It’s already in the mail. Not that I checked the tracking at least five times yesterday, or anything.
Variegated grey auroloide, with solid gold pennino, incoming.
Oh two five. Oh happy day.
Tag: Fountain Pen Excess
Something’s Coming, Something Good
There are a lot of fun stages of pen ownership, but the most conflicted must be “waiting for a new pen.” It’s the best of times (excitement) and the worst of times (impatience).
I decided at the pen show that my big purchase wouldn’t be a pen there, but would be the Aurora Optima Monviso due out in June. With the factory stub, for a change from my usual fines and mediums.
It’s June, and the Monviso is already out. I’ve seen other owners’ photos all over Instagram. But the stub nibs are taking longer, because Aurora had to make those. Despite my impatience, that seems worth waiting for.
Now I’ve gotten word that the pen is here, in the US, and the distributor Kenro is mailing it today to my pusherman (sorry, “pen dealer”). I hope to have it late next week.
By the way, I got that photo from Kenro. It’s so … masculine, isn’t it? Just to balance things out, I promise that my Monviso will see some especially pretty inks.
Fountain Pen Favorites for May 2016
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.
So I May Have a Problem (cough)
Sometimes a new pen purchase triggers … well, not a look in the mirror, exactly, but a furtive peek into the pen case.
Is it possible that I like blue and chrome pens a little too much?
You know, I’m going to go with “no.” That is unpossible.
Don’t think twice, it’s alright.
Things That Are Blue: Two Bright Blue Pelikans
Here is a quick look at my new blue Pelikan, the M205 Transparent Blue, with my slightly older blue Pelikan, the M605 Marine Blue.
The M205 is a demonstrator. The Marine Blue is not: the glossy, translucent plastic of the Marine Blue looks much less transparent in person than in photographs. But the Marine Blue has a definite “ooh shiny” quality.
The M205 is smaller, thinner and lighter, and has the steel nib instead of gold. But it’s also less expensive. And, yet, shiny. I passed this up when it was widely available a few years ago, but as soon as Pelikan reissued it, I snapped one up.
I use modern Pelikans all the time, and with blue my favorite ink color, I’m glad to have both of these.
2016 Chicago Pen Show: All The New Stuff
Things That Are Fun: Chicago Pen Show
That’s the first day of the Chicago Pen Show up there. It started yesterday, and I’m helping out with it, which explains why I’ve been absent so much from here in the past few weeks. And I’ll be “there” instead of “here” for the next three days. I’ll be posting mostly on Instagram (fountainpenfollies) and Twitter (@FPfollies), because no wifi.
I’ve got a lot of photos on Instagram, but I wanted to put a few here, too.
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Department of Mixed Feelings: Emptying the Ink Bottle
I may have mentioned before that I have more than a few bottles of fountain pen ink. The actual number is either “too many” or “nuts.” I’m a lot faster at accumulating new inks than finishing them.
But I do go through them eventually. In the last week I finished one bottle of Waterman Serenity Blue and one of J. Herbin Rouge Caroubier.
That’s partially a good feeling: I’m whittling down the numbers of bottles. But there’s wistfulness, too. Because I’m not going to replace the Rouge Caroubier right away. Even though it is a beautiful, well-behaved ink, from one of my favorite brands. Even though I really like it.
Because the truth is, I still have … oh, what’s that unpleasant expression people use? Oh yes: “enough.” I still have enough ink.
But what a beautiful color.
Flurry of Fountain Pens: Pen Group Meetup
We had a wonderful group meetup yesterday in advance of the Chicago Pen Show, which is coming up in just a few weeks. We all brought some pens. This kind of meetup is great fun, because it’s not only a nice chance to spend time with nice people, but also a great way to see and try pens you’ve only heard about. Particularly if one of the attendees has a collection to die for, like my friend Dan. That magnificent thing above is his smallest pen case.
So that case holds a bunch of Pelikans, including I think six M800s and three M1000s, plus an 85th Anniversary Aurora and two Nakayas. But that’s just one of his pen cases. Were there four or five cases? I lost count. Because, dazzled. His collection is like the best pen store ever, except nothing is for sale and everything is inked.
I tried one of his M1000s. Now, the M800 is too heavy for me, so the M1000 should be a non-starter, being even larger. But I thought the nib on the M1000 was heavenly. I tried a triple broad. Which turned out to be not much broader than my Pelikan M605’s extra-fine nib. (Joking, not joking. Owners of modern Pelikans will understand.)
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Fountain Pen Favorites for March 2016
Okay, we’re already into April, but just because March is in the rear view mirror, metaphorically, doesn’t mean we can’t pump the brakes and look back for a few seconds. Here were my fountain pen favorites for March.
1. KWZ Red #1. This is going to be a favorite for a long time.
2. Spring inks. The weather is warmer, and I’ve brought out the lighter, brighter inks once more. I love them. Especially Caran d’Ache Delicate Green. Also fun: Pink Week.
3. Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue. Faithful readers know how strong my resolve is and how firmly I resist temptation. So there’s absolutely no reason ever to think that I’d order this pen. But, hey, is that a cute kitten over there? We should all look at that cute kitten.
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Photo by Dafne Cholet, Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.
Fountain Pen Follies 