Wednesday - August 29, 2007

Oh, so that's how a collection starts. 

Two can be, oh, not yet. Two bits of chocolate. Two teaspoons of ice cream. But three. Three is definitely a collection. Three looks good in photographs. Three bits of chocolate and you must have the fourth. Two trips to the buffet table just means appetizers and entrees, but three includes dessert.

And now they are three. I have three Wahls, surprise surprise. One has been with me awhile; two arrived in the mail this week, delivering me from work evil.

A note on nib numbers: I have learned from hanging out in forums that the convention is the higher the number, the bigger the nib. Large nibs are a joy to see; I have dip pen nibs that are large for no functional reason, I think, not even to hold more ink, as a droplet more is perhaps just a letter M and an e. I think that's why I don't like hooded nibs. They might as well be ballpoints. Exposed nibs are sexier, and like the very good eye candy that they are, tend to draw you more deeply into the writing experience, simply because there's more of them to notice. Visual balance is important, however. A large nib on a medium-sized pen is awkward. A large nib on a tiny pen could work. A small nib on a large pen is just asking for trouble.