Tag: Pelikan

One Minute Ink Review: Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz

Laura12 Comments

Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz

Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz. Pelikan’s 2017 Edelstein “Ink of the Year” is Smoky Quartz, an earthy brown that’s dark and legible. It strikes me as a darker version of J. Herbin Lie de Thé.

Like all Pelikan Edelstein inks I’ve used, Smoky Quartz has excellent lubrication and flow. I don’t get much shading, except on Tomoe River paper. The ink color looks different on different papers, which I usually like, but if you’ve ever changed a baby’s diapers, choose your paper wisely here.

Apparently the color was picked by internet voters to be the Ink of the Year. And apparently it’s popular.

Is this an everyday ink? If it’s your kind of color, then yes. Pelikan makes well-behaved and dependable inks, and Smoky Quartz is no exception.

Ink Snippet: Papier Plume Pecan

Laura12 Comments

Papier Plume Pecan writing samples

Papier Plume Pecan. Okay, let me announce a total ink crush. Papier Plume Pecan arrived Saturday. The same day, I put it in a Pelikan Toledo with fine nib, and Holy Toledo! I’ve been writing with Papier Plume Pecan constantly since. It’s a perfect sepia color.

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Ink Dips: Lamy Black Ink

Laura4 Comments

DSC_1436

Ink Dips is a more casual, laid-back ink evaluation than is normal here at Fountain Pen Follies. Instead of carefully evaluating an ink I’m interested in, the point of Ink Dips is to blindly pick an ink sample from a box of the set-aside  or soporific. Then I fill that sample in one pen and see what I think. It’s an inky experiment that’s a bit dippy.

Lamy Black. This was a surprising black ink, very dark, very lubricated and wet-writing. It’s a boldface black ink. It may be a good choice for those who seek “the blackest black” but also want to use a low-maintenance brand of ink.

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Ink Dips: Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire

Laura7 Comments

Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire writing sample

Ink Dips is a more laid back, but potentially painful, ink evaluation than is normal here at Fountain Pen Follies. Instead of choosing a carefully curated ink, with Ink Dips I just blindly pick from a box of substandard and set-aside samples. You know the story about William Tell shooting an arrow at an apple set on his kid’s head? Ink Dips is an experiment like that, except the fellow holding the bow is drunk and hates you. That’s how it was this week.

Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire. I knew when I started Ink Dips that there would some I didn’t like. But the first three were awesome; in fact, there is one I wish I could buy. The ink I picked for this week was Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire.

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Pen of the Day: Pelikan M400 White Tortoise with Sailor Waka-Uguisu

Laura6 Comments

Sailor Waka-Uguisu with Pelikan M400 White Tortoise

Pelikan M400 White Tortoise with medium nib.  Coincidentally, I bought this pen about the same time I started this blog. I wasn’t sure about buying it. In photos, the White Tortoise had always looked a little blingy, a little too much. I am not a huge tortoise fan. And the white resin?

Well, those reservations lasted until I opened the box. In real life, this pen is fantastic.

Sailor Waka-Uguisu with Pelikan M400 White Tortoise

However, today the pen is an afterthought. This post is really inspired by the ink. I had wanted another springy ink, after enjoying Diamine Apple Glory and Sailor Sakura-Mori. Luckily, Sailor’s Four Seasons line is all about seasonal inks.

This is Waka-Uguisu, a “spring” ink that ranks among my very favorites from last year.

Sailor Waka-Uguisu with Pelikan M400 White Tortoise

I absolutely love this ink.

Ink Dips: Pelikan Edelstein Onyx

Laura5 Comments

Pelikan Edelstein Onyx and Parker 75 Silver

Ink Dips is a more casual, and potentially evil, ink evaluation than is normal here at Fountain Pen Follies. Instead of carefully evaluating an ink I’m interested in, the point of Ink Dips is instead to blindly pick an ink sample from a box of dullards and discards. Then I ink up that sample in one pen and see what I think. It’s sort of like the feeling you get when you leave for the airport during a snowstorm: you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you’re prepared for it to be painful.

Pelikan Edelstein Onyx. I’m pleased to say that Pelikan Edelstein Onyx turns out to be an awesome performer. It’s a black ink, on the lighter side, and although it is premium-priced, the more I use it, the more I think it’s worth it.

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Inks Chris Bought in 2016

Chrissy4 Comments

Ink Bottles

I asked my friend Chris to tell us what inks she bought in 2016. I love her lists, because they always contain such interesting things. On the one hand, we both love Caran d’Ache and Montblanc inks. So, we’re practically twins. But Chris has much broader ink interests than I do. Occasionally I will insert an Editor’s Note in her text, because silence is not my forte. But here’s Chris.)

I think I’ve bought a similar number of bottles to last year, but I’m not counting any inks that I received for free. Like last year, I bought some more inks that I intend to sell, so I haven’t included those either.

I still haven’t kept very good records of inks I have bought, but I’ve gone back through PayPal and credit card purchases to compile a list for the purposes of this post. I buy inks from quite a few sources so my new years resolution for 2017 will be to keep an accurate record. (Editor’s Note: Good idea. I think my resolution will be to “forget” half my 2017 purchases.)

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What I Bought in 2016: Fountain Pens

Laura13 Comments

2016 pen purchases

I like to do a year-end accounting of what I bought, to keep myself honest, and to try to learn a little. Here’s what I’ve learned looking back at my 2016 fountain pen purchases: ouch.

I bought 19 pens this year. They are all very nice pens. But I find the total number surprising, and excessive. Also, two of them are purple. Which is just messed up.

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Pen of the Day: Pelikan M600 Ruby Red with Graf von Faber-Castell Garnet Red

Laura6 Comments

Pelikan M600 Ruby Red fountain pen and Graf von Faber-Castell Garnet Red ink

Pelikan M600 Ruby Red with fine nib. Winter weather’s here, with days dark and drear. Perhaps a new ink might bring some good cheer.

Outside Fountain Pen Follies world headquarters, cold and snow have arrived. Which of course means it’s time for the long-awaited limerick contest winter ink colors. Time for the jewel tones, the dark and rich hues, the seasonal shades.

My first choice this year is Graf von Faber-Castell Garnet Red. I originally tried Garnet Red, and wrote a brief review, last winter. Garnet Red on white paper makes me think of red berries silhouetted against snowy ground.

Graf von Faber-Castell Garnet Red writing sample

Garnet Red is an attractive, business-appropriate maroon or cranberry.  I always love an ink that shades. And Graf von Faber-Castell has a great ink bottle. As a fellow blogger recently pointed out, a bottle of premium ink would make a great Christmas or Hanukkah gift. Start hinting.

I do like my Pelikan M600 Ruby Red with maroon inks. The pen’s acrylic is a mix of the right kind of dark reds.

Pelikan M600 Ruby Red fountain pen closeup

Cool Pelikan Video 

Laura5 Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWhEytzwVmA&app=desktop

For fans of How It’s Made, here is a video showing the manufacture of Pelikan fountain pens.

Some things have changed since this was filmed: I think Pelikan no longer makes its own nibs, and I know Souveran cap medallions are metal now. But I am impressed by how careful and labor-intensive the process was, and probably still is.

I found the link on FPN. Many thanks to the poster.