15 Sunday Sep 2019
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I must admit I’ve tended to overlook Kaweco pens in the past and while I saw that the Sport and it’s derivatives were really just pocket pens, being (in my mind) too small for practical use even as a pocket/handbag pen. Who would have thought my near addiction to a French fizzy drink would result in my purchasing and using a limited edition version of one. Continue reading
05 Thursday Sep 2019
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There seems to be three ways of discovering Ryan Krusac and his pens. Be at a US pen show he’s attending, from a fountain pen blog/vblog, or from social media, with the results that in Europe he is little known even amongst long term fountain pen enthusiasts. My introduction was through the videos of Mike ‘Inkdependence’ Matteson and David ‘Figboot’ Parker.
21 Sunday Jul 2019
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The simple answer is no, but a rash of recent posted lists of sub £/$50 pens and also a chat with a long term unemployed fountain pen enthusiast, did make me wonder about covering this and even looking at some of my cheaper pens. I will also list at the end some other well respected pens which I do not own.
04 Thursday Jul 2019
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It’s been several months since my last daily carry post and my spring pen show purchases have now all been covered, so the Franklin-Christoph Penvelope 6 is once more the case being taken to work and the pens carried are actual regulars, and not those being used for upcoming reviews.
27 Thursday Jun 2019
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
20 Thursday Jun 2019
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fountain pen, leonardo officiano italliana, momento zero, musings, onoto, Onoto Magna, Onoto Magna Classic, pilot, Pilot Custom 823, SCRIBO, SCRIBO Feel
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
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
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
23 Thursday May 2019
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
16 Thursday May 2019
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.
