Let’s take a look at De Atramentis Pisces, an ink with a very unique color! pharaonisConrad is a Californian fountain pen lover. wintersharks.blogspot.com
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As pen enthusiasts, many of us are on a journey to find pens, inks, and paper that fit our writing styles and personal tastes. One of the things that I search out are Extra, Extra Fine Nibs. There are a lot of things I have learned in my search to find and acquire pens with these nibs. This article captures some of the things that I have experienced. What I want is a pen that writes a very, very fine line. Manufacturers and NibMeisters use different terms to describe the options available. So what terms should we use to describe this capability? Is it Extra, Extra Fine, or Needlepoint, or some other term? Manufactuers use different terms: Ultra Extra Fine for one Japanese company and Extra, Extra Fine for another. Some NibMeisters use Japanese Extra Fine/Needlepoint, and others use terms like Extra Extra Fine/Turk. There seems to be no consensus as to what to call this category of Extra, Extra Fine nibs. Because of this, I will will use the term, More Fine Than Extra Fine (MFTEF) in this article. Moving to Japanese Extra Fine A few years ago, when I found myself becoming part of the fountain pen community, […]
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I recently received an invitation to the Pilot Pen Clinic in Singapore, but I am absolutely disappointed because… I WON’T BE AROUND AT THAT TIME TO ATTEND IT! Damn, why do such exciting events always clash with my business trips! The Pilot Pen Clinic will be held from 27-29 July 2016, and the esteemed Namiki Nib Specialist, Mr. Atushi Takizawa from Japan, will be present to “diagnose and heal” Namiki pens. Interestingly, he is also known as a “Pen Doctor”, since he specializes in servicing the pens. According to Pilot, a Pen Doctor is a “highly experienced nib specialist who will do his best to service your fountain pen to a reasonable condition within the allocated timeframe. Here is the background information about the Pen Doctor and Namiki Maki-e, (all information and the picture are from Pilot Singapore): A doctor of a different kind – A Pen Doctor, Mr Atushi Takizawa Mr Atushi Takizawa, Namiki’s Nib Specialist from Japan joined PILOT Corporation (formally called The PILOT PEN CO. LTD) in 1981. After 14 years of career in mould designing for fountain pens and jewellery, he joined the tip manufacturing section and has acquired vast knowledge and its technique. Since 2005, […]
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I recently bought a Franklin Christoph Penvelope 6. I have been eyeing it since I saw the pouch that my SFPL friend, Jeffrey, own. He has a Saddleboot Brown version with a dusty red inner lining. I got mine from Fook Hing Trading Co. at a reasonable price. They only had the maroon version which I found was wonderful, and it has black lining inside. So, of course I simply had to get one! The price of a Penvelope 6 is much more reasonable compared to the Penvelope 2. I had contemplated for a long time between the 6 and the 2, and finally decided that 6 is a great number of pens to carry. I have done a review of the Penvelope 6 in a video below. It’s my first video review where I actually show my face and speak, so I’m quite nervous. But I hope you like the video! Here’s a photo of Jeffrey’s Penvelope in Saddleboot Brown, with the weathered, aged look: Amazon affiliate links of the pens I used in the video, in case you’re interested to get one for yourself: Pilot Kakuno and here is my review of it Sailor Lecoule Lamy Joy and here is […]
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Since its introduction (and massive success) on Kickstarter in 2013, the cases from Nock Co. have enjoyed immense popularity. A collaboration between pen addict Brad Dowdy and product designer/seamster Jeffrey Bruckwicki, Nock Co.’s vision was to “make the best pen cases on the planet”. Indeed, the pen cases currently offered appear to be well-made, durable, well-designed, and they even come in a variety of colours to suit most tastes. The case I was personally interested in was the Lookout. I had been wanting a pen case with three slots for awhile, and the leather options were not doing it for me. I came across the Lookout from posts on various other websites devoted to all things pen- and stationery-related. At last – here was something that had caught my eye! It wasn’t boxy like the leather cases, it came in a resilient material, it was tested thoroughly before release by its dedicated creators, there were individual slots for each pen, and it came in a gamut of striking colourways. Sign me up. For two, in fact! (However, it took quite a bit of wait for me to actually get these cases, because they were perpetually sold out on their website!) I am […]
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Howdy, Readers! I haven’t been blogging for 2 months now – what a mess! In today’s post I’m going to introduce something pretty exciting: a very flexible nib on a modern pen! I hope this makes up for the lost time and lost pen-love on my blog! Those familiar with fountain pens may know that flexible nibs are great for writing really nice cursive calligraphic styles, such as the Copperplate style. The tines of the nib are bendy, thus the term “flexible”, or “flex” in short. When you apply pressure onto the nib, the tines bend, spread apart, and a thick line of ink is laid onto the paper. We are able to find a number of such nibs in vintage pens, which are definitely the more popular choice, because – there isn’t really isn’t much of a choice. Modern flex pens tend to be expensive and there aren’t a lot of options to choose from. One alternative to put a flex nib on a modern pen, but once again, you’ll need to search for the right nib in order to fit the pen that you like so much! There are also options to get the nibs modified (or “modded” in short-speak), […]
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Blink your eyes not, because lo and behold, my very first wax seal! Getting a wax seal has been in my mind for a long, long time. How long? I guess I started loving it from the day I saw a wax seal in use on TV. That must have been donkey years ago! The thought has probably been rolling around in the deep mud amidst all other murky and dark stuff at the back of my mind, until recently, when these so-called “archaic” thingums started resurfacing along with my “super-calligraphilistic-inky-alidocious” desires. Why “archaic”, you might ask? Much as I don’t wish to admit it, calligraphy, beautiful lettering and handwriting are a thing that is going to be the past. DON’T EVER LET THAT HAPPEN. To what extent has this become? Here is an example: a friend has helped me to buy a fountain pen online last year (my Lamy Vista). When the parcel arrived, the father asked about its contents. She told him it was a fountain pen for me. He said, “Wow, who is your friend? Who uses fountain pens in this time and age?” Already it has been implied that I and my hobbies are archaic. Today […]
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If you are interested to do a nib customization, here is a website you can try out: http://www.nibs.com/Fountain-Pen-Nib-Customizations.htm Personally I haven’t tried out their service yet, so if you have, drop me a note so I can write more about it! Note: Not affiliated. MaybellineI am the founder of this website. Chemist by day, slacker by night, fanatic of stationery all the time. I write with my left hand, but can also do the same with my right hand – it just won’t look very pretty. onfountainpens.com
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Lost in my admiration of my fountain pens, I had totally forgotten to look at the fountain pen’s companions: accessories to enhance a fountain pen experience. I’m talking about this gift that I had received from a good friend: I am not a chilli-person, nor am I a colour-red-person, so I really don’t know why I was given this choice of the colour. Perhaps it’s a subtle hint for me to SPICE up my life. Or perhaps it’s to stand out from the rest of my sombre belongings and scream, “Hello everyone! Look at me and the jewels in my tummy!” I’m not complaining, though, I have grown to love this little pouch and its colour – and the little rabbit at the end of the string! Opening the synthetic leather-like pouch, two pockets are revealed, which can hold about 3 pens each (ignore the notepad at the side). My biggest pens are my Lamy Al-Star and Lamy Vista, and the smallest is my Parker Urban. I have experienced curling of the edges of the thin pouch if I try to place too many fat pens together, so I try not to push or even reach this limit. […]
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