The Levenger L-tech 3.0 came in a silver box. Something cheap made well enough to be customised, but just a box. appearances do not matter to me here, it has been tossed carelessly as I did not deem it worthy of a photo. How it is presented looks costly, but gaudy and too much of a resemblance to a metal brief case filled with cash like on a low budget D-list movie. It is jarringly out of place, I’m no triad boss, it is not a discreet box. Diagram by me, like I used MS Paint, I made this with pro Photoshop skillz. Mad SKILLZ bro. Lie. I can’t Photoshop. Next. Photo sources as listed. Opening it, I nodded my first approval– thorough enough, and not too expensive for what I paid, a mostly brass alloy stick nestled in dense foam with not just one, but two stylus tips. One meshy and the other silicon-y Well, for a fountain pen, it wasn’t too expensive, retailing at the Levenger’s site for US$99. Levenger also sells other pens, associated paraphernalia from paper to, quite oddly, wallets and wristwatches. Are they going to be a department store? At the point of my first […]
Read More
[[ADVERTORIAL]] Think of minimalistic fountain pens, and the brand name of Lamy is called to mind. The latest fountain pen range that has emerged from Lamy’s Premium trove is the Lamy imporium. Designed by Mario Bellini, the award-winning imporium comes in 3 designs: the Lamy imporium TiPt (titanium matt), Lamy imporium BlkBlk (black matt/black), and the Lamy imporium BlkAu (black matt/gold). This year, the pen has won the iF Design Award in the “Writing Instruments” category. Impeccably engineered from the nib to the clip, the pen features a straight-lined body which is guilloche all around. The section towards the nib has guilloche patterns all the way across the section. The nib itself is a two-tone nib, made of 14K gold across the slit to the tip, and the rest of the nib being PVD-coated (PVD stands for Physical Vapour Deposition). Contrasting the guilloche body is the smooth screw-off cap featuring a glossy clip, either in platinum, gold, or black (PVD). Here are the 3 different models available: Model 093: LAMY imporium TiPt The Lamy imporium TiPt fountain pen has a titanium matt body, refined with PVD. It is accented by a glossy clip made of polished galvanized platinum. It retails in Singapore […]
Read More
Being of Chinese descent, I always celebrate New Year’s day twice in quick succession. The first New Year is, of course, the one most people know of, which occurs on Jan 1. The second new year, usually occurring within 2 months from Jan 1, is the Lunar New Year. Old Chinese traditions follow the lunar calendar which places the turn of the year during the beckoning of spring. This year, the Lunar New Year falls on Feb 8 and both the 8th and the 9th are public holidays in Singapore. HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR, all of you out there who celebrate it! If you’re into Chinese zodiacs and all that, this year is ushered in by the Monkey. There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac and Monkey is the 9th animal. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the Monkey has not predicted anything related to fountain pens for me this year, so it’s up to me to set my own resolutions! Adjusting to my own lifestyle To be perfectly honest, I have had very few chances to use fountain pens on a daily basis over the past couple of years. Most of my chances of writing, if any at all, are when […]
Read More
Thank you Maybelline for inviting me again this year to participate in the 12 Days of Christmas. This is about my quest for a custom pen. I had never had a bespoke pen before and never gave it much thought. It started at the 2015 DC Super Show when i saw a lot of people who had custom pens tucked away in their cases between the Visconti’s, Montblanc’s Sailor’s etc. Not only were the bespoke pens unique but every one had a story behind them. I found myself drawn to the beautiful Shinobi by Shawn Newton. Leigh Reyes and Thomas Hall both had stunning examples. It was then I knew I had to have one. The Shinobi is a hand made pen created by Shawn Newton, the owner of Newton Pens. Each pen is made to the customers specifications. From the material of the body and section to the nib material and nib grind. You can even supply Shawn with your own nib and he will fit it to the pen. So who is Shawn Newton? Shawn,a teacher, started making pens back in December of 2011. After selling off every pen he owned to buy machines, tools and parts he used […]
Read More
Several years into my teaching career, a long time ago now, I found myself going to lots of meetings. I was not very good at meetings. (I’m still not.) My mind wanders, I get fidgety and I get bored. I needed to make notes but that seemed like piling tedium upon tedium. I wasn’t keen. Just in time, along came Merlin Mann’s 43 Folders and David Allen’s Getting Things Done. In amongst many great ideas that, to this day, help keep me relatively sane, was this great tip: use tools that give you joy and so turn chores into pleasures. I went out and bought a black Lamy Safari and a Moleskine. (As I said, this was a long time ago, when Moleskine notebooks were quite good.) It worked. Writing became fun. I wanted to take notes because I wanted to use my pen and notebook. I won’t everything down. I paid attention. I didn’t get sacked. Many people wonder why anyone would want to spend so much time and effort on something as everyday and unremarkable as pen and paper. Yet it is this ubiquity that makes it worthwhile. If you are going to be writing more than a […]
Read More
With 2015 drawing to a close I thought I would cover what ended up being my top 3 pen purchases this year. It was a bit tough as this has been quite the year for new acquisitions with over 50 pens joining the collection ranging from the inexpensive Pilot Metropolitan to the exquisite Visconti Opera Metal. When I sat down to pick, it ended up coming down to flexibility, reliability, or uniqueness that helped these three stand out from the crowd. With that said and in no particular order this is who came out on top: Lamy AL-Star Copper Orange w/ 1.9mm Nib This was one of the first pens added to the collection this year and became an instant favorite. The design is very clean and the 2015 special edition Copper Orange color is excellent (as is the ink if you can find it). The pen is easy to fill and clean with a solid convertor while the nib and feed unit is pretty bulletproof. I swapped out the fine nib shortly after getting it to a 1.9mm Italic and it is perfect for doing calligraphy. The nib starts instantly every time and is not too wet or dry […]
Read More
Fountain pens are the most customizable writing instruments on the market. Styles and shapes are endless, and mix in a range of nib sizes and thousands of inks on top of that and there is infinite choice. I love choice, but it can be overwhelming for those just starting in this hobby. So, I want to elaborate on one topic that all beginner, and some experienced, fountain pen users can think about when making their next buying decision: Steel nibs are awesome. The perception in the community is that gold nibs are the ultimate fountain pen writing experience. If by ultimate you mean most expensive, then yes they are amazing! And I’m not here to poo-poo gold nibs. I love them. I own four Nakayas and I wouldn’t think of having anything but a gold nib in any of them. But when choosing a fountain pen and nib combination that will give you a great writing experience, steel nibs are a fantastic option. The first thing you should be aware of with steel nibs is that, in general, they are stiffer than their gold counterparts. Makes sense, right? Gold is a softer material, so that translates to a softer nib. […]
Read More
My colleague sat in front of me, jubilant, squatting toad-like in a chair in our newly refurbished, workflow efficient office space. The workspace was now complete. You could survey the vista of differentiated work pods, hot desks and computers of every description. The atmosphere bristled with wi-fi and everything was new; everything except what I was doing… “It’s the 21st century, why are you still using a fountain pen of all things?” His incredulous words hung in the air like a bad smell as I continued to carefully finish refilling my fountain pen, wipe it clean, then deposit the ink bottle and blotting paper back in my bag ready again to jot down notes from our database so that I had information to hand when I left the office and travelled to the homes of service users. I thought momentarily about ignoring his smug and annoying question. Why indeed… was it merely a matter of style, novelty or perhaps eccentricity? My initial answer was a mixture of a whole host of things as I remember. But as I’ve thought about that question over the years my answer has developed accordingly. These days when that question is asked of me, as […]
Read More
Deciding which pen(s) and notebooks I carry with me day to day has also been a challenge for me. For work, I usually end up throwing every inked pen in my bag so I always have my favourite pens at my side. I know this is overkill, but they don’t take up a lot of room and I use pens most of the day there. Christmas time is a completely different story. I want to take all of my pens, but I know I will barely use them since most of my time will be spent with family. My fiancé has even told not to take any, hinting that I will be getting a new pen, ink, and notebook for Christmas. How exciting! With this little hint, I will still bring at least one pen, but choosing just one pen is more challenging that you think. Will I cave and just pack a full pen case? I did last year and barely used any of them. The only thing I use my pens for is keeping score during family card games, the odd doodle, and the occasional note to remember later. My favourite games are Kaiser and dice (not a […]
Read More
It’s that time of year again – time for putting up the Christmas tree, lighting menorahs or kinaras, and spending time with family and friends. With the holiday joy comes the joy of giving gifts to those we love. If one of those people in your life loves fountain pens, then this post is for you! Fountain Pens Depending on your budget, there are a number of great options for the main course of your gift for the fountain pen lover. I will outline some of the best options for both small budget and large, and some accessories to go along with it. Lamy Safari & Al-Star These two pens are one of the most popular fountain pens for beginners, or persons new to the hobby. The Safari is more lightweight and made from plastic, whereas the Al-Star is a bit heavier and made from aluminum. Both come in a variety of colors to choose from, and each year or so there is a special edition color that is released. These pens feature interchangeable nibs, so you won’t have to worry about making the wrong choice on nib size. Note that they do NOT come with a converter, so you’ll want to […]
Read More
