Interesting and Useful Web Sites

Please let us know of any web sites which you would like to see listed here. Send an e-mail message with the name of the site, the URL and contact information for the site owner or webmaster to admin@pensations.com. Web sites, companies, e-mail lists, etc. listed here are for information purposes only, and no endorsement is implied. This is not intended to be a complete list of pen-related sites. For a complete list of sites, I recommend PenHero maintained by Jim Mamoulides.

Pen Clubs, Pen Shows & Pen Information

Accademia Italiana della Penna Stilografica -- pen club for those interested in Italian writing instruments (pages are in English)

Doesn't relate to pens directly, but still useful: A list of acronyms used in e-mail and other computer-based communication.

American Pencil Collectors Society

Antique Inkwells & Desktop Equipment (UK)

Atlanta Pen Show (the name has been changed to the Southeastern Pen Show)

Baltimore Fountain Pen Society

BIC Corporation -- A great resource for teachers and students with tools and applications for the classroom. Learn about some of the latest BIC offers, promotions, and products by signing up for the BIC Teach Our Kids Club.

Bob Truby's guide to wooden pencils

Books About Pens -- maintained by Uri Orland

Callig web site -- information on calligraphy.

Chicago Pen Show

Chilton Pens -- much information on history, models & patents; maintained by Charles Krantz

Clock for people who use pencils (Warning: I use a DSL connection, and it still took a few seconds to load. A cable modem, DSL or T1 connection should be okay, but it might take several minutes on a dial-up connection. But if you have a bit of time to wait then you will get a chuckle out of this.)

Collectibles Insurance Agency

Conway Stewart information compiled by Jonathan Donahaye

Crayola -- everone's favorite crayon

Dallas Pen Show

Dave's Mechanical Pencils

Doesn't relate to pens directly, but still useful: A list of emoticons.

Early Office Museum -- antique office machines, equipment & business technology

Esterbrook.com -- all about Esterbrook pens

Brian Anderson's Pen Page -- Esterbrook

Esterbrook Renew Points Reference Guide

A Few Notes about Fountain Pens -- maintained by Michael A. Covington

Florida Pen Club

Forty Centuries of Ink, or, a chronological narrative concerning ink ... by Carvalho, David Nunes (1848-1925)
A book included in Project Gutenberg and available for free download.

Fountain Pen -- entry in the Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia)

Fountain Pen Community -- discussion of all aspects of collecting & using fountain pens & other writing instruments

Fountain Pen Forum -- multiple fora for discussing fountain pens & other writing instruments and related topics

fountain pen news -- a search to retreive recent news items (not web sites) from Google which include the phrase "fountain pen"

Glossary of Fountain Pen Terms

History of Pens & Writing Instruments

Information for New Collectors -- maintained by Carla Frizzle

Ink Recipes

International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting

Jennifer Maestre is an artist who creates sculptures from many objects, including pencils. Click here to view her work.

Leadholder -- the online drafting pencil museum

Lion & Pen -- on-line community which focuses on Japanese pens

Mechanical Pencil Research Resources

Miami Pen Show

Michigan Pen Show and Michigan Pen Collectors

Museum of Writing

National Stationery Show

New England Pen Show

New York City Pen Show

NibSite -- John McDonald Gwin's site for nib collectors

Norma Pencil Page -- maintained by Roger Russell

Ohio Pen Show

oPENions -- reviews of writing instruments written by everyday users like us

PaperWorld

Paper and Pencil

Paper Notes in a Digital World

Paper Sizes and Paper Weight: Metric and US Standards

International Standard Paper Sizes (includes information to help US & Canadian users switch to ISO paper sizes)

Parker Pen Company: United States

Parker 51 web site -- by collector Ernesto Soler

Parker 75 web site -- by collector Lih-Tah Wong

Parker Ephemera -- courtesy of collector Paul Locasto

Parker Pen Information Site -- a Parker "penography" by collector Tony Fischier

Pelikan Pen Information Page -- information on Pelikan pens courtesy of collector Werner Ruettinger

Pen Collectors of America

Pen Lovers -- web site for writing instrument collectors; includes a bulletin board and other pages

Pen Museum Materclass articles by Arthur Twydle and Peter Twydle on pen topics

Pen World magazine

Pen-related Wallpaper for your PC (comes in 3 sizes)

Pen Show Calendar -- courtesy of Ms. Susan Wirth

Pen Spinning -- something else to do with a pen (other than writing)

Pencil Pages -- encyclopedia & web museum of wooden pencils

Pencil Pages -- a second site with the same name by the Incense Cedar Institute

Pencil Pushing

Pencil Revolution -- Pencil Philosophy: Wooden Wisdom, Peoduct Reviews & Ephemera, etc.

Penexchange -- sponsored by Pelikan Pens

Penmen comic strip -- Pen World magazine

Penoply -- an informative site maintained by collector Rick Conner

Pentrace -- an online community for writing instrument collectors; includes a (threaded) discussion board, articles on writing instrument collecting and use including reviews of products, and question & answer columns. The site also has a list of "snailers" (folks who use their writing instruments to send "snail-mail" to other members), and publishes the writings of members (both fiction and nonfiction).

Plumophilia -- a writing instrument discussion site

Portland Pen Show

Raleigh Pen Show

Richard's Pens -- a web site by Richard Binder. Richard repairs most pen types & brands, and also performs nib repair & nib customization at reasonable prices. In addition he sells some pens and a few pen-related accessories. His site includes photos of his personal pen collection, downloadable computer desktop wallpapers, an extensive reference section, and some of his fiction, poetry and essays.

Rivera Pens -- devoted to the Pilot Capless & Namiki Vanishing Point pens

Society of Inkwell Collectors

Southeastern Pen Collectors Club

Southeastern Pen Show (formerly the Atlanta Pen Show)

StylophileS -- an on-line magazine for pen collectors

Tabletop Studio -- information on taking good photographs most of which is applicable to pen photos

ThePuristS.com Pen and Writing Instruments Forum

UK Coloured Pencil Society

Vacumania -- a site devoted to Parker Vacumatics maintained by collector David Isaacson

Washington, DC Pen Supershow

Waterford

Waterman

Writing Equipment Society of the UK

Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA)

the Zanerian

Pen-Related e-Mail Lists

4Pens (Polite, Peripatetic Pen-lovers' Paradise) e-Mail List

Ballpoint Pens e-Mail List

Calligraphy e-Mail List

Esterbrook Pen e-Mail List -- discussion limited to Esterbrook writing instruments

Fountain Pen Collecting e-Mail List -- discussion of all aspects of collecting & using fountain pens & other writing instruments

Fountain Pen Talk e-Mail List -- discussion of all aspects of collecting & using fountain pens

Montblanc Pens e-Mail List -- discussion, buying & selling of Montblanc writing instruments

Nib Noise -- a free monthly e-mail newsletter by Richard Binder & Don Fluckinger

Pelikan Pen e-Mail List -- discussion limited to vintage or modern Pelikan writing instruments

Pen Repairs e-Mail List -- discussion of pen repair, including parts wanted or for sale

Pens For Sale e-Mail List -- short non-commercial notices of pens for sale

Sheaffer Pen e-Mail List -- discussion limited to vintage or modern Sheaffer writing instruments

Zoss Pen List -- the premier e-mail list for those interested in pen collecting, sponsored by Thomas Zoss

Etailers, Merchants & Items For Sale

Amazon.com -- books, videos, CDs, tools and much more

Cognigen -- one of the nation's largest providers of telecommunication servies including Internet access, long distance phone cards and other services

Neenah Paper -- manufacturers of writing & business papers

Other Sites of Interest

Amateur Radio Relay League

Daily planner pages from D*I*Y Planner -- Print your own daily planner pages: print the forms you need and the quantity you need -- gain utility, save money and astound your friends!

Directory of web sites in or about Kentucky, including history, travel, art, education and people

Great American Brass Band Festival -- an annual weekend festival in Danville, Kentucky

Hipster PDA on 43 Folders -- a low tech, low cost, highly portable and nearly infinitely extensible portable information manager

more than 100 forms for use with the Hipster PDA from D*I*Y Planner

how to make a duct tape case for the Hipster PDA

Ultimate Pocket Notebook -- enhancements to the Hipster PDA from Full Contact Geek

Just Write Letters -- a site devoted to letter-writing and journaling

Kentucky's Bluegrass Region

Knife Show Directory

Make Your Own Moleskine-Like-Notebook -- Instructions by Michael Shannon -- adaptable to different sizes of notebook or journal.

Moleskine Notebooks: The Ultimate Guide

Moleskine hacks collection

Pioneer Playhouse -- Kentucky's oldest outdoor theatre, now in its 58th year

Shaker Village, Pleasant Hill, Kentucky -- A restored nineteenth Century Shaker (Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing) village near Harrodsburg in central Kentucky.

Writing the Journey -- Online Journal Writing Workshop