Whiskers & Paws: December 2013 Edition

Review: @Sheaffer_Page Taranis Fountain Pen @YafaPen @AndersonPens

Thank you Sheaffer for sending this Taranis over for me to review! I have been looking at this exact colour and model for awhile, so I am pleased I get a chance to try it.

ABOUT

Body Material: Metal
Trim: Chrome trim
Length (capped): 140 mm
Length (uncapped nib-end): 120.5 mm
Length (posted): 149.2 mm
Barrel Diameter: 12.7 mm
Section Diameter: 8 - 11.3 mm
Nib material: Steel
Weight: 35 g
Fill type: Cartridge/converter
Price: $145 for steel nib
Where to buy: ISellPens
                       AndersonPens
  
PACKAGING

The Sheaffer Taranis fountain pen is packaged in a Sheaffer luxury box. It arrived in a plastic sleeve, inside the Sheaffer hard box, tucked into the bed of felt. Under the bed is the usual paperwork - the Sheaffer warranty, and two Sheaffer Skrip Jet Black ink cartridges (have I ever mentioned plain black ink is tremendously boring?). This box does not make the Keep It? cut for me. I personally would not call this a luxury box either...

APPEARANCE

The Taranis in icy gunmetal is quite pretty. I like the shape of the pen - the ends are rounded squares, and it gets wider and rounder towards the middle of the barrel. The ends are fairly blunt. Capped, it has an interesting shape. One thing I noticed right away is very long the clip is. At the top of the clip is the Sheaffer White Dot. Uncapped, the section is very peculiar. The barrel is a combination of black resin and chrome. The chrome has Sheaffer emblazoned on it and it's impossible to miss. This is something I don't care for much. The nib is semi-hooded and it looks cool from the top. Overall, the colour scheme is very appealing and I like the design of the pen for the most part, except for the Sheaffer branding on the section. The section is smooth and seamless though, so I appreciate that.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The medium nib is quite small, being semi-hooded, and there isn't much to it, just a slit and what looks like a breather hole and blend of the Sheaffer logo. There isn't much else to it than that. Unless you look at the nib from the side, and see how strangely it is set, which may appeal to you or it may not. It looks like the nib is just sitting on the end of the pen, not pushed in far enough. Dan at FPGeeks doesn't like this either. I think an inlaid nib would have looked better.

The medium nib felt slightly fine to me, but it could be that it was a little bit dry, laying down a fairly dry line that dried quickly. However, it wrote smoothly and did not give any hard starts, even though I did not flush the pen at all before popping the Sheaffer Skrip Jet Black cartridge in. I really like the section and grip profile - I think this contributes nicely to the writing experience. I would have preferred a broader medium, and a wetter nib, but the smoothness appeals to me.

IN HAND

The pen is well-balanced and comfortable to write with, even for long writing sessions, and combined with the smooth nib, it's really quite pleasant. I must admit, I like the grip section. The combination of the metal and resin is really nice, and Sheaffer knows it - they wanted to combine the "warmth of resin with the strength of metal" and it hits the spot for me. I love to hold it.

Posted, because the cap is light, this pen remains very comfortable to write with. I really like its balance and weight.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

The Sheaffer Taranis is an attractive fountain pen that has some really nice features - namely the section and smooth nib. At this not fairly expensive price point though, I think it is a bit of a hard sell. The gold nib option is even more expensive, too.

I received this pen free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.

Wordless Wednesday

Pen, Ink & Paper P0rn

One of my favourite things about fountain pen friendly paper and fountain pen inks is the beautiful combination that results in an ink's sheen coming through, as seen here on Tomoe River paper. The ink is Private Reserve Ebony Blue. Check out my Tomoe River paper review on FPGeeks!

Giveaway at @JetPens @UniBall_USA @uniball_UK @Kuretake_ZIG

In the Pen Projects blog post, JetPens shows a fun way to wrap presents without wrapping paper! You can make these cute gift bags using the supplies in this giveaway. Be sure to read the blog post for step-by-step instructions! This giveaway will give you the chance to win the goodies used to make this cute gift bag. This giveaway is for US residents only. Giveaway ends December 25th, 2013 at 11:59 p.m PST. Click here for details!

• 1 pair of Kokuyo AiroFit Non-Stick Scissors
• 1 Nichiban Tenori Adhesive Stamp
• 1 pack of Kuretake Yuzen Die Cut Japanese Paper Stickers
• 1 roll of Mt Deco Masking Tape
• 1 Uni-ball Signo Broad UM-153 Gel Ink Pen

Sunday Read - December 22. 2013

• Eggnog baked oatmeal with caramelized bananas and vanilla bean brown butter. WHAT. YES. 
• Pens! Paper! Pencils! review (and give away) a leather Field Notes cover, and interview Chris Davis of Davis Leatherworks! Ian also reviews Pelikan Edelstein Amber fountain pen ink in a very fun way.
• The Clicky Post revieews the Ti-Click Classic in Raw Titanium.
• The Pen Addict reviews the Pilot Kakuno fountain pen. 
• The Well-Appointed Desk reviews the Hobonichi Planner (for 2014).

Short round up this week because I closed all my tabs after reading them (by accident) and I'm far too lazy to figure out what I had open. Blast. Happy holidays!

Waterman Music Nib + @Montblanc_US Dandy Turquoise Ink @Montblanc_World

Giveaway at Pens! Paper! Pencils! @DavisLeather

Ian at Pens! Paper! Pencils! is giving away a new ‘Card Slot’ Field Notes cover from Davis Leatherworks! Giveaway is open worldwide and ends December 28th, 2013. Click here for details!

Review: Delta Titanio Galassia Fountain Pen @ThePenCompany @YafaPen

Would you believe this is the first Delta that actually belongs to me? Thank you to Anna and Tom from The Pen Company for sending me this to review and pet!! Check out SBRE Brown's review of this pen as well!

ABOUT

Body Material: Resin
Trim: Titanium
Length (capped): 140 mm
Length (uncapped nib-end): 127 mm
Length (posted): 168 mm
Barrel Diameter: 15 mm
Section Diameter: 13 mm
Nib material: Titanium
Weight: 30 g
Fill type: Cartridge/converter
Price: £236.00 (£196.67 excluding VAT)
Where to buy: The Pen Company

PACKAGING

This Delta arrived with interesting packaging - a heavy duty cardboard box with a lovely label on the front. Inside was a foam box with a rotating, smooth plastic lid, held in place with an elastic. Once out of the way, the plastic lid reveals an hourglass-like shape in the foam that houses the Titanio Galassia. It is cool packaging and keeps the pen very safe, but I actually like the cardboard box more than the pen box. Yeah, I might be part cat.

APPEARANCE

The Delta Titanio Galassia is a thick black resin pen with blunt ends and a ring motif. The end and cap have thin rings of titanium, whereas the body has three rings of grey resin (also available with orange or red resin). The clip is articulated and is rhodium plated. It has a simple profile and appearance. The titanium nib matches the motif of the pen. The pen is individually numbered on the cap. Posted, the cap is not quite flush with the body but it posts deeply.

Off center clip.

Inside, the converter is unremarkable but functional. 

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib, like all titanium, is a matte grey that looks rather dull when you are used to shiny fountain pen nibs. There are small flourishes on the nibs as well as two nibs back to back. The nib is labeled Delta, as well as with the nib width - in this case, M for medium.

The lightest touch to paper allows for normal writing (without flex) with this nib. Ink flows well with the converter set up with normal writing. Without flex, the Titanio Galassia is a wet writing pen with a smooth nib. With such a wet line being put down, inks that shade look great in this pen.

Titanium nibs have great spring to them and this one is quite sensitive - just a small amount of pressure will spread the tines and give line variation. Although the pen writes very wetly when writing normally, when flexing constantly, the feed runs dry much quicker so I did find that with flex, the pen was more dry. Writing slowly helps this, which is something that typically needs to be done with flex pens anyway. It's also easy to flex the nib too much and cause railroading. The nib is so springy that it's hard to notice when you're going "too far" so one must pay attention when flexing. Tines can be sprung! It takes a lot of pressure to do that but you still must pay attention until you get the hang of it. I have yet to spring a nib though!

In both cases, the nib writes quite smoothly. When flexing on hard paper, there is a little bit of feedback that I love to listen to. I use this as a marker of how far I am flexing and whether I am pushing the nib too much. The sound of the nib becoming too scratchy is an indicator the ink is about to run dry. A good, simple audio feedback system.

IN HAND

The Delta Titanio Galassia feels quite nice in hand. I thought at first glance it would be too thick but because it's such a lightweight pen, it isn't uncomfortable to hold and write with. Posted, it's the perfect weight and balance for writing with.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

I think the Delta Titanio Galassia is most interesting - a very lovely design and attractive appearance. Surely you know by now I'm crazy about wet writers and any nib that flexes, so this pen certainly appeals to me. I was disappointed by how easily the feed ran dry while flexing, but of course, this isn't designed to be a "flex pen" - it just has a nib that is capable of flexing because of its properties. Nevertheless, it can be used as a flex pen if you are slow and steady. Having used other titanium nibs with flex that are three times the price, I think the Delta Titanio Galassia is a very good option if you are looking for a flexible titanium nib fountain pen.

If you are looking for something a little less wild (price-wise, that is), check out the other Delta fountain pens The Pen Company carries. They also have a great variety of fountain pens overall. There are non-titanium  nib options there as well, if you don't like such soft nibs.

I received this pen free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.

Wordless Wednesday

Giveaway Round Up @matteson @ClickyPost @ZellerWritingCo @FieldNotesBrand @FieldNuts

Mike at InkDependence is giving away 2 notebooks from Write Notepads & Co to two winners. Giveaway ends December 24th, 2013. Click here for details!

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The Zeller Writing Company is giving away a bunch of items: 2014 Word. Notebooks Standard Memorandum, a 2014 18-Month Field Notes Work Station Calendar, and a Limited Edition Field Notes Standard Issue DDC Factory Floor Memobook #531/1500, to three winners. This giveaway is open worldwide, and ends December 23rd, 2013. Click here for details!

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Mike at The Clicky Post is giving away two of the super limited edition DDC Factory Floor Field Notes - #0913 and #0914 of 1500. Giveaway closes December 20th, 2013. Open to US and international entries! Click here for details!

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Shades of Tuesday

Kaweco ICE Sport Liquid Ink Rollerball pen - medium point - pink body

Winner of the @Doxie Flip Mobile Scanner!

The winner of the Doxie Flip Mobile Scanner is Liessa!! The winner has been emailed and has 24 hours to respond to my email - if there is no response within 24 hours, I'll pick a new winner. No extensions will be given, sorry.

Thank you as always for entering and sharing! If you didn't win, don't worry. There will be more giveaways!

Kickstarter: @KarasKustoms INK Fountain Pen

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh yesssssssss. It has happened. The very awesome Karas Kustoms (makers of the super cool Render K, Bolt, RETRAKT, etc) have come out with the ultimate pen... yeah. It's a fountain pen. And it has incredibly sexy colours to pick from. You cannot miss this Kickstarter campaign!

INK is a machined pen that comes as either a fountain or rollerball pen and is manufactured in the USA by Karas Kustoms.

They also offer free shipping worldwide, so there's no excuse not to get one (or ten) for yourself. Have a look at the great colours you can pick from! And good luck picking.

Speaking of colours... the fountain pen or rollerball pens are available with an aluminum, copper, or brass section. 

The nib is a stainless steel #5 nib, made by the German company Schmidt. The nib assembly works with international standard ink cartridges,use bottled ink with the provided converter. The rollerball version uses an included capless rollerball refill,  manufactured by Schmidt (p8126, black, 0.6mm). Or you can use a standard Parker ballpoint compatible refill, including the Fisher Space Pen refill. 

Pledges start at $60USD (move fast, they early backer pledges are going fast)!! Check out the Kickstarter page here!