16 Friday Apr 2021
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I know I’m irregular when it comes to these updates as my pens rotate at the pace to match the shifting of tectonic plates, still even I did not realise it’s been eight months since I last posted about the fountain pens in front of me, yes August 2020 was the last time I listed my pens in use.
Continue reading09 Friday Apr 2021
Posted in Pens
Narwhal appeared on the fountain pen scene around a year and a half back producing cheap and cheerful piston filler pens with in-house made nibs. Based in California, this small start up has quickly developed a fan base and after a year released a new model, the Schuylkill, with a prominent ink window which is still visible when the pen is capped. Two limited editions were included with this launch, with 365 ebonite pens appropriately called the 365, and 800 of this the Porpita Navy finish in a unique acrylic.
Continue reading09 Friday Apr 2021
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I’m a bit stop/start when it comes to trimming the collection. I envy those who are able to just look at their pens, grab a number, advertise them and sell them (though in reality most still need to work their way through the various for sale sites/platforms). I actually composed this list a while back, but never acted until now and have split the total listing in to two as I’m posting these on the Fountain Pen UK Facebook group and do not want to abuse the freedom to occasionally advertise.
Note this is a UK only sale.
Continue reading02 Friday Apr 2021
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I’m a bit stop/start when it comes to trimming the collection. I envy those who are able to just look at their pens, grab a number, advertise them and sell them (though in reality most still need to work their way through the various for sale sites/platforms). I actually composed this list a while back, but never acted until now and have split the total listing in to two as I’m posting these on the Fountain Pen UK Facebook group and do not want to abuse the freedom to occasionally advertise.
Note this is a UK only sale.
Continue reading24 Wednesday Mar 2021
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Café creme, Cafe Creme, M200, M205, Pelikan, Pelikan M200, Pelikan M200 Cafe Creme, Review Revisted
In the words of a young John Cleese “and now for something completely different”. The idea to do this piece actually came from a discussion on the FPUK Facebook group about pens and food, resulting in me posting a picture I took to go alongside my very first pen review back in 2016, and my only pen review until I started here some two and a half years later. It was a review of not my first pen, nor my first pen on moving away from Parker, but of my first Pelikan. The back story was I had seen a pictures of the M200 Cognac and the M205 Amethyst, the special editions from 2014 and 2105 respectively. I fancied one of these though was uncertain about the real life photos people ere posting of the purple pen and looking on line the Cognac was no where to be seen, however I did spot the Café Creme and something about it resonated with me. It was the M200 special edition from 2015, a year which seemed to be a busy one for Pelikan with five different limited run M20x pens in that year (according to Pelikan Collectables). Again these were in short supply, however I found one for sale at Pelikan Pens, part of the Pure Pens/Niche Pens group for the princely sum of £99. It was the most I had spent on a pen at that time, oh how things have changed and there are plenty of you out there who make my present budget look small 😉 .
Continue reading05 Friday Mar 2021
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In the last few months I have reviewed a couple of different TWSBI pens and have been critical of both, so the question is with the Eco will it be three for three. Certainly at its launch the Eco raised a few eye brows. The 580 was considered to be a low cost entry into the piston filler world, yet here was a pen for considerably less. Critics were quick to point out the reputation TWSBI were still trying to shed for pens cracking and also that the section and barrel were one piece, making it harder to clean. The fact that you were still supplied with a spanner and silicon oil along with dismantling/cleaning instructions seemed to be overlooked, never mine most other manufacturers would cry foul and invalidate your warranty if they found you’d taken their product apart.
Continue reading27 Saturday Feb 2021
Posted in Pens
TWSBI jumped on the special and limited editions band wagon quite a while back, particularly with the ECO and the 580 AL models, with the latter being hit by a slight price increase. 2020 had seen successful versions of those, with the Prussian Blue 580 AL being particularly well received, but in all cases it was still safe playing of a known formula so more than a few people may have been surprised when rumours of a limited edition 700R crept out. After all, while being the most expensive pen in their range (though still sub £80), it never quite generated the excitement of the others being more for those who wanted a vacuum filler but without the costs of a Pilot Heritage 823 (if available in your country) or the even higher cost of a Visconti. Certainly the initial artistic Instagram leaks garnered interest, however I doubt anyone realised just how quickly this pen would sell out when launched. A second batch was made and release within just a few weeks and I’ve still not seen or heard any confirmation this had been planned in advance. It appears that comparatively minor cosmetic alterations potentially changed the ugly duckling of the TWSBI range to a glorious white swan.
Continue reading20 Saturday Feb 2021
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I was looking at my pens last week and saw one I had not used for a while, a John Twiss creation made from Thuya Burl wood. It looks good and a lot of attention was made to bringing out its character and beauty. It has been an enjoyable week using the pen and I had created an nice review piece for it, though in true blogging fashion, felt the article was missing something. Photos were taken and about to be processed to find I already had photos …. from the previous time I had covered it … ‘doh !’ I believe is a suitable term. Still it’s a great excuse to show off the new photos of this beautiful pen.
Continue reading16 Tuesday Feb 2021
Posted in Gastronomy
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I think close friends will always have been surprised that a foodie and gastronaught such as myself would avoid discussing restaurants, recipes, food history, and cooking techniques on this blog, however with it being Pancake Day in the UK I thought I would publish my recipe for pancakes and how I cook them. In reality they are simple to make and this recipe is closely based on one published in the Good Housekeeping’s My First Cook Book.
Note this is for traditional thin crepe/pancakes, not the thicker US style butter milk based ones.
Continue reading10 Wednesday Feb 2021
As with every collecting based hobby there fads in the fountain pen world, many accidental and most to the surprise of the creator. Such was the situation a year and a half back when Ian Schon launched a machined pocket pen based around a size 6 nib. Selling online and at pen shows his new range attracted the attention of a number of ‘penablers’ who brought the Pocket6 to the fore. By early 2020 this became a must have pen. The fact that online reviewers still use their Pocket6 pens and more than a few have bought additional does infer it is a good writing implement, question is do I get on with the pen and what are my personal views.
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