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May the 4th be with you !
04 Wednesday May 2022
Posted in Pens
Category Archives: Pens
Kilk Novo Baroque
29 Friday Apr 2022
Posted in Pens
Confession time. My paternal great grandfather (edit – picture at the bottom) was born in Smyrna (now Izmir) in Turkey, coming over and settling in the UK near the end of 19th century. I do not remember my grandfather (and certainly not my father) maintaining any Turkish traditions or heritage, yet when I see a product from the country of my ancestors I feel a tug to the heart strings. So when a small pen maker pops up in Istanbul my attention is grabbed. Problem was the costs of getting a pen over to the UK were comparatively high due to taxes, duty, etc, so when I heard rumours Kilk were going to be at the 2022 Spring London Pen Show my interest and attention was alerted.
Continue readingDiplomat Aero
08 Friday Apr 2022
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In many respects I am late to the party. The Diplomat Aero has been out for a good few years in an ever expanding number of colours and finishes. I have tried a few over time, but it was only on the last International Fountain Pen Day (2021) that I finally pulled the trigger and bought one. Was it worth it, am I glad, and is the cap snap action as sexy as many a reviewer has made it out to be.
Continue readingOnoto Scholar
25 Friday Mar 2022
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A few weeks before the Spring 2022 London Pen Show I heard Onoto were working on a new lower cost model. An entry point to their range and heirloom ownership ethos. Little did I know that when I asked Feng Li of Onoto on the day, instead of being given snippets of information he rushed off and returned with a tray full of the first batch which they were selling pre-launch at the show. If these were numbered or came with ownership cards like their other models, I would now have number #1. Monday this week (the 21st of March 2022) the pen went live on their website.
Continue readingAsvine v169
18 Friday Mar 2022
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Asvine are not a new company as they have established themselves making pens for other brands in recent years. Now they have decided to produce their own fountain pen and rather than follow their local peers, it is an original design.
Continue readingSpring 2022 London Pen Show
11 Friday Mar 2022
Posted in Pens
Ok confession time. I took too few pictures and I should have noted down what stores/sellers were there as it is under a week later and I am already struggling to remember 😀
Continue readingRussian Invasion of Ukraine and Benu Pens
06 Sunday Mar 2022
Posted in Pens
It is a sad state of affairs that I have to write this as I try to avoid all politics in my public posts, not just here in my blog. The world can be a harsh place and there are plenty of unpleasant or even just plain nasty and/or evil people out there. Problem is this is not just despotic dictators.
Continue readingResponsibility for Nibs
04 Friday Mar 2022
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The nib is the heart of the pen. It does not matter how well made and balanced the body is, how much ink the filling system holds, or how good the material looks if the writing experience is poor. Question is who should take responsibility and what are our expectations.
Continue readingSpring London Pen Show and Busy Times
03 Thursday Mar 2022
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First off this coming Sunday it is the Spring London Pen at the Hammersmith Novotel. Going to be interesting to see how many vendors and visitors will be there considering the near removal of COVID related restrictions over here and more people getting used to the ‘new reality’.
On a different note, I’ve not been able to produce weekly posts for a short while. This is partly due to me being busy with one of my other hobbies where I have administrative work.
Wancher Bakelite Seven Treasures
18 Friday Feb 2022
Posted in Pens
Take a material which was common at the turn of the previous century but stopped being used as cheaper forms of plastic emerged which were easier to work with and not prone to becoming brittle with age. Add a piece of traditional Japanese art created by a Japanese artist of renown, make a pen from it and you have the Wancher Bakelite Seven Treasurers fountain pen.
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