Marking Bibles

Okay, this post is a radical change from what I would normally do.  I don't know how many people actually like to mark in their bibles, I do.  I like to take notes, write observations, put cross references, and otherwise mark in my bible to make study easier or to remember what I noticed at some point.  I'm assuming that most of those who are reading this think of Scripture as worth studying and worth learning.  However, even if you do not normally mark in your bible, this post may be of use to you if you are a student, or you mark in books for whatever reason.

I'm way behind the times on this, and wasn't even aware that people had done research on what the best pens for writing in bibles was.  But, I did some research yesterday, and I didn't bother to actually favorite the blog post I found on marking in your bible, but I found a blog post that recommended specific pens and tools for writing in bibles.  Today I went out with my beloved wife and purchased one of those pens and tried it out, I have to admit, I'm liking what I've found so far.

The pens recommended were Pigma Micron pens.  These are archival quality pens, which means they are non-acidic, non-bleed, and do not smear.  Add to this that they are not ballpoint pens, which means that they do not dig into the page the same way ballpoint pens do.  They also are pigment based (if you could tell from the name) so they have minimal fading and once set are waterproof.  If you want more information, here is a link to their website: Sakura of America.

So, I bought one of the black 005 pens (a .2mm line) and I have found that it seems instant drying, does not bleed through the pages, and does not leave telltale indentations that can be felt on the back of the page or even on the next page of my bible.  All of this is a big deal to me as a lefty since it means I don't have to worry about ink transfer onto my hand, and smudging the line if I cross my hand over it during writing.  As far as taking notes in my bible, the writing is smooth, the lines are crisp, and with there being no indentations I don't have anything preventing me from doing underlining without worrying about damaging the page I'm working on.

I intend to take the advice of the pages I was able to read yesterday and purchase additional sizes and colors for different uses.  There is a local hobby store that sells six packs of the pens in 005 size and other sizes.  The reason for the different sizes is to have a larger size for underlining and a smaller size just for taking notes.  (The 005 is the smallest size.  The websites I read recommended using a 01 or an 03 for underlining.)

The only down side (for me) is that these are not the cheapest pens I could buy.  I can't buy a pack of pens for $1.50 like I could with cheap disposable ballpoint pens.  These are $2.99 at the local store, and the cheapest I could find them online were around $2.00.  A pack of six costs $15.99 here in Carrollton, GA.  It may not seem like a lot to most people, but we are on a tight budget.  However, the cost will be more than worth it if these pens live up to my expectations.

One last point: why these as opposed to regular pens and highlighters?  Well, highlighters have a tendency to bleed through, and they are not good for note taking.  Ballpoint pens are not the best for taking notes in a bible due to the indentations they tend to leave in the page, along with the propensity of most to bleed through at least a little.  Gel pens are better than ballpoint pens, but they also leave indentations, and the ink can degrade the already thin pages of most bibles (this is true of ballpoint pens also).  Archival quality pens are non-acidic, so they don't degrade the pages, the other benefits I mentioned a bit earlier.

To me all of this matters because I want to have a good quality note taking pen so I can write in my bible to minimize the notes I need to carry with me when I'm preaching.  By being able to take notes directly in my bible I do not need to worry about losing my outline, or having papers fall out of my bible if I move it while preaching.  In addition, taking notes in my bible lets  me do more intensive bible studies without worrying about keeping a specific notebook.

This post may not be of use to you, in fact you may be thinking this is a waste of time for you, if so, my apologies.  I do hope that you will at least consider how you might continue to develop your own time in bible study so that you can get more from the time you spend in the Word of God.  If you aren't doing regular bible study, then maybe this is a good time to start.  Set a schedule, get organized, and find a method that works for you.  I like to write, so I even write in my bible, but more important than the pen you choose is that you take the time to study in the first place.