Day 8 is Gold Star, a shimmer ink. Of the inks I swabbed, Peach is the best color dupe.
25 Days of Dupes – Day 8
Posted in Ink
Category: Stationery
25 Days of Dupes – Day 7
Posted in Ink
Day 7 is Mistletoe, a standard ink. Of the inks I swabbed, Carlos is the best color dupe.
25 Days of Dupes – Day 6
Posted in Ink
Day 6 is Ho Ho Ho, a standard ink. Of the inks I swabbed, Aeolis Palus Red is the best color dupe, with Flaming Red of Fushimi a very close second.
25 Days of Dupes – Day 5
Posted in Ink
Day 5 is Triple Chocolate, a standard ink. Of the inks I swabbed, Macassar is the best color dupe, but it’s not an exact match. If you know of an exact match, please let me know so I can update this.
25 Days of Dupes – Day 4
Posted in Ink
Day 4 is Polar Glow, a sheening ink. Nitrogen is the best match for the sheen, but Blue Water Ice is a slightly better match for the color.
The photo below is provided to showcase the sheen.
25 Days of Dupes – Day 3
Posted in Ink
Day 3 is Snow Storm, a shimmer ink. Of the inks I have access to, I could only find one similar ink. Thankfully, it’s an almost perfect match.
25 Days of Dupes – Day 2
Posted in Ink
Day 2 is Candy Cane, a standard ink. From the inks I swabbed, Valentine Red is the closest color dupe. It’s not identical, but it’s pretty close.
25 Days of Dupes – Day 1
Posted in Ink
Day 1 is Blue Peppermint, a shimmer ink. From the inks I swabbed, Soft Mint is the closest color dupe.
Don’t worry, I won’t be sharing spoilers today (or any day, technically).
When the Diamine Inkvent Calendar was first announced, I thought it was a cute idea, but didn’t plan to get it. As more and more photos and mentions of it appeared, I found myself experiencing FOMO to the highest degree. Eventually, coming across it in person at Bertram’s Inkwell, I decided to get one to satisfy my interest and curiosity.
I went home, and, initially, I planned to be good and open it in December like a proper advent calendar. But then I remembered that I won’t be available to open the inks during Christmas week. I considered opening it day-by-day in November instead, but ultimately decided to just open it up and swab them all one Saturday.
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Noodler’s Liberty’s Elysium and Organics Studio Bert’s Blue.
Identifying My Vintage Pelikan
Posted in Fountain Pens
This past Saturday, I went to Bertram’s Inkwell to pick up the pen I won from Pensplaining with Corinne. While there, Adam mentioned that they had a bunch of secondhand pens. So, pen fiend that I am, I asked to see them.
Note: If you don’t want to read the story, feel free to jump down to the pen porn or the list of sites I mention in the narrative below.
Out came three big zip cases of vintage pens. I went through the cases, but I don’t typically love the look of vintage pens. They aren’t as pretty as modern pens, in my opinion. But, in the third case, there were a bunch of vintage Pelikans. Among those was a red and black pen. I love red and black, so I pulled it out.
Unfortunately, the nib was looking a bit rough. Out of curiosity, I took at look at each of the other Pelikans. Most of them were stubs or broad, which I know I don’t like writing with. But, this one was intriguing.
Ink Dupes #12: Diamine and Colorverse
Posted in Ink
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Diamine Soft Mint and Colorverse Photon.
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Organics Studio BWIPS 2018 and Diamine Dark Forest.
Ink Dupes #10: Diamine and Lamy
Posted in Ink
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Diamine Pansy and Lamy Dark Lilac.
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Organics Studio Nickel Teal and Robert Oster Morning Mist.
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Pilot Iroshizuku Ama Iro and Krishna Cool Breeze.
An 18111 Commission
Posted in Fountain Pens
Mid last year, I reached out to Yoshi Nakama of 18111 Pens about commissioning a custom pen. As the DC Pen Show was only a few weeks away, we agreed to discuss it at the show. At the time, I hoped to get a pen themed to my Exalted Bloodlines series.
I eagerly sought him out at the show. However, when I showed him the ideas I had in mind, he warned me it may not be doable.
The proposed roll stopper design, the blood drop I wanted scattered across the pen, and the moon and star I wanted on the top of the cap all have “sharp corners.” Apparently, 3D printing and laser engraving can’t produce sharp corners at that size.
However, I hoped we could reach a compromise with a modified design that I liked and could be executed. I agreed to modify the design before sending Mr. Nakama the files. He warned me that his waiting list was about 3 months long. Granted, considering the year+ waiting lists many pen makers have right now, 3 months is hardly an issue.
Ink Dupes #7: Bungubox and Robert Oster
Posted in Ink
I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: Bungubox Piano Mahogany and Robert Oster Australian Syrah.
While volunteering at the 2019 Baltimore Pen Show, I was gifted a lovely red, lever-fill, vintage Esterbrook pen. Admittedly, I know next-to-nothing about vintage Esterbrooks. I also have a penchant for finding out as much about my vintage pens as possible.
That said, it should be no surprise that I set out to identify and date (as accurately as possible) my new Esterbrook as soon as I was able.
Because I had fun doing so, and I found the information interesting, I figured I’d share it with you in the hopes that my research would prove useful to others.
2019 BWIPS Volunteering
Posted in Pen Shows
As I mentioned in my last post, this was my first time as pen show volunteer staff. It’s an experience I look forward to repeating many times in the future.
When Corinne, the show organizer, put out a call to the DC Pen Crew for volunteers, I eagerly signed up. My reasoning, beyond wanting to help out, was that if I was volunteering, I wouldn’t be spending money.
That theory worked out well. When I received the schedule, I was happy to see myself listed for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. That shift schedule worked so well that I’m hoping for the same next year.