When revealing in a post, yesterday,  the contents of my travel backpack, I mentioned my Clairefontaine pencil case but said I’d reveal the content in a separate post. Well, this is that post.

You see, I like my stationary. Nothing ostentatious but just good quality. A lot them came as recommendations from the excellent book Adventures in Stationary.

1. Midori ruler. Made in Japan, these small, metal rulers only show metric figures and are bevelled along the opposite edge so that after drawing a ruled line, you can press on the edge closest to you and the ruler will flip up, preventing smudges.
2. Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencil. Generally regarded (according to the aforementioned book, anyway) as the best mechanical pencils that you can buy.
3. Uni-ball Signo 207. Hailed by many as the holy grail among gel ink pens, the Uni-ball Signo line is lauded for its legendary archival quality ink and continuous smooth flow. The ink penetrates the paper in such a way as to make it very difficult for any writing to me modified (in the past it was known for people to scratch away the surface of paper so they could modify written text) so is particularly good for signatures (hence the ‘Signo’ name). I used this very pen to sign my contract to Automattic.
4. The ‘pro’ version of the classic Bic 4-colour ballpoint pen. There’s no difference between this and the standard version, other than the colour of the pen itself. However, nothing says ‘geek’ like use of one of these classic pens.
5. A Lamy Econ Ballpoint. German made (in fact I bought it in Germany last year) it’s the best quality pen here – just the soft touch button tip is a delight to use.
6. Mitsubishi Pencil Company 9800 HB pencil. Thought of as one of the best pencils in production, I have a pack of 6 to keep me going for some time. Superb to use.
7. Cross Ballpoint Pen. I know little about this pen as I was given it as a present many years ago. However, it has a twist action for retracting the nib and has a good weight. Like Lamy, Cross pens are highly regarded.
8. Fisher Space Pen. Because everyone should own one.
9. Mitsubishi Boxy Eraser. In various online reviews, this is seen as one of the best erasers on the market, wiping away very cleanly. The black colouring prevents the eraser from looking ‘scruffy’ after use.
10. Mobius & Ruppert solid brass pencil sharpener. M&R make some excellent brass sharpeners with good weight and an excellent finish. There ARE better sharpeners on the market – often involving separate sharpeners, one for the wood and one for the lead – but they’re plastic and bulky. This is the better compromise, I think.