Tag: Waterman

Pen of the Day: Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue

Laura2 Comments

Pelikan Classic M205 Transparent Blue Demonstrator with writing sample

Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue with fine nib. It’s full name seems to be the “Classic M205 Demonstrator Transparent Blue Special Edition” which certainly is a mouthful. But that does say it all. The pen is blue, it’s a demonstrator and it has chrome-plated trim.

Despite some internal struggle, I just had to have it. And it really looks great.

Pelikan Classic M205 Transparent Blue Demonstrator

As you can see from that photo above, the piston is black, but the spindle and other fittings are a lighter color — beige or gray. That makes the assembly less obtrusive, but still visible. I like Pelikan’s attention to detail there.

The only things I don’t love about this pen, and I knew both going in, are the Pelikan steel nib and the pen’s light weight. There’s nothing to do about the weight, since I don’t like writing with the pen posted. But as for the nib, because it’s a Pelikan I can swap in other nibs. And maybe I’ll have the steel nib stubbed or something. As we say in Chicago, “I know a guy.”

But, the look of the pen, I just love.

Pelikan Classic M205 Transparent Blue Demonstrator

Flurry of Fountain Pens: Pen Group Meetup

Laura7 Comments

fountain pens in case

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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Pen of the Day: Aurora Optima Demonstrator

Laura3 Comments

Aurora Optima chrome demonstrator fountain pen

Aurora Optima demonstrator with fine nib. It is Italian Pen Week here at Fountain Pen Follies.  Actually, I have no other inked pens that haven’t already been Pens of the Day. But Italian Pen Week sounds better.  Lemons to lemonade, that’s my motto.

Aurora Optima chrome demonstrator fountain pen

There’s not much to say about this fantastic pen, except that it’s really perfect.

Aurora Optima chrome demonstrator fountain pen with Waterman Serenity Blue ink

Right now the pen contains Waterman Serenity Blue, so I could compare a standard blue ink color to KWZ Iron Gall Green Gold.  Serenity Blue is a darn good ink: well-behaved in most pens, well-behaved on most papers.  And it’s safe for this beautiful Aurora.

Pen of the Day: Kaweco AL-Sport Grey

Laura7 Comments

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Kaweco AL-Sport in Grey with medium nib. I shared some photos of this pen yesterday, since it’s my newest purchase. I just really like it, so it’s Pen of the Day, too.

This one has a very nice medium nib.  It’s narrower than the medium nib on my Pelikan M400 White Tortoise, which you can compare here. I’m using the Kaweco with a wetter ink than the Pelikan, too.

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I’ve got my new AL-Sport inked with Waterman Blue Black, now sold under the name of Mysterious Blue.  Waterman Blue Black is a traditional blue black with a greenish tint.  It’s not perfect.  It’s not an ink for a dry pen, because the color looks better with more ink flow.  And on some lower quality paper the ink color can lighten with time.  But Waterman Blue Black is very feather resistant, it won’t show through poor quality paper, and it’s a wet ink that works with most pens.

I use either Waterman Serenity Blue or Blue Black with every newly purchased pen.  That way I can tell right away how the nib writes. This one writes a little bit wet and is super smooth.

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Pen of the Day: Parker 51 Double Jewel

Laura2 Comments

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Parker 51 Cedar Blue with fine nib. This is a vacumatic 51. It belonged to my mother. When we found it this January, it hadn’t been used for decades. It was inside an old jewelry box, unseen and forgotten. The body jewel and tassie were missing, and I didn’t have to test the filler to know it needed a new diaphragm.

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Pen of the Day: Lamy Vista

Laura2 Comments

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Lamy Vista with extra-fine nib. This is the demonstrator version of the Safari. I use an extra-fine nib by far the most of any nib on my Lamy pens. It’s the best size for my cramped writing.

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Despite my love for Safari pens, I resisted the Vista for years. Having a converter in a demonstrator pen seemed to defeat the purpose. But the minute I actually saw one, my opinion turned around. The converter only enhances the industrial syle of the pen, and I really like seeing it in there. Bonus points for the red knob.

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The ink is Waterman Purple, since this is, after all, purple week. It’s a nice, easy-to-read purple color. I’ve actually used it a lot this week to mark up documents, and the combination of pen and ink has been perfect for that. Purple has been good luck, as promised.

Purple Ink

Laura1 Comment

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When fortune — or in my case, fortune cookie — speaks, I surely listen.

So, here is some purple ink. I hope it brings us all luck.

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