I’m comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. This week: The Real Teal and Hisoku.
Category: Stationery
Ink Dupes #1: Montblanc and Diamine
Posted in Ink
Welcome to Ink Dupes. I’ll warn you now, this series will most likely feature fairly irregular posts. Make sure you subscribe to my blog or to the fountain pen category so you don’t miss an issue.
This week, I’m starting with red — my favorite color — with Diamine Matador and Montblanc Corn Poppy Red.
A bit of a backstory — since you all know I’m so fond of stories. I noticed a while ago that some inks are nearly identical to others. When Ink Journal shared an article about chromatography in their Flex Nib Friday newsletter, I was curious to find out just how similar these seemingly identical inks really are.
After the first comparison, it occurred to me that I’m not the only one who’d be interested in knowing which inks are similar (or identical) in color. So, I’ll be sharing my comparisons with you all. I’m hoping it will help those who are looking for expensive or hard-to-find inks.
That said, if you’re curious about how two inks compare, let me know. I may have (or be able to get) both inks for comparison.
Green Nib Update
Posted in Fountain Pens
I mentioned in my 2018 DC Pen Show post that I purchased a green nib from Hinze Pen Company to match my Green Ivies pen from 18111. At the time, I thought I was purchasing an anodized nib. Turns out, it’s lacquered steel, which explains my experience. At the show, I was warned by a few people that colored nibs tend to experience flaking. Sadly, that warning held true for my nib.
I waited a while to write this update, because I was hoping that I could give you a positive result. At first it seemed as though the flaking was minor, and, if it had stayed like that, I could have lived with it.
With the first and second cleaning (both within the first month), a bit of green flaked off either side of the nib slit on the outer edge of the tines. It was noticeable, but it wasn’t really obvious, so I hoped that that would be the end of the flaking, and I’d have a good nib.
However, with the most recent cleaning, I decided to change the color in my pen. I found, as I cleaned it, that the ink was being particularly stubborn. After 10+ minutes of flushing water through it, I decided to pop it in my ultrasonic cleaner.
Fountain Pen Series Wrap-Up
Posted in Fountain Pens, Ink, Paper, Pen Shows, Storage, and Stores
This is it for my fountain pen series. I’ve gathered links to every issue of the series into one, easy-to-share post. Enjoy!
Fountain Pen 301: DIY Pen Cases
Posted in Storage
Happy Fountain Pen Friday, and welcome to the final issue of Fountain Pen 301. There will be a final, summary issue of my series next week. But this week, I’m covering pen cases.
Speaking from experience, it can be tempting to look at Rickshaw Bagworks or Nock Co. and think, “I can do that.” If the thought stems from the idea that you can save money by making it yourself, let me tell you, unless you’re a master sewer, you’re wrong.Between the materials and the time you’ll expend, you’ll end up spending much more in the long run!
However, if you’re interested in the challenge or the process, I’ve got some hints for you.
Fountain Pen 301: Pen Making
Posted in Fountain Pens
Happy Fountain Pen Friday, and welcome to another Fountain Pen 301. This week, I’ll be discussing pen making, both pouring your own resin blanks and turning pens.
Once again, rather than relying on my own (nearly nonexistent) knowledge for this topic, I reached out to some significantly more knowledgeable pen friends for help. Thank you very much to Chet Herbert of Herbert Pen Co. (fabulous man and gorgeous pens!) who was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to share some of his expertise. And thank you, also, to Brian Chu of Red Dragon Pen Co. for pointing me in the direction of some fabulous information.
Fountain Pen 301: DIY Nib Work
Posted in Fountain Pens
Happy Fountain Pen Friday, and welcome to the final set of my fountain pen series. Fountain Pen 301 is very different to its predecessors. 301 will be short, only three entries, and will give you some advice and suggestions on where to start if you want to become part of the maker community.
In this first issue, I’ll be discussing nib work, which seems to be the next step in fountain pen ownership, based on my pen friends, even if you don’t stick with it. There seems to be great interest in the fountain pen community right now in learning nib work, so I’m hoping some of this information will help those of you who want to know more.
Rather than relying on my own (nearly nonexistent) knowledge for this topic, I reached out to some significantly more knowledgeable pen friends for help.
I’ve always been a fan of hand writing. I can type almost as fast as I can think, so there’s nothing to slow me down. Sometimes, that can be a good thing. But when I want to devote some thought to what I’m writing, I switch to hand writing so I have to slow down.
This is especially useful when I’m writing books and/or blog posts. Writing “stream of consciousness” isn’t typically great when you want what you’re writing to make sense. It’s much better, for me, to slow down some and make sure that what I’m writing is cohesive and coherent.
The biggest downside to hand-writing, though, is hand fatigue. Over the years, I’ve developed several different grips for holding my writing implement to increase the amount I can write in one go.
But the pressure and effort required to write with pencils and ballpoint pens increases hand fatigue. Fountain pens help alleviate that with the lack of pressure needed to write. Something about not needing to press down to write makes it easier to hold the pen in a looser grip, which also helps with hand fatigue.
Fountain pens, perhaps because of their design, or our association of nibs with older things, also tend to make people want to write nicer. They certainly did for me and many of my pen friends. But, despite my great love of fountain pens today, it’s a relatively recent hobby for me.
Explaining Pens
Posted in Fountain Pens
“You spent HOW much on a pen?” Every pen person has heard it. I’ve found a way to avoid it. Find out how to explain pens (or anything) to non-pen people.
Fountain Pen 201: Selling Pens
Posted in Fountain Pens
Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! I originally intended to end Fountain Pen 201 last week, but it occurred to me that I haven’t really said anything about selling pens. The result of that brain blast is this final Fountain Pen 201 issue.
At some point, a pen you bought early on in your fountain pen journey is likely to no longer suit your needs or new preferences. Depending on how much you spent on it, you may choose to give it to a pen newbie friend, donate it (might I suggest looking into Pay it Forward?), or sell it.
Selling a fountain pen is easier than you may think. Once you’ve priced your pen, there are multiple avenues available to sell it, some better than others.
Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! In this issue, I’ll be discussing secondhand and vintage pens.
Secondhand and vintage pens are kind of like rectangles and squares. Almost without exception, vintage pens are secondhand, but certainly not all secondhand pens are vintage.
Because of this relationship, virtually everything you should know about buying secondhand pens applies to buying vintage pens. There are also some extra things to consider when buying vintage.
Last year I wrote about my Stipula Etruria Rainbow Prisma 88 and followed it up with an update. It’s one of my favorite pens, so when the Stipula Etruria Prisma 88 Magma was announced, I snapped one up.
Now that my Magma is back in action, I’m writing a comparative review of the two. I couldn’t find anything about the Rainbow when it first came out, and there doesn’t seem to be anything about the Magma, so hopefully, this will help anyone considering purchasing either of them.
Backstories
If you know the history behind these two pens in my collection, feel free to skip down to the main review.
I’ve wanted one of Regalia Writing Labs‘ Sequel Nibs ever since Ralph shared the first photo of one. Part of my interest was based on the uniqueness of the nib, and part was a desire to support Ralph in his continued nib tinkering and modification. I’m very interested to see where his efforts take him.
Unfortunately, he teased us all for a while before making the nibs available, and then, only at shows. They’re still (to the best of my knowledge) only available at shows or via Instagram flash sales.
Fountain Pen 201: Community
Posted in Fountain Pens
Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! This week, I’ll be discussing the fabulous fountain pen community.
I’m pretty sure I’ve said it before, but one of the best parts of the fountain pen hobby is the community. All of the pen users, makers, and retailers I’ve personally met have been lovely people, and I’ve formed good friendships with several of them.
The pen community has many iterations, including stores, shows, pen forums, and meet-ups. You’ll meet pen users and retailers by going to your local store(s). Some stores may even have events featuring indie makers. Shows are a great place to meet anyone associated with the pen community, as well as get your hands on pens to see how they feel.
As I’ve already discussed pen stores and pen shows, allow me to devote some time to online forums and meet-ups.
Fountain Pen 201: Ink Swab Catalog
Posted in Ink
Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! I’ve had multiple requests over the past few months to give lessons or write a post about how I created and maintain my ink swab notebook. So this week, I’ll be covering my ink swabbing methods.
A little history before I dive into the meat of my post. I used to use the Col-O-Ring system. But once you fill your first ring, it starts getting bulky. So I looked for a different method. I figured a notebook would be suitably contained and portable. Because I love the Maruman Mnemosyne paper, I decided to try the Hardcover Executive Notebook (N195A) for my new ink swab adventure. It did not disappoint.
Franklin-Christoph Firma Flex Notebook
Posted in Paper
I’ve been searching for my “perfect notebook” almost since I started using fountain pens. Every notebook I tried had at least one problem (in my opinion, I’m sure people would disagree with me). I’d just about given up hope of finding my “perfect notebook” when I stumbled across the Franklin-Christoph Firma-Flex Journal Notebooks.
The Search
When I started using fountain pens, I realized I could no longer just pick up any notebook I wanted to. So began my notebook search. And, of course, the elements that make up my “perfect notebook” have changed over the course of my search.
Fountain Pen 201: Inventories
Posted in Fountain Pens, and Ink
Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! This week, I’ll be covering the benefits of keeping an inventory of your pen and ink collection.
When you have a small pen and ink collection, keeping an inventory probably isn’t at the forefront of your mind. However, as your collection grows, it will become harder and more time consuming to start an inventory, so it’s a good practice to start early. By why should you start one at all?
On the more positive side of things, an ink inventory can help keep you from buying duplicate inks, provide you with a reminder of what inks you do and don’t like, and make ink trading easier, to name a few.
On the other hand, an inventory of your collection can also help with insurance needs and claims.
The Montegrappa Fortuna Saga
Posted in Fountain Pens
With one exception, my experiences with fountain pens have been fantastic. Today I’m going to tell you about that exception. Before I do, however, I want you to keep something in mind. I vacillated for weeks between sharing this story and keeping it to myself. I don’t want it to read as a smear on Motegrappa. What I want you to take away from this story is the amazing customer service offered by Cary Yeager of Kenro Industries.
I bought my Montegrappa Fortuna Heartwood Pear (FHP) on November 11 at Bertram’s Inkwell‘s yearly trunk show. I’d been eyeing the pen for a while. It’s beautiful. Cary had one at his table with the nib size I wanted, so I bought it. And so began the FHP saga.
Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201 and happy Fountain Pen Friday. This week I’ll be covering nib customization including nib tuning and nib grinds.
Nib customization can vary from a simple smoothing or increasing/decreasing flow, to a complete reshaping. Ultimately, though, the reason behind the work is the same: to tailor it to your personal preferences and writing style.
Nib customization makes your pen perfect for you. It’s akin to altering a suit: certainly not a requirement, but worth it if you get it done by someone who knows what they’re doing.
2018 DC Pen Show
Posted in Pen Shows
This past weekend I was back at the Washington D.C. Collectible Fountain Pen Supershow (a.k.a the DC Pen Show). I spent two and a half days at the show this time, as opposed to the 2/3 of a day I spent last year, so rather than a set of in-depth posts, I’m giving you an overview of my experience with some detailed stories of the best parts of the show.
Friday
We weren’t able to take time off from work to attend the show on Friday, but we went straight from dinner to the hotel. From the moment we arrived at the Marriott Fairview Place on Friday night, it couldn’t have been more different than last year. By sheer coincidence, we arrived as a group of our pen friends were heading out to dinner. We exchanged “hello”s and “see you later”s with everyone, and hugs with a few people. Ralph, the contagious ink boy, inked Jim with a hug, which was rather funny.
We relaxed at the bar for a while, catching up with our friend TeAntae and her mother, Louise. Once people started returning from dinner, we spent the evening at the hotel bar, chatting, testing paper and nibs, and generally having a great time.