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I need a pen whose ink wont run if wet...
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phantomdragonz
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Apr 13, 2007, 01:21 AM
 
I am going on a trasnatlantic sailing trip (52Ft boat, crew of 6, 5 weeks at sea) I plan on writing a journal during my trip but would HATE to lose it all to running ink if the pages get wet...

So, I need a solution, not a digital solution a good ol pen and paper solution..

any suggestions?

Zach
     
Randman
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Apr 13, 2007, 01:38 AM
 
Check out places like The Sharper Image, Brookstone and TravelWorld. I've seen those types of pens before.

This is a computer-generated message and needs no signature.
     
iMOTOR
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Apr 13, 2007, 02:18 AM
 
This is what you're looking for:

http://www.spacepen.com/

Buy the cheapest one they sell if you're worried about losing it on your trip.
     
Cipher13
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Apr 13, 2007, 02:22 AM
 
Is there anything wrong with using a pencil?
     
Face Ache
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Apr 13, 2007, 02:26 AM
 
Another vote for pencils. They float too, so if your boat sinks you can still write your journal.
     
iMOTOR
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Apr 13, 2007, 02:42 AM
 
Originally Posted by Face Ache View Post
Another vote for pencils. They float too, so if your boat sinks you can still write your journal.
A vote for pencils is a vote for Communism. I trust you're not supporting Communism, are you?
     
analogika
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Apr 13, 2007, 05:45 AM
 
Fisher Space Pen.

I've had mine for 15 years.

It rocks.
     
RAILhead
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Apr 13, 2007, 07:42 AM
 
I used to have the Bullet, but I lost it.
"Everything's so clear to me now: I'm the keeper of the cheese and you're the lemon merchant. Get it? And he knows it.
That's why he's gonna kill us. So we got to beat it. Yeah. Before he let's loose the marmosets on us."
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Nai no Kami
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Apr 13, 2007, 08:29 AM
 
Another vote for pencils.

Y no entienden nada... ¡y cómo se divierten!...
     
alligator
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Apr 13, 2007, 08:35 AM
 
Shouldn't you also be concerned about waterproof paper?
     
Kevin Moon
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Apr 13, 2007, 08:41 AM
 
Get a write in the rain book and use pen with it. Pencil smears and rubs off just enough to create a mess. I have several field books that I used pencil in and one that I used pen and the one in pen looks much better.
     
Yose
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Apr 13, 2007, 09:04 AM
 
Originally Posted by phantomdragonz View Post
I am going on a trasnatlantic sailing trip (52Ft boat, crew of 6, 5 weeks at sea) …
You lucky, lucky man. From where to where?

I vote for a pencil too, simple and it works.
Yose.
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
     
phantomdragonz  (op)
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Apr 14, 2007, 01:38 AM
 
Originally Posted by Kevin Moon View Post
Get a write in the rain book and use pen with it.
EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thank you!



Originally Posted by Yose View Post
You lucky, lucky man. From where to where?
Mass. to the azores (I am told 3 weeks) and then azores to Gibraltar (told 2 weeks) I am excited, should be a blast as my grandpa will be captain... I have never really sailed before, so it will be a learning experience to say the least...

Zach
     
iMOTOR
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Apr 14, 2007, 01:42 AM
 
Are you taking anything modern with you like an iPod or camera, or are you keeping it old school?
     
Buckaroo
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Apr 14, 2007, 01:45 AM
 
Unless you've done this before, I don't think your going to be doing a lot of writing. It's real wavy out there.

Have you considered getting a little digital tape recorder that will take SD cards and just record your thoughts until you get to your destination. You can store the thing in one of those little zip lock bags. There might even be a versioin that you can get wet.

When I'm traveling, I just don't feel like writing anything.

Something to think about.

If you've done it before without any trouble, disrecard.
     
Face Ache
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Apr 14, 2007, 03:14 AM
 
Originally Posted by RAILhead View Post
I used to have the Bullet, but I lost it.
Start a vibrator thread. We're talking pens here.
     
k squared
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Apr 14, 2007, 09:44 AM
 
Pick up a Moleskine writing pad and some Sakura Pigma Microns. The 01, which translates into about a .25mm line width are good for writing.
     
pooka
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Apr 14, 2007, 11:47 AM
 
Originally Posted by Face Ache View Post
Start a vibrator thread. We're talking pens here.
No ****. I was half way through typing up my extensive list of toys when I realized what a massive derail that would be.

New, Improved and Legal in 50 States
     
DeathToWindows
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Apr 14, 2007, 12:25 PM
 
Unfortunately, my favorite form of writing utensil isn't well suited for the open sea - fountain pens with good, waterproof ink.

Something like a Lamy Safari with one of the Noodler's inks.

Don't try to outweird me, I get stranger things than you free with my breakfast cereal.
     
phantomdragonz  (op)
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Apr 14, 2007, 01:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by iMOTOR View Post
Are you taking anything modern with you like an iPod or camera, or are you keeping it old school?
I am bringing a Nikon D50, My black 30Gb ipod, probably a small DV camera, and my newest toy a Personal storage device (Compact Drive PD70X) Click!

Bringing most of that because I will have to spend a week or so in spain before I fly back...

I am buying a pelican case for my D50 though...

Zach
     
hart
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Apr 15, 2007, 12:53 PM
 
on the basic side there's fine point sharpies. Certainly won't run when wet. Drawback is you can only use one side of the paper. but it's not fancy or expensive so you could bring several/a bunch.
     
Chuckit
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Apr 15, 2007, 12:58 PM
 
During the space race back in the 1960s, NASA was faced with a major problem. The astronaut needed a pen that would write in the vacuum of space. NASA went to work. At a cost of $1.5 million they developed the "Astronaut Pen."

The Russians were faced with the same dilemma. They used a pencil.
Chuck
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brokenjago
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Apr 15, 2007, 01:10 PM
 
That's actually a myth. An outside company developed the Space pen at their own cost, and then NASA decided to use it.

If that was a joke, sorry, it flew right over my thick head.
Linkinus is king.
     
Chuckit
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Apr 15, 2007, 01:24 PM
 
Yeah, it was just intended for humor. I actually copied it right off of Snopes' page debunking the myth.
Chuck
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brokenjago
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Apr 15, 2007, 01:33 PM
 
Man, I ran right into that one.
Linkinus is king.
     
analogika
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Apr 15, 2007, 02:00 PM
 
Just FYI the link:

Urban Legends Reference Pages: NASA Space Pen

Here's how Fisher themselves described it:

NASA never asked Paul C. Fisher to produce a pen. When the astronauts began to fly, like the Russians, they used pencils, but the leads sometimes broke and became a hazard by floating in the [capsule's] atmosphere where there was no gravity. They could float into an eye or nose or cause a short in an electrical device. In addition, both the lead and the wood of the pencil could burn rapidly in the pure oxygen atmosphere. Paul Fisher realized the astronauts needed a safer and more dependable writing instrument, so in July 1965 he developed the pressurized ball pen, with its ink enclosed in a sealed, pressurized ink cartridge. Fisher sent the first samples to Dr. Robert Gilruth, Director of the Houston Space Center. The pens were all metal except for the ink, which had a flash point above 200C. The sample Space Pens were thoroughly tested by NASA. They passed all the tests and have been used ever since on all manned space flights, American and Russian. All research and developement costs were paid by Paul Fisher. No development costs have ever been charged to the government.

Because of the fire in Apollo 1, in which three Astronauts died, NASA required a writing instrument that would not burn in a 100% oxygen atmosphere. It also had to work in the extreme conditions of outer space:

In a vacuum.
With no gravity.
In hot temperatures of +150 deg C in sunlight and also in the
cold shadows of space where the temperatures drop to -120 deg C


(NASA tested the pressurized Space Pens at -50 deg C, but because of the residential [sic] heat in the pen it also writes for many minutes in the cold shadows.)

Fisher spent over one million dollars in trying to perfect the ball point pen before he made his first successful pressurized pens in 1965. Samples were immediately sent to Dr. Robert Gilruth, Manager of the Houston Space Center, where they were thoroughly tested and approved for use in Space in September 1965. In December 1967 he sold 400 Fisher Space Pens to NASA for $2.95 each.
     
nonhuman
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Apr 16, 2007, 12:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by phantomdragonz View Post
Mass. to the azores (I am told 3 weeks) and then azores to Gibraltar (told 2 weeks) I am excited, should be a blast as my grandpa will be captain... I have never really sailed before, so it will be a learning experience to say the least...

Zach
That sounds so sweet...

Don't suppose you need another deckhand or anything...
     
G4ME
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Apr 16, 2007, 12:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by phantomdragonz View Post
I am bringing a Nikon D50, My black 30Gb ipod, probably a small DV camera, and my newest toy a Personal storage device (Compact Drive PD70X) Click!

Bringing most of that because I will have to spend a week or so in spain before I fly back...

I am buying a pelican case for my D50 though...

Zach

what no laptop? what about highspeed internet on the boat, going to get a salilite uplink? how will you survive?

Personally, I'd just bring the camera.

BTW the pelican is a nice case, I have the 1300 for my 20D and she has yet to fail me yet.

I GOT WASTED WITH PHIL SHERRY!!!
     
phantomdragonz  (op)
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Apr 16, 2007, 02:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by G4ME View Post
Personally, I'd just bring the camera.

BTW the pelican is a nice case, I have the 1300 for my 20D and she has yet to fail me yet.
I plan on buying a 1300 for my D50, I have a 1200 that I will stick my ipod, PD70X, and charger(s) in, I dont think i will bring the DV camera, i dont really like video...

Zach
     
G4ME
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Apr 16, 2007, 04:21 PM
 
check out ebay, looks like the guys that make pelican toss a few on that have minor cosmetic defects but still i got mine for 58 something shipped

I GOT WASTED WITH PHIL SHERRY!!!
     
   
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