Does This Pen Make Me Look Fat?

Winners of the 2014 FPD Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:04:00 +0000

This is always so much fun for me! This year we had 99 entries representing 15 countries and 31 states and territories (yay PR!) in the United States - and an APO address as well! Thanks to all for your interest!

Each entry was assigned a number in order of receipt; I used the integer generator at random.org to select five. And those five winners are:

Tim S. from North Brunswick, NJ
Joshua K. from Dayton, OH
Michael C. from Chicago, IL
Angela W. from Carlsbad, CA
Damian B. from Fort Bragg, NC

Congratulations to all! I will be contacting the winners privately in the next 24 hours to confirm details.

Thanks for playing!

2014 FP Day Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Fountain Pen Day 2014! And, as I did last year, I am hosting a little giveaway to celebrate!

Five pens, five winners! Yeah, I'm just kinda nuts that way.

Here's the scoop:

Once again, I have five trusty Jinhao X750 pens to give away, one to each of five winners. Each of these pens was purchased new by me for this giveaway, and I have flushed, write-tested and cleaned each one to make sure it's good to go when it gets to you. These are medium nib pens.

(Click on photos to embiggen)

This year's colors are: gold, cream, brushed steel, black, and gold and black check.

And just to make things more fun, I will throw in a random assortment of ink samples for you as well - so you'll have something to ink up your new acquisition! I'll draw a sample each from my Highly Scientific Sample Storage System (HSSSS...sounds ominous, doesn't it?), which consists of five Ziploc bags with inks vaguely sorted by color: Pink/Purple/Orange, Blues, Greens, Browns, and Reds. So, five samples to go with each pen.

As an added bonus, I have some super nice bookmarks donated by Cary from the Fountain Pen Day website - the place where it all started. Each winner will also get a bookmark in a random color chosen by me. 'Cuz I know if you're not writing, you're reading, aren't you?

Sounds like a deal, doesn't it?

Some of you may wonder why I do this. I'm not a retailer, so I don't have any financial interest in this. As of this writing at least, I don't have any sponsors, and I don't host ads on the blog. I have a bit of a following, but I don't think I'm really one of the major bloggers. This is just one small way I can share the fun with others, and hopefully pay it forward a bit.

I have found the Jinhao X750 to be a sturdy, well-made, respectable writer. This is the third time I've done a giveaway with Jinhaos, and they have been well-received. Here is a link to a Terrible Video Review (you'll note it's the only video review I've ever done!) made at the time I first gave one away. In combination with the ink samples, this could be a nice little gift for someone - the holidays are coming up, after all. Or just keep it for yourself!

And I finally got smart and bought an extra one for myself! (Hope you didn't want red, 'cuz it's staying here!)

Contest details:

One entry per person please.

PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM - COMMENTS on this blog post WILL NOT COUNT AS AN ENTRY! Sorry to shout, but I'm hoping it'll make that more visible!

Please indicate whether you have a pen color preference - I will do my best to accommodate preferences for the winners, but no guarantees - I only have one of each color.

Entries will be accepted through November 17, 2014 at 9 pm Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8). Each entry will be given a number in order of entry, and a random selection will be made for the five winners - numbers in a hat if there are a few, random number generator if I get a bunch. Winners will be notified promptly by email, and a list of first names published on the blog as well.

Good luck, and thanks for playing!

Ink Review: First Impressions with J. Herbin Stormy Grey 1670 Anniversary Ink

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:38:00 +0000

I was one of the lucky people who got their order in at Goulet Pens during the (reported) three hours they had it in stock, and the new J. Herbin Anniversary ink, Stormy Grey, arrived today.

First impression, in a word: Wow.

The grey tint is much darker than I had been led to expect. This isn't a bad thing, just an observation. For this ink, it's actually a good thing, because it allows the gold flecking to show off even more distinctly.

And show off it does. It is almost holographic in nature, in fact, on the Rhodia paper I tested it on.

Note the stern warning on the shrink wrap.

(Click on photos to embiggen.)

A few quick shots of the bottle. Note the gold flecks sedimented on the bottom. I shook the bottle briskly before opening and inking.

For my initial test, I grabbed my trusty TWSBI with the Pendleton Point and loaded it up. I chose this pen for a couple of reasons: firstly, it disassembles pretty completely, so if I had clogging issues given the gold flecking, I could field strip the pen and clean it well. Secondly, that Pendleton Point regrind shows off inks just beautifully.

And make no mistake - this is a beautiful ink. I was surprised at just how sparkly it could appear. It's not in your face with it, but it is very definitely noticeable.

What do I think? LOVE it. I would exercise caution and, for example, not put it in a vintage or antique pen due to the saturation factor, but it definitely will have a place in the rotation for me.

Here are a couple of quick closeup shots to give you an idea of the sheen.

And lastly, two photos, one in strong light to pick up the sheen, and one in a more ambient room light, to show you how it might look in use.

I am going to be brave (or is that foolhardy?) and leave the ink in the pen for a few days and put it in normal rotation, to see how it behaves, and I'll report back with an update. For now, I have a new favorite ink, but we'll see how long that lasts!

Update October 22, 2014:

The TWSBI ended up sitting, unused and largely undisturbed, for about a week. This morning I picked it up, shook it slightly to distribute the lovely sparkles, and tried to write with it. It started up after the fourth attempt at a downstroke to make a capital T, and wrote flawlessly thereafter. Needless to say, I am very pleased! YMMV of course, and this TWSBI has always been a great writer for me, but I am really encouraged with how well it took to sitting around. I will update again if something more occurs to me!

Wow!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 23:12:00 +0000

Just a quick note to say WOO HOO, I BROKE 100,000 PAGEVIEWS!!!

Thanks so much for following along at home with the fountain pen game! More fun coming up soon! I appreciate each and every one of you!

Sheila

I Didn't Need It - But Then I Did

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 20:47:00 +0000

Ed. note: Joe was so excited about his new journal, he hijacked the blog!

I didn't have a use for it, but when I saw this journal offered for sale by GatzBcn on the Fountain Pen Network (note: must be a FPN member and logged in to view) I couldn't resist. After all, a handmade journal with Oxford blue leather, 90 gram French art paper, hand-tied signatures and a hubbed spine for $38? Really! Even the postage from Europe struck me as ridiculously reasonable.

MB 146 for scale

(click on photos to embiggen)

I’m a reader and a writer. I've been a lover of leather-bound books with gilt titles for over 50 years. I've been a journaler for as many. I've never had such a beautiful object to write my thoughts in.

When I received the exceedingly-well-packed parcel from Spain I also received 3 cards, a hand-written note, and a business card from Anna.

I contacted Anna by PM and asked if she’d mind if I reviewed her product since I hadn't seen any other customers’ feedback on the forum. She said, “by all means, I’d like to know what you think of it.” (No commercial considerations, etc. though I thought that I’d let her know privately if I didn't like the journal and post a review if I did.)

This journal is very nice. I like everything about it. Oxford blue is a favorite color for me. I love hubbed spines. I like marbled paper (hand-done by Anna). The paper is French Chanson of 90 gram weight and does not bleed or show through and barely feathers (only to the extent that a cotton content “laid” paper would normally do so).

Lastly, possession led to purpose for me. I've had a private writing project in mind for several weeks. Owning this journal, I now have a place befitting the work I intend to do and the impetus to proceed – and isn't that what buying nifty paper is all about?

Search and Rescue: Sheaffer Desk Pen

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Mon, 01 Sep 2014 21:28:00 +0000

The other day I was over at my parents' home, helping my mother with computer stuff. She was making a few notes, using the ballpoint from a service-award desk set she'd gotten from her employer some 20 years ago (she's now retired). I happened to glance at it while she was writing, and saw a telltale White Dot on a black pen. Hmm.

When I said something profound like,"Hey! That's a Sheaffer White Dot pen!" she pulled out the matching fountain pen and handed it to me. It was the typical 90's Sheaffer inlaid steel nib, encrusted with ink - very much so in fact. There was so much dried ink and schmutz I was afraid I'd find corrosion on the nib when I got it cleaned off. There was an empty black Skrip cartridge in the pen, which I presume was the one and only cartridge that came with the desk set, and it was put in to check it out and then left.

This is after cleaning...

I don't blame my mother for this - most people do things like that. Otherwise, how could you account for all the vintage and antique pens we all find that are full of dried ink? They get put in a drawer and forgotten about. Such is life.

I told her I'd take the pen home and clean it up a bit for her.

We put the nib and section to soak in plain water when I got home, and between Joe and me we changed the water out about six times by mid-morning the next day - a lot of ink came out! Half a dozen passes through with an ear syringe, and then I grabbed a Sheaffer squeeze converter and we washed it with Goulet's pen flush, then a lot more water, and then let it dry out. No residual issues that I can see; whew! I did a quick polish with a Sunshine cloth for microscratches, and then filled it with Waterman Blue, my standard test ink.

Frankly, I'm a bit impressed. The nib is smooth, firm but springy; it's labeled M but is finer than most contemporary Western medium nibs. On reflection, this is true of most Sheaffers of the time; I recall thinking the school pen I picked up for nostalgia's sake that's roughly the same vintage (probably a bit older) was also finer than I anticipated it would be. And the fine Sheaffer Balance Aspen I have (again, about the same vintage) is really fine.

It's interesting to compare nib feel between this and the 1996 Sheaffer Christmas pen I have, which has a very similar nib, only gold-plated; the Christmas pen is a much firmer one. Both pens' feeds bear style similarities to the feed in my No Nonsense pen as well, also a Sheaffer product of roughly the same vintage.

It's interesting to note I had a bit of a time finding any new desk pen sets available; Cross offers a set with the only option being a ballpoint and matching pencil, most others I found were designed to match a suite of desk accessories to give the desk that "executive" look - black leather desk blotter, etc. Of the few sets I found available, none offered a fountain pen any more.

Suddenly I'm feeling a bit outdated.

At least I got my Mom's pen cleaned, up and running before I got so old so fast.

The Well-Travelled Pen

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 15:49:00 +0000

The Saga of a Pen as It - but Not Its Owner - Travels the World

So here's the deal.

In 2011, the Fountain Pen Network put together a group buy for various limited-edition Stipula pens. There were three different models offered, in different configurations (materials, nib sizes, trim material, etc.).

As is so typical of me, I saw the Photoshop mockup of the Most Expensive One and said (everyone repeat after me), "Ooooh....Shiiiiiiny....." I then convinced myself I could afford it, had to have it, and ordered it. With an extra nib in a different size, in fact - Stipula pens have nibs that swap! Look! It's really an economical move - two pens for the price of - well, two or three - or four. Or even more, depending on price point.

So I shipped my money off and waited.

Etruria, the maker of Stipula pens, is an Italian firm. Unlike so many brand names around (though, arguably, they are primarily not the companies that introduced them), Etruria is a pretty recent player in the pen world, having begun the manufacture of pens in 1982, and under their own name only in 1991. As with many of the Italian makers, the finish work of the pens (in my opinion) reflects the long history of excellent jewelry making and goldwork in Italy. In past decades, the gold overlay work on pens coming out of Italy was unparalleled. So you could understand why I might be attracted to the pretty, shiny blue celluloid pen with 18k gold vermeil trim.

As part of their agreement with FPN, Etruria would only begin manufacture once they were assured of a certain number of sales - only good business sense, and they are a fairly small company I'm told. This meant that I put my money down in June, and received the pen the following February in a direct shipment from them in Italy.

And it wrote like crap. That's a technical term. Beyond a dry writer, it delivered a line that - if it distributed ink at all - looked like nothing so much as if a half-dried-out Magic Marker had made it. I still have some test writing I did with the pen at that time, but since this is a family-friendly blog I cannot display it here. You know what I was writing.

I spent weeks flushing it, trying different inks, trying to "write it out," and finally stuck it in the pen box and tried to forget my folly in spending so much money for something that didn't work worth a damn. The pen is lovely, and as a piston-filler it holds a lot of ink - but it sure couldn't deliver it.

I was particularly frustrated because I had also picked up one of the FPN LE Passaportos (hovering in the background of this review) from someone who decided they didn't need it, and it wrote like a champ, was beautifully made, and had quickly become a favorite. So why would the inexpensive one work, and the expensive one not?

Months later, I finally decided, dang it, I spent a small fortune for this pen and it had better work! So I contacted Yafa, who is the US representative for Etruria, submitted a warranty claim, and shipped the pen to Los Angeles. Yes, I should have done this in the first place. I have no excuse, other than the previously mentioned folly-forgetting attempt.

After the pen had been at Yafa for a month, I asked for a status. Still working on it. After the second month, Yafa 'fessed up with the fact that they couldn't fix it, and were shipping it back to Etruria in Italy. Finally, back it came, having been gone from August until the end of December, with Etruria's assurances that it was all better.

No change. Insert colorful vocabulary here.

In desperation, I reached out to WimG, the man who runs FPN, for help. After all, he had worked with Etruria on the deal, and FPN is one of the biggest fountain pen virtual gathering spots in the world - Etruria would hardly want a black eye out of this, now would they? (And those of you who know me know that I'm completely capable of delivering one.) It turns out that Wim had recently contracted with Etruria to serve as one of their European reps and was authorized to do warranty repairs. He had addressed the very problem I was having in a couple of other Etruria pens and had ideas about how to fix it. He asked me to ship him the pen and both nibs to his home in the Netherlands, and he would work on it under warranty with Etruria's agreement.

So back to Europe went my pen, its third visit. Unfortunately, when Joe shipped it out, in a fit of economy he chose a shipping method that was mostly uninsured, untraceable beyond US shores and apparently involved slow boats and some detours, because it took the pen well over two months to get to the Netherlands. I hope it enjoyed the cruise.

I was glad to hear it had finally reached its destination, as I was ready to give it up as lost. To add insult to injury, when the postman delivered the pen to Wim's home, he demanded €30 cash duty on it despite the fact it was clearly labeled as being sent for repair. That had a feel of The Postman's Short of ~~Beer~~ Lunch Money to me, but so be it - the pen had surfaced after weeks of wandering. At that point, I was only half-jokingly referring to the pen as cursed - wherever it went, it caused trouble and didn't work.

My suspicions of accursedness were borne out by the fact that, shortly after that pen arrived in the Netherlands, its exchange hosts were beset with a number of challenges, which I will not elaborate upon as they are not my story to tell; suffice it to say that life events caused delays in the repair process. After four months abroad, the prodigal pen made its way home - much more speedily than it meandered its way to the Netherlands, its tour guide from Europe being rather more well-versed in international shipping than my earnestly helpful but less-experienced assistant here.

And as many of us are wont to do as we get a bit older, it had decided it had better straighten up and fly right, lest the Bottom of the Pen Box be forever its fate. To add to the fun, Wim had, by way of apology to me for the two-year delay in having a useable pen (and also just because he's a nice guy), converted both nibs to dual-sided nibs - both nibs now write excellently, with differing widths, either right side up or upside down.

And I do have a gem of a pen.

Finally.

Pens for Aid: Help the Philippines and Buy a Pen!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 05:26:00 +0000

Leigh Reyes, the lovely and talented woman behind My Life as a Verb, is hosting a small pen auction to raise funds to assist our neighbors in the Philippines. Please drop by and bid lavishly! All proceeds go directly to the Philippine Red Cross, as outlined on Leigh's website.

Besides, we've contributed this lovely thing - bid it up for me, won't you?

FPD 2013 Giveaway Winners!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 05:24:00 +0000

What a fun experience this has been for me!

When I gave away a Jinhao X750 in February 2012, I had 20 entries. For this giveaway I've had more than eight times that many, with 162 entries from 17 different countries, including multiple entries from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Greece, the Philippines, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, as well as so many from my native United States! Thank you all so much for your interest in my blog and the giveaway!

And now for the news you've all been waiting for:

Tim from Huntington Beach, CA - Gold pen with the following ink samples: Noodler's Army Green • J. Herbin Lie de Thé • Pilot Namiki Blue • Noodler's North African Violet • Noodler's Nikita

Doug from Oakland, CA - Matte Black pen with Caran d'Ache Grand Canyon • Montegrappa Bordeaux • DeAtramentis Cucumber • Diamine Aqua Lagoon • DeAtramentis Elderberry

David from Waltham, MA - Holographic Black pen with Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher • Diamine Meadow • Diamine Ruby • Monteverde Purple • Waterman Havana Brown

Francesco from Pisa, Italy - Gold and Black check pen with Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia • Aurora Blue • Private Reserve Ebony Green • Noodler's Rattler Red Eel • Noodler's Purple Heart

Amy from Los Angeles, CA - White pen with Diamine Soft Mint • DeAtramentis Rose • Sheaffer Brown • Waterman Red • Sheaffer Turquoise

Curious what those ink colors look like? I'd suggest you hop over to Goulet Pens' The Swab Shop and take a peek.

Many thanks go to the bloggers who gave me a mention (particularly Sandra, Azizah, and Julie), the many people who favorited and retweeted the entry link, and to all the entrants for their enthusiasm and the kind notes so many of you wrote. You made my week!

(Just for fun, the countries represented in the entries are: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the US.)

Happy Fountain Pen Day indeed!

Congratulations to the winners! I'll be in touch via email within the next day about the details!

Welcome to My Fountain Pen Day Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Happy Fountain Pen Day! So glad you could join me!

In honor of the day, and because I love fountain pens and ink, and especially because I love all the crazy people like me who love fountain pens and ink (is that sentence run-on enough for you?)...

I'm hosting a little giveaway!

So here's what's up:

I have five lovely Jinhao X750 pens with medium nibs that I'd like to give away, one to each of five people. I have personally flushed, inked, write-tested, and then cleaned them, so they should be good to go as soon as they arrive at your house. (Other than the cleaning and testing, they are unused - I bought them for this purpose.) They are: matte black, black with holographic sparkles, gold, cream, and gold and black check. Individual photos of the pens are also available here.

(click on photo to embiggen)

I also have gobs of ink samples, more than we'll probably ever, ever, ever work our way through - I've been an Ink Drop subscriber from the beginning (a founding member as it were!). I have my ink samples beautifully sorted, organized and stored as you see here:

So, to go with each pen, I will randomly select one sample from each of the five bags and include five random-color ink samples with each pen. (The five bags, in case you are curious, are labeled Pink/Purple/Orange, Blues, Greens, Browns and Reds.)

I like the Jinhaos, and featured one in a giveaway a while ago - here is a link to the Very Awful Video Review I did at the time. They are good basic pens, reliable and sturdy. In combination with some ink samples, this would be a great way to try a fountain pen without investing a ton of money, or it could be used as ~~a bribe~~ ~~a lure~~ a gift for someone you know who'd like to give fountain pens a try. The holidays are coming up, after all, and faster than any of us realize, I suspect.

Or just keep it as a gift to yourself!

Details:

One entry per person please.

PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM - COMMENTS on this blog post WILL NOT COUNT AS AN ENTRY! Sorry to shout, but I'm hoping it'll make that more visible!

Please indicate whether you have a pen color preference - I will do my best to accommodate preferences for the winners, but no guarantees - I only have one of each color.

Entries will be accepted through November 10 at 9 pm Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8). Each entry will be given a number in order of entry, and a random selection will be made for the five winners - numbers in a hat if there are a few, random number generator if I get a bunch. Winners will be notified promptly by email, and a list of first names published on the blog as well.

Good luck, and thanks for playing! Loading...

Trick or Treat! FPD giveaway starts tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Hope the ghosts and goblins are good to you today! Stay tuned - I have a giveaway starting tomorrow in honor of Fountain Pen Day, and I'd love to have you participate!

And it's a good thing that blog posts can be automated - we'll have well over a hundred kids coming to the door tonight, so I'm sure I'll be a little tired Friday morning...

Happy Halloween!

MRI time!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 14:09:00 +0000

No, I'm not ill or injured...The nice people over at Pen★Paper★Ink★Letter have begun a rather ambitious project to corral all reviews relating to - well - pens, paper, and inks. Looks like they're off to a great start - I can't imagine the time involved!

They call it the Massive Review Index, or MRI for short.

Just thought I'd mention it was out there, in case you're looking for a little light reading! Enjoy! (And if I can get the time to get the camera out, I'll have another review or two for you myself soon!)

Review: Sugar Paper Journal

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 00:32:00 +0000

Joe and I spent a few days in Victoria, BC a week or so ago. During one of our walks about town, we walked by a shop that had this journal in the window, along with an assortment of other goods. As an aside, the shop was laid out interestingly; the goods (which ranged from greeting cards and journals to cell phone cases, tea and nail polish - a little something for everyone, I suppose) were laid out around the perimeter of the narrow shop, sorted by color in rainbow order from left to right. It was rather striking, actually.

At any rate, the journal caught my eye - and especially the note that says "Sugar Paper" below the word Journal on the label.

(click to embiggen photos)
And here I reveal my ignorance; once I got it home and opened it, I discovered that Sugar Paper is the name of the maker and has nothing to do with the content of the paper. No bagasse here, sorry to say. Sugar Paper is a company started by two graphic designers in 2003, who like to focus on letterpress work. I saw some cute things on their website - including some other notebooks, by the way.

The cover is textured heavy card stock, in black with gold polka dots; it also comes in raspberry and kraft with the gold polka dots. The paper is fairly heavy as well, and surprisingly smooth and well-behaved for a journal that isn't necessarily marketed to fountain pen people. It looks to be glued in. The journal is 6x8 inches and 75 pages, narrow ruled. Each page has a preprinted date field in the upper right corner, and the last line on each page is decorative, with an arrow motif. There is an elastic band to keep the journal closed, attached with rivets on the back; not the tidiest job I've ever seen on this one, but I think it'll hold.

Test writing here was done with a TWSBI Diamond 530 with a Pendleton stub with Diamine Monaco Red; a Visconti Homo Sapiens, XF Palladium nib, Diamine Majestic Blue; Levenger True Writer SeaGlass, F nib, with Private Reserve Midnight Blue; and a Sheaffer Balance Aspen, F nib with Sheaffer Washable Blue.

That Visconti is Joe's. Pretty sweet pen, eh? I've been trying to steal it from him since he got it. It is a very wet writer, which was my excuse for borrowing it; I wanted to see how it fared in my test writing. But I digress.

The paper has a fairly hard finish and I saw no evidence of spread or feathering at all.

As you can see, there is a bit of show-through, though not bad, and some bleedthrough with the Visconti and the Levenger, both of which are pretty wet writers. Not impossible to deal with; I've certainly seen worse.

All in all, for an impulse purchase I did pretty well. It's certainly stylish, and the paper quality is better than one often finds in things like this. I'm pretty pleased.

And just for fun, here is a shot taken out of our hotel window overlooking Victoria Harbour, with the moon and Venus in the evening sky.

Multiple mementos of a fun trip!

The Sunday Post: September 8, 2013

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 02:03:00 +0000

I've written before about the family reunion we attend every year; that event was today.

As we got within an hour or so of our destination, the freeway was closed. Up ahead was a large cloud of smoke - it appeared that some fool had thrown a cigarette butt out of the window and started a large brush fire. This is in a very arid area, which means brush fires are easy to start - if you're foolish like that.

So, we ended up being detoured off of the freeway and onto the road that ran along the Yakima River, called Canyon Road but referred to by the family as "the old river road." This is a slow, winding road with one lane in each direction - and we were behind large semi tractor-trailer rigs who had also been detoured off the freeway. Since we were going to be slower anyway, we put the top down on the car and made the most of it.

Many people, when they think of Washington State, think of Seattle and our famous rain, not realizing that the state is bisected by the Cascade Mountains and has (at least!) two very distinct climates. Just for fun, here are a few photos I took while leaning out the car window (taken with an iPhone, so not the best quality, but fun nonetheless). As you can see, this is strictly desert canyon. It's fun to have such differences in climate and geography relatively close.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

As always, photos will embiggen upon clicking...

A lot of river rafting goes on in this section

The railroad running through the canyon somehow reminds me of the Old West

The cliffs are rather impressive - made of basalt, Joe tells me

The Scariest Words……..

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Joe in Seattle was recently the recipient of a gift ~~horse~~ pen. Here is the story:

“I know you like pens, so I bought you this for _______ occasion!”

“Oh, thank you so much, it’s just what I never dreamt of ever owning and can’t for the life of me think what in the heck to do with it.”

A friend wanted to thank me for some small service, so he presented me with a pen box with these words, “I know you like pens, and I’ve seen you use them, so I got you this. I hope you can make it work.” Dan didn’t say where it came from, or why he thought it might not work, just handed me the rectangular brown leatherette box.

I opened it to see the word “Dunhill” in elongated letters inside the lid and what appeared to be a 70’s slim tortoise enamel on brass pen. Clicking off the cap revealed (wonder-of-wonders!) a nib! Dan is an observant sort; he realized the pens I’m always using are fountain pens.

As always, all photos are clickable to embiggen

I unscrewed the section to see that the pen had been put away with a no name grey plastic cartridge installed and it was dry. I thanked him for the thoughtful gift and said that I was quite hopeful that I could restore the pen to service from what I could see.

On the way home I wondered, “Is it really a Dunhill or a cheap Asian knockoff?” I’d hardly ever seen a nib that small and I’d never owned a pen so narrow, though I did recall seeing designer pens of that diameter in the 70’s.

At home, I took out the bottom of the box and found a universal converter with the Dunhill logo, a box of Dunhill cartridges (the same no name grey plastic as was moldering empty in the section) and the guarantee booklet which even appeared to be spelled correctly in several languages.

I got out my loupe. The nib was marked “Dunhill, 14K” yet it seemed to have a good bit of plating loss. A fake, I was now pretty sure, but maybe I could get it writing for a lark. Dan had certainly meant well.

A closer examination of the pen body showed an “M” sticker on the bottom and “made in Germany” engraved or stamped around the body. The plating was pretty darn good for a fake. The pen did have the heft to be enamel on brass, but the section and feed looked …. Wait a minute! The feed is definitely ebonite; I could see machining that isn’t present on a plastic feed. The section had a similar feel, though it was cylindrical in shape and more finely finished. Ebonite or something unfamiliar to me?

Playing with the pen it capped and posted with a crisp “snick” that sounded just like the precision closing of a trunk latch on a Mercedes. Holy heck, this thing isn’t a fake! I went to the internet and learned it’s a Dunhill Gemline from the 1970’s. Dunhill sold pens made in Germany by Montblanc. In fact, Dunhill owned Montblanc and the Gemline series had feeds and nibs interchangeable with Montblanc's 1970’s Noblesse pens. The sections for both were a frosted finish steel that had a unique feel. I had mistaken it for ebonite. The steel gave the section weight and the frosted finish gave it a unique tactile experience – smooth, but not slippery in use.

After a cleaning I could see that what I thought was plating loss on the nib was just dried schmutz. A brief soak of the section in a glass of cool water and a few rinses with the baby ear bulb rinsed away what was probably decades-old dried Dunhill ink. (The ‘net had shown that Dunhill’s cartridges carried no name, only a colored ball in the nipple to designate the color within - just like what was installed in the pen when I received it.)

I installed an international cartridge with Pelikan Purple. It writes! A bit of hesitation on the first stroke, but I haven’t even cleaned the nib with Perfect Pen Flush yet. Cleaned, the pen writes very similarly, no surprise here, to the F nib on my Montblanc 146. It’s very smooth – just like a Mercedes drives, not a lot of road feel. The M nib is broader than I customarily use, but it’s pleasant and the nib width allows a lot of color enjoyment.

A few days ago Dan asked, “Did you ever get that old pen to work?”

“Yes,” I answered, “thanks again.”

What a story the 40 year old Dunhill might tell of a long, long wait in someone’s dark desk drawer until it saw the light again in Seattle. In fact, I think it just did!

The Sunday Post: July 14, 2013

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 08:00:00 +0000

So. I quit my job.

My last day of employment will be August 9.

I won't bore you with the details of why and wherefore; suffice it to say: it's time. And we'll be just fine without it.

I have been actively working on the exit plan for some months now - well, actually, for years, but the time frame I'd had in mind was still a few years into the future. Events in the past few months caused me to work on accelerating that date. As I've been working toward it, I can already feel the layers of stress starting to peel off rather like the skin on an onion - it'll be interesting to see what's left as that process continues.

What does it mean for you, my readers? (If any of you are left?)

I still have ideas up my sleeve, still have some things to say. And now perhaps I'll actually have the time to say those things and play with those ideas. It's been months since I've posted anything, and even more time since I posted anything of substance.

Oh, and there will be a giveaway when I'm ready to relaunch, too!

For those of you who've hung in there with me, even if all you did was not delete me from your feed reader, I thank you. For the newer readers, welcome aboard! I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with everyone, and reacquainted with those whose company I've missed over the last several months.

Happy Sunday!

Sheila

As the plate spins

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:58:00 +0000

Yes, the above video was once considered the height of prime-time network entertainment.

And it also illustrates somewhat succinctly what my life resembles right now. At least, thus far, I am the spinner and not the plate.

Still in the (mental) hopper:

Everything Old is New Again
Urushi Smackdown!!!! (I need a WWE announcer for this one; any volunteers?)

Google+ Fountain Pen Community

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:10:00 +0000

Hey - did you know that there's an active fountain pen community on Google+? Might be worth your time to check it out! Take a look!

Still working on a couple of blog posts that I think you'll enjoy as well...stay tuned!

My Favorite Inks: Montblanc Toffee Brown

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 01:37:00 +0000

Montblanc is one of those brands. You know the ones - the ones that some people find pretentious. I thought that about the brand for quite some time - and then I got my hands on some of their products, and reluctantly began to enjoy the brand. Quietly, in my own home, without admitting it to anyone. (Don't forget to pull the drapes.)

Seriously, though, MB tends to get a lot of flak from people. Snarky comments about "precious resin" aside, I do think they make quality products. Their marketing team is just a bit over the top.

I am not the brown ink fan in the household - that honor belongs to Joe. He bought a bottle of Montblanc Toffee Brown some time ago, and I find myself swiping it time and again to use, unlike almost every other brown ink here - and believe me, there are quite a few.

Take a look and see what you think.

(scan is clickable)

Notebook selection, part two: the continuing saga

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 00:36:00 +0000

Some months ago now, I wrote a piece regarding the ever-continuing quest for a notebook I love. As with so many other things in life, it seems that none are perfect and every choice involves some bit of compromise.

The latest stage of that journey has involved small cahiers for use in the Zenok Leather cover I purchased a month or two ago. I chose the Zenok product over the Midori so I'd have ample choice of notebooks to use - its size lends itself to use with a wider variety of products. And so I've bought a fairly wide variety of 3.5"x5.5" (or so) cahiers to try out. I thought I'd share some comparison information with you and shots of the various papers so you might perhaps benefit from my experimentations.

(as always, all photos are clickable)

In no particular order, then, may I present my purchases to you?

Moleskine cahier

This is a plain cahier with a reddish maroon cover, which has the brand name embossed into the lower back cover. The back cover also has a small slide-in interior pocket that runs the length of the cover and half the width, suitable for holding things like receipts. This is the only one of these notebooks with such a pocket. The cahier is machine stitched together in the center. The back half of the cahier contains pages that are perforated to tear out at the binding. The paper is cream colored with charcoal grey lines.

Clairfontaine 1951

This notebook features a cover with a retro-looking design. The paper is standard Clairfontaine 90g bright white paper with the classic violet lines. Two staples in the center hold the notebook together. No pages are perforated. 48 sheets/96 pages.

Clairfontaine Basics/Life Unplugged

Other than the cover, this notebook is identical to the 1951. The cover is textured cardstock with the Clairfontaine logo embossed in the front cover. (I have one in brown and one in black.) The paper is the same as the 1951; it too is held together with two staples in the center, and no pages are perforated. 48 sheets/96 pages.

Banditapple Carnet

The cover is a plain brown textured paper. The 80g paper is slightly off-white, sort of greyish. I chose the graphed paper which has squares printed in thin, dark blue lines. The paper has a slightly rough finish. The notebook is stitched down the center, no perfs. 32 sheets/64 pages.

Leuchtturm 1917

This notebook is 60 pages of 80g off-white paper. The cover is black cardstock, lined with an inner (second) cover of off-white cardstock. The front inner cover has a printed area to write one's name and address. The first page is printed with a table of contents to be filled in. This is the only one that has numbered pages. This book is stitched down the middle, and the second half of the notebook contains pages that are perforated to tear out.

Field Notes

I bought a set of three of these: graph, line and blank. Other than the difference in lines, the books are identical. The covers are brown cardstock with Field Notes emblazoned across the front, and the same in smaller print on the back, along with the company's website address and information about its origin in the USA. The interior front cover has space to enter a variety of information. The entire interior back cover is covered with information about the company and the notebook, and has a five-inch printed ruler on the outside edge. Each notebook is assembled using three staples. The paper is 50# bright white, with lines in a light brown soy-based ink (thus the inside back cover tells me). No pages are perforated. 48 pages per book.

Pages are in same order as above photo. Both photos are clickable

Paper comparison:

Clairfontaine: As I mentioned above, the paper in both the Clairfontaines is identical. And I love it. Love. It. Bright white, hard finish, no bleedthrough or showthrough. The famous secondary red sheen of the Yama-dori ink shines.

Moleskine: one word: meh. Cream colored. Narrower ruling than the Clairfontaine, which for my larger writing isn't what's called for. Showthrough and bleedthrough is pretty bad.

Leuchtturm: Paper color is in-between the Clairfontaine super-white and the Moleskine cream. Showthrough isn't bad and bleedthrough really only happened with the Mina, which is by far the wettest writer I used for the test. And the notebook itself has a lot of features the others don't - whether they'd be useful to you, only you can say!

Banditapple: This is the sleeper of the bunch to me. I'd read some favorable things about Banditapple, but have had no experience with their products until now; they're apparently just now really making their way into the US from Viet Nam. The paper has a greyish hue to it, and isn't quite as slickly finished as the others, but I didn't find that to be a detriment. Bleedthrough? Showthrough? Zero. Zip. Nada. Very impressive. The notebook itself is pretty basic, but it's nice that it's stitched instead of stapled.

Field Notes: Um...fail. The paper is thinner and clearly more absorbent than the others, bleedthrough and showthrough are the worst - to the point that, for me, only one side of each sheet would be useable. Your mileage may always vary, of course, and if you use pens other than fountain pens you might be okay with these.

My favorite features of all these are: the Clairfontaine paper, the perforated pages of the Moleskine and the Leuchtturm, the stitched construction of the Banditapple and the Leuchtturm. I'd love to find a cahier with these features - and I'd really love it if all the pages were perfed, since I use these for quick jotted notes that end up throwaways.

Ah, well. Can't have everything in this life, and I have a several-month supply of cahiers to go through now!

I hope you find this helpful! Please post any questions you may have and I'd be happy to answer them!

Oh - and for those of you wondering what that thing is that's holding the notebooks, here you go. I tend to wander around the house until I find something to use as a background, and this pedestal table got to take that role on this afternoon.

Edison Herald: the pen I hated to love

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Once again, Joe in Seattle is stepping into the breach - not only has he spent the bulk of his time lately caring for my bronchitis-laden-and-still-frantically-working self, decorating the house for the holidays, cooking, cleaning, and helping host Christmas for our family - he has also contributed this lovely review of his custom Edison Herald!

I’ve followed Brian Gray’s career from the very early stages, before he built his shop, back when the Edison Herald was his mainstay pen - and I loved it. I really felt the red and black streaked ebonite was the epitome of a perfect pen. I liked the shape of the section, the fact that it was of the same material as the body, and just about everything except the clip.

Over several years, whilst I dithered about ordering one, the price rose a bit and Brian began putting out really nice two tone nibs with his own logo in place (answering one minor criticism that I had).

I finally ordered one – with a medium nib ground to a .9 cursive italic and a standard F as well, both in steel. I had read Brian’s comments about steel vs. gold nibs and liked the idea of having two nibs - and, frankly, the cost of gold was too much of a stretch. I asked him to use the original signature Herald section, not the current production curve, and to replace the clip with a more vintage-looking one. He made two recommendations for a clip, and we both felt the one I chose was the best. It’s entirely, to my eye, more finished, elegant, and appropriate to a fountain pen.

He did all this, creating a pen to exactly my specifications, then sent me a photo – and my heart sank.

(photos, as always, are clickable)

The ebonite currently available to him wasn't the streaked black and red I’d been mooning over for more than 5 years; it was mottled. “Well, perhaps the pen will look better in person,” I thought.

It arrived (the excellent packaging, quick service, pen box, etc. have all been described by other reviewers). The colour reads predominantly more a blended “brown” than discrete red and black to my eye. Sad, sad, sad. Well, I thought, I can always sell it at only a slight loss.

Ah, heck, let’s try it out anyway. The first two weeks I wasn’t impressed at all. Adequate, but not pleasant. Flow was OK, but nothing special. Then, the stars (or the tines) aligned to my ‘hand’ and I found myself using no other pens and running through that big Schmidt converter of ink every 2 days! That Schmidt converter holds a powerful lot of ink.

I loved the pen’s weight, size, balance, and feel – and the fact that I can carry it in a shirt pocket and not fear exposing it to the rigors of real life. I love the way it screws together like a finely machined object – which it is. I use it posted, but don’t baby it. It’s a really, really nice and useful tool. I like the ease of hot-swapping the CI and F nibs. I write with the F nib for a while and I’m convinced I like it the very best of the two, then swap for the CI and say, “oooooh! I forgot how nice this makes my hand look!” and I enjoy the CI for a while. It also seems to inspire occasional flourishes that telegraph to me how much I’m enjoying using the nib. After all, isn’t that why we relish nice pens?

This pen writes the way I wish some others did. It also loves Private Reserve inks (my favourite) and seems to have a special affinity for PR Chocolat, my best brown. The overall ‘retro’ appeal of the brown ebonite, two tone nib, vintage-style clip and the cigar shape along with the chocolate ink on off-white paper is very pleasing. One almost feels sepia-toned as one writes.

So, what I really like about it is the sheer feel of Brian’s polished ebonite. The feel and tactile pleasure I get from using, and playing with, the Herald is very much like using my Nakaya in Aka Tamenuri Urushi. Often, as I write, I fondle the cap in one hand whilst using the pen in the other. Over the past months the pen has picked up a very subtle patina of use, a tangible sense that it has been used – as opposed to a pristine shiny surface, but my fingers continue to play with it.

As to using the pen as an eye-dropper, I seem to be the only person in Pendom for whom an Edison does NOT work well as an ED. It gets a runny, drippy nose. Ah, well. I change ink colours often anyway and that small failure never bothered me enough to ask Brian about what I might be doing wrong.

On the other hand, it seems to love sipping from cartridges just as well as the converter. I wondered if the barrel was machined deeply enough to allow for two international cartridges to be inserted back-to-back. It is not. The photo below shows how I extracted the spare the first - and only! - time I tried the camel trick.

I wish I’d had a pen like this in college. Actually, I did – sort of – it was a Pelikan 120 or 140 green/black with an F nib and a piston, which allowed me to write forever on a fill of ink and all day with no writer’s cramp or fatigue.

Forced to choose, I’d take this pen with the F nib with me to that fabled Desert Island.

I hate reviews that can’t find a thing to criticize about a pen. Yet, I find myself grasping for superlatives in this case. The weaknesses I found were the colour (Brian says he can no longer get that ebonite he used in the early days, plus the ebonite he uses now is better) and the eye dropper failure for me.

Oh, that colour? It’s growing on me.

The Sunday Post: January 6, 2013

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 14:58:00 +0000

You may - or may not - have noticed that it's been a while since I posted here.

It's been a little busy for me.

I don't want to bore you with excessive detail, but...six weeks of bronchitis/pneumonia requiring 14 days of a 5-day antibiotic to finally kill it before it killed me. Picked up that bug at work, where several others have also been as sick or sicker - including my boss, who's been out for some time and in and out of the hospital, meaning I'm doing double duty as I am her backup. (I am not expecting her back for some weeks to come either.) We hosted Christmas for our family as I worked straight through the holiday season with no time off - other than Christmas Day and the days I spent in bed with the above-mentioned bronchitis. I work in a business subject to annual government audits, and there are currently 11 auditors at my office, which is taking a lot of my time at work - meaning my actual work is getting done after hours. They'll be visiting us until late this month.

I've been using my spare time for sleeping. I know, how selfish of me. What am I thinking?

Mostly about how to get one foot in front of the other without tripping!

At any rate, I wanted you all to know I have not forgotten you, and I do have some things in the pipeline for the blog. Some of it, hopefully, this week.

Stay tuned...

It's Carnival time!

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:31:00 +0000

The November edition of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper is hosted by the lovely Goulets over at Ink Nouveau, here. Be sure to check it out for a variety of interesting reads!

Distraction

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:17:00 +0000

So, yesterday when I was trying to take photos of the Zenok Leather notebook cover, I ended up playing peekaboo as well. I thought some of you might find this picture fun. (If not, feel free to skip right past...)

Gandalf, checking out things from the footrest of an antique accountant's stool that now serves as a plant stand in my family room.

And, yes, we own...um...a lot of books. Probably a few thousand. And counting.

Happy Monday!

Lemmings. (Lemmings? Read on.)

noreply@blogger.com (SheilaM) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 23:42:00 +0000

This chapter of the ongoing Notebook Dilemma is brought to you by this lovely little notebook.

(As always, all photos are clickable to enlarge)

And here's the story.

For a while, I've been lemming the Midori Traveler's notebook. 'Cuz, you know, I need more notebooks. (Doesn't everyone?)

My hesitancy in jumping off of that little cliff was that the Midoris are nonstandard sizes - in all of my wanderings around the Web I could not find anyone else who made an insert that would fit nicely in a Midori. Other than Midori. My hope was to have a notebook that could be an everyday carry, and I am always hesitant to adopt something that has a limited supply chain if I intend to use it often.

Enter this little beauty by Zenok Leather. Frankly, I'm not sure how I found this, other than perhaps on one of my perambulations through the Etsy website. It's fairly close in execution to the Midori, with a few obvious differences. One of the big selling points for me was the fact that it holds a 3.5x5.5-inch notebook - and there are several manufacturers out there who make notebooks in that size. Hooray!

Plus, it's made by one of my neighbors to the north in Vancouver, BC. It's always good to support your neighbors.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't think to do an unbox for you; I hadn't initially contemplated reviewing the notebook cover, only the inserts I bought to play with. My recollection is that the packaging was simple; I believe it came in a standard shipping box, wrapped in tissue inside a Ziploc-type bag. It came with extra elastics, and just looking at it, it seems like it would be easy to replace the elastic with whatever one you chose to pick up. They are simply cut to size and knotted into place.

The cover is obviously handmade, and initially I was somewhat taken aback because I hadn't realized it would be as pale as it is - but it's grown on me quickly, and is already starting to show some of the signs of use and wear that a well-loved leather item will. The maker does offer several color combinations as well. The chop on the front is the shop's name, and I understand one can have it monogrammed instead if desired.

Photo courtesy of Zenok Leather. Used with permission.

What do I like about this? Elastics to hold up to four notebooks or cahiers. The leather tab on the elastic closure that can double as a pen loop. The leather tab on the spine, which doesn't stick out as far as the metal bead Midori uses. The two-tone leather. The multiple color choices.

This little guy has been riding around in my purse with me for a few weeks now, happily serving as a secure place to jot down a few notes, hold receipts and business cards, and whatever else I may need. No Midori lemming any more!

This just goes to show you don't have to stick to the big makers for products that will serve you well.

Coming soon - the review and comparison of the various notebooks and cahiers I purchased to serve as the innards. No lemmings were harmed in the making of this blog post. Despite the previous use of the word "innards."