Pilot Custom 823

27 Thursday Jun 2019

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Last week I posted about a number of pens which to me felt just right.  Amongst them was the Pilot Custom 823.  To some it is an over priced generically shaped pen with a less common filling system and seemingly mismatched materials, yet few owners regret the purchase and put them up for sale.  A number I’ve seen on the second hand market have actually been spares where some one has got carried away and bought each of the different finishes to find they just use the one pen.  Rarity partly helps as well as Pilot, for some reason, are only interested in selling the pen in Japan and the USA. Continue reading →

Pens that feel ‘just right’

20 Thursday Jun 2019

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We’ve all been there.  We’ve held an item, a gadget, a widget, a tool, in our hands and it has just felt right, perfect for the task, comfortable and comforting.  It may be cheap, it may be expensive.  It may be bespoke, it may be off the shelf, there are no hard and fast rules, and like all emotive mysteries, it’s hard to explain just why it works so well for one person, yet may not for another. Continue reading →

Fine Writing International Bronze (201901 version)

13 Thursday Jun 2019

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Fine Writing International is a Taiwanese stationary store which recently started to sell their own pens.  Released so far are the Planets series and the Bronze.  The main difference is the former has an acrylic cap, grip section, and barrel rear, the Bronze has the same components in brass (which does make you wonder about the name).  The barrel is a clear acrylic.  Both versions come with a decent converter and can also be turned in to an eye dropper filled pen, with a rubber gasket ring being provided on the grip section threads. Continue reading →

Parker Duofold Prestige Centennial Blue Chevron

06 Thursday Jun 2019

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As with many English schoolboys who had to use a fountain pen I grew up on Parkers.  I still have a couple of 25s (plus roller ball, pencil,  & ballpoint) that were my school mainstay, and a Parker 45 that was a present and which I used to enjoy until I had to get the nib replaced (pen rolled off a kitchen top on to the tiled  floor …).  My collection does not stop there as I have a 51 which belonged to my grand father and still works well, plus from this century an Eclipse and an IM. Continue reading →

Onoto ‘Dubai Inspired’ Magna Classic Burgundy Pearl with Chasing

30 Thursday May 2019

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At the start of 2019, Onoto were invited by the British Government to be part of a trade deputation to Dubai.  While there they were inspired by the traditional rich colours of Arab art and design.  On return, one Feng Li experimented with filling in the chasing pattern on Pearl Magna Classic, looked at the results and … a set was created and sold at the following pen shows.
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How to take photographs of pens….

23 Thursday May 2019

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…when you have a friend who has the equipment and knows how to use it.

It is quite true that a decent photographer can use virtually any camera to take a decent shot.  It’s the real reason why phone cameras can produce the quality images they do (o.k. that’s along with some serious post processing by the phone as well).  The two key components are the photographer and the lighting.  For the former, experience, an eye for detail, the eye for a shot, or even just dumb luck come in to it, however the latter we often have less control over.  The Sunday just gone I was fortunate to be in a situation where a friend brought along a professional lighting set up, along with a light table, and guided me through how best to use the equipment. Continue reading →

My latest pen from John Twiss

16 Thursday May 2019

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Pens are emotive.  The nibs, the material, the looks, the feel, all play on our senses.  The variations both within and between manufacturers and craftsman help propel our hobby, our collections, and our expenditure forwards, while also providing a source of joy, and dare I say, at times frustration.  Wood often grabs my attention, so when John Twiss posted a picture of three new, primarily wooden pens on Facebook and Instagram just before the Spring London Pen Show, my interest was piqued.

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Taccia Covenant

09 Thursday May 2019

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Have you ever read about a new pen and thought that it was interesting.  A friend then buys the pen and looking at it in real life you think “that’s nice”.  Trying it you decide it writes well and you start to think ‘if I could find it in this finish ….’.  Finally, wandering round a pen show, you see the version you want at a nice, hard to ignore price?  Well this happened to me with the Taccia Covenant, which I picked one up at the Spring London Pen Show.

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Pilot Elite 95S (Modern)

01 Wednesday May 2019

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In 1964 Platinum launched the 200, a ‘long-short’ pocket pen.  This was followed four years later by Pilot with the Elite 95 S, and while production of both was stopped before the Millennia, probably in the 1980s, it was the Pilot that was remembered with the result that in 2014 an updated version was re-introduced in to the USA as the E95S and shortly after in Japan under it’s original name.  Available in either black or burgundy and light gold, it looks very similar to the original.  Note the pen was not available outside the country and also should not be confused with the South Korean produced/licensed Pilot Elite, as covered in this video by Figboot on Pens alongside the E95s.
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Daily Carry End of April

26 Friday Apr 2019

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Been a couple of months since I last did a daily carry post, but when I wrote the first one I did say it would not be a regular feature.

First thing you’ll notice is I’m not using the Franklin-Christoph Penvelope 6, but rather my 12 slot Visconti case.  The reason behind this is the desire to use the new pens I picked up at the London Spring Pen Show, partly with a view to be able to review most of them having given the pens a decent use. Continue reading →