gerber Paraframe was selected because of how well the little STL 2.0 held up despite being disposable cheap. It was mainly intended to either replace the Ozark as my “Knife, Household Utility” or the Leatherman as my daily pocket knife. Since Christmas, it’s done the latter. Doesn’t really do it for me, but nothing wrong with it either.

The new additions are the two knives on the right side: a Civivi Praxis and a CKRT Squid XM. The Praxis was selected for two reasons: that I really like the larger size of the Ozark Trail, and that I personally find the Paraframe hard to open one handed. Another reason is that I’ve never had a “Flipper.” Having grown up in an age where thumb-nicks, pocket knives like my dad’s Schrade slip-joints, and ye-ol’ Swiss Army Knife were still popular designs, I was always rather content with the newer frame/liner locks, which have probably been around as long as I have. The Squid, I bought because the original model interested me, but like the Gerber’s would just be a bit too small for my hands. The newer assisted model is larger, solving all of those concerns. I’m still tempted to pick up one of the originals, since those are cheap.

Based on initial impressions, these are looking like good additions. They fit the metric where I rather prefer the larger size and solve the qualms that I have about the paraframe. I’m pretty sure the full sized Praxis has the perfect hand grip of the lot, and the Squid is probably the perfect size for me. Neither is as cheap as the others, but still in the realm of buy a new one instead of crying over it. I’ve never believed in crazy-expensive blades, especially ones that may get lost or sacrificed in an emergency.

Ironically of all the existing ones, my favorite all these years has been the Ozark Trail with the tan handle. It’s the one I would be saddened if it were destroyed or damaged. I think they were like $14 a pop when Clay bought them at Wally World, but they were like the best cheap ass find ever. Most went to his folks in the production department, those working more closely with hardware and shipping. I was lucky enough to be included despite being a software engineer, it was a great gift. On one hand, there’s sentimental value. Basically the highest aside from my dad’s, most of which are purely keepsakes now. On the other…it’s just been so damned useful!

When it’s come to needing a knife for odds and ends at home, it’s usually been the first reach for anything outside of cooking. In my apartment, it took up a position on the counter outside my kitchen for quick access. In my current home, I’ve kept it in the hallway near the kitchen, so that it’s always handy when I’ve needed a blade. My only complaint is it’s been so handy for household use since I moved, that I ended up not carrying it anymore. The Leatherman T4 has a much better blade than my old Juice S2 had, but is a jack of all trades and master of none when you really need to cut things.

At this point however, I think I now have enough knives that any of them can be rotated for regular carry. The larger ones, should be suitable for home use as well. When shopping for Christmas, my thinking was either of the new Gerber knives might replace the Ozard for household needs, or at least make a passable one for regular carry since I’ve never really liked the T4. Guess we’ll see how that plays out :).