I have been lead astray

After enthusing, almost a year ago to the day, about my old Staedtler propelling pencil and the patina it (ok, just the nib) had acquired over the last 30 years, I have decided to defect to another brand!  In a moment of madness, or more likely one of those times you suddenly twitch for no reason, four months ago I stubbed the old nib into my notebook and bent the tip.  The pencil itself was fine: it was the couple of years-old replacement, since its predecessor had finally stopped working, so I reinstalled the original nib and carried on.  But the rubbery grip has deteriorated so much that it's both not very comfortable to use anymore and is quite good for picking at, which is distracting.

I am not a collector of writey stuff.  My friend TJ collects and speaks fountain pens, and my erstwhile friend C is like that with wooden pencils.  I do, however, appreciate a finely made thing, and I do an awful lot of writing by hand at work, so after quite a bit of research I have treated myself to a Rotring Rapid Pro.

Good grief.  It is bloody lovely to write with.