{"id":945,"date":"2018-03-08T09:29:11","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T14:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=945"},"modified":"2024-01-15T13:09:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T18:09:50","slug":"bwips-2018-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/bwips-2018-4\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Baltimore Pen Show \u2013 Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Welcome back to my BWIPS experience write-up. If you haven’t read parts <\/span>1<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>2<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>3<\/span><\/a>, you might want to go do that. Fair warning, this post is longer than I intended it to be because there’s a lot to say. That said, I hope you enjoy it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

When I last left you, I was on my way to the <\/span>Bittner<\/span><\/a> table to buy a <\/span>Homo Sapiens Bronze Age<\/span><\/a> (VHSBA). There were a couple of people in front of me, so I waited, mostly patiently, for them to finish. Finally, it was my turn. Cindy Bittner was very efficient. She had my Homo Sapiens Bronze Age Maxi with a medium nib packaged up and checked out in a couple of minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy as a clam, I met back up with <\/span>Te<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Jim<\/span><\/a>, and we went to the Chesapeake Room to await the <\/span>Organics (Studio)<\/span><\/a> 101 chat with Tyler Thompson.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now, before I continue this story, allow me to say a few things about my journey to buying a VHSBA. If you aren’t interested in backstory, feel free to <\/span>skip this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Backstory<\/span><\/h1>\n

I became interested in the VHSBA after watching a <\/span>Goulet video<\/span><\/a> where Brian discussed the pen. I was fascinated with the idea of a basalt body. But, as I did some research, I became aware of a few things that gave me pause. Like Visconti’s quality control problem. And the lack of ink window. And the price. So I decided I wouldn’t get one.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the DC Pen Show, I made the mistake of holding the pen. It felt fabulous. Nice and soft, a good weight, well-balanced, but the price was still too high for me to commit with the QC issues. So again, I decided I wouldn’t get one. But the pen still wouldn’t leave me alone. I still wanted one. <\/span><\/p>\n

So I started talking to my pen friends. Several of them have Visconti pens, and none of them had (or at least, none of them admitted to having) QC problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now more interested in the pen, I asked if anyone going to the February DC pen meetup had one that I could test out. As luck would have it, someone did. He brought it to the meetup for me, and I wrote with it. That’s all it took. I was sold.<\/span><\/p>\n

The line quality, the smoothness, everything was just fabulous. The price was still rather high, but with a bit of research, I found I could get one for less than $100 more than my most expensive pen. That wasn’t too bad, I reasoned.<\/span><\/p>\n

So my BWIPS task became determining which of the models I wanted. Maxi or Midi? Dark age? Maybe steel age? The bronze age was pretty neat. Once I’d made my decision, I could order the pen. But, Bittner was offering a good deal, and the pen show atmosphere got to me. <\/span><\/p>\n

Before I return to my BWIPS story, I’d like to take a moment to credit Adam of <\/span>Bertram’s Inkwell<\/span><\/a> with both influencing my decision to purchase a Visconti pen and with helping me decide between the midi and the maxi. Thanks! And now back to BWIPS<\/span><\/p>\n

Round 1<\/span><\/h1>\n

We were the first ones in the Chesapeake room for the ink talk. Since we were early, I decided to ink up my new pen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Visconti<\/a><\/p>\n

Jim had purchased <\/span>SBRE Brown<\/span><\/a>, and I figured that would look good with the bronze accents. I filled up the pen, put nib to paper, and…gusher. The nib wasn’t just wet, it soaked the paper.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Homo<\/a><\/p>\n

My immediate thought was, this can’t be normal. So, I examined the nib. As I said in the <\/span>first installment<\/span><\/a>, I don’t know exactly what to look for with nib adjustments. But even I could see there was something very wrong with this nib. <\/span><\/p>\n

You’ll have to excuse my bad drawing. I’m no <\/span>Pen Sloth<\/span><\/a>. But basically, this was the problem. Whereas a good nib (left) is well aligned and (typically) has minimal space between the tines, my pen’s nib tines were separated, and the left tine was twisted (right). I wish I’d thought to take a picture, but I wasn’t really thinking past the current moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nib<\/a><\/p>\n

Partially in shock, I showed both Te and Jim, who both agreed that I had one f’ed up nib. Since we still had time before the talk started, I emptied the pen, rinsed it off in the bathroom, and visited the Bittner table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cindy recognized me as I approached, and asked what was wrong. I explained the problem, saying this Visconti had a very unhappy nib.<\/span><\/p>\n

Detlef came over with his loop, and, after looking at it for a second, proclaimed, “Yes, it is a very unhappy nib.” He was of the opinion that someone had probably closed the pen incorrectly.<\/span><\/p>\n

WIthout another question, he grabbed me another VHSBA, took a good look at the tines, and handed it over. The first VHSBA would be sent back to Visconti for fixing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Surprised at how quickly and easily it was resolved, I headed back to the Chesapeake room to ink my new (x2) pen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once again, out came the SBRE Brown. Something, however, made me look at the nib. Since it showed signs of having been dipped, I gave it a quick rinse before filling it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once full, I put nib to paper, and…it was a little dry. But, I figured that that, at least, was an easy issue to fix. I’d talk to <\/span>Oscar<\/span><\/a> later and commission a nib adjustment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Second<\/a><\/p>\n

Pen Show Shenanigans<\/span><\/h1>\n

I happily settled in to listen to the ink talk. While I couldn’t follow all of it (a couple of questions got very technical) it was still fascinating.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tyler<\/a><\/p>\n

I even got a chance to ask Tyler about the feasibility of a rose gold colored ink. Sadly, his thought is that it probably couldn’t really be done.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eager to talk to Oscar, I made my way back to the Pay it Forward (PIF) table, figuring he was likely to be there. On the way, I looked over the <\/span>Vanness<\/span><\/a> wall of inks, and was happy to find Eau de Nil, even though it was a small bottle. But still no sign of Golden Honey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Oscar was nowhere to be found, so I finished my circuit of the small room with a visit with Adam and a bit of admiration for the work happening at the Indy Pen Dance table.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Indy<\/a> \"Indy<\/a><\/div>\n

I met up with Te again outside in the hall, and we decided on a final turn around the big room. We stopped by <\/span>Modern Chocolatier<\/span><\/a> because chocolate. After perusing the “menu” I settled on Make-A-Mark (Bourbon), Scotch, Mezcal Caramel, and (after trying a sample) Passion Fruit. <\/span>Brandon Lee<\/span><\/a> was kind enough to tape the box and tie a ribbon around it to keep me from eating all the chocolate before I left the show.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Te and I continued our circuit of the outer perimeter of the big room, including a final look at the Vanishing Point Twilight. As we were finishing, I noticed a downed sign at <\/span>Federalist Pens<\/span><\/a>. Upon picking it up, I was met with a bottle of J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune! I was so happy, I literally squee’d. In fact, one of the gentlemen manning the booth said something along the lines of “That’s the sound of a happy discovery.” <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Poussiere<\/a><\/p>\n

By now, the show was winding down, so we headed back over to the PIF table to grab my hoodie. I made a pit stop along the way to purchase a 24 pen Girologio case from <\/span>Toys From the Attic<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Round 2<\/span><\/h1>\n

Luck was with me this time. Oscar was standing at the PIF table. I pulled out my VHSBA and asked if he could make it a little wetter.<\/span><\/p>\n

He took at look at it and uttered words that stopped my heart for a second. “This needs to go back where it came from.” He showed me that the nib and feed weren’t aligned, and explained that those nibs are a pain in the butt to remove and re-align.<\/span><\/p>\n

Te urged me to go right back to Bittner because everyone was closing up. She made a good point, and I scurried over. Cindy looked flabbergasted when she saw me.<\/span><\/p>\n

I explained the situation, and asked if perhaps I should just send it to Visconti. After all, I’d been away of the QC issues when I’d made my decision to buy one. Her answer: yes, absolutely. Apparently, they’d only unboxed the pens the day before for the show.<\/span><\/p>\n

“They’re fresh from Visconti!” She told me. She asked if I wanted to try a fine, but I had so many fine nib pens already. I really wanted this one in medium. She also offered me a broad, but explained that they ran really broad, nearing a stub or italic nib. I knew that wouldn’t suit me as I tend to write rather small.<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m assuming, since she didn’t just offer me another medium nib, that they were out of my particular pen configuration. She did, however, ensure that I had Visconti’s contact information, and explained the best way to reach them. She also gave me her card and asked me to contact her if I had any problems getting the pen fixed. She’d make sure everything got taken care of.<\/span><\/p>\n

As ever, I was impressed by the friendliness and integrity shown.<\/span><\/p>\n

There’s Hope<\/span><\/h1>\n

Feeling a little disheartened, I made my way back over to the PIF table. I think everyone could tell by the look on my face that the outcome wasn’t a good one. <\/span><\/p>\n

I explained what had happened, and that it was ok. I knew what I was getting into. I’d just have to be without a pen for a little while.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oscar asked to see the pen again. He eyed it for a bit, and finally told me that between he and <\/span>Ralph<\/span><\/a>, they’d fix my pen. “Between Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum, we’ll get this tweedle to work.”<\/span><\/p>\n

I was so happy that if he hadn’t been on the other side of the table, I would have given him a massive hug. I was positive I was going to be without my pen for a while, and Oscar swept in and gave me hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

– – –<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve got one, probably two posts left to finish out my pen show experience. Come back tomorrow for more.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to my BWIPS experience write-up. If you haven’t read parts 1, 2, and 3, you might want to go do that. Fair warning,<\/p>\n

Keep Reading2018 Baltimore Pen Show \u2013 Part 4<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[417],"tags":[82,116,81,43,215],"class_list":["post-945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pen-shows","tag-bwips","tag-bwips-2018","tag-pen-show","tag-story","tag-visconti","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-ff","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3065,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/bwips-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":945,"position":0},"title":"2019 Baltimore Pen Show","author":"Rachel","date":"March 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Baltimore Pen Show was a blast! Check out my thoughts about the show, hotel, and workshops, and don't miss my scoring.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3334,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/ink-dupes-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":945,"position":1},"title":"Ink Dupes #11: Organics Studios and Diamine","author":"Rachel","date":"May 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm comparing seemingly identical inks to see how similar they really are. 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