Sunday Reads - September 29. 2013

• Pilot Petit Pens at From The Pen Cup. Eye candy.
• Ed Jelley reviews Sailor's Kiwa Guro nano black, one of my favourite black inks, and the rOtring rapid PRO ballpoint pen.
• I got to touch the famous Lisa Anderson.  
• Meticulously detailed carpets, draw with Bic pens.  
•  The Pen Addict reviews the Pentel Sharp Drafting Pencil 0.5mm in carbon black. I WANT. This body is spectacular. And I have always loved this pencil. I have had a black one for many, many years.
• Write To Me Often shows off a very interesting Conklin - the Stylograph Mosaic.
• The Well-Appointed Desk reviews the Dilli fountain pens.

Review: @NuNotebooks Nu: Elite A5 Multi-Event Journal - Black

ABOUT

Size: A5
Color: Black cover, off-white/cream paper.
Ruling: Business ruled, things to do, graph, and plain.
Sheet Count: 200 pages
Where to buy: Not yet available online.

APPEARANCE

The Nu: Elite multi-event journal looks professional. It has large metal coils and a black soft touch cover with rounded edges. Inside, all the lovely, heavy 120gsm pages are perforated. The first 40 pages are "Things to do today" pages. The next section is 100 business ruled pages, followed by 30 pages of graph ruled pages, and 30 plain pages. Each section is separated by a tabbed page marker.

At the back of the notebook, there is a pocket on the back cover. The paper is an off-white, leaning towards cream. It is easy on the eyes, not being bright white (don't get me wrong, I love bright white, but for a professional setting, off-white can be convenient). 

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

The notebook feels quite nice overall - it is quite solid and looks professional. The cover is soft touch and is flexible, which I like.The elastic is a little loose and I imagine it'll wear out over time after being stretched repeatedly. The pen loop is pretty great but that too will stretch over time, though this is natural for elastic.
The paper feels smooth but it is not outstandingly so, nor is it slick or coated.

 

The paper does just fine with pencils, ballpoint pens, rollerballs, and gel ink pens. There is no feathering or bleed through with these pens. 

At 120gsm, I was hoping this paper would be fountain pen friendly. It isn't too bad, but it isn't completely fountain pen friendly either. Ink dries quickly on this paper because it is slightly absorbent.

Unfortunately this means inks that display a sheen on coated paper do not display a sheen on this paper. This also means that wet applications of ink (such as with broad nibs or flex nibs) end up feathering. There is no bleed through or show through though, so that is pretty cool.

The cover is difficult to close unless it is perfectly aligned on the coils, and it's hard to close with from the middle of the journal.

PROS

• Good variety of paper rulings.
• Perforated pages.
• Elastic pen loop built in to notebook.
• Somewhat fountain pen friendly. 
• Fountain pen ink dries quickly.

CONS  

• Cover material scuffs easily.
• Difficult to close the cover unless it is perfectly aligned on the coils. 
• Wet ink/nibs feathers. 
• No sheen.

OVERALL 

This Nu: Elite multi-event journal is tasteful and nice with a very convenient variety of perforated pages built in. Overall, it is quite nice, and handles fountain pen ink relatively well, if you don't mind using finer nibs. So far, my favourite of the Nu notebooks remains the Nu: Elite Polypropylene notebook as the paper does the best with fountain pens. The multi-event journal is great for a work setting - meetings, notes, conferences, etc.

This notebook was provided to me for review by Nuco International, free of charge. I was not compensated monetarily. All opinions you read here are 100% my own!

Whiskers & Paws: September 2013 Edition

Review: @PilotPenUSA Prera Clear Fountain Pen - Calligraphy Medium Nib @JetPens

Darn these clear bodies. When will you stop showing your heart to me and making me fall in love with you? Le sigh. Here we are, another nekkid pen. With a nib that gives line variation... double le sigh.

ABOUT

Body Material: Plastic
Trim: Metal (chrome coloured)
Length (capped): 12.0 cm
Length (uncapped nib-end): 10.8 cm
Length (posted): 13.4 cm
Barrel Diameter: 12.0 mm
Section Diameter: 10.6 mm
Nib material: Steel
Weight: 17g/0.6oz
Fill type: Cartridge/converter
Price: $58.00USD
Where to buy: JetPens

PACKAGING

This pen came in a plastic sleeve, nestled inside a plastic box. The lid is clear. The pen sits in a felt-lined plastic tray with slots for pens. It also came with an ink cartridge and a CON-50 converter (loaded in the pen). The packaging is not too shabby - it could be used for storing other pens safely as well.

APPEARANCE

The Pilot Prera clear body fountain pen is a fairly small pen. It has the appearance of being quite light - that it is made of plastic is obvious. The metal accents are very thin and do not contribute much weight. The end of the cap and the body are highlighted by a light green accent (can be acquired in various colours). The cap is mostly white, obstructing view of the nib. Near the center band, also in white, there is a dotted patern and Prera written. I'm not really a fan of the cap's appearance. The body is much cooler - simple and clear. Visible section and barrel. The cap really throws off the appearance of the pen, unfortunately.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

I very much like this nib - the appearance of the nib itself is simple/ - there is a breather hole, it is labelled with the nib size, Pilot, and it says Japan. I love calligraphy nibs. This one is not very sharp so most users can use it comfortably and without a great learning curve. It will offer users some nice line variation in their writing without much effort.

I found the nib to be slightly dry after writing for awhile (10 minutes of writing) - perhaps lacking enough air exchange. It wasn't too bad and did not reach the stage of skipping, nor did I have to open up the pen and prime the feed. It's also obvious from the drying time test and the wetness scribble that the pen writes a little dry. It does not handle flexing either (not that you should need to!).

IN HAND

Given that this pen is so small, I had to write with it posted. Unposted, I could still write with it but it was more comfortable posted. Those with larger hands will definitely need to post it. It is also very light, especially unposted, so posting it gave it some more weight. I can see the light weight of it being an issue for some users. If you prefer heavy pens, this may not be up your alley.

Top to bottom: Italix Parson's Essential, Pelikan M400 white tortoise, Pilot Prera Clear Calligraphy Medium.

PROS

• Clear section- very cool to look at the feed!
• Comes in a variety of accent colours that are really quite attractive.
• Nib offers line variation with almost no effort on user's part. 
• Very little learning curve - nib is very forgiving. 

CONS

• Horrendous lid. Too much white on it. 
• A little more expensive than I'd like.  
• Quite light and small. (Not an issue for me but for others, it will be!)

OVERALL

Ah yes, my affair with clear bodies continues. This one has a lot going for it, but a major flaw as well. The size is very nice, somewhat cute. Gorgeous appearance, especially with the light accents (in this case, the light green). I hate the white inner cap. I really don't know what's up with that. But I love the clear feed and I love the rest of the pen. Enjoyable nib to write with - reliable, no skipping, no hard starts. At $58.00USD, It's about $10 - $15 more than I think it should be, but oh well. I'm not reasonable about pens on the best of days. A much cheaper alternative would be a Plumix, but this body is far better looking, more convenient, and more comfortable.

Wordless Wednesday

Dallas Pen Show 2013 Goodies

Hey there! This weekend was the Dallas Pen Show and I made it out on Saturday (though I really wish I could have made it on Friday too because one day was most certainly not enough). This won't be a show recap though, just a goodies recap. And I was COMPLETELY reasonable, seriously. It's almost scary how reasonable I was...

Here we have the goods!

I thought this pen was hideous. It still kind of is. But when I saw it in person, I couldn't resist it. Popped a broad nib on it while hanging around at the Anderson Pens row of tables and that's the pen I had to have (and the only one I could afford, really).

The Palomino pencil is a SOFT. Oh I cannot wait to sharpen it! Thanks Tiffany! The Stipula Calamo ink is Florentine Red and I also picked that up at the Anderson Pens ink corner. There is also the Mermaid and Damselfish by Scribal Workshop inks, and Noodler's Blue Steel, made for Dromgoole's.

The cat card... is from a truck stop. I think it captures my love of cats and sampling ink. Don't you?

Unbelievable calligraphy. I'm sure you can all guess who wrote this... Watching Michael Sull write this was incredible. I'll include a video in my pen show recap.

Sunday Reads - September 22. 2013

• Gorgeous black-and-white storm photos that will make you feel really, really small.
• High speed photography of ink mixing with oil, at Colossal.
• These are brilliant: 10 wildly cute stop-motion Instagram videos.
• Edison Pen Company shows off a new custom double-ended pen... and it's an eyedropper. ... Damn.
• Kaweco AL-Sport fountain pen review, by Ed Jelley. I want this.
• Muddy Buddies. 'Nuff said. 
• This is the saddest xkcd comic ever. 

@RadandHungry STMT x Puerto Rico: Just A Peek

I guess this is just eye candy/some form of pen p0rn. I won a Rad & Hungry STMT kit awhile ago - it was the Puerto Rico kit - lively and colourful! Here's a peek at it. You can read the low down behind the sourcing trip on the RAH blog. Follow RAH on Twitter, Facebook, G+, and Pinterest!

Check out other fun kits and how you can get your own.

 

Review: @Levenger True Writer Silver Anniversary Fountain Pen - Medium @SteveLeveen

Created to commemorate the silver anniversary of Levenger, this True Writer fountain pen is a study in metallic radiance, with the trademark design, weight and balance that have kept True Writer a much-loved writing brand.

ABOUT

Body Material: Brass & gunmetal finish
Trim: Chrome
Length (capped): 5.4"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 4.9"
Length (posted): 6.0"
Barrel Diameter: 0.5"
Section Diameter: 0.4"
Nib material: Steel
Weight: 36g/1.3 oz
Fill type: Cartridge/converter
Price: $99.00USD
Where to buy: Levenger

PACKAGING

Like my other Levenger pens, the True Writer Kyoto, and the L-Tech, this fountain pen was packaged in a cardboard sleeve, with a green Levenger box inside. The hard Levenger box opens up to reveal a felt bed with the pen held down by a soft strap, along with a cartridge and a converter. I like that both are included - something I would hope for and expect at this price point, but I also appreciate that Levenger provides both nevertheless. The box is nice but I do not keep Levenger packaging due to limited space. Standards are high!

APPEARANCE

The True Writer Silver Anniversary fountain pen is shiny and very pretty. This is a good sized pen. The cap has a chrome dome at the end and a chrome clip. The clip is simple and tasteful. The center bend is also chrome and has Levenger/True Writer written on it in elegant fonts. The barrel pattern matches the cap - the gunmetal finish etched with an undulating pattern - and is contrasted by a small black plastic section. The end of the barrel has a rounded chrome dome to match the cap.

Capped, the pen has a very sleek and attractive appearance. Uncapped, the black section provides nice contrast to the gunmetal body. This is not a bad looking pen at all.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib, like all Levenger nibs, is fairly simple in appearance and I think it's nice. This nib required no adjustment prior to use. Something to note is within the box, there was a fountain pen care card that suggest flushing the pen before inking. I decided to listen to their suggestion in order to make the review fair.

Like I said, the nib required no adjusting and other than flushing, there was no preparation. This is a true medium and performance is exceptional - smooth, wet, consistent. I love it.

It is possible to squeeze out some line variation but usually it results in needing to readjust the tines (which is quite easy to do). It's interesting that this steel nib can handle the line variation though.

IN HAND

As this pen has a brass body, it's not a very light pen. For me, it's comfortable to write with unposted and it has good weight and balance that way. Once posted, it becomes quite top heavy for my hand. A larger hand would probably not have an issue with this.The section is quite small but the threads are smooth so even if you hold your pen a little higher, the threads won't bother you (unless you have a death grip, which you shouldn't need with a fountain pen!).

The body itself is lovely to hold - very smooth and the finish warms to the touch. I really like it.

PROS

• Very attractive finish. 
• Solid pen.
• Posts securely.
• Very comfortable to hold and write with unposted. 
• Exchangeable nib unit.

CONS
 
None. I'm a big fan of this pen.

OVERALL

This True Writer is quite attractive with its gorgeous gunmetal finish, and it has a great feel and weight to it. It performed very well in all my writing samples and in daily use. I am most pleased with it. This is my third Levenger pen (see also the L-Tech and the True Writer Kyoto). I have heard of others having nib issues but this is three for three now - no issues here. And Levenger has some pretty awesome customer service. Highly recommended.

This gorgeous fountain pen was sent to me by Levenger for reviewing purposes. I was not compensated monetarily, and all opinions you have read here are 100% my own, I promise. Swear on Tyco's life.