My new Lamy Al-Star in Charged Green arrived in the mail this morning, along with a box of the ink cartridges. The pen is nice enough, and I really like the ink, but getting it all to work was strangely like an Icelandic saga, albeit nobody froze to death.
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Aurora Optima Burgundy with medium nib. This beautiful Optima is a great match for the KWZ Maroon #2 I’m testing.
I just reviewed KWZ Maroon, which I loved, so I wanted to give Maroon #2 a fair shake by putting it in a special pen.
Aurora took its red pen down a different path by making it a sophisticated burgundy. It has a rich, dark color, featuring deep wine reds and black, with chrome trim.
In bright light or sunlight, the acrylic shines and sparkles, but the photo above was taken on an overcast day, and brings out the name and logo: “Aurora Italia, Fabbrica Italiana Di Pennea Serbatoio.” Which Google roughly translates as Aurora of Italy, Italian Factory of Fountain Pens. But as usual, the Italian sounds much better. Grazie mille, Aurora Italia.
January is the worst month in Chicago. February is almost as bad, but at least it’s shorter. But in terms of fountain pens and ink, this January was pretty darn good. Here are some highlights.
1. KWZ Inks. I’ve really been enjoying these. Such beautiful inks, with such nice behavior.
2. Mysterious New Pen. I bought a new pen. But as Plume says, it’s for the blog. I’m selfless like that.
3. Learning Slowly but Surely. By the end of the month, I had started writing “2016” as the date, nearly automatically. Oh yeah. Those gears are still turning.
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Photo by Dafne Cholet, Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.
Diamine Mozart. It’s January 27, 2016, which is the 260th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Diamine’s excellent Music Set includes a Mozart ink, which is a lovely, dark reddish brown with great shading. Diamine Mozart is a wetter ink, but I still like it in a wet pen
An everyday ink? It could be, for me. And today is a good day for it.
Aurora Optima Blue/Chrome with fine nib. I filled this Optima for two reasons. First, it seemed like a perfect match for the color of KWZ Azure #3 ink, which I wanted to try. Second, Aurora has announced a forthcoming blue and green Optima 365 limited edition. And I’m tempted. So it’s time to appreciate what I already have.
First, the ink, which is a knockout. Not much shading; great color.
Second, this is such a beautiful pen. So I think that’s that. Phew.
KWZ Dark Brown. This is an ink that is so very dark brown it’s essentially black, to me. But it’s not only an attractive lighter black ink, it’s also an astonishingly well-behaved black ink. Even on very poor papers, and with wide nibs, I could not make it feather even a little.
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Diamine Carnation. The January “birth flower” is the carnation, and today happens to be the twelfth birthday of Tara, a beloved family member, albeit of the Labrador Retriever persuasion. Diamine Carnation is a great ink to bring birthday cheer, being a sprightly pink that’s surprisingly legible and unsurprisingly happy.
An everyday ink? I suspect that if we all used Diamine Carnation daily, the world would be a better place.
Lamy Al-Star Dark Purple with medium nib. Ah, the power of a name. I have always slightly disapproved of this pen because Lamy called it “purple,” and it’s just not my idea of purple. But I like it as a maroon or burgundy pen.
Anyway I’m using it to test KWZ Maroon, a very nice ink.
I’ve never really like the Al-Star as much as the Safari. But it’s starting to grow on me. Aluminum is neat.
Fountain Pen Follies 