Guest post series - 'Filohax' No. 10 - Paul

Thanks very much again to Paul for this tenth instalment of his wonderful guest post series. You can find all of the 'Filofhax' posts here.

Flatability's Filofax pen hack

Neil from Flatability has done it again with his latest innovation - housing a collection of pens in the body of a Filofax by utilising the often redundant credit card pockets. His hack appealed to me, as I never really used the credit card slots in my Cavendish so gave it a try, slitting the pocket fabric with a craft knife to allow the pens to fill the depth of one pocket. 

So far so good, I'm not longer restricted to the two pens, I can now accommodate six or even seven within the binder rather than having to fish about in bags etc. If you're not too squeamish about cutting your Filofax; why not give it a try? 

 

Thanks to Neil for kindly sharing another of his innovations, check out his video here.

Pens

Last Sunday on the Skype Round-table/Virtual Meet Up call we had quite a serious discussion about pens and what each of us used. 

Reflecting on the discussion after the call finished it occurred to me that what writing instrument you use on a daily basis is quite a serious business when considering what to use. 

There are so many types these days, and at all price points from budget right through to luxury pens. 

What is your pen (or pencil) of choice to use in your organiser? 

Current writing instruments?

The right pens and the right paper come together in harmony to make the perfect organiser experience. Although some people prefer to use pencil instead of or as well as pens in their organisers. 

I recently rediscovered my technical drawing pens in a cupboard whilst looking for something else. They are very nice to use, but not for casual use in an organiser!

This year I've gone back to using a Pilot Frixion Slim pen for my daily use, although I keep a Uni-ball Vision Elite 0.5 pen and my Pentel mechanical pencil to hand as well. 

I still use a fountain pen in my daily journal.

What are you using to write in your organiser?

William Hannah Limited - Pen Loop Accessory.

Back in April we reviewed the William Hannah Limited leather notebook/planner and some of you commented about the lack of a pen loop.

A pen loop is now available as an accessory to purchase from the website. The pen loop is priced at £8.00 plus shipping.

Now a lot of companies would just pop the pen loop in a jiffy bag and post it to you.... not very exciting to receive? Well you might recall in the review how much I was impressed with the presentation of the actual notebook in its box and the way it was presented, well the pen loop doesn't disappoint at all.

I opened the stiff card mailer and this is what I received:

Turning the small card over there are clear instructions.

So I carefully undid the nut and removed the pen loop from the card. And there are very detailed and very well thought out instructions.

So I followed them to the letter. My black and royal blue leather notebook now sports an elasticated pen loop, here with my Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen.

The pen loop is available in five colours, you don't have to go for the same colour as your notebook, you could get the pen loop in a contrasting colour.

Thank you to William Hannah Limited for supplying this sample of the pen loop.

And to finish off there is now a William Hannah Facebook User Group for anyone to join.

Out for Repairs by Nan

A while back, inspired by the colorful, decorated organizers I've seen in blogs and Facebook groups, I decided to switch from a .05 pen in black or blue ink to bold, .07 pens in a variety of colors. I was happy with my choice of pen (Pentel EnerGel), but the pen loop on my Cuban Filo wasn't. The new pens were a bit too thick for the loop.

Instead of doing the wise thing and using Kent from Oz's method for stretching a pen loop, I just forced the pen in and out, thinking the loop would stretch with wear. Instead, it was the threads attaching the loop to the cover that gave way:

I thought it would be a pretty simple job to have a cobbler reattach the loop and make it bigger. I brought my Filo, and an example of the type of pen I use, to my local show repair shop. I thought they could add some elastic to the loop so it could hold thicker pens, but after some testing they found that the rubber grip on the pen would snag on the elastic. They said they could attach extra leather to the loop and dye it to match, but since they would be stitching it by hand, they couldn't match the original machine stitching. They were also concerned that the job would be expensive, but I assured them more than once that I was willing to pay for quality handwork.

They did the job in just about a week, and it came in $5 under the estimated cost at $25.

The original part of the loop is at left, the added leather at right

The pen fits comfortably

Without the proper equipment, my local cobbler couldn't roll the edge of the leather and stitch through multiple layers, so the raw edge of the leather is dyed to match

All in all, I'm happy with the job. For a small repair like a pen loop, I recommend giving your local artisans some business!

Pen and Paper Test

I've just swapped over from using the Filofax Time Management Week View insert to the Ray and Steve Enhanced TM Week View insert (must come up with a new name!)

In fact I created a version 2 of the insert with a little bit more room between the lines and some other tweaks to the format. You will see the links to the new version on the post and in the Diary Inserts page.

Having got unused pages of both formats I decided to do a very quick and simple pen test on both pages. I had printed the Enhanced TM insert on some A5 paper I bought in UK from my local Ryman stationery store. It is made by Mondi, 80 gsm and it says for Laser, inkjet printers and copiers, so nothing very special.  I bought a 500 sheet pack, so enough to keep me going quite a while!

So here are the two pages side by side Filofax on the left, 'Steve and Ray' on the right:

and the reverse side:

And here's the stack of pens I used:

It might not be so obvious from the pictures... but here are my findings.

On both pages the CD markers bleed through quite obviously, they are a spirit based felt pen designed for writing on the shiny surface of a CD/DVD, so they will leak through paper easily.  But the Filofax paper seems worse than the Mondi.

Next worst is the Pilot V5 Hi Techpoint this shows bleed through on the Filofax paper, but not on the Mondi paper.

There is some very very faint bleed through on the Filofax paper on the Pilot G1 Grip rollerball.

On the Filofax paper the first four pens are very very faintly showing through the paper, I wouldn't class it as bleed through, it is just the paper thickness really. The 0.5 Frixion is very hard to see through the paper on both samples.

So if anything if you are considering printing your own inserts, try to get a sample of the paper first and try as many different pens as you are likely to use before buying a large pack of the paper.

Reader Question: Filofax paper, which pen?

We have frequently seen comments about the (poor) quality of Filofax white paper, particularly how it doesn't like fountain pen ink. The Filofax cotton cream paper seems a lot better and higher quality.

So a reader asked me this week. 'Which gel pens or rollerball pens work with ordinary Filofax paper? I can't use cotton cream paper as they don't sell A5 diary inserts in A5 size'

The later point is true, they don't do cotton cream in A5, shame really. So which gel pens and roller ball pens work with ordinary Filofax paper? And I suppose which ones fit the pen loop should also be taken in to consideration.

As a supplementary question I was wondering what paper people use if they print their own inserts? 

Pen Loop Compatible Pens

I wrote recently about finding a suitable pen for my Maldens and I bought the Pilot Slim Frixion, which is a nice slim pen, but it isn't the cheapest of pens.

I think it was Jotje that mentioned on Twitter that the 0.5mm Frixions fit the pen loop. Looking at the 'Back to School' stationary I came across a pack of 4 0.5mm Frixions in black, blue and red for €4 bargain I thought.

They fit the pen loop quite snugly, but at first I wasn't keen on the 0.5 mm size, a little thin for my style of writing. But all is not lost, by unscrewing the pen I was able to swap the refill for a standard 0.7mm size and they fit perfectly.

I have found I prefer these modified 0.5 mm Frixions to my original Frixion slim, because there is a rubberised grip which is easier to hold.

Having found a great solution to pen in Malden pen loop problem! I went back in to the store the next day and bought another pack of 4 0.5mm Frixions and some 0.7mm black refills. That should keep me going for a while.

Multi Pens For Your Filofax

If like me you have recently tried going to just one Filofax. Or you are downsizing from an A5 to Personal or from any Filofax with two pen loops to one with only one pen loop. Then you might run in to the same problem I did. I like to enter future appointments in pencil and record past events in ink.

I'm not a big pen buff like some of you so I don't know the difference between the various makes and types etc. But at someone's suggestion I took a look at 'Multi Pens'. I had come across these before, but I didn't realise you could get some that were a combination of a pen and pencil, or multiple pens and a pencil.

My other concern was the diameter of the pen barrel, so that it would fit my Malden.  So I made an enquiry with 'Cult Pens' in UK and Michael Randall of Cultpens really came up trumps with some suggestions.

The Tombow Zoom 414 is one of my favourites, and is 9.5mm at its widest point.  It has a pencil and two standard 'D1' multipen refills, which can take anything here:
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/D1-Multipen-Refills.html
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Tombow_Zoom_414_Multipen.html


Zebra's Sharbo Diary Pen may be a bit too thin, at 7-8mm:
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Zebra_Sharbo.html

Lamy have a couple of options, too, that would be worth looking at:
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Lamy-cp1-multipen.html
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Lamy-st-multipen.html

Pelikan and Ohto both sell almost the same multipen, presumably both made by Ohto, which are 9mm diameter:
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pelikan-Multi-4x1.html
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/OHTO-Multi-Slim-4.html

It's worth noting that the Ohto version can only take Ohto's refills - standard D1 refills are too wide at the tip.

Thank you Michael for these suggestions.

It had also been suggested to me to take a look at the Pilot Frixion series of erasable gel pens. These are a clever ink pen that using friction from the tip of the pen it erases the writing without damaging the paper and without leaving behind any eraser dust.

I bought one of their standard range a few weeks ago to try it out in my Filofax and I've been very pleased with it.

There is a Frixion Slim version, This has an 8mm diameter barrel, which does fit a Filofax pen loop. These will also take refills as well.

What pen do you use with your Filofax?

Guest Post - I'm all of a Quiver - Butanben

I am all of a Quiver!!!

Having recently downsized in weight from an A5 red Graphic Zipped Filofax, to a lighter plain brown A5 Graphic, one problem soon emerged, and that was, that although my new Graphic had two pen holders, they would not accommodate two Frixion pens and still let the front popper close. Two pens are a vital requirement for me, as work stuff is written in my diary in blue Frixion pen and social/ family events in pink. For those of you not aware of the wonders of Frixion, it is a gel pen which rubs out and which is possible to re- write over. Utterly useful when using a Filofax to record and amend appointments. I was loathe to give up my new Filofax, or the beautifully coloured pens.

After some investigating and searching via Google, I came across a solution to my problem; Quiver pen holders. They are beautifully made, hand- crafted in the softest leather and come in shades of light tan and black. Quite frankly they are a work of art and just lovely. Originally, they were designed for Moleskine notebooks, and come as a single pen holder, or a double, and are available in both small and large sizes.The single is more expensive, as it has a double elastic strap, to fit over the front and back of a notebook, and thus more workmanship.

The double is the one which can easily slot over a Filofax type binder. The large double photographed here, fits beautifully over my A5 Graphic, and consists of a leather pouch sewn onto an elasticated belt to hold the Quiver in place. It is extraordinarily strong, incredibly easy to fit, beautiful to look at and functional. It will last for years, and is designed to do so. The width on the large Quiver is 4.5cm and so you require that gap between your card holder pockets in the inside front of your Filofax and the binder ring holder for it to be able to fit.

The cost of my Quiver pen holder worked out at a reasonable £10, however, the postage from the USA added on another £8, making it a fairly expensive product; but I think well worth the investment. It makes my Filofax much easier to use and it looks extraordinarily elegant. The company has sold Quivers to some of the Hollywood elite, including Oprah Winfrey, who apparently has been seen sporting one on her research notebook. It is also possible to purchase Moleskine/Quiver packages from the company direct.

The customer support team were incredibly helpful and I cannot praise them highly enough. They pride themselves on what is a quality product and when my first tan Quiver arrived with loose stitching, not only were they genuinely apologetic at the rarity of a fault, and had it replaced by mail within the week, but a second black Quiver was sent with their compliments, free of charge, to cover my inconvenience. An extraordinarily high standard of service. Cue the perfect excuse for the instant purchase of a second Graphic A5 in black, when I spotted it at a reduced price!!

This is just a superb product for Filofax or Moleskine notebook fans, and I feel so elated at having made such a useful discovery, that I wanted to share it here on Philofaxy.

Wonder if any other Philofaxers will be all of a Quiver before too long?

8 ink colors in one Filofax!

Because my A5 Domino has two pen holders, I can put both my Bic 4-color pens in the original colors (black/ red/ blue/ green) and the fashion colors (purple/ pink/ turquoise/ bright green) in my Filofax! The color-coding combinations are endless!

And yes I do realize what a huge geek I am! ;)

Miniature 4 colour pen

So imagine my surprise and delight when in my Christmas cracker today, out fell this miniature 4 colour pen. In the photo the larger one is a regular size one, the small one will be ideal for a Pocket or Mini Filofax of course.

I was reading Laurie's post recently on Plannerisms about the Bic 4 colour pens and how she uses them on her planner.

I started to think about using one in a similar way to show different phone numbers in my contact lists. Colour coding them for Fixed, Mobile, Fax and email addresses. I intend to update and redo my address and contact pages in my Pocket Filofax/Wallet between Christmas and New Year....

Whilst looking for the Bic 4 colour pens on Amazon, I also came across the Pen clips that might be useful for an organiser where you need more than just one pen loop.

Expanding Pens

You might have seen these already, but I came across some expanding ball point pens this evening on a Filofax shop site.

They are made by Zebra Pen they look very neat, they will fit a Filofax pen look, and in their smallest size will be short enough to be used in a Mini or Pocket size organiser, but expanded they are a normal size pen.

Quite a reasonable price too.

.

What do you write with?

Another revisit of an old topic. Way back in July 2006 Nan asked the same question What do you write with?

I wonder if you have changed over time as pens have changed? I like to write with a fountain pen more than I like writing with a ball point pen. I find ball points frustrating when they don't write straight away, especially when you are signing something.

In my organiser I tend to use a mechanical pencil with a 0.5 mm lead which means I can enter my appointments in pencil and rub them our if an appointment is changed or moved.

I have a few different fountain pens some more expensive than others, I've even used some disposable ones!

Filofax themselves sell some very nice fountain pens, but I thought they were a little pricey. Although they do have a good offer on at the moment. (See below)

The internet's conscientious objectors

I came across a fascinating article today on the BBC website, it's about people that decide not to use the internet in their lives at all. Not just because they don't have access to the net, or they don't have a computer.

Now obviously as you are reading this on line, you don't come in to that category. But I noticed an interesting comment:

"We tried computing and we're back to writing letters" says one of those being questioned by researcher, as e-mail is seen as too impersonal for close human contact.

I started to think about the similarity between people that write letters, and those that still use paper diaries, in our case a Filofax.

I have always kept a couple of sheets of my own headed paper and an envelope and some postage stamps in my A5 organiser, it just seemed a natural thing to add. However, the lack of hand writing practice doesn't help the reader, especially with my hand writing!!

So do you write letters too?

Filofax - Pens

I think we might have all come across this problem before... what size pen will fit my Filofax Pen Loop?

Well I've done a bit of quick research this morning with my own collection of organisers.

My new Finsbury (Personal) would take an 8.5 mm diameter pen, or 9 mm at a push. Where as my used (2-3 years) A5 and Pocket size organisers would both easily take a 10.5 mm diameter pen. I used the shank of a selection of twist drills to measure the size each would take accurately.

In terms of actual pens I'm using Parker pens in my larger organisers and a Filofax 'Barley Twist' Mini pen in my Pocket size Filofax, most other pens are too long. On my A5 I carry a Parker fountain pen and a ball pen.

The Filofax pen is quite heavy for it's size, it has a retractable ball pen refill. One tip, always retract the point on this pen, if you drop it as I did once the pen is so heavy that it will damage the point if it lands on the point as mine did! I did buy a pack of refills from Filofax and the refill is very slim compared to the size of the pen itself!

What pens are you using?

Moneyballpoint

The whole idea of this blog is to give me an outlet for my inner nerd, and to give others who express their nerdiness through the use of a Filofax (or related planner-type thing; or who just like pens, pencils, and paper; or who are otherwise insane) an outlet for doing the same. I suspect that most of you express your inner nerd in other areas of your life, too. For instance, some of you may be baseball nerds.

I have a slight case of baseball nerdiness. It falls well short of obsession, but I don't mind perusing the occasional copy of Baseball America, and I've read Moneyball.

If your inner nerd expresses itself through both office supplies and baseball, then take a look at these: Ballpark Pens. These are pens made out of the wooden seats of historic baseball parks. Here's one:



They appear to be made in conjunction with the Wooden Pen Company, which touts these "fine writing instrumetns [sic]" on its site. (I guess they use pens so much they're unfamiliar with the spell-checking functions available to them electronically.)

For that bizarre subset of the population that is really into both baseball and writing instruments, this is quite the combination. The pens are pretty spendy (mostly within shouting distance of $100). And most will not fit in your planner's pen loop. Plus, they're ballpoints, and you probably don't like ballpoints. But dammit, they're cool. Worth it? I don't know. I'll probably agonize over that question for a year or two, like I do with most expensive questions. But if someone gave me one, I'd smile. So would your inner baseball nerd.