Tag: KWZ Ink

Pen of the Day: Aurora Optima Burgundy Auroloide

Laura1 Comment

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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.

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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.

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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.

Fountain Pen Favorites for January 2016

Laura3 Comments

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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.

Pen of the Day: Aurora Optima Blue Auroloide

Laura2 Comments

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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.

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First, the ink, which is a knockout. Not much shading; great color.

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Second, this is such a beautiful pen. So I think that’s that. Phew.

Ink Review: KWZ Dark Brown

Laura2 Comments

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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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Pen of the Day: Lamy Al-Star Dark Purple

Laura1 Comment

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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.

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I’ve never really like the Al-Star as much as the Safari.  But it’s starting to grow on me.  Aluminum is neat.

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What’s Going On Here

Laura1 Comment

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Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day to everyone. It is going to be another inky week here.  I’ve started using two new-to-me KWZ inks, Maroon and Iron Gall Blue #2.  Every time I use Maroon, which is a lot, I’m saying, “wow.”

I do think Dark Brown looks slightly more brown with that 1.5 mm stub up there.

I’m also hoping to do a post about my Montblanc Agatha Christie this week.  A few people have asked, so sure.  I’ll probably just say “wow” a lot.  I think it’s my most excellent pen.  I mean, of course it is: it has a snake clip.

Otherwise, it’s been like eleventy below zero here for a few days.  So I’m saying “brrr” a lot, too.

Ink Snippet: KWZ Dark Brown

Laura1 Comment

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KWZ Dark Brown Ink.  I’m just going to do a quick post on KWZ Dark Brown, with a longer review to come. This ink is really interesting to me because it looks black on most papers but can be a very dark brown on some, as you’d expect from the name.

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Pen of the Day: Lamy 2000

Laura4 Comments

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Lamy 2000 with fine nib. This pen is the definition of understated excellence for me.  I love everything about it, from its design to its writing performance, but I admit that it’s more of a workhorse than a show horse.  I know a lot of people think it looks dull.  And some don’t find it comfortable. But if I could only have ten pens, this would be one of them.

I really want to try one with an extra-fine nib, though.  Someday.  Maybe.

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This is filled with a new-to-me ink from KWZ called Dark Brown.  But Dark Brown looks black, doesn’t it?  And I surely love an ink that has something unexpected like that.  So I’m going to put a few quick thoughts about KWZ Dark Brown in a separate post.