Introduction

In my previous post from 2024 I described my lifelong struggle to decide what to write with. I have successfully left the watch hobby and maybe now I can leave this one too.

What I Use Now

For personal writing I’ve always chosen pencils because I like the feel of the feedback, but I struggle to decide on using very soft or hard grade graphite as well as choosing a wooden or mechanical body. I never really write anything outside so portability doesn’t really matter. I think there is a more consistent line and experience using mechanical pencils like the Rotring 600 or the Pentel Graph 1000 for Pro. But the inconsistency of the Mitsubishi Hi Uni, Mitsubishi Penmanship Pencil, and Faber Castell 9000 series is also the thing that makes them fun to write with. There has been a resurgence of American wooden pencils that are light but soft but I’ve never got into them because they never sharpen as well using a generic sharpener and I’d rather use something else if I have to sharpen often.

Considerations

I think what I’m going to try now is to get through the last Penmanship and Faber Castell pencil and then start using the Rotring or Pentel pencil for a while. I still have a bunch of 2H Hi Uni Pencils that I will just leave for a while. I also have a Faber Castell traditional oil ballpoint pen which I think takes hybrid ballpoint refills and a Pilot Acro. I leave the Pilot Acro by the door because I usually wear it with a sport coat and the Faber Castell was purchased as a potential writing instrument that replaced everything I used at home, but I’ve always come back to using graphite without fail. I’ve also luckily never gotten into using fountain pens but I think the ones with more feedback are still not as satisfying to use as pencils.

Notebooks

One advantage to using graphite is that the paper doesn’t really matter because there isn’t a huge concern for bleed through. I’m almost finished with Mnemosyne 195 and I have some old Midori and Kyokuto notebooks that I can use next. I have still banned myself from trying to buy more notebooks but If I had to buy more I think I would just buy Rhodia notebooks because I still think they are still the best value for the money.

Writing Style

I used to write in bullets in these journals, but I’ve completely switched over to writing normally and using as much space as possible. I don’t really know if I’m actually journaling because sometimes I write about topics that have nothing to do with myself. I am definitely not the most consistent writer. Sometimes I write every few days and other times I miss a few weeks or a month. I want to slot in time to write in the morning and the afternoon starting today. I think because work is so terrible right now it’s a great time to start. If I can do this right now I can probably do this indefinitely.