23 Saturday Jan 2021
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Been a few months coming, the final part of my Pens from My Past series where I cover the fountain pens that led up to my purchase of the TWSBI Diamond 580 and my entry/re-entry in to the fountain pen hobby. After all this was the one that could have completely moved me away from fountain pens but instead resulted in my looking for better alternatives.
Continue reading18 Monday Jan 2021
Oranges, tangerines, satsumas, clementines, all bring forth memories of the sun and summer, yet at the same time also trigger feelings of warmth at the height of winter, and orange crush resins are certainly the right sort of material bring a smile when it is raining outside. However, who would have thought this pen would cross seasons with it being ordered early spring and not arriving until early autumn, but then at the time who would have known based on previous experiences just how wide spread and heavily the COVID-19 virus would hit the world. Such was 2020.
Continue reading28 Monday Dec 2020
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As the old Chinese curse goes, “May you live in interesting times”, and for 2020 this has been true for most of us. Personally my family has not been hit (so far) by Covid and those friends of mine who’ve caught it have all recovered, however as previously mentioned here I did lose my father at the end of August, so not a great year. As a result I’ve split this article up in to four sections, and many of these pens will appear at pen clubs once life returns back to normality (or what ever is considered the new normality).
Continue reading08 Tuesday Dec 2020
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TWSBI are almost at the same level as Lamy when it comes to special and limited editions, but normally this is just within their existing range, however early March 2019 they leaked images of a new pen on their Instagram feed. A new pen, based on the 580, but with a different shape and size. Under a week later is was available on the TWSBI’s own store (and only there), to be sold out within no time at all. No further batches were released.
Continue reading24 Tuesday Nov 2020
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fountain pen, imporium, lamy, Lamy Al-Star, lamy dialog, lamy dialog 3, Lamy Imporium, lamy persona, lamy personna, Lamy Safari, Lamy Scala
For many, Lamy was the maker of their first fountain pen, be it a cheap dip in to the inky waters, or for mandatory use at school. In some respects this has resulted in created a certain perception of the brand. You want a cheap pen, you buy a Lamy. Bought a Lamy then it must be a cheap pen. It’s almost the reverse to Pelikan, whom most associate with the Souveran range of luxury writing equipment and so it is often forgotten then also produce the Pelikano, a direct rival to the Safari and a worthy one at that.
Continue reading15 Sunday Nov 2020
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First launched in 1999, the r0tring Initial range introduced a more traditional looking design while also maintaining hints of the company’s Bauhaus origins. It was not an expensive pen, bridging the gap between the cheap plastic models and the more expensive 800 range.
Continue reading23 Friday Oct 2020
Den’s approach to pen making has been slightly different from the norm. Using a lathe for work he moved towards combining a newly discovered love for fountain pens with his professional skills, with the twist being a very public learning experience as he has covered his trials and tribulations on his Facebook page, warts and all.
Continue reading07 Wednesday Oct 2020
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OK a slightly misleading title, but presently I am spending time going through my late father’s documents and making notes with my pens, rather than my laptop (who would have thought I have been working in IT for over 20 years, much of it hands on the technical side). With that in mind I’ve actually assembled a slightly different set of pens from normal, and these I’ve been carrying up to my mother’s for a few weeks now.
Continue reading18 Friday Sep 2020
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What no Parker?! – I know readers were expecting me to cover the pen that moved me on from that one manufacturer and kindled the start of my collecting, however as previously mentioned I had bought a Lamy as a second pen to use with red ink a few years before (and strictly speaking I had previously owned some cheap Reynolds pens bought from hypermarkets in France).
Continue reading21 Friday Aug 2020
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As a kid I have memories of my father, an architect, trying to clean out and get ink to flow from his Rotring Isograph pens. The issue was the need to use a dark permanent ink, traditionally in the UK Indian Ink (known as India Ink in the USA). This would quickly dry in the pen, clogging it. I have no clue if capillary/tube nibbed pens are easier to clean than more traditional fountain pens but it always seemed to be messy and a cause of frustration.
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