October 2015 – Fountain Pen Follies

Fountain Pen Favorites for October 2015

October 31, 2015October 30, 2015 LauraLeave a comment

The leaves are falling faster, bare branches are showing and chilly November arrives tomorrow. What better time to look back at my personal fountain pen highlights from October.

1. Aurora Optima 365. I really did luck out getting this pen. Just wow.

2. Fall Color Inks. So much fun to use these. Oranges, yellows, browns and reds were very October.

3. Caran d’Ache Inks. The ones I tried this month were fabulous. Just fabulous.

4. Architect’s Nib. I loved playing with Dan Smith’s broad Architect’s Nib grind. I’m going to add one soon. I’m debating between a medium and a fine. I’ll miss that broad nib, though.

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Photo by Dafne Cholet, Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.

Pen of the Day: Aurora Optima 365

October 30, 2015May 18, 2016 LauraLeave a comment

Aurora Optima 365 with medium nib. Yes, this was Pen of the Day two weeks ago, too. It’s so worth the repeat.

But it has a new ink this time. My friend sent me a sample of Conway Stewart Kingsand, which I think is a really lovely ink, perfect for the pen and for the time of year.

Conway Stewart is out of business, unfortunately, but a number of stores still have the inks in stock. Moreover, Conway Stewart inks were made by Diamine, and to me, Kingsand looks very much like Diamine Ochre. I hope to put on my ink detective hat and investigate it. That hat? It’s a deerstalker. Of course.

Pen Twins: Aurora Optima Nero Perla

October 29, 2015May 18, 2016 LauraLeave a comment

My friend Chris just bought a pen that I also have, and adore: the Aurora Optima in Nero Perla. Don’t look now, but I think that makes us pen twins.

I couldn’t resist inking my Nero Perla at the same time. And the Nero Perla is the perfect pen for me right now. After having tested so many colorful inks recently, I was ready for a black ink. The choice was Stipula Ebony Black, a lighter black with nice shading that is one of my favorite black inks.

Chris chose Diamine Vivaldi, from the Music Set, which is a great gray purple and an inspired choice. I have a feeling I will shamelessly copy the same combination very soon.

Parker Quink Blue and Waterman Absolute Brown: Overlooked Inks?

October 28, 2015October 27, 2015 Laura3 Comments

Pen of the Day: Pelikan 400 Tortoise

October 27, 2015October 26, 2015 Laura1 Comment

Pelikan 400 Tortoise with oblique medium nib. This is a vintage Pelikan. The oblique medium nib offers line variation with a fairly narrow nib, since a vintage Pelikan medium is close to the width of a modern Pelikan fine nib.

I think the tortoise binde looks beautiful against the brown cap and piston knob.

The ink is Waterman Absolute Brown, formerly known as Havana Brown. It’s a reddish brown with nice shading.

Monday Morning Quarterback: October 26, 2015

October 26, 2015October 25, 2015 Laura1 Comment

Looking back on the previous week, having learned a few things. Looking ahead, wondering a few things.

1. Inked out? I feel like I’ve been very focused on ink these past few weeks. It has been fun, and I’ve learned a lot. But I just cleaned out nine pens. I’m thinking longingly of my normal blue and black inks right now.

2. Penned out? I bought a few pens this year, and I’ve been feeling like my pen cases are overstuffed. I’m not really sure what to do about this. I’m mulling the options.

3. Nice pen; cheap thrills. I really enjoy using clear Kaweco Sport fountain pens as eyedroppers. I like tilting the pens and watching the ink roll to and fro. It’s neat to see the range of color. But, yes, that does show that I am easily entertained.

4. New job? A possible job change occurred to me yesterday: I should be a billionaire. I’d be very good at that.

Ink Review: Montblanc Leo Tolstoy Sky Blue

October 25, 2015April 1, 2017 Laura1 Comment

Montblanc’s most recent limited edition ink is called Leo Tolstoy Sky Blue. In most respects, Tolstoy Sky Blue is a standard medium blue, but it can be very impressive on the right paper.

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Comparing Caran d’Ache Infra Red and Diamine Poppy Red

October 24, 2015April 1, 2017 Laura3 Comments

When I reviewed Caran d’Ache Infra Red, and looked for a comparable ink, the closest that I could find was Diamine Poppy Red. Both are bright reds, and they look similar enough that I wanted to compare them more thoroughly.

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Pen of the Day: Parker Duofold Centennial

October 23, 2015February 12, 2016 Laura1 Comment

Parker Duofold Centennial with medium stub. You might have guessed by now that I am a Parker fan. This is the gorgeous Black and Pearl Duofold Centennial, which is about the size of the original Big Red.

I just recently got this back from the nibmeister. I was never perfectly happy with how it wrote, so I asked Dan Smith to decrease its over-enthusiastic ink flow and make the stub smoother. Thanks to Dan, it finally writes as beautifully as it looks.