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Hi. I've been practising with a Sam Dalal s***i for a while now and I've been finding it difficult - it hurts my nail and the results look worse than most of the efforts in any local primary school. Therefore I thought I'd explore some of the alternatives.

I like the idea of the Boon as it is nice and small which is useful for becoming quickly clean, though I know that some find it a little unstable. I've seen other posts on similar devices, but nothing appears to mention Vernet's B.U.G. If there are any users out there, could you help with the following:

Is the extra stability really significant?

Does the larger size create any big problems when ditching?

Thanks.

Vernet's BUG is better than Vernet's boon. The bigger size is what gives it its extra stability, and the difference is especially noticeable when you're dealing with a grease crayon version, which drags on the paper more than graphite does.

That said, I still don't think it's the best boon out there. Piatt's Scarab is very nice, as is Lincoln's Best Boon. Both are reasonably large, but unlike the BUG, they have a 'heel' which helps rock the writer on and off the paper and helps with stability. The Scarab is the cheaper of the two, but Lincoln's Best Boon comes with a handy ditch case.

Other TMers will probably advise on TT writers. I hear that some people get on very well with them. Personally, I don't.

Hope that helps,

Pete

Oh, and as for ditching, I'd argue that size isn't important...

You should never be in a position where the device is in full view anyway.

Pete

Thanks pcwells. I'll look into the Scarab and Lincoln Best Boon. I agree with you on the TT - I imagine there's a big loss of sensation.

Caligari wrote:I agree with you on the TT - I imagine there's a big loss of sensation.

In my case it's too much unwanted movement - I've never found one that's a snug fit.

I recently tried the Vernett's boon, and found it a bit unstable when compared to their TT version. It was also quite costly, considering the size and crudeness of the gimmick... and the fact that I lost it within two days, and manufactured ten boons of my own by cutting the heads of pins, painting them with skin color, sticking a lead on top and placing a piece of plastelina glue on the bottom.

I recommend the Super Sharpie.You might think it's expensive but it is worth every penny. Completely self contained which means you can start & end clean whenever you want, always have it on you and use it as an ordinary sharpie too.

Try Will Dexter's suggestion of mounting the S---- on the side instead of the tip.

Barry