Category: Stationery

Ever-Growing Jowo Problem

August 13, 2021

Rachel

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Ever-Growing Jowo Problem

Posted in Fountain Pens

We interrupt our scheduled programming on the 2021 DC Pen Show for this special bulletin on Jowo issues.

My next post will be back to DC Pen Show fun, but I felt that Friday the 13th was the perfect day to post this.

The Issue

Over the past year (ish) the number of posts I’ve seen about cracked Jowo housings has steadily increased. What started as an occasional post has turned into multiple posts per week, from makers and buyers alike. This clearly isn’t a small, single batch issue, it’s a manufacturing problem.

I recently went through my own Jowo nibs and found around 10 cracked housings. I don’t remember the exact number, nor did I keep them for later documentation (lack of foresight on my part). However, in checking my nibs again last night, I found two more cracked housings.

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2021 DC Pen Show, Part 1

August 11, 2021

Rachel

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2021 DC Pen Show, Part 1

Posted in Pen Shows

You all know how much I’ve been missing pen shows. I can’t say how great it was to go to the Washington DC Fountain Pen Supershow (AKA DC Pen Show). I intend to write a few posts related to the DC Pen Show, this one covers my general experience at the show. Still to come are my review of the show, and some reviews of what I bought. It was so lovely to see pen friends and chat with everyone throughout the show.

Friday – Show

This was the first time I’ve attended the DC Pen Show on a Friday, so I can’t say how different it was to normal, non-COVID years. However, in comparison to what I’m used to from the DC Pen Show, this year felt rather empty. There were additional vendors arriving throughout the day, though.

I was at the show from about 9:30am to about 1:15pm; leaving early after accomplishing my main missions. I needed to pick up Jim to go back for the unofficial Pen Show After Dark hangout, and I didn’t want to be stuck in traffic. And anyway, there were still two more days.

My first stop upon arrival was the registration table. I’d heard a rumor amongst the DC Pen Crew that a Weekend Trader Pass allowed you to bring a spouse. Turned out it was true!! So I picked up my badge and a badge for Jim (we were very thankful for that later). Then, because it was still so early (only about 9:38), I sat in the lobby for a bit. But by 9:52, I couldn’t contain my excitement anymore and snuck into the smaller room.

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Deciding Which Pens to Sell

August 6, 2021

Rachel

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Deciding Which Pens to Sell

Posted in Fountain Pens

This seemed like an apropos time to share this post, with the DC Pen Show going on and other pen shows (hopefully) to come later this year. Lots of us sell pens to give us bigger pen show budgets. That’s probably why I’ve seen some posts recently wondering how to decide which pens to sell. If you’ve never sold a pen, the first one can certainly seem like a wrench. And the occasional posts about seller’s regret wouldn’t help that feeling.

I give my sales significant thought, specifically to avoid that horrible feeling. On the hope that it might help someone, I’m sharing how pens end up on my “for sale” list. I love being able to sell a pen to pay for a new one. I want to make sure that I’m very clear that this post is about how to choose what to sell once you’ve decided that you want to sell pens. It’s not about telling anyone that they should sell pens.

Rachel

Using All My Pens

Posted in Fountain Pens

I’ve had several people ask me how I use all my pens. I went through a few methods before I settled on the current one. It seems to be working pretty well. I’ve gone through 4, maybe 5, rotations with it so far, and I don’t see myself changing it any time soon.

The base of my strategy is separating my pens into categories. It doesn’t really matter what the categories are, you just don’t want more categories than the number of pens you’ll have in use. I keep 5 pens inked — not including my always inked pens — and split my pens into “Less Expensive” (under $250), “More Expensive” (Over $250), and “Indie Pens” categories.

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My Current Pen Wish List

July 9, 2021

Rachel

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My Current Pen Wish List

Posted in Fountain Pens

For a very short while earlier this year, I had a very minor pen wish list. But, I’m acquisitive by nature — I try to temper it, but the crow-brain is strong with this one — so, lo and behold, I have a significant wish list again. It’s not as long as it could be — or has been in the past — so at least there’s that.

I’m going to share my current wish list, and maybe revisit it a couple of times a year to see what I buy and what I ultimately decide against. Maybe you’ll find some pens to add to your wish list. Muahahaha — erm, *cough cough*. Sorry about that.

Note: I’ve listed these in alphabetical order by company name.

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Ranking Large Pen Brands

July 2, 2021

Rachel

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Ranking Large Pen Brands

Posted in Fountain Pens

DISCLAIMER UPDATE (6/24/22): TWSBI and Narwhal have released a joint statement which I cover in my most recent TWSBIgate post. While not completely satisfied with TWSBI’s response to the situation, I no longer feel the need to dissuade people from purchasing their products.

DISCLAIMER (5/1/22): Since writing this post, TWSBI has been involved in some unsavory actions, and I am currently boycotting them. For more information, refer to the #twsbigate tag page.

I’ve seen this ranking system on YouTube a lot lately, and it seemed like a fun idea. I don’t know how well it will work in a blog post, but I’m giving it a try. Since I always want to jump to the end to see what the rankings are, I’ve started with that. You can continue reading after the ranking list if you want to find out why I placed a brand in any given ranking.

OK, so what am I ranking? Large/Mainstream pen brands. I’m not including Indie Brands because a) I don’t think that’s fair to them, given I have no idea how experienced any person is with pen making at this time and b) I think all Indie Brands that don’t have shady business practices should be shown more love, not shade. You can see the Indie Brand qualifications in my Indie Pen Makers Update post. For me, large/mainstream brands are those readily available in pen stores.

Let me know if I’ve missed any brands, I can write an update to include them. That said, I’m also not including defunct brands — sorry OMAS lovers. I’m also only considering modern experiences with vintage brands (e.g. Esterbrook, Sheaffer, etc.) not their vintage pens.

Let me know if you agree or disagree with my rankings. And if this looks fun, you can use my template to make your own ranking list.

Rachel

There Was a Pen

Posted in Fountain Pens

I’ve owned a decent number of pens in my time in the pen world. And I have many pen friends. This idea came to me as I was considering one of my most recent additions to the “for sale” pile. That said, I give you There Was A Pen a short story I wrote with illustrations by Pensloth, AKA Jim Crawford.

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2021 Triangle Pen Show

June 16, 2021

Rachel

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2021 Triangle Pen Show

Posted in Pen Shows

Jim brought up going to the Triangle Pen Show (TPS) a couple weeks ago but we dithered for a while, only deciding to go on the Thursday before. The drive wasn’t too bad, we were lucky to not hit traffic on the way down — we hit all the traffic on the way back up, though.

We made it to the show around 11:30 am. Finding out masks weren’t required surprised me. Being fully vaccinated, we decided to try going maskless and see how we felt. I’m not going to lie, it felt a bit naughty. I felt almost naked. But it was nice to breath freely. And since the room wasn’t packed, I was OK without a mask and enjoyed the taste of pre-COVID life.

The best part for me was just being at a pen show again. Getting to see Carey from Kenro, Damien of All in the Nib, Bert of Bertram’s Inkwell — although we see him often — and some pen friends was great. I’ve missed the pen camaraderie. It’s such a social battery recharge to see people, talk pens, and be able to see/handle things in person before buying them.

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My Pen Collection – 2021

June 4, 2021

Rachel

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My Pen Collection – 2021

Posted in Fountain Pens

I’m a data hoarder. I keep track of my pen collection in an extensive AirTable database, full of delicious data. For fun, I put together this infographic of my collection from the day I bought my first pen through May 1, 2021. It’s interesting seeing the trends. To view larger, click on any section of the image.

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May 28, 2021

Rachel

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A Warning to the Pen Curious

Posted in Fountain Pens

“Hi Mrs. Smith!”

“Oh, hello, Jen. How many times have I told you to just call me Barb?”

“I couldn’t do that, Mrs. Smith, you’re around my mom’s age, and that just doesn’t seem right.”

“Well, the invitation is there, Jen. You’re in your 30s, it’s OK to call me Barb if you want.”

“I’ll think about it Mrs. Smith. By the way, you know about fountain pens, don’t you?”

“I do, I grew up with them. Why do you ask?”

“A friend of mine uses them, and I’m kind of curious.”

Mrs. Smith sighs and gestures to the chair next to her, inviting Jen to sit. “So you’re interested in pens, are you? Be warned, that’s dangerous territory, dear, dangerous indeed.” Jen’s eyes pop wide, and Mrs. Smith waves away her obvious fear. “Oh, perhaps not necessarily dangerous to your life, but to your wallet, to your interests!

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May 21, 2021

Rachel

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A Surprising Joy

Posted in Fountain Pens

It’s not often I write a pen review — let’s be honest, it’s almost never — mostly because there are so many reviewers out there. However, in this particular case, I feel impelled to share my thoughts.

About a month ago, I realized that I no longer had an orange pen in my “Under $250” category. I can’t have a pen rainbow without orange. To try to fix that issue, I solicited some suggestions from my lovely local peeps in the DC Metro Pen Crew.

I received a lot of suggestions, and the Pilot Custom 74 is the one I ultimately decided on. By sheer coincidence, I had a birthday coupon for Pen Chalet, so that’s who I ordered from.

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Día de Muertos, Pen Realized

May 7, 2021

Rachel

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Día de Muertos, Pen Realized

Posted in Fountain Pens

I’m back with post three, so you know what that means. My pen arrived! If you have read my previous posts (1, 2), I suggest you do so to know how this pen came to be. Be forewarned, there is A LOT of pen porn in this post. And you can click/tap any image to view it larger. I take no responsibility for pen envy, pen lust, or pen purchases resulting from the content in this post.

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April 16, 2021

Rachel

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Sailor Fatigue

Posted in Fountain Pens

It took me quite a while to get into Sailor pens. I didn’t buy my first until October 2019 — 2 ¾ years after buying my first fountain pen. Not gonna lie, I’m still pretty pleased with that initial Sailor purchase — the Tequila Sunrise. It was, is, a worthy first Sailor purchase.

I’ve bought 13 more Sailor pens since then, all in the Pro Gear family, 10 of which I’ve kept. Not a bad ratio, and compared to my total pen purchases, not too terribly many. However, it does encompass the most fountain pens I’ve purchased of the same general model. It ties with TWSBI 580s, at 11, for most fountain pens I own of the same general model.

To be honest, I’d likely own more Sailor Pro Gears if they were less expensive and more easily purchased. But, fairly often, the ones I found interesting were from super small runs through stores that don’t sell online. And we all know what eBay sellers do to prices. But I digress…

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April 14, 2021

Rachel

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Missing Pen Shows

Posted in Pen Shows

As I reviewed some old blog posts the other day, it hit me that: 1) I never wrote a post about the 2020 Baltimore Pen Show and 2) that it’s been over a year since my last pen show, and I really miss them!

I’m well aware that I’m incredibly privileged to live near two pen shows, BWIPS and DC. While BWIPS will always be my favorite, both are tons of fun, dangerous for the budget, and an opportunity to see pen peeps.

And that camaraderie, that sense of community, is part of what I miss so much. I can buy pens — for the most part — at any time, but I can’t see people. Video calls, while nice, are not the same. Especially in an analog hobby, so much gets lost in a digital “meeting.”

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Indie Pen Makers Update

April 9, 2021

Rachel

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Indie Pen Makers Update

Posted in Fountain Pens

About 2.5 years ago, I wrote about Indie Pen makers (can you believe I only owned 20 pens? Incredible!). Since then, I’ve learned about many more pen makers, both that have started recently and that I simply didn’t know about at the time.

Do not expect this to be a comprehensive list, that’s virtually impossible these days. However, if you know of a maker who meets the qualifications below and is not included, please let me know. Also, if you know the location of a maker that doesn’t have one listed, let me know that, too.

To qualify for this list, a pen company needs to meet the following qualifications (I need some way to limit this list, otherwise it would be enormous):

Small company (1-4 people working on the pens)
Only or regularly works with customers to make unique/custom pens
Fully handmade, uses CNC lathes with hand finishing, 3D prints custom pen designs, or designs and develops custom pens to be manufactured
Creates kitless pens
Not sold in stores (or only sold in local brick & mortar store)
Makes one-off or short runs

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Día de Muertos, Making of the Pen

March 26, 2021

Rachel

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Día de Muertos, Making of the Pen

Posted in Fountain Pens

I’m back with the second entry in the chronicle of my Día de Muertos pen. If you read my first entry then you know that this means I received permission to share the mock-up images for my custom pen.

Be forewarned, it will likely be a while before my next update. I’ll explain why I think so a bit later. For now, let’s pick up where I left off.

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Unpopular Fountain Pen Opinions

March 12, 2021

Rachel

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Unpopular Fountain Pen Opinions

Posted in Fountain Pens, and Paper

Alright, I’ve got a potentially (probably) divisive post for you today. I’m sharing opinions I have that seem to be unpopular based on what I’ve seen and heard in fountain pen groups and gatherings. Let’s jump in, shall we? I’ll start slow, leaving the doozies until the end.

“Rainbow”/”Iridescent” Finish

It’s been on a lot of pens in the past couple of years, and I think it’s ugly and overpriced. From Visconti’s Rainbow Watermark to TWSBI’s Vac 700r Iris and Conklin’s Duragraph Rainbow, pens at all price points are using the colorful finish.

I don’t know what to call it. It’s not a proper rainbow — the colors aren’t in order and there isn’t a good red or purple. It’s not iridescent — the colors don’t change, or even appear to change, at different angles. Regardless, I bought a seven piece cutlery set with the same finish about 3 years ago for $11 thinking it would be super cool and ended up woefully disappointed. I definitely won’t be investing in a pen with it.

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March 9, 2021

Rachel

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Keeping to My Goal

Posted in Fountain Pens

As I’ve stated previously, my current pen rule is to be more thoughtful with my pen purchases. I’m doing my best to purchase pens that will make me happy to own, not just happy to buy.

It can be difficult sometimes. Pens may have misleading marketing photos — I’m looking at you, Sailor Pro Gear Slim Red Supernova — or zero size reference, for example. So, pens you think will be be fabulous may turn out to be not so great, or even totally wrong for you.

The question then, is what do you do? My plan was always to immediately return any pen that didn’t make me 100% happy upon unboxing. I put that plan in place after the Red Supernova debacle. In theory, it was a great plan. In practice, it hit a major snag the next time a pen didn’t meet that standard.

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Another “Step Up” Pen

February 26, 2021

Rachel

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Another “Step Up” Pen

Posted in Fountain Pens

As I stated in my TWSBI post, the Kaweco Sport series is another contender for best “step up” pen. I know several people who absolutely adore the Sport series, and I’ve come across photos of truly impressive collections.

I really like the non-satin finish metal-bodied Sports for their weight and durability. The nibs for the entire series are decent and come in a wide range of sizes, but the TWSBI nibs are definitely better.

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February 23, 2021

Rachel

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Día de Muertos, But Make it Pen

Posted in Fountain Pens

Watching Coco gave me a greater appreciation for my Mexican heritage. Since then, I’ve been trying to fill in cultural gaps leftover from childhood; like the appreciation and understanding of Mexican art.

One of those glorious art styles is centered on Día de Muertos. The riotous use of colors alone is enough to capture my attention, but combined with macabre imagery and joyous celebration, it’s definitely in my top 5 favorite art styles/themes.

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