Rule No. 9

"Rule No. 9 - Never go anywhere without a knife." -- Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS.

I've pretty much obeyed this rule most of my life. While young, Dad let me "find" tiny folding knives with pretty marbled handles and 1.5 inch blades. He'd tuck them on top of the door moldings, I'd get a chair to see if he had hidden a knife over the doorway and got to keep whatever knives I found.

(No, I don't think Mom knew what we were doing.)

In high school, I took to carrying one of these little knives in my purse, rotating them according to whichever color I preferred that week. I never told anyone, and never used one, but felt good having one along. It gave me a sense of security knowing I could sharpen my pencil if the classroom pencil sharpener ever failed.

Then, I switched to mechanical pencils and quit carrying a little knife.

In my late teens-early 20s, I carried a diver's knife strapped below my calf while scuba diving off the island of O'ahu in Hawai'i, mostly off a boat out of Poka'i Bay in Wai'anae, but also shore dives along the North Shore and south shore over to the Blow Hole on the Halona Coast.

I mainly used the blade to crack open sea urchins. Spearing the animal with the point, I would offer it to a nearby moray eel peering out from its hole in some rocks. My dive buddy thought I was crazy-brave to be feeding moray eels this way, and didn't hesitate to tell our dive companions when we rejoined them, but I was never in any danger since I wasn't threatening the eels. Sea urchins are special treats to them because they can't get to the animals because of the spines and the morsel was at a safe distance at the point of my dagger, not in my fingers. It was a calculated risk that wasn't at all risky, the way I did it.

Later on the Mainland, I was given a Classic Swiss Army Knife that I promptly attached to my key ring. Using it mostly to open letters and packages, cut hang nails, file broken fingernails, and trim errant hairs in my bangs using my car visor's cosmetic mirror, it remains a convenient EDC tool.

Years later, I got another Classic SAK for my hiker's survival necklace and a Trekker SAK for my hiking pack knowing I should have a fixed-blade sheath knife in case I ever get into a survival situation because the hinge of a folder is the weakest part and a survival event is the worst time for a knife to break.

However, I couldn't rationalize the cost of the knife I lusted after. A few weeks ago, I finally ordered an affordable survival knife. Made by Benchmade as is the expensive knife I coveted, I got the Rant with a drop point, plain blade that is just under 4.5 inches long. The overall length of the knife is slightly over 9 inches. The sheath is Molle compatible. Benchmade not only has an excellent reputation for quality, the company offers sharpening for life for its plain edge blades for only the cost of return shipping.

At the same time, I ordered a Benchmade Griptilian H2O folder to replace my Trekker. The Griptilian has a modified drop point, plain blade that is under 3.5 inches. The overall open length is slightly over 8 inches; it is 4.62 inches closed.

Popular with other hikers, I don't like the Trekker because of its weight and because the serration starts at the tip of the blade instead of at the base. I also don't like the way it closes. If I don't position my fingers exactly right and am not very careful, I could end up cutting myself while closing it. It makes me nervous.

The Griptilian is much lighter and much easier to open and close. It is very comfortable in my hand, unlike the Trekker. While I might miss the Trekker's awl, I don't mind not having the saw blade because I already had a wire saw in my pack before getting the Trekker. I wouldn't miss the other tools of the Trekker because of the Leatherman I carry for the pliers and wire-cutter.

I'm thinking to use the Griptilian as my motel camping knife as well, to replace the Farberware kitchen utility knife I've been using and don't like.

Remembering Aron Ralston's difficulty in retrieving his dropped multi-tool in the movie, "127 Hours," I immediately threaded wrist lanyards through the eyelets of my new knives using 1/8" utility cord with mini cord locks to cinch them to my wrist so the lanyard isn't loose to slip off and let my knife fall to perdition, thinking a survival event is the worst time to lose a knife.

I'm very pleased with my new knives especially since I got them both for less than MSRP from Amazon Marketplace Sellers and the Rant came with free shipping.

DIY Poncho Improvement: Side Ties

What I used:

-- a Cascade II backpacker poncho,
-- (1) 36" shoelace,
-- (4) eyelets from a 5/16" (8mm) eyelet kit by Prym Creative, part #14015, US$2.97 at Wal-Mart,
-- a hammer,
-- a measuring tape,
-- the scissors on my SAK Classic,
-- disposable lighter.

Contemplating for what else I might use the eyelets mentioned in my last post, it suddenly dawned on me that they're perfect for keeping my poncho from flapping in the wind. As mentioned in a previous post reviewing the Cascade II poncho, I stitched a few heavy-duty Velcro coin sets in mine. Since then, high winds once separated them during a storm. Sure, it was such bad weather I wondered why I wasn't safely indoors, but considering I was already out, there was no reason for me to get wet if it could be avoided.

Following the rule of "measure twice, cut once," I put eyelets in my poncho near the knees, left and right sides, front and back. The cutting part of the eyelet tool didn't cut as well as the enclosed instructions portrayed or maybe I didn't hit as hard with my hammer as I should have. I used the wonderfully sharp scissors of my Swiss Army knife Classic model to complete the holes.

Finishing the rest of the eyelet installations was easy.

Next came deciding what to use as ties and what type of knots would be best.

Settling on a 36" shoelace leftover from a pair bought to make a fore-and-aft cord for a hat, I cut it into fourths and sealed the cut edges with a lighter to prevent fraying.

After tying a double overhand knot on one end, I threaded each piece of shoelace through an eyelet ensuring the knot stopped it from going all the way through.

After each quarter-shoelace was in an eyelet, I tied another double overhand knot in the opposite end to prevent it from slipping out of the eyelet.

Finally, I tied the pair of front and back quarter-shoelaces together on the left side using a slipped reef knot to make it easy to untie if necessary, then repeated with the pair on the right side.

If I didn't pull the poncho on over my head from the bottom like a T-shirt, if I ducked into it from an open side, for example, I'd have to leave the tie(s) undone until after I had the poncho on. Either way is possible since this modification provides the options of tying before it's put on, tying after it's put on, or leaving it untied altogether.

Grommets

I've been thinking about my soft-sided travel pack which has an easy-access zipper to the main compartment that can't be locked.

Since there might be times I need to check the bag during a domestic flight, foreign train stations usually won't allow baggage in their baggage-hold rooms if they can't be locked, and considering those Pacsafe wire nets are so darn heavy and might even lead a thief to believe there's something inside worth stealing, I've been thinking about putting grommets into my bag in a place convenient to insert a lock through them and the zipper pull.

Wal-Mart's sewing notions section has a Prym Creative eyelet kit for US$2.97 that should work, part #14015, the bar code on the back is #72879 25061. Maybe I'll put more in to lock the zippers on the outside pockets while I'm at it.

The discouraging thing is that suitcase locks are meant only to keep bags from opening accidentally during transit which could also be accomplished by safety pins or cable ties. While locks will also keep an honest person honest by discouraging crimes of opportunity, anyone determined to get into a bag won't be deterred.

Preparedness 2010 - Stoves

Instead of a camping canister stove costing US$25 - $295, here are some low-cost, low- or no-maintenance alternatives to see you and your family through an emergency situation:

1. Esbit Emergency Stove, $2.99, comes with three hexamine fuel cubes. A flat piece of steel you bend to form a pot stand, it is ideal for day hikers, travelers, and vehicle survival kits for one to two persons. Best use is to boil water for safe drinking, hot beverages, instant foods, freeze-dried meals, and preparing Ramen and soups. Natural fuel can be used to supplement or as an alternative to the fuel cube which also is an excellent fire starter.

Needing to be lit by a flame, such as from a match or cigarette lighter, each cube burns for about 13 minutes. It takes about 8 minutes to bring 16 oz. (.5 L) of cold tap water to a full rolling boil, less if you have a windscreen (recommended). Cover the vessel, however, as an uncovered vessel gets merely steamy. If you want to light it with a sparker such as a Spark-Lite or Swedish FireSteel, place some tinder on or next to it and light the tinder, instead. Only a small bit is necessary; it took only a few strokes of my FireSteel to light about a quarter of a square of toilet tissue moistened with hand sanitizer that I set on top of the cube.

If you want to conserve fuel, and as fuels go, hexamine tabs are expensive so should be conserved, simply blow it out like a birthday candle as soon as you don't need the flame anymore and save what remains for future use. Since it will stick to the stove's fuel platform, you may want to set the cube in an Altoids Smalls tin before lighting it to make it easier to store after extinguishing it. You can make the lid removable by simply pushing out the tabs forming the hinges to release the lid from the bottom of the tin, then pushing the tabs back so they won't catch on anything.

An alternative to the fuel cubes is an alcohol burner made of an Altoids Smalls tin (see 6. Alcohol Burners below for instructions). Be aware, however, that since the slits for the hinges won't permit you to completely fill the tin with your liquid fuel, you may not be able to attain a boil.

By bending the stove to support my 18 oz. stainless steel backpacker's mug (the handles fold in for easy packing), I can store it in the mug along with 11 fuel cubes (four go in the stove and one in the Altoids Smalls tin), an Altoids Smalls tin, a disposable cigarette lighter, and one of those tubular orange, waterproof match boxes that can be found online, in camping stores, and Wal-Mart's camping department for about $2.

Having both wooden matches and a lighter is better because matches may fail or break and butane lighters don't work when cold or at higher elevations. If using safety matches, be sure to tuck the striker strip from the original box into the waterproof match box or you won't be able to get the matches to light.

2. Esbit Pocket Stove, $9.99 although it may sometimes be found it in military surplus stores for as low as $3. The website says, "Includes 3 large solid fuel cubes." Mine came with six and the steel isn't pliable like the description states. (Frankly, I think they put up the same description as the Emergency Stove instead of the description for the Pocket Stove.) Four cubes store neatly in the stove when it's closed.

Popular for its small size by outdoors people, military forces, and expeditions since 1936, the Pocket Stove is more robust than the Esbit Emergency Stove and more versatile in fuel options. As well as a Kiwi alcohol burner (see 6. Alcohol Burners below), natural fuel or two charcoal briquettes will fit and may be continually added if you want to keep the fire going outdoors.

Since there's no heat control other than the two positions in which it may be set, the Pocket Stove is better for simple cooking like frying bacon or burgers or boiling water for one to three people. Substituting a tealight candle allows simmering.

Because hexamine fuel cubes, a safe fuel, aren't always available in local stores, it's best to stock up on Esbit tabs (12 for $5.95) and/or make an alcohol burner. Trioxane tabs are available, usually through military surplus stores, but need to be used outdoors carefully because they're toxic. The advantage of trioxane tabs is they can be lit with only a spark, not requiring a direct flame as do hexamine tabs.

3. Coghlan's Folding Stove, $8.98, is limited to canned fuel such as Sterno, the Nuwick 44-hour candle (the 120-hour Nuwick candle doesn't fit), or an alcohol burner such as a Trangia or a DIY project, although I don't see why natural fuel or charcoal briquettes can't be used as long as it's set on the ground outside with a foil pan underneath so nothing will be harmed when hot embers and ashes fall off the fuel platform. Hexamine tabs might be used if an empty can is put on the platform upside down to boost the height.

Because it's rather large when compared the Esbit stoves and is heavier, being made of steel, than the Sterno Portable Folding Stove (next), the best use is for a family at home if you have only heavy pots or for car camping. I don't like it for a car survival kit because it's heavy for lugging around should you have to leave the car; rarely advisable but a possibility.

4. Sterno Portable Folding Stove, $9.75, uses 7 and 8 oz. Sterno canned fuel that will simmer but might not boil water depending on conditions, as well as 44-hour and 120-hour Nuwick candles that can have the heat output regulated according to the number of wicks lit. It is also available in a Stove Kit that includes two cans of Sterno fuel and in the Sterno Emergency Kit that includes the stove, cans of Sterno, and candles.

When I tested it with a can of Sterno, I got 16 oz. of water, uncovered, to a slow, gentle, boil in 25 minutes. I quit ten minutes later when there was no change.

Because the fuel platform is only a couple of wire supports instead of being solid, using a Trangia alcohol burner is too close to being a balancing act for my comfort so I set my Trangia burner into an empty, clean, 5 oz. chicken can to make it stable. With the Trangia filled with 91% isopropyl alcohol, my uncovered stainless steel mug with 16 oz. of cold tap water took 5.5 minutes to reach a full, vigorously rolling boil.

To make your own alcohol burner that fits the fuel platform, I suggest using up a can of Sterno, and then making an alcohol burner with the empty can (see 6. Alcohol Burners below). Not having an empty Sterno can, I used a 1.76 oz. (50g) Altoids tin with a thin layer of 0000 steel wool and 91% isopropyl alcohol and got a full boil in 6 minutes. The flame went out nine minutes later making 15 minutes the total burn time for the Altoids burner.

Using a 120-hour Nuwick for cooking that needs high heat isn't feasible; after an hour with three wicks, I didn't get anything more than steamy water. Starting over, reducing the water from 16 oz. to 8 oz., I got some steam at 30 minutes and gave up knowing it's much faster for me to use an alcohol burner if I need to boil water.

Like the Coghlan's stove above, I don't know of any reason natural fuels or charcoal shouldn't be used as long as the stove is set on the ground outdoors with a foil pan underneath to catch the ashes.

The advantage the Sterno stove has over the others is that the pot support portion of it is made of wire that campers have used for toasting bread and grilling. However, it is faster to toast more than one or two slices at a time by using a stove toasting rack.

Because of its size and being made of aluminum, this is a good choice for a family at home, for a family's Grab & Go bag, as well as for a car survival kit, and car camping.

5. UCO Candlelier, $36.95. Not readily apparent as a stove, the flat heat shield top has been used for years by campers and backpackers to boil water. The amount of heat may be lowered by extinguishing one or two of the three 9-hour candles. Although it's more expensive than the cheapest canister stove, it provides light, heat, and a stove in a single unit making it as good for a car survival kit or an individual's Grab & Go bag as for backpacking. If bugs are a problem, 9-hour citronella candles are available.

6. Alcohol burners or stoves might be the least expensive option of all since the majority of them are DIY projects. Known as a "Cat stove," "Super Cat stove," "Pepsi stove," "Penny stove," or by whatever container or design is used, alcohol burners are popular for their reliability, ease of use being practically maintenance-free thus no hard-to-find parts to break or buy when access to camping stores is limited, and use inexpensive denatured or 90+% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol that's available practically everywhere, from marine stores, hardware and home improvement stores, service stations and automotive parts stores, to drug stores, and doesn't require special fuel bottles. In a pinch, more expensive alcohol is available from liquor stores.

I made my first Kiwi burner back in 2006 by cleaning out all the residue from a 1-1/8 oz can of Kiwi shoe polish that fit perfectly into my Esbit Pocket Stove, then filled it with fine steel wool (recommended grades are 0000 or 000). When I was ready to cook my scrambled eggs and sausage, I filled it with 91% rubbing alcohol and lit it with a match.

Unfortunately, after my last meal was eaten and the stove cooled off ready for storage, I stored the steel wool in the Kiwi can which corroded during the three years I didn't use it. As a result, next time, instead of steel wool, I plan to use perlite with a piece of aluminum screen cut to fit inside the container to keep the beads from scattering when the lid's off or I'll store the piece of steel wool separately.

The best-known of the commercially-made alcohol stoves is the Trangia that's been used since 1925 by military forces and outdoors people. Available in cook sets for one to four people, with accessories to use other fuels, the alcohol burner is available separately for about $14.95. Made of brass so it's a lot sturdier than any DIY burner, the best features of the Trangia burner are the adjustable simmer ring that allows you to regulate the flame or extinguish it by moving the damper (Caution! Hot! Use something like the pliers of your multitool to lift the simmer ring off the burner and protect your fingers from being burned while adjusting the hot damper), and the cap that lets you store unused fuel in the burner which can't be done with others.

As with my Kiwi burner, all that's needed to operate a Trangia is to pour in the fuel and light it. When done, close the damper on the simmer ring and set the simmer ring on the burner to smother the flame.

If the burner is filled to capacity, it will cook at full blast for 30-45 minutes depending on wind and outside temperature. The only cautions are to set it on a stable surface so the fuel won't spill, don't check the difficult-to-see flame by passing your hand over it (Duh!), don't refill the burner while it's still warm - avoid a flare-up by using a second burner if you need to continue cooking longer - and avoid ruining the O-ring by waiting for the burner to cool before capping it. Also, it's better to coat the O-ring with silicone grease when you first get it and occasionally after so it doesn't dry and crack.

Detractors claim alcohol stoves are slow, but it's significantly true only for making coffee or hot cocoa for a crowd of eight which seems like it takes forever. Breaking the task down into two to four cups at a time will get it served a lot faster. Parties of only a few people won't notice a difference between a canister stove and a Trangia because of the pre-cook fiddling and priming that canister stoves require and the Trangia is sometimes even faster. Besides, what else are you going to be doing that's making you impatient over so very few minutes other than wait for your situation to improve?

For winter conditions, there's a Winter Attachment set ($26) that comes with a burner, a pre-burner to warm the burner so it starts easily in cold temperatures, and a pan so the burner won't sink into melted snow and disappear from sight.

In addition to the pot stands mentioned here, there are others made by other companies specifically for the Trangia burner. I favor the Westwind, available with a Trangia burner ($29.95) or without ($17.95), because it's lightweight and can be taken apart and easily stored flat in your pot or a Grab & Go bag.

*****

Accessories for whichever type of stove you choose for your preparedness kit should include a windscreen for cooking outdoors or with adequate ventilation and a pot cozy.

While a windscreen may be fashioned from heavy-duty foil doubled and wrapped around your pot stand, it might be easier to use one made of aluminum with accordion folds available for about $11.

A pot cozy is recommended to conserve fuel. When instructions say to simmer for n minutes, you can remove the pot from the stove after the water's boiled and set it in a pot cozy to continue cooking for the remaining time using residual heat.

Score! (Pattern)

I'm on a roll.

I've had issues with my travel wardrobe because I have one of those magical waistlines that expands more and contracts less than clothing with elastic waistbands can handle. The last time I went home to Hawai`i, I had to have the zippered skirt I took altered because it got too loose. Another skirt, a wrap skirt, allowed me to move the button myself, but in breezy conditions, a wrap skirt offers spontaneous free shows unless I keep a hand on it.

On my last road trip, I tried skirts, pants, and cropped pants with drawstring waists that were great. Unfortunately, the material is a blend of polyester and rayon and that much polyester in warm weather makes me want to break out of my clothes - definitely not the urge to follow unless I'm going to bathe.

As a result, I started thinking that I'm going to have to make my own. Sure, it would be easier to pack a couple of pareos to wear as skirts, but then I wouldn't have pockets in any of my skirts and what about when I need to wear pants?

At Walmart, I went to the sewing department that's being closed out and looked through the narrow selection of fabrics before perusing a couple of pattern books. Considering the cost of a pattern running in the neighborhood of US$16 plus the cost of the material, it almost doesn't seem worth making your own clothing anymore, unless you need something specific or enjoy creating your own fashions, because I've been able to get things on sale at Dillard's for $9-25.

Then, I saw it. On a rack above the pattern books, there was an envelope containing patterns for a short-sleeved shirt, top, skirt, and pants. McCall's "Easy stitch 'n save" M5352, comes in two sizes: A for 8, 10, 12, and 14; B for 14, 16, 18, and 20. This makes it ideal for women who need "fat" clothes and "skinny" clothes due to weight fluctuation. Plus, the skirt pattern is for an A-line skirt which is flattering on any body type. Plus, it's priced at only $2.99. Whoo-hoo!

I could hardly believe my good luck! With this, I can make an entire travel wardrobe and the only changes I have to make is to insert a drawstring into the waistbands instead of elastic and shorten the length of the pants to make crop pants, Capris, or shorts.

At the checkout register, the cashier asked if I found everything okay and I shared my good fortune.

"I'm so glad your sewing department isn't entirely gone, yet," I said.

"The price is better, too, because everything's on closeout," she replied.

"Yes, it's only $2.99 while most others were around $16."

"Is that the sale price?" she asked.

"Uh..." I examined the envelope. "No, that's the price printed on it."

She took the envelope and scanned it. "How about $2.50?"

"Yes, that's better," I said.

She checked some papers. "How about $1.50?"

Half off of only a $3 item? "That's great!" I said.

Score!

DIY Pareo

The large piece of fabric known as a "pareo" (pronounced "pah ray' oh") in Hawai`i and Tahiti, "sarong" in parts of SE Asia such as Thailand and Sri Lanka, and by other names in other countries, is an essential item for the traveling woman because it may be used as a beach cover-up, towel, skirt, dress, blouse, bandeau, jacket, shawl, headband, head-covering, turban, belt, sheet, blanket, table cloth, curtain, sun shade, bag, or pillow. After a trip, continue wearing it because pareos are so comfortable or use it to decorate your home by putting it up as a wall-hanging. The uses are limited only by your imagination.

However, until you're able to travel to a destination that offers a wide selection, it may not be easy to find one that you like. To help you out, here are directions for a no-sew, make-it-yourself pareo:

Go to a store that sells fabric and buy 2 yards (or 2 meters) of a color or print that you like if you're in the One-Size-Fits-Most crowd. If you're thin, you may get away with buying less while a super-sized woman will likely need more.

A pareo should go around you at least one and a half times, so to be sure of ample coverage, a thin or super-sized woman should measure herself around her largest point and multiply that number by 1.75. Then, divide by 36 to convert the inches to yards. (If you're on the metric system, I apologize for making you do the conversion. My math isn't good enough for me to risk messing you up.) Deal with any awkward fraction of the result by rounding up to the nearest quarter-yard. If you find your pareo is too long after using it for a while, you can always cut the excess and re-fringe the end.

Short women may need only 36-inch wide material. Women of average height or taller should stick to material that's 44-45 inches wide. The goal is to have material wide enough to cover you from the armpits to below the calf or ankle-length. Full sized pareos are folded to get dresses or skirts of shorter lengths. The pareos I've bought measure 60-65 inches long (plus the fringe) x 44-45 inches wide.

As for the type of material, I recommend rayon, washable silk, or lightweight woven cotton because they feel good against the skin and air-dry quickly. Be wary of employee recommendations because in one fabric store, a too-stiff brocade was suggested to me. What you need is washable, drip-dry material that's soft and fluid enough to drape like a shawl, scarf, or bandanna.

Inspect the inside of the folded material, the wrong side, to ensure that the dye goes through because you don't want the wrong side to be obvious when it shows as it will in some cases depending on how the pareo is tied. If the dye goes through, it won't be easy to tell the wrong side from the right.

Once you have the material home, make a fringe on one of the short, cut ends, a 44-45 inch wide side (for the short woman, it will be the 36-inch wide side), by picking out the cross threads until there's 3 to 3.5 inches of fringe. A pin, needle, or seam ripper will make the task easier.

Use an overhand knot to tie the hanging threads together in small groups approximately 1 inch apart from each other and up against the unfrayed material to stop it from unraveling further.

Repeat on the opposite end. Then, wash to remove any excess dye and dry.

That's it!

You don't have to do anything to the long, uncut, edges because the selvages keep them from unraveling.

All that's left is for you to use your favorite search engine to get ideas on how to tie and wear your new pareo and practice while imagining yourself on your next trip.

Black Saturday

Before Thanksgiving, I had a couple of topics I thought I'd write about. However, with the surfeit of feasting and napping, I've forgotten them completely and have only a few stray thoughts to share:

1. As we were getting ready to leave the office on the day before Thanksgiving 1999, my office mate asked me what I was planning to do on Thanksgiving.

"Write my letter of resignation," I replied.

It's hard to believe that was ten years ago. For a moment, I was despondent that I still don't have a book ready to submit for publication, but considering that I've been away from home for nearly six out of the ten years and learned a lot about the craft of writing during the rest of the time, it doesn't seem so bad.

2. I laugh at the TV commercials that say, "Black Friday starts on Saturday..."

3. If I didn't already have a good vacuum cleaner, I'd be tempted to buy the Shark Multi-Vac that's advertised during the infomercials played during the wee morning hours.

4. I don't think I'll miss the TV series, "Monk," but I will miss seeing Natalie Teeger, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer, and Lt. Randy Disher. I keep thinking of Hector Elizondo, the actor who portrays Dr. Neven Bell, Monk's psychiatrist, in the role he played in the movie, "Pretty Woman," so haven't gotten used to him in this role. I never did like Sharona.

5. Although I still have a couple of stores to check, it looks like I'll have to order my toothpaste online because three local stores no longer carry it. My guess is that because so many people want whitening toothpastes, a gentle toothpaste such as Arm & Hammer Dental Care doesn't sell as well. Why people would brush their teeth with silica, i.e. sand, a high abrasive that contributes to the wearing down of enamel much more than baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), the mildest abrasive that also happens to be an excellent cleaner, is beyond me. It must be because they don't read the ingredients and don't know that sand is silica.

While I'm at it, I may as well mention that it's so much simpler and less expensive to swish with water after eating to rinse out sugars and acids than to use a so-called "restorative" toothpaste that may also, oxymoronically, have silica or hydrated silica as an ingredient.

I've thought about brushing with plain baking soda, like people used to do back in the old days, and using a fluoride rinse to prevent cavities until I read the label on a rinse that said "sodium fluoride" which is a toxic industrial waste by-product.

Unfortunately, sodium fluoride is also the active ingredient in my toothpaste and others which is the reason for the warning to immediately contact the Poison Control Center if more than the amount used for brushing is swallowed. (All you need is the size of a pea, not the long, toothbrush-covering strip shown in TV ads to persuade you to use, and subsequently buy, more of the product.)

Of course, we're not supposed to swallow toothpaste. However, I can't help remembering that the inside of our mouths are so much more effective at absorbing that sublingual tablets for everything from vitamin B-12 for energy to nitroglycerin for angina are used instead of pills that need to be swallowed.

And, haven't we all seen a movie scene in which a drug addict rubs cocaine on his or her gums?

No, please don't try to tell me we're not getting any sodium fluoride in our bodies because we don't swallow toothpaste.

I remember when stannous fluoride, the safer, quality fluoride, was used in toothpaste. When did the toothpaste companies switch to the toxic waste by-product? Was it when the type of fluoride for fluoridating public water supplies was switched from sodium fluoride to hexafluorosilicic acid that's considered to be even worse than sodium fluoride?

Maybe I should look for a toothpaste with stannous fluoride or sodium monofluorophosphate. The problem is that I haven't found any without silica or hydrated silica. What are the chances of my finding a toothpaste with one of the good fluorides that also doesn't contain silica?

So, either I put poison into my mouth or wear down my enamel with an ADA-approved product that's supposed to be good for my teeth that really isn't or let my teeth rot by not using a product with fluoride. Some choice.

Maybe it's a good thing that I drink tea that has fluoride naturally.

That's all I have. I hope your Thanksgiving was full of thankfulness for the blessings you have and that your holiday shopping is hassle-free.

Review: Platinum Preppy

Specs:

Length capped: 5-3/8 in.
Length uncapped: 4-13/16 in.
Length posted: 6-1/8 in.
Diameter: 0.5 in., grip is 3/8 in.
Weight with cartridge: 0.42 oz.
Weight as ED filled pen: 0.48 oz.
Capacity as ED pen: 3.75 ml
One proprietary Platinum cartridge included, capacity: 1 ml
Proprietary Platinum converter, optional
Adapter for standard international cartridges, optional
O-ring size for optional DIY ED modification: 5/16" inside diameter x 7/16" outside diameter x 1/16" width or 1/4" inside diameter x 3/8" outside diameter x 1/16" width.

The Platinum Preppy is an inexpensive, full-sized, ultralight, clear plastic demonstrator fountain pen with a clip and painted nib that are color-coded to the included cartridge of ink. It's available with a 0.3 mm Fine or 0.5 mm Medium tipped, stainless steel nib with seven matching ink colors: Black, Blue-black, Green, Pink, Red, Purple, and Yellow.

Platinum also makes an adapter so that the relatively easy-to-find standard international cartridges may be used instead of the scarcer proprietary Platinum cartridges, although the adapter itself isn't easy to find.

The Preppy is very comfortable to hold for long writing sessions with the snap-on cap unposted, as I prefer, and the Fine nibs that I got write nearly as smoothly as expensive pens and more smoothly than any school pen ($5 - $30) that I've tried. As such, the Preppy is an impressively good introduction to fountain pens for as low as $3 - $4 from such online pen stores as JetPens and Swisher Pens which also sells the modified eyedropper (ED) pen for $6.

Unfortunately, I had a Preppy blow out on Friday afternoon. While I was writing, a large blob of ink formed on top of the nib where it comes out at the end of the section. I quickly capped the pen to prevent the blob from dropping onto my paper. It was strange behavior for a cartridge pen because that's how a too-empty ED pen behaves.

Upon examination, I saw that the feed was flooded with ink and, pulling out the nearly empty cartridge over the sink, I discovered a crack on the rim of the cartridge.

Was the crack made when I inserted the cartridge and broke the seal? I don't remember if it was difficult or if I might have inserted the cartridge in such a manner as to cause the crack.

I speculated that the flooding might have been caused by the cracked cartridge not fitting tightly enough onto the nipple to create a seal to contain the very low volume of ink. Did the warmth of my hand expand the air within the barrel forcing the ink to flood the feed as is typical with an ED pen that's too low on ink?

Putting a new cartridge in my failed pen after flushing it out flooded the feed, again. Oh, well. Transferring the new cartridge to a new Preppy got me back to working in short order.

That's why I like demonstrator pens: They let you see what's going on inside.

I advise against shaking a fountain pen or any other active method to get ink flowing within a fountain pen because it isn't necessary and because the pen might slip and crack from the sudden fall and subsequent impact. These Preppy pens, in particular, are better known for fragility than they are for durability compared to other plastic pens such as the Pilot Petit1. Just stand any fountain pen in a cup, nib down, to get it going. If it doesn't start writing in a minute or two, go do something else for 10 - 15 minutes. Patience is a virtue!

I've been using a Preppy since April '08 and got my first Preppy ED pen with a bottle of Noodler's Bay State Blue ink from Swisher Pens that included a free Preppy modified into an ED pen by Nathan Tardif.

Now this one blobbed as if it was an ED pen too low on ink and a new cartridge didn't fix the problem like refilling an ED pen does.

It's disappointing because the Preppy is a great pen. Beside being comfortable and smooth, I've let mine lay horizontally for weeks at a time and they always start right up. Since it's so inexpensive, did I get what I paid for? On Friday, I was thinking that we'll see what the final score is after I go through the rest of the colors I bought.

After a flash of inspiration yesterday, I converted the failed Preppy to an ED pen by adding an O-ring and some silicone grease to the section threads and filled it.

Voila! No more blobs.

If you want to try an inexpensive fountain pen, if you want to sample Platinum's exceptionally smooth nibs, if you want to experiment with grinding your own nibs, I highly recommend the Preppy.

If you want to modify a Preppy into a high-capacity eyedropper pen as a DIY project, you may go to a hardware store or a home building supply store to buy the O-ring. While you're there, buy a tube of 100% silicone grease to dab onto the threads to keep the O-ring from drying out and to ensure the seal won't leak ink through the section and barrel threads. Or, you may order the large O-ring, code ORING-LG, from Pendemonium as well as a small container of pure silicone grease.

[Warning! Do not use anything other than 100% silicone grease with fountain pens. Petroleum jelly (i.e. Vaseline), especially, will do nasty things to certain materials often used in fountain pens. Pure silicone grease is safe for fountain pens and it's better to be safe than sorry.]

You'll have to stretch the O-ring a bit to get it over the end of the section. Then, screw it down or roll it over the threads until it's flush with the stop just past the threads. Screwing the barrel on gently will ensure the O-ring is as far down as it will go. Be careful not to use too much force with the barrel or you may risk cracking it.

Remove the barrel and dab silicone grease onto the O-ring and section threads.

Next, you're ready to fill the barrel with your chosen fountain pen ink. Go ahead. Use a clean eyedropper and fill the barrel all the way up to the bottom of the threads. Then, screw on the section and you're good to go.

Just keep in mind that when the ink level gets 2/3 - 3/4 empty in an ED pen, the air in the barrel may expand from the heat of your hand and cause more ink to come out than you'd like, such as the blob I had. To prevent this from happening, simply grab your eyedropper when the level of ink is down to 1/3 - 1/4 full, refill the barrel, and dab on a bit more silicone grease to refresh the lubricant on the O-ring and threads.

Other than that, the only other difference between a Preppy and an ED Preppy is that the Preppy ED pens I have write slightly broader than the Preppy pens I use with cartridges that I refill using a 25¢ syringe I got from a local pharmacy. The difference is a .4 mm line from a cartridge-filled Preppy versus a .5 mm line from an ED Preppy and, like other pens using fountain pen ink, the line width may depend on the ink used as well as the paper.

Oh, yes. There's also the fun factor of watching the ink slosh back and forth in an ED barrel. Back and forth. Back and forth. When the barrel is to capacity, it's like a giant bubble in a level. Back and forth. Back and forth. When the ink level gets lower, it's more like a miniature wave machine. Back and forth. Back and forth. It's great for boring meetings or general daydreaming (ahem!).

Even though a Preppy failed on me, I still think the pen is well-worth buying because it's a comfortable, smooth writer that's priced in the same range as the Pilot VPen and Varsity disposable fountain pens or a disposable gel pen such as the Pilot Hi-Tec-C. The way I look at it, if a Preppy fails irreparably, it was a disposable fountain pen and I get to keep the good parts as spares. If it keeps working, it's a great, low-cost, user fountain pen that's more versatile for being easily modified into an eyedropper pen with a huge ink capacity.

Either way, it's a winning situation with the Platinum Preppy fountain pen.

Going, Going...

If you ever wanted to buy one of the Kaweco Sport ink rollers or fountain pens that Nathan Tardif, who makes Noodler's inks, modified into eyedropper pens, but never got around to actually getting one, now is the time to get your new eyedropper pen before they're out of stock. Swisher Pens won't be getting any more because Nathan stopped converting the Kaweco pens to eyedropper fills.

The blue Kaweco Sport Ice is already out of stock for both the eyedropper ink roller and the eyedropper fountain pen. The Kaweco eyedropper ink rollers are still available in clear, green, orange, and red. The Kaweco eyedropper fountain pens are still available in green, orange, and red.

(The term "ink roller" differentiates pens using fountain pen ink from pens using conventional rollerball refills.)

There's no rush if you want one of the regular pens, only if you want one that was modified to be an eyedropper pen.

What makes the Kaweco eyedropper pens so desirable is that they hold a whopping 2.5 ml of ink. Compare that to the .5 ml held by the standard short international cartridge that a regular Kaweco uses. The Monteverde mini converter holds even less ink than a standard short cartridge. The eyedropper pens will continue letting you have the options of using a cartridge or converter, if you want.

By comparison, other pens that use the standard long international cartridge hold 1 ml of ink, so with a Kaweco eyedropper pen, you'll be getting a nice compact pen that fits easily into a pocket or purse that holds 150% more ink than a pen that uses the long standard international cartridge.

The only undesirable aspect about the ink roller is that it's more sensitive about the angle at which I hold it than is my Parker rollerball. That is, if I prop a writing pad on my knees, the Kaweco ink roller quits writing sooner when I get careless and try to write while holding the pen at an upward angle than does my Parker rollerball. As soon as I angle the tip back downward so gravity can take effect, the pen starts writing again. (I posted a review of the Kaweco eyedropper ink roller last November.)

Should you decide to wait too long to order, to the extent that they run out, you could make your own eyedropper pen by simply coating the threads with pure silicone grease or silicone sealant as others did without problems before Nathan's specially lathed-modified pens with o-rings got to be popular. Put enough of a layer of silicone to coat the threads of the section (the part that holds the nib and feed or the rollerball) and gently screw on the barrel, wiping off any excess silicone. Pendemonium offers pure silicone grease for sale in their section called, "Pen Repair Supplies" or you should be able to find some in your local home building supply store.

Happy Writing!