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

Fountain Pen Style: The Official Preppy Handbook

Laura2 Comments

J. Herbin Vert Pré Callifolio Andrinople Pelikan M600 Pink Pelikan M400nn

If you are a certain (excellent) age, and also a woman, you’ll remember The Official Preppy Handbook, a well-thumbed tartan paperback owned by you and your friends. You’ll remember wearing Shetland sweaters, chinos and boat shoes. You’ll remember pink and green everything.

Why not rock that look with fountain pen ink?  Let’s go retro. Let’s go fun. Let’s go little-whales-on-shorts here.

For me, it’s J. Herbin Vert Pré and Callifolio Andrinople.

J. Herbin Vert Pré Callifolio Andrinople Pelikan M600 Pink Pelikan M400nn

Things I Learned Last Week

Laura7 Comments

spice drawer

1. It can be dangerous to alphabetize your spice drawer. Because that puts the cinnamon next to the chili powder. This all you need for an early morning “haven’t had my coffee yet” mistake.  Trust me.

2. I went to a pen club meeting last Sunday, and everyone there had beautiful handwriting. I want to find a meeting of doctors.

3. Does this ever happen to you? You start saying something and realize almost instantly … whoops. Wrong words, wrong audience. No way to finish this with grace.

Well, the other day I was thinking of the group TV on the Radio and I started singing, kind of to myself, but with my husband and kids around, the song Red Dress. And then I get to a part of the chorus that goes, “Come bear witness to the whore of Babylon.”

Let me just say: if you want everyone to stop what they are doing, and look up at you as if you have lost your mind, this is perfect.

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

Montblanc Golden Yellow Ink: Mold Inside the Ink Cartridges?

Laura6 Comments

Montblanc Golden Yellow Ink cartridge with SITB

I was going to send some of my Montblanc Golden Yellow ink cartridges to friends today, when I noticed something strange. There was something floating inside the cartridges that wasn’t just ink.  As you can see, it looks like mold.

This is a first for me. I’ve never seen mold grow inside sealed cartridges before.  I have occasionally seen it develop in bottles of ink that had been opened and partially used. But never in any Montblanc ink.

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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.