Blank paper was kind of where it all started for me in a lot of ways. My first other than whatever was in the office notebook was a A5 hardcover Moleskine with blank paper. Knowing Moleskine it was probably a bastardized A5.

I have over the years slowly left the A5 lifestyle.

It looks so cool when people are able to write straight on a blank paper. But I can never do it. The only times I have managed to do it is when I have cheated with a stencil with either dotgrid or lined behind the page. But that was too much work in the long run.

It kind of works for me with pocket sized stuff. Not because I write that much straighter there. Or a little since it is smaller. But I’m fine with it on them because they are just this thing I use when I don’t have anything better available.

I got a couple of blank notebooks a few months ago. And it was a pain to get through them. And I have decided it is time to just leave it and stop using blank ever.

For some reason I had gotten myself to the section of the Blackwing website looking at all the Volumes designs they have done. And I was halfway to making a curated list of all the ones I love. So I kept going until I could not get rid of any more. These are the seven I think are the best. Also a great movie.

• Volumes 651
• Volumes 223
• Volumes XIX
• Volumes 42
• Volumes 54
• Volumes 56
• Volumes 24

This is kind of an upgraded version of the KUM long point sharpener. Kind of, but not really; the points they give are slightly different.

I have only had one of this sharpener. Unlike the long point sharpener that I have broken 3 of.

There isn’t really anything fancy about this sharpener. A block of metal with two holes in it and similar blades to the long point sharpener.

I think the regular long point is a good starting point when you get your first order of nice pencils. But the moment you realise you like this is when I think you should get a masterpiece.

It will last you a really long time, unless you screw up and mess up the holes for the screw when changing blades.

I still have mine, I don’t use it a lot. But it is what I bring out the moment my other sharpener struggles with a pencil.

This is without a doubt one of those pencil sharpener I’ll always have in my collection. If I lost the one I have I’d order a new one immediately.

I have had this pen on my wishlist for almost 7 years. It was one of the pens I noticed on a blog post right after I started the Ink Smudge in late 2015. And it never worked out to get it because I either didn’t have the money or it wasn’t in stock.

This is the first Franklin Cristoph pen I have bought. I got it with a 1.9 sub / music nib. It is wet, broad and awesome. Not the most practical to write with. But I still love it.

Also love how this pen looks and how awesome the ink inside it looks. This pen begs to be eyedroppered. Something I did within miniutes of getting it in the mail.

It isn’t unlikely me getting another of these pens sooner or later.

The Blackwing branded or not; the difference between isn’t worth going into.

When I started to get into pencils I ordered this sharpener.

It is a good sharpener, not the longest lasting design ever, but it is a good sharpener.

This is a two step sharpener. Meaning that you have two holes. The first one with shave off wood, while the second shape the point. They use the same blade, but the hole you stick it into changes the angle.

I think this sharpener is a good place to start when you get into pencils. It comes with two replacement blades, but the plastic construction can make it hard to change them without destroying the sharpener. Turns out screwing metal screws into plastic is a bad idea.

It has a cover, meaning you can shave your pencil without having a cup or something to put the shavings into. But in my experience the cover isn’t sturdy enough to put in a bag or anything like that. And all of the covers I have had with the multiple versions of this I have owned have broken after prolonged use.

The KUM longpoint is a good point. Not my favourite. But it is a solid one. If I’m going into the details of what I don’t like about it: I prefer a longer point than it gives, and I think it is too sharp.

My opinions on page layouts have changed a lot over the years. Probably as much as my use of notebooks have changed.

I’m not going to cover anything beyond the very basics here:

• Grid
  
• Lined
  
• Dot
  
• Blank

Before I cared I used lined. Then I got into blank, and used that for a very long time.

I think there are some valid uses for all of the layouts. But for what I need there are two superiour layouts, one acceptable substittute and one useless.

If I’m going to write I’m using lined. And for notes I prefer dotgrid or blank if dot grid isn’t available. And I have no use for regular grids.

This is my favourite portable sharpener. It is this tiny brass sylinder shaped thing with a blade. It gives a very long point that is perfectly sharp. Sharper than the masterpiece but not so sharp it just breaks when it touches the page.

I use this one a lot. In some periods I prefer my Classroom Friendly, and in periods I prefer this. Kind of depends on my mood.

This is my favourite sharpener, if I look beyond the sharpening results though. It is such a lovely object. It looks really awesome, and it has this heavy solid feel in your hand.

I would love to recommend this as a “if you want a portable sharpener get this”, but I can’t. It is really fussy about the integrity of the pencil core and breaks the point way easier than anything else. Plus that it can be a real pain in the ass to get broken points out of it.

It is my favourite, and it could be yours too. Just be aware that it will be awesome but also break a lot of points if you drop your pencils.

Not really that new at this point, but it is newer than the Ystudio. I finally got around to nagging Brad Dowdy about the size of the nib in it. And changing it to something more of my taste than the stock gold colored steel nib.

I went to Franklin Crisoph and got a 1.4 steel stub nib. The size of nib is a #5.

I’m very happy with it. Might also get more nibs from them for this pen. The only thing I have noticed is that the feed struggles a little to keep up if i drag it across the page to just waste ink. But nothing to complain about during real writing.

This pencil was what everyone was waiting for. From the time I got into pencils everyone was talking about that Blackwing should make a pencil with the extra firm core they had put in some of their limited edition volumes.

This is the firmest of the Blackwing pencils. It is smooth like a Blackwing but firmer, making it a really great pencil to write long form with.

It is as the name says a Natural wood pencil, with gold text and ferrule.

I think the design of it is boring, but it looks okay. Much better than the terrible 602 design.

The extra firm core in this pencil is the only Blackwing Core that I enjoy writing long form with. Not something I use pencils for a lot.

If I am buying a standard edition Blackwing I usually pick this or the Pearl.