Gizmo of the Week: Ajoto Pens and Notebook

It’s no exaggeration to say that, without the typed article, I wouldn’t be a professional writer. It’s not simply that I started blogging and now write primarily for online publications. Rather, my adolescent handwriting was so poor that one teacher remarked it was as though I was writing in a foreign language, and had I not sat my exams with a keyboard, it’s fair to say my grades would have been a poor reflection of my actual academic ability.When I turned 20, I remedied this with regular practice at my penmanship, but this was a matter of pride and shame rather than necessity, and I could have kept to using a keyboard for everything. And yet, there’s something profoundly significant about writing by hand, and it’s all the more so in an age where text is cheap and quickly produced.With touch typing, you can produce writing at the speed of thought, but handwriting is slower, more deliberative, making you choose what you wish to say, and how it’s best to do so. Putting pen to paper requires greater focus on what you want to say and summarise, and physically demands more of you, and together, these mean that you have far greater retention for notes taken on the page than on the computer.And so, despite working on a laptop, my desk always has a little notepad and pen sitting on it, ready for jotting down the stray idea, important thought, or great quote; and that pen and paper comes from a little British brand called Ajoto.Founded in 2011, the brand is based in Britain, where everything they make is designed and developed, and their product range has a focus on quality construction, elegant design, and making the physical act of writing all the more pleasant.Their “Pocket Paper” notebooks are small, with a traditional section-sewn binding — meaning the pages open perfectly flat whilst also being securely bound — and come in either lined or blank pages and a range of paper choices. The N.1 uses smooth white pages with a soft feel and subtle tactile texture; the N.2 is a bright white, silky smooth, lightweight paper; and my favorite, N.3, uses a heavy-weight stock in a natural, warm tone. These are relatively small distinctions, but once you find one you like, writing in other notebooks feels like a step down.The same is true of their pens, which, like their notebooks, bring craftsman attention to detail to writing and elevate the tactile feeling of writing. I use their Mosaic Grip Stainless Steel Pen, which feels heavy on first grip but is perfectly balanced and shaped in the hands. The fading mosaic pattern grip is engraved into the metal with a precision jewelry laser, and it looks as great as it feels against your fingers, and its liquid ink rollerball tips write effortlessly smooth, don’t bleed, and are extremely easy to refill.None of these come cheap, it has to be said. The notebooks cost $22 each, and their pens range from $166 to $215 for my Mosaic Grip pen — or up to $770 for a 925 Sterling Silver pen. But they’re beautifully made by a small team of craftspeople, make me want to write by hand more, and are the best pens and paper I’ve ever used.

Gizmo of the Week: Ajoto Pens and Notebook

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