Category: Fountain Pens

Fountain Pen Favorites for May 2016

Laura4 Comments

calendar image

May is always beautiful here and has always been my favorite month. This past week has been especially lovely in the garden, which is suffused with the lemony scent of older roses in bloom. And, yes, there have been pens and inks. Here were my favorites for May.

1. Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue. So you know how sometimes when you really look forward to something, it turns out to be a little disappointing once you actually have it? Well, that didn’t happen with the M205 Blue. I like it even more in person. Oh sure, the nib will never be for me, and the pen’s a little skimpy. But it’s such a pretty blue, and if it were perfect I’d only have to get rid of all my other pens anyway. Win-win, I’d say.

2.Boxing Out. May brought the best box for my Aurora Optimas ever. Not only does that gorgeous thing cradle the little fellows in plush comfort. Not only does it have ten (10!) empty slots that eventually I get to fill. But it also means my Aurora Optimas aren’t in the regular pen case any more, creating the erroneous but deeply satisfying impression that “I haven’t got that many pens after all.”

3. New Pen Evaluation Process. I have finally come up with a workable three-step system to analyze and evaluate matters when I want a new pen. It goes like this: (1) Don’t. (2) Don’t. (3) Don’t.

So far so good.

 

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

Pen of the Day: Pelikan Piccadilly Circus

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Pelikan M620 Piccadilly Circus fountain pen

Pelikan M620 Piccadilly Circus with fine nib. We went to Captain America: Civil War this weekend. I am so Team Captain America, and this was the closest pen I could find. Which okay, strictly speaking, is a total fail. But, imagine if Captain America ever went out and had some fun in the West End. Let’s go with that.

The Piccadilly Circus is my most used Pelikan Cities Pen, and in some ways my favorite. It’s the most fun.

Pelikan M620 Piccadilly Circus fountain pen detail

I inked it up with Caran d’Ache Divine Pink.  Yes, Caran d’Ache Week was last week. But I can almost hear a Donna Summer song playing somewhere, and I’m going to pretend the party is still going on.

Caran d'Ache Divine Pink ink writing sample

Pen of the Day: Montblanc 146

Laura5 Comments

Montblanc 146 with Caran d'Ache Infra Red

Montblanc 146 with broad nib. Well, I am nothing if not consistent, because I just realized that the last time a 146 was Pen of the Day, it was this very pen.

That’s not my fault, though. It’s because Montblanc makes a great broad nib. Look at this thing.

Montblanc 146 with broad nib Caran d'Ache Infra Red

The ink is Caran d’Ache Infra Red, a red so special it had to be named for something outside the human visible spectrum.

(Although, actually, it’s now been shown that humans can see infrared light under certain circumstances. And that it looks green. So thanks, science, for wrecking everything.)

But science schmience. Ink is my thing. Caran d’Ache Infra Red ink is very visible, very red and very awesome.

Montblanc 146 with broad nib Caran d'Ache Infra Red writing sample

Pen of the Day: Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue (Again)

Laura2 Comments

Pelikan M205 blue demonstrator Caran d'Ache Idyllic Blue ink

Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue with fine nib. This was pen of the day fairly recently, but I’m repeating it because it’s got a brand new bag — I mean, ink.  This time I filled it with Caran d’Ache Idyllic Blue, another pure blue. I really like the combination.

Pelikan M205 blue demonstrator Caran d'Ache Idyllic Blue ink writing sample

I get the feeling that Caran d’Ache inks may not sell very well. They are so expensive in the US that I only buy them on sale, or from Europe. But it can’t just be price: other inks that are even more expensive get a lot of internet buzz. And Caran d’Ache inks fly under the radar.

Sample a few if you want to try something new. They are excellent inks. With great bottles.

Caran d'Ache Idyllic Blue ink bottle

Pen of the Day: Pelikan 400nn

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Pelikan 400nn fountain pen J. Herbin Vert Pre

Pelikan 400nn with medium nib. I still have a few vintage Pelikans hanging around, and this is one I’ve always liked the look of. The original green stripe Pelikan celluloid binde is a beautiful thing. And the 400nn shape is sleek.

Pelikan 400nn fountain pen

I desperately needed to add a little color to my roster of inked pens, so I filled the 400nn with J. Herbin Vert Pré. It’s a little wild and a lot of fun. And it is yet another example of one of my favorite ink categories: the barely legible.

Vintage Pelikans like this often have lovely semi-flex nibs. I couldn’t resist.

Pelikan 400nn fountain pen with J. Herbin Vert Pre ink writing sample

 

Aurora Optimas: What Do We Say to the God of Fountain Pen Problems? Not Today.

Laura5 Comments

Aurora Optima fountain pens in box

Well, Fountain Pen Follies did not enjoy a great start to the week, what with finding yucky stuff in some ink. However, let’s put that drear aside. Fountain pens are supposed to be fun. And here’s what I got yesterday from a very nice friend: this fantastic Aurora box.

Look at that gorgeous thing. Even the sun is happy to see it.

The box is wood on the outside and soft fabric on the inside. It’s like a luxury hotel room for fountain pens. And here are my Optimas, all moved in.

Aurora Optima fountain pens

From left to right, that’s the 365, the Sole, the Emerald Green Auroloide, the Blue Auroloide with gold, the Demonstrator with chrome, the Demonstrator with red, the Burgundy Auroloide, the Nero Perla and the Blue Auroloide with chrome.

I am waiting for the Monviso, which should come out in a few weeks.

And after that, I’ll still have ten spots to fill. It’s going to be fun. So check back in ten years.  Just calendar that in now.

Pen of the Day: Parker 75 with Graf von Faber-Castell Carbon Black

Laura3 Comments

Parker 75 sterling silver ciselé

Parker 75 Sterling Silver Ciselé with fine nib. The Parker 75 is a business-like pen with a no-nonsense, no-flair nib.  It a fairly slim pen by today’s standards, but it’s comfortable to use and works without fuss. It could easily be the one pen you use every day.

The 75 comes in a number of finishes. In fact, this weekend I just saw a beautiful, new-to-me 75 pattern that a pen friend had purchased. I’ve had a few 75s over the years, but I’m down to just this one: the US-made flat top sterling silver ciselé pattern.

This is probably the most common 75, but it’s also my favorite. I’d say it’s the iconic Parker 75.

Parker 75 sterling silver ciselé

Being a total wild child, I threw caution to the wind and filled it with a random ink sample, Graf von Faber-Castell Carbon Black.  I know, settle down, right?

Well, it all worked out because Faber-Castell Carbon Black seems to be my kind of black ink: not dark-as-night, but more interesting to me because it has some shading. This ink also writes very smoothly and resists feathering nicely.  It reminds me of all my favorite black inks: Pelikan Brilliant Black and the black inks from Stipula, Montblanc and Seitz-Kreuznach.

Parker 75 sterling silver ciselé Faber-Castell Carbon Black ink writing sample

Green, Green: The New Lamy Safari Green

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Lamy Safari Green and Apple Green fountain pens

I have moaned a fair bit about how Lamy keeps bringing out so many green Safaris and Al-Stars. Like sands through the hour glass, so come the Lamy greens. And this year Lamy added a Green Safari to the regular line. That’s the pen in the background of that photo, with the sticker and the black cap finial.

I’ve read that the new Green revives the 2012 Special Edition Apple Green Safari. However, like all current Safaris, the new Green has a black cap finial, while the 2012 Apple Green had a green finial. You can see that, too, in the photo above.

I’ve always liked the Apple Green. It’s pretty much the only green Safari or Al-Star I ever use. So, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to have another, I added a new Green Safari to an order I placed last month.  And here it is, again: the Green, with the Apple Green below.

Lamy Safari Green and Apple Green fountain pens

I’m not sure, but I have the nagging feeling that the new Green may be slightly different in hue than the Apple Green. Very slightly. Or maybe not. Does it look slightly different to you?

Those first two photos were taken outside. This next photo was taken inside, under artificial light, after I removed the sticker.

Lamy Safari Green and Apple Green fountain pens

Well, if there is a difference, it’s negligible. Especially under indoor lighting. In any case, this Safari Green is still my favorite Lamy green, in either the Safari or Al-Star line, and for anyone who missed the 2012, it’s nice to have it back.

It’s the pen so nice, I bought it twice.