I pay attention — honestly, I do. I even take notes, whether at the time or soon after, yet sometimes things come to pass where the elusive (though likely straightforward) name and model of a particular pen simply escapes me. In some cases it would seem, never to return. Of course, this is unlikely to ever happen when ordering pens online or shopping in a store (receipts, order confirmations etc), but for those acquired like this, or perhaps in an antique or second hand store, you might occasionally be in the same predicament.
When recently considering options for an EDC type of pen to carry with a pocket notebook, I had a few specific requirements, as you’d expect:
- reliable knock mechanism unlikely to accidentally engage
- related to the above, a standard top clicking pen would be unsuitable (if not a twist, some sort of side mounted knock mechanism)
- very light and on the thinner side of average
- probably a ballpoint for maximum utility
Thankfully, I wasted only an hour or so trawling the internet before realising the very pen was in my drawer awaiting its next occasion of use. It was absolutely spot on in terms of that list above, and not only that, is a really enjoyable pen to use.
Of course, I thought — that’s it! I’ll use this Montblanc… err… ummm… yes, this one(!?). What is it again? It was then I realised I had no idea what it was actually called, probably to the horror of the wonderful pen-friend who kindly passed it on to me. Had I written it down? Did I ever know it? Of course I would have — though I’m not sure, and proceeded to open Safari to get to the bottom of this quandary.
It couldn’t be that hard, surely, as I began searching: ”vintage Montblanc ballpoint with click mechanism in the pocket clip” and every version of a similar term to no avail. It might have been buried in the search results somewhere, but I certainly didn’t find it. In any event, it seemed a little more difficult than it should have been.
Enter the Camera Search function in the Google App on my iPhone.
Point, shoot, search and bam! Results (see screenshots below). Nothing could be easier. I guess depending on what you are searching for, a certain amount of verification might be needed with the results. That said, I’ve not had it fail me so far on any pen, refill, or whatever stationery product you’d care to be looking up. The worlds of analogue and digital colliding with utmost harmony.
Oh, and the pen? Yes, well, that is a Montblanc Ballpix, and the search yields a good page or more of accurate results similar to this one. As I’ve mentioned in my requirements list above, this pen is perfect for the task at hand. Slim, light weight, perfectly designed to avoid accidental engagement of the refill from the tip. Topping it off is the rather ingenious clip/knock mechanism, preventing it from being placed in a pocket or clipped anywhere without the knock being disengaged automatically — no pocket leaks here. Love it.
Perhaps given most of the search links provide seller links, someone needs to write a bit of a review just for posterity on the internet… Oh, right you are, I guess that would be me. I’ve just added it to the list.
Meanwhile, I highly recommend the camera search feature in the Google app for those times your search terms don’t quite hit the mark. Maybe even for those times when, like me, you are a bit lazy and can’t quite find the motivation to look back through notes when a pen model name escapes you.
A phone and a tech giant — handy companions to the humble pen and paper.
Pete Denison 