What’s in a Biker’s Pocket?

Met a friend for lunch today, and by coincidence the restaurant we went to was not far from Kingdom Note, the pen shop mentioned in these pages a few days ago (December 12). Finding myself nearby came with good timing because I was thinking to buy a bottle of ink to give as a Christmas gift, and there is a wide selection to choose from at Kingdom Note.

I enter a pen shop with the same idea that comes with going in a bookstore, in that both are a paradise for browsing, so it was hardly likely that I would walk into Kingdom Note, ask for a bottle of ink, pay for it and then walk right out. Before even thinking about choosing and buying the gift ink, I began to make my way slowly along the glass cases filled with fountain pens, new, used and vintage. Recently I find myself drawn more to the makes, or brands of fountain pens I don’t already have in my collection. Perhaps it is my loss, but to be perfectly honest my interest is more in European pens than American, and I am not often tempted by any of the American models I see or read about. Today I spent a while looking at Waterman pens, and one in particular first caught my eye because of it’s interesting black and white checkerboard design. Looking more closely I saw the words ‘Harley-Davidson’ written in big white letters on the barrel of the pen, immediately below a bold orange stripe. Who wouldn’t be slightly thrown by the combined images of a motorcycle and a fountain pen? It was so incongruous, so bizarre that I couldn’t help loving it. The shiny tin case had the traditional Harley Davidson logo with the words, ‘Powered by Waterman’ just below it. Found myself imagining a burley whiskey voiced biker slamming his beer down on the bar, whipping out his Waterman fountain pen and scratching a phone number on the inside of a matchbook cover.

I was in luck because the pen was priced very reasonably, the medium steel nib with a feel to it that I like.

Checked later and learned that the pen was made by Waterman in 2000.

A surprise find, and a happy one.