18 Jul 2015 edit: Pilot calls this the Pilot Capless Bamboo fountain pen, but the material is dyed birch wood, and not bamboo. The red one is Cherry Bamboo and the black one is Black Bamboo. Birch or Bamboo, I love it very much! Question: What does it take for Maybelline to decide that she absolutely wants a Pilot Capless (Vanishing Point) fountain pen? Answer: Make the Capless using black or red wood. Someone handed two Capless fountain pens to me, asking if I wanted to review them. I was hesitant at first, as I had already reviewed it once before. The Capless pens in wood did not stun me at first sight. It was more like a “wow, nice wooden colour!” type of reaction initially. But I let them sit in their box, in another box (where I keep stationery pending reviews) for a couple of weeks, took them out again, switched on the table lamp, and that was when my eyes sprang wide open and I finally took notice of the pens. I had never seen a fountain pen made with such beautiful wood colours before. One was black and the other was red. The material is birch wood. […]
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What an honour I have again, to review a pen of a friend. This time, it’s a really delightful pen with a long name — the Namiki Togidashi Hira Double Crane Maki-e fountain pen! This pen was loaned to me by Siew Hong for the purpose of this review. The pen comes with a bottle of Pilot ink, nicely wrapped in plastic. The velvet-covered huge box has a very elegant-looking creased gold cloth lining inside, where the pen rests and where there is a depression to fit the Pilot bottled ink into. This velvety pen box rests in turn inside a white cardboard box, that has a very nice textured cover. Talk about awesome packaging, something the Japanese are really good at! On the pen is a picture of two cranes, that’s why it’s named Double Crane (双鹤）, of course. Siew Hong loves Japanese cranes (which you will learn about in the short interview below), and it’s no wonder he felt the need to own this one! The artwork is simple but elegant. I will let you feast your eyes on a few close-up photos to follow: As you may guess, this is a rather expensive fountain pen (at least, […]
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Lamy’s flagship pen is the Lamy 2000. The Lamy 2000 is a pen that I have been lusting after for the longest time ever. It is not a new pen, having existed since 1966, but I have only gotten to know of it when the stainless steel Lamy 2000M was launched in the year 2012, which drew my attention to the classic Lamy 2000 fountain pen. The Lamy 2000 was designed by Gerd Alfred Müller, a German industrial designer well known for designing Lamy products and Braun electrical equipment. In fact, he even won multiple awards for designing Lamy pens, and in particular, his Lamy 2000 won him the International Forum Design Award in 1978. He was involved in the Bauhaus movement, which combines artistic and industrial elements in a design, and this explains why the Lamy 2000 fountain pen looks like this: At the time when Müller created the Lamy 2000, he used a special material called the Makrolon®, which is polycarbonate and a registered trademark of Bayer. The pen body has a very nice brushed effect which is what attracted me in the first place! The Lamy 2000 comes also in sleek stainless steel, which I also find very attractive, but this […]
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I must confess: The thing that initially drew me to Pelikan pens in the first place was the tortoiseshell design. Even though I had heard and read wonderful things about the Souverän line, I just never got around to trying them out for myself. This all changed when I came across both the M600 White Tortoise, and the M800 Brown Tortoise. I instantly fell in love with the colours and the intricacy of the design, with the contrasting hues and the gold trim that complimented both the nib and the barrel. I appreciate the aesthetics of a pen almost as much as its writing feel, and I incorporate my judgement about both factors when purchasing a pen. I don’t want a pen that merely writes well but I don’t like the look or feel of, nor do I want a pen that only looks great but writes piss poorly. I was lucky enough to be able to try out the Souveräns before I bought, and found that I enjoyed their size, weight and feel of writing very much. I got the M600 white tortoise last year to start with, keeping the M800 in mind as a “grail” of sorts. This year, […]
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Today I will review the Namiki Falcon fountain pen, as Parka has lent 2 of his to me. One of the pens has a normal Soft Fine Falcon nib, while the other nib has a Spencerian modification! In case you hadn’t been aware, the Namiki Falcon is known as the Elabo fountain pen in Japan, while outside the Land of the Rising Sun, it is known simply as the Falcon. Let us first have a look at the pen. It is black with gold accents, which is quite typical of a number of Pilot/Namiki pens – quite classic and elegant-looking. There is also a newer Metal Falcon which is slightly heavier in weight, and has silver coloured trims instead of gold. Read the review by Leigh Reyes on the Metal Falcon pen. I quickly dismantled the pen to see what’s inside. The setup is simple, with a screw cap, a screw barrel, a section and a Con-50 converter inside. The cap takes 2 1/2 revolutions to come off and the threads, whether it is between cap and barrel, or barrel and section, feel smooth and soundless when they move against one another. I have come across a pen or two (not the […]
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Yo-ho, yo-ho, a Sailor’s pen for me! Okay, this is not actually for me, but I borrowed it from friendly fellow fountain pen blogger, Alt. Haven, just to review it. I love Japanese pens and would probably never prevent myself from trying out a couple of them. I like it! It’s blue, clear, and shiny. It looks modern and clean, and the blue is a really soothing-looking blue. It evokes memories of sapphires and butterflies and water. The Sailor Procolor comes also in a bunch of nice generic colours and also the special types: The “generic” colours include red, beige, purple, and turquoise. The “special” colours include Uchimizu (the one I am reviewing today), Stardust, Akanezora, and Sakura. Here is a brief background on the 4 special Procolor pens. These are part of the Shikisai seasonal colours edition. Spring is represented by the Sakura (pink) as it is also the season when the Japanese cherry blossoms bloom. Summer is represented by Uchimizu (blue), which means “sprinkling water”. It is a Japanese tradition where water is sprinkled on the streets during summer to “purify” the place before welcoming people, and also to cool down the streets and prevent dust from flying […]
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If you’re a fan of the Lamy Al-Star range of fountain pens, you may be pleased to know that the 2015 colour will be a nice, vibrant Copper Orange! Lamy releases a new colour every year for their Safari range of pens, including the Al-Star, which has an aluminium body instead of the Safari’s plastic. I got my first Al-Star in black-purple which is really more of a magenta-type colour, and this was one of my first “serious” fountain pens when I started my fountain pen hobby. Here a link to my review and comparison between the Lamy Al-Star and Lamy Vista, its transparent counterpart. I thought I made an excellent choice picking the black-purple colour. (And hey, the last I’ve checked, this is also the colour being featured on the Lamy Al-Star webpage!) The Lamy Al-Star was a later release after the highly popular Safari pens. It comes so far in pretty limited colour choices, even tending more towards the cool colours (maybe because it’s aluminium and usually cooling to the touch?), so if you have been waiting for a warm and vibrant Al-Star colour, you can look forward to this Copper Orange release! Thank you Fontoplumo, for highlighting […]
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As a fellow lefty, Maybelline and I thought it might be appealing to have my perspective on fountain pens for left-handed writers. I’ve written a previous piece for The Cramped about the things left-handed writers should consider when purchasing a fountain pen. But here, I’d like to talk about my favorite fountain pens — all of which are lefty-tested and lefty-approved! 1. Kaweco Classic Sport My absolute favorite is the Guilloch 1930 which adds some finely etched lines onto the cap and barrel of the pen giving it a classy, vintage look but any standard Kaweco Sport is a good option from the humble plastic to the weightier raw aluminum. Its available in a wide array of nib sizes from EF through BB and there is even a calligraphy set available but I’ve been given the impression that the feed system on the calligraphy set is different than the regular pens to allow greater ink flow to support those wider nibs. I wouldn’t recommend more than a 1.1mm stub nib for a lefty just because the flat wide nibs are difficult to make consistent contact with the paper for most lefties. Kaweco nib units are swappable so if you find […]
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2014 has seen the release of many new products which captured the imagination of fountain pen lovers across the globe. As the year finally draws to a close, it would be remiss not to revisit some of the exquisite masterpieces and admire the exceptional craftsmanship and artistry that made them a reality. 1 – Mont Blanc 90 Years Anniversary Skeleton 149 The 149 holds a special place in Mont Blanc history – so much so that its 90th Anniversary is celebrated by nothing less than one of the most exquisite products ever launched – a skeletonised 149. The Skeleton 149 is a reintroduction of the 75th Anniversary Skeleton 149, which was highly-sought-after by collectors. The pen has a skeletonised cap and barrel plated with ruthenium. The pen is adorned by a quartz Mont Blanc emblem and features an 18K rose gold nib with a delicately applied 90th Anniversary commemorative engraving. 2 – Namiki Hina Dolls Maki-e is a traditional Japanese artform which appeals to the most discerning collectors – and the Namiki Hina Dolls is unquestionably one of the most significant releases in 2014 – issued in a matching pair of Yukari Royale fountain pens, the Hina Dolls are […]
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This is my first guest review and I have to say I am excited to be doing it on a stunning pen that really is one to behold. The OMAS Paragon Limited Edition in Arco Celluloid. This pen was limited to just 200 pieces. 75 in Gold, 75 in Rose Gold & 50 in Rhodium trim. I have had a couple of months with this pen and have grown to love it in every aspect. From its light and well balanced weight to the obviously gorgeous Arco celluloid. The buttery smooth nib and its ease of writing while allowing some flare if you want. It has been a very enjoyable time with this one. I say that as I was loaned this pen by Bryan @ Kenro Industries and handing it back will be a difficult task to say the least. I will start with its medium size and as you can see in the photo it is comparable to the Mont Blanc 146. The section is very comfortable and the cap threads are not noticeable at all. I will say that I am one who is distracted from a pen when the threads are sharp and dig into my fingers. […]
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