02 Friday Feb 2024
Posted in Pens
Back in August I was in an E.Leclerc hypermarket near Barjouville when back road travelling between Tours and Rouen. Browsing the stationary aisles (there were multiple) I spotted this ‘mini stylo-plume’, which came with iridium tipping for the princely sum of €1.43. Yes you read that correctly. So of course to the big question … is it junk or a great bargain.
Continue reading25 Thursday Jan 2024
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Information has now been out for a short while about the upcoming London Pen Show, however an announcement email today could well be of interest to those of you in two minds.
Continue reading19 Friday Jan 2024
Posted in Pens
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fountain pen, Gravitas, Gravitas Ultimate Vac, Ultem, Ultem Fountain Pens, Ultem Pens, Vac Filler
It could be argued that Ben Walsh has taken the fountain pen world by storm with his takes on materials, finishes, engineering and experimentation. How many of us would normally eschew the bright and the bling yet now possess a skittles finished pen. His experiments with concrete failed, yet this has not stopped him and we have now have his take on the bulk and vac fillers. It is the latter I review here.
Continue reading16 Tuesday Jan 2024
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1st of January this year an earthquake hit Japan and Wajima City was very heavily affected. Amongst those building heavily damaged and destroyed are the workshops of Nakaya.
Continue reading12 Friday Jan 2024
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So here is something you would never have thought could be a item of contemplation. Separating the cap of a pen from the barrel to allow us to write. Simple. We talk about removing the cap, yet for many of us it is actually the opposite. We remove the body.
Continue reading29 Friday Dec 2023
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Traditionally each year I visit the two London Pen Shows, make most of the Southern Pen Club meets, buy too many pens, and procrastinate about selling some of the collection. So how has 2023 compared with the past?
Continue reading21 Thursday Dec 2023
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Asvine, Chinese, fountain pen, Hong Dian, Hong Dian 1851, Hong Dian Forest, Hongdian, HongDian 1851, HongDian Forest
Do a search for the Chinese firm Hong Dian (also written HongDian) and you will find, primarily on Amazon or Etsy, a list of pretty generic fountain pens though none are clones and one model does stand out as slightly different. A thin straight pen which has obviously been designed for the cap to be posted. Depending on the colour or finish this pen either has no name or is called the Forest, though as far as I can tell the model is actually the 1851 (on etsy, however, the range of 1850-1861 is used).
Continue reading17 Sunday Dec 2023
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Thought I really ought to post some plans as visiting family and meeting friends will throw an already lazy schedule out of sync.
Continue reading08 Friday Dec 2023
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Many fashion, jewellery house and accessory brands have dabbled with writing implements and Cartier are no exception. At present their only fountain pen is a hand made £136,000 gauche product, however early to mid last decade they sold the Art Deco inspired Diablo at a far more reasonable price.
Continue reading24 Friday Nov 2023
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As I write it is Black Friday and fountain pens are once more being discounted, but is today the best day to buy, after all Fountain Pen Day was just three weeks back and we’re not yet (in theory) in the Christmas period.
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