Tag: Papier Plume

What I Bought in 2017: Inks

Laura7 Comments

2017 inks purchased

I bought 10 different bottles of ink in 2017 — one is not pictured, because I forgot it.

Buying only 10 bottles is pretty good for me. If I can be immodest, I slayed. Okay, sure, if I cast a critical eye, I could have done without four of them. Unsurprisingly, all four of those were inks I bought without sampling first. But you can’t be too strict, or you’ll never have any fun. Leave room for serendipity and surprise. Also, cut yourself some slack, because no one else will.

I did much better than in 2016, when I bought 20 bottles, and 2015, when I bought 30 bottles. If this trend continues, I will buy zero bottles in 2018. Now, that may be because I’ve been hit by a bus, but nothing lasts forever.

Here are the inks I purchased in 2017, by brand.

KWZ: (2) I bought both Chicago Blue, the 2017 Chicago Pen Show ink, and Confederation Brown, the 2017 Toronto Pen Show (Scriptus) ink. I have very limited interests, obviously.

I really love Chicago Blue, and I use it constantly.

Now, Confederation Brown in an ink I haven’t used myself, but I have seen a lot of photos online. It’s a green-brown sort of color. Everyone I know likes it. I trust it will behave, because it’s a KWZ Ink.

You know, though, ink color is a personal thing. Many people apparently can’t get enough green-brown. But I’ve realized, as I stare at my bottle of Confederation Brown, that I feel pretty “set” when it comes to green-brown inks. And I think I would have been just as happy with a sample of this.

I’m quite sure, however, that I’ll eventually sell or trade this bottle to someone who loves it, so I don’t totally regret the expenditure. Also, supporting KWZ Ink and Scriptus is good. As is supporting the Chicago Pen Show, by the way.

Lamy: (1) I actually forgot that I had this one — Lamy Petrol. I bought it months ago, and I guess the ink wan’t very memorable. It’s not even in the photo.

I do like it. Lamy Petrol is a very dark teal, a perfectly good ink. But I like it for a reason that will not resonate with many people: I like because it’s not spectacular. It is business-like and easy-to-read. It’s a nice blue- or black-ink substitute.

Lamy Petrol was very hard to get in the US. I bought my bottle from a European dealer, just to make sure I had it for our Chicago Pen Show Ink Testing Station. That was wise, since Petrol didn’t arrive at US retailers until after our show, and then only in small quantities. US buyers didn’t really get a fair crack at Lamy Petrol. Artificial scarcity like that irks me.

I bought four inks this year without sampling first — Lamy Petrol is the only one where I’d still have bought the bottle if I’d sampled it.

However, I didn’t like it enough to pop for a second bottle at regular retail, when I could have. Therefore, I did a double-take, a few hours ago, when I read that this ink is selling for multiples of the original price on the US secondary market. Guffaw.

Seriously, don’t.

Papier Plume: (5) The ones I bought were Pecan, Oyster Grey and Moss Green. Plus the limited edition Chicago Pen Show inks Lake Michigan Summer and Ivy 108, because, you’ll remember, I have very limited interests.

These are excellent inks, well-behaved, easy-to-clean, in beautiful, sophisticated colors, from a small boutique with wonderful customer service, run by great people. They are reasonably priced. I use these inks frequently. I will buy more when they run out.

Pelikan: (1) Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz. I use, like and recommend Pelikan inks. If you like this one, go for it.

Now, for me, this one is …. Well, it’s brown. I enjoy brown inks as much as the next person, but I don’t use brown inks as much as blue or black inks. And this one costs $28 a bottle, and I, well, I…. Um.

I guess the best thing to say in this situation is, Wow, that’s something.

Smoky Quartz is an ink I bought without sampling first. In retrospect, that was a mistake. Especially because, as luck would have it, Pelikan very generously gave Pelikan Hubs attendees a free bottle of Smoky Quartz. So I now have two bottles.

Wow, that’s something.

Robert Oster: (1). Robert Oster Tranquility is an ink I bought at the Chicago Pen Show. I just took a stab, and bought a bottle I’d never tried.

In retrospect, this was a mistake on one level, because Robert Oster makes so many other colors that I had tried, and already knew I liked. However, everyone loves Robert Oster inks, so I’ve nearly emptied the bottle giving samples to others. Whereas, if I’d bought an Oster I loved, that bottle would still be 95% full, nearly wasted on my shelf. So, this has turned out to be a very successful purchase. It hopefully brought pleasure to many.

All’s well that ends well.

Pen of the Day: Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall

Laura10 Comments

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with medium nib. My new pen and my almost new ink. A winter white pen with a blueish gray ink.

This M605 has palladium trim and a rhodinized nib. The ink has beautiful shading and a quiet, lovely, almost zen-garden, feeling.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall

The pen barrel is made of transparent clear plastic with translucent white stripes. The stripes are both a fig leaf and a nod to Pelikan traditional design, but except for the stripes, the ink is fully visible in the transparent barrel.

People will have different feelings about that. I’m a demonstrator fan, and I would rush to buy an M605 clear demonstrator pen, should one ever be produced. But many people don’t like Pelikan demonstrators because ink will get trapped in places usually hidden under the section.

This M605 White Transparent is a nice compromise: you only see the ink in the barrel, which will come clean when you flush the pen.

But you do see the ink in the barrel.

And if you really, really love white, that may bother you. If so, a white converter pen is a better idea.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall

I don’t love white, so I’m good with it.

But you know what I really do love? Look at that photo, at the part of the barrel that’s filled with ink. You can see an oval that looks golden, in the upper part, near the section. That’s the sun, glinting through a tiny bubble where there’s no ink.

Papier Plume Red Beans and Rice: The Newest Ink in the New Orleans Collection

Laura3 Comments

That’s the song “Red Beans” from the late, great Professor Longhair of New Orleans, which is what I used to think of when I thought of red beans and rice. (Also, yum.)

And now I also think of ink. The classic Creole dish red beans and rice is the inspiration for the newest ink from Papier Plume of New Orleans. It’s going to be part of Papier Plume’s New Orleans Collection of inks, which I briefly reviewed here. I haven’t been using much else since I got these inks, honestly.

Here is the baby of the family.

Papier Plume Red Beans and Rice

I’ve had a tester bottle of  Red Beans and Rice since early June, so I’ve been lucky enough to put the ink through its paces for nearly a month. Verdict: delicious! It’s a very attractive burgundy ink with an nearly irresistible name. It really does remind me of red beans and rice, too.

As a darker color, Red Beans and Rice makes a nice addition to the other five New Orleans collection inks, which are more summery. Red Beans and Rice is a good strong color, and warm. It has nice shading and the color is both legible and engaging. Best of all, it can give a different look in different pens.

Papier Plume Red Beans and Rice

I’ll put up a more detailed review before the Fourth. Papier Plume will be debuting the ink on July 14. The first batch will be available from Papier Plume online and at the Miami Pen Show both.

I would point out that it took a lot of willpower for me not to slip into this post the sentence “Red Beans and Rice is extra nice.” But if you’re a regular reader, you know that willpower is a great strength of mine. Nor did I call myself “a secret agent of ink.” Even though it’s (a) accurate and (b) should be said. After all, I did not spill the beans. But, no, I am too mature. A small sacrifice, for Red Beans and Rice.

Comparing Papier Plume Lake Michigan Summer and Kaweco Paradise Blue

Laura7 Comments

Papier Plume Lake Michigan Summer and Kaweco Paradise Blue writing samples comparison

Here is a comparison of Papier Plume Lake Michigan Summer and Kaweco Paradise Blue, both in Lamy Al-Stars with medium nibs.

Lake Michigan Summer is greener, wetter and has more shading. Kaweco Paradise Blue is, as the name would imply, bluer. These lines were written with Lake Michigan Summer first, and Paradise Blue second.

Papier Plume Lake Michigan Summer and Kaweco Paradise Blue writing samples comparison

On cream-colored Tomoe River paper.

Papier Plume Lake Michigan Summer and Kaweco Paradise Blue writing samples comparison

On white Clairefontaine Triomphe paper.

Papier Plume Lake Michigan Summer and Kaweco Paradise Blue writing samples comparison

I love both inks, frankly, and the differences are enough to justify both for myself. (I consider my excessive interest in fountain pen inks to be a little silly, so it’s lovely to be able to use the word “justify” here. Any port in the storm.)

About Lake Michigan Summer, it was one of the two inks made for the recent Chicago Pen Show. But per Instagram, Papier Plume is making another batch of Lake Michigan Summer and Ivy 108, to be released on Thursday, June 15. I have more photos of, and information about, both inks in the posts at those links. For myself, I like them both so much I have kept refilling my own pens since April.

Thanks to blog reader Nicole for the question that prompted me to compare Lake Michigan Summer to Kaweco Paradise Blue. This was also just the excuse I needed to ink up my Pacific Blue Al-Star, Lamy’s 2017 annual Al-Star. The Pacific Blue, in my opinion, may be the absolute best Lamy pen color in recent years — and I mean across the entire Lamy fountain pen line. If you’re on the fence, buy one.

Ink Snippet: Papier Plume New Orleans Collection — Calle Real, Garden District Azalea, Mardi Gras Indians, Sazerac, Streetcar Green

Laura3 Comments

Papier Plume New Orleans Collection inks

The Papier Plume New Orleans Collection of inks is back, and Papier Plume kindly sent me them to review. These are five fountain pen inks in attractive shades of pink, orange, green, blue and purple. I’ve put writing samples and more detailed impressions of each on the next page.

(click Page 2 below to continue)

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Chicago Pen Show 2017 “Haul”

Laura13 Comments

Chicago Pen Show 2017 purchases

We’re supposed to post our pen show pickups, so here are mine from last weekend’s Chicago Pen Show.

Seeing it all splayed out there is daunting. But magnificent. It takes a truck.

What did I buy? Two pens. One new, which is my first Franklin-Christoph. And one vintage, which is my second PFM I. Both pens are blue, which is my favorite color. I also bought five bottles of Papier Plume inks (my first). Three bottles of KWZ Chicago Blue. My first bottle of Robert Oster — Tranquility, recommended by blog readers. And a really cool notebook called the Zequenz roll up journal.

Zequenz roll up journal

In terms of gifts, Papier Plume threw in a stick of gold sealing wax, with which I intend to seal my many important proclamations, like “don’t put empty boxes back in the pantry.”

A friend gave me that empty Akkerman bottle. Someone else gave me a leather case (already in use). And I got a pin for a cool fountain pen blog, Of Quill Alchemy, from three amazingly talented students at the University of Chicago who run it.

The best present isn’t up there. It was finally meeting my dear friend Lou. We’ve known each other for years through fountain pens, but only via emails and letters, because we live so far away. Lou was in the area with his wife and brother for a family event, so they hung out with me on Thursday, the show’s first day.

That Thursday also happened to be my birthday. Now, of course turning 29 (once again) doesn’t phase me. I’ve gotten blasé about that, it happens so often. But finally meeting Lou and his family made for the best birthday ever.

pen wrap with opal

Lou made and gave me that gorgeous pen wrap. He knows me, however, so he handed it to me with the caution, “be careful.” The closure is opal. Which … okay, I’m fairly sure I’ll be googling “opal glue” before I turn 29 next year.

Inside, Lou stuck a few bookmarks, to remind me of some very important things. The last was, “remember to write me every once in a while.” He said that with a smile, because we’re both terrible at that. Not that it matters. Friends stay in each other’s hearts.

pen wrap interior

Along those lines, people in the US fountain pen community know that right after the pen show we unexpectedly lost Susan Wirth, a pen show mainstay and a great personality.

We always assume there will be a next time. But of course that’s not always true. So I’m going to try to remember to take more time for myself and other people. Rush around less, hang around more.

This Cracked Me Up

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Sometimes you’re reading a book, and a sentence strikes you.

I was reading a mystery the other day by Josephine Tey called A Shilling for Candles. At one point, the head detective travels by boat to interview a witness. During the crossing, he’s reading hostile news stories and thinking about the complexities of the case. At journey’s end, preparing to disembark, he watches a sailor working.

Papier Plume Lake Michigan Summer quote

Ha!

The ink is Papier Plume Lake Michigan Summer. Maybe I could make the wax seals on their ink bottles for a day or two, as a little break.

Papier Plume Ink Giveaway: Ivy 108 and Lake Michigan Summer

Laura36 Comments

Papier Plume Ivy 108 and Lake Michigan Summer

As you know, Papier Plume has mixed up two small-batch inks to sell exclusively at the Chicago Pen Show in three weeks. These Chicago show inks are Ivy 108 and Lake Michigan Summer, and I think they both look great.

But it’s a very limited edition: Papier Plume has made only 60 bottles of each. Because so many people are interested, Papier Plume has graciously agreed to let me give away one bottle of each, right here. That way anyone who can’t get to the pen show has a chance to win one.

I’m sure everyone here joins me in thanking Papier Plume for this. Do stop by their table at the show: there will be a lot of great stuff there.

To enter to win Lake Michigan Summer or Ivy 108 here, please leave a comment about the inks down below. I’ll put you down in both draws unless you say that you only want one, but the first winner won’t be entered in the second drawing. I’ll draw in alphabetical order, with Ivy 108 first, then Lake Michigan Summer.

One entry per person please, but you should let your friends know. If they win, they’ll love you forever, and surely they’ll share the ink with you, too.

I will randomly select the two winners sometime on April 18, using a random number generator, and then post their names here on the blog. So be sure to check back then, because once announced, each winner must contact me with mailing address by April 25 to claim the prize.