My poison pen is here!

[Djehuty]

My "Sea Glass" True Writer arrived from Levenger today, and hopefully will soon be ready to take on its duties as my grading pen.

 

It looks more or less like this, only with purplish ink on the nib:

 

http://www.levimage.com/IMAGE/PRODUCTS/PEN_INK/PENS/AP16000_S5_0407.jpg

 

I have it filled with Noodler's Socrates ink. My hope is that this pen, made in part by the litter of broken bottles washed and eroded by sand and tide into pebbly bits actually treated as jewelry, will help me pull something of value from the litter of papers and exams which cross my desk. And when that fails, I have this lovely ink the color of hemlock juice, for the true poison pen grading experience.

 

Not to mention the whole great-teacher-corrupting-the-youth angle.

 

My only concern is that the nib skips a bit, and I have to re-write parts of some letters. I'll give it a soak with a wee bit of dish detergent and hope that does the trick. I've read recommendations for using ammonia, of which I have none; would a citrus cleaner do the trick as well? I have this stuff which is supposedly all-natural and is meant for washing the pesticide residue off of fruit and vegetables, and which is surprisingly good at cleaning everything else in the house as well. Would it be a good substitute, since it's less harsh than ammonia? Or are unknown citrus concoctions dangerous for fountain pens?

 

[Jeff E]

I would avoid unknown citrus mixtures, since all of the contents are not known. First dry the dishwashing liquid in water method and if that doesn't work, then try a dilute ammonia solution.

[brutalbassman]

I know nothing about the actual matter at hand.... but I had to comment that my student's aren't privy to my fountain pens lol. I think my pen would eventually come to life and slap me for doing such a thing, beware.

 

I have a whole stack of papers on Pride and Prejudice to grade this weekend

[Djehuty]

Let a student actually touch my pen?? NEVER!

 

No, this is for me alone, for grading their tests and papers.

 

[alvarez57]

That is a very attractive pen. I'll have to check it out. hope you're enjoying it. Sometimes they do take some time to break-in.

Edited March 23, 2007 by alvarez57

[brutalbassman]

QUOTE (Djehuty @ Mar 23 2007, 02:53 AM)

Let a student actually touch my pen?? NEVER! No, this is for me alone, for grading their tests and papers.

Oh god no, not use it lol. I meant I wouldn't use it on their papers. Oh well, I guess it makes the grading process somewhat more interesting if nothing else.

 

Would you mind grading my papers with your pen while you're at it?

[playpen]

Because my students are so anxious to handle my pens, I have begun leaving all of them home except for the Lamys. Even so, I only allow them to reach out and put one finger on the pen while I am holding it in my hand. Since I wouldn't charge them for a new pen, I make sure they don't harm it in any way.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Goodness - if your students are so eager to try your pens, get a handful of Sheaffer No-nonsense pens and have them in a drawer for the kids to try. Who knows, you might convert the whole class.

 

John

[jonro]

They are very handsome pens. One of these days, I'm probably going to pick one up. Why not stop at Staples (or equivalent) and pick up a pack of the Pilot disposables for your students to try? You will undoubtedly get some converts. If they want to keep them, let them donate $3 each to the "pen fund" and you can replace them with another pack. I think it's great that they've become interested in fountain pens just by seeing you use one.

[jonro]

So, what color is hemlock juice? Enquiring minds need to know. You can buy a bottle of ammonia in any supermarket, probably for less than a dollar. Just dilute it in water.

[dwmatteson]

I use fountain pens for all of my grading grating for two reasons: (1) I write so much that I need a pen that won't tire out my hand over the long haul, and (2) using a good pen and interesting ink color are the only things that make the task bearable.

 

Don

[ProfMike]

QUOTE (dwmatteson @ Mar 23 2007, 02:18 PM)

I use fountain pens for all of my grading grating for two reasons: (1) I write so much that I need a pen that won't tire out my hand over the long haul, and (2) using a good pen and interesting ink color are the only things that make the task bearable. Don

I'm entirely with Don! Grading with a fountain pen is one of the few ways to make such a daunting task tolerable. Plus, my kids are usually curious about what ink color will show up on the next assignment: will it be red or green or orange or purple or pink or...

 

All the best,

Mike

[Djehuty]

QUOTE (jonro @ Mar 23 2007, 09:55 AM)

So, what color is hemlock juice? Enquiring minds need to know. You can buy a bottle of ammonia in any supermarket, probably for less than a dollar. Just dilute it in water.

Unless I am much mistaken, hemlock juice is a reddish-purplish color. Unfortunately, I have no citation to prove this allegation. When I saw the color of Noodler's Socrates ink, I said, "Hey, that's the color of hemlock juice!" And then I realized I had no idea how I knew that, so I asked a friend who's better versed in Classical literature than I, and he said hemlock juice was purplish. Which wouldn't stand up in a court of law or a scholarly journal, but it's good enough to fuel an evil chortle when I use my poison pen.

 

As for the ammonia, I forgot to mention that the reason I'm hoping to find a substitute is that I'm allergic to the stuff.

 

[EventHorizon]

Very nice pen. If you haven't already, or if it's not alredy there, post something in the "Review" section and let us know how it works.

[brutalbassman]

QUOTE (Djehuty @ Mar 23 2007, 03:15 PM)

Unless I am much mistaken, hemlock juice is a reddish-purplish color. Unfortunately, I have no citation to prove this allegation. When I saw the color of Noodler's Socrates ink, I said, "Hey, that's the color of hemlock juice!" And then I realized I had no idea how I knew that, so I asked a friend who's better versed in Classical literature than I, and he said hemlock juice was purplish. Which wouldn't stand up in a court of law or a scholarly journal, but it's good enough to fuel an evil chortle when I use my poison pen. As for the ammonia, I forgot to mention that the reason I'm hoping to find a substitute is that I'm allergic to the stuff.

I'll pitch in another baseless validation on the hemlock juice. That's how I pictured it too, but like I said... who knows why that was.

[andyk]

Great looking pen and eco friendly, colour reminds me of the Peppered White Conway Stewart.

 

A review once you have had a chance to try it out properly would be welcome.

Edited March 23, 2007 by andyk