-- Wolff's Royal Sovereign pencil samples in a tin (Palimpsest)

-- Sailor Jentle Sky High (Inkdependence!)

-- Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen – Medium Nib – Black Crocodile Body (No Pen Intended)

-- A Tale of Two Pencils: The Blackwing 602 (The Writing Arsenal)

-- The Journal Diaries- The Hobonichi and Midori Planner collection (Seaweed Kisses)

-- It’s all about the money boys #4: Pens between £75-£150 (A fool with a pen)

-- Video: The Top 5 Pens of Year 1 (The Pen Habit)

-- Review: Kuretake_ZIG Wink of Stella 0.8mm Glitter Marker - Orange & Pink (Gourmet Pens)

-- Nakaya Neo Standard Fountain Pen Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Exchanging Nibs on a Rotring Newton 600 (Taking note)

-- The Way I Journal: Chris Bowler (Day One)

-- Rhodia pencil review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Tombow Zoom 707 Mechanical Pencil (Write to Me Often)

-- Review: Pelikan M101N Lizard Special Edition (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- Chasing the Winter Blues: Lamy Nexx Opal with Lamy Turquoise Ink (From the Pen Cup)

-- Review: Lamy Studio Fountain Pen, Imperial Blue, Extra Fine nib (Four Words, Four Worlds)

-- What’s The Big Deal About Vintage Pencils? (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- The Greatest and Bestest Pen In The Whole World (Edmund Mitchell)

-- 10 hints for index cards (John August)

-- Pilot Hi-Tec-C Maica: Bling-Bling Pen! (The Daily Acquisition)

-- rOtring Rapidograph Technical Pen - 0.50mm (The Clicky Post)

-- Kaweco Special 2mm leadholder (The Pencilcase Blog)

-- Kaweco AC Sport Fountain Pen Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- Pilot Feed GP4 Multi 0.7mm Ballpoint Pen (A Penchant for Paper)

I have been a fan and follower of Retro 51 ever since I discovered their Tornado a couple of years ago. They asked me recently if I wanted to try out their latest release - the Tornado Touch - and of course I said yes. Thank you Retro 51 for sending me this pen!

I first heard about this pen through my Twitter feed with several readers pointing me to its release. I was excited! And then I clicked the link. I became confused quickly. What is this, a mustache? Is that a derby hat? Did I eat something that is causing me to hallucinate? I'm not going to lie, my initial reaction was not positive.

That's where getting the pen in hand and seeing it in person really helped. This is a really great pen. To address the mustache and derby right away - you don't even notice them when the pen is in your hand. They blend in seamlessly, and when one or both catch the corner of your eye you can't help but grin. At least I do. The Tornado Touch will put a smile on your face.

But lets get to the real shocker of it all: The refill. The Tornado Touch uses the Schmidt-Mine 635 which turns out to be an ultra-smooth, clean writing ballpoint refill. The line it laid down impressed both me and Myke but I discovered something even cooler after the podcast.

When you pull off the end cap to replace the refill you are met with phillips head threading, meaning you need a screwdriver to remove the refill. Ok, that sucks, but I got over it quickly once I saw Retro 51's video on how to change the refill. I didn't notice it until then, but the threaded part of the refill is just a sleeve that fits any standard D1 refill. That's right, your favorite D1 refill - Zebra Sharbo X, Uni-ball Jetstream, etc. - are all usable in the Tornado Touch. That is what I call winning.

This is an excellent job by Retro 51 in building a completely new product off an existing model that many of us know and love. It's portable, looks great, works flawlessly, and you can use a wide array of refills in it. I'm glad I got to use the Tornado Touch before making a judgement on looks alone.

Thanks again to Retro 51 for sending this pen my way!

The one in which Myke and I fight.

Show Notes & Download Links

I bought a Kokuyo Campus notebook with CYO-BO paper over a year ago with intentions of reviewing it, but Kokuyo had another plan. I'm not sure when it happened, but they stopped selling the high grade notebooks with the CYO-BO paper. This is a shame, but it looks like they're replaced it with another notebook. The Kokuyo Campus high grade with MIO paper. So, which one is better, and is the MIO worth buying now?

The Similarities

The notebooks both share quite a few similarities. From what I can tell, the only differences are the number of pages in the notebook and what kind of paper they use.

Both notebooks are semi-B5 (9.9x7") and have 7mm ruling with subtle blue-gray lines. There's an area at the top of each page for a title or subject, a number, and the date. Each notebook has 30 lines per page.

A complaint of mine for both notebooks is the binding. It's some sort of glue binding, and it makes it difficult for some of the pages to lay flat, causing some wrinkling in the page that you're trying to write on. This wasn't a huge deal since I could bend and abuse the notebook into submission, but it was an annoyance.

Both papers are archive-safe and acid-free. The MIO notebook has a page at the beginning for your name, subject, etc, while the CYO-BO does not.

I mentioned I didn't like the glue binding, but I am a fan of the shiny silver tape that they use to cover the binding on the outside. Both notebooks have covers that are made of slightly light-weight cardstock. They won't hold up well in a back-pack.

The Differences

The only difference in these notebooks is the paper. In a sentence, the CYO-BO paper is thick and velvety, and the MIO is thin and light. They're both smooth and handle inks extremely well – I haven't noticed any feathering – but the paper weight is a major difference.

The CYO-BO notebook is about twice the thickness as the MIO notebook, even though there's only a 20 sheet difference.

CYO-BO Performance

I'll keep this brief since it's no longer for sale. This is a spectacular paper that handled all of my pens and inks with great ease. No feathering, hardly any show-through, and not much feedback. Great paper. I'll be disappointed when I finish this notebook.

CYO-BO Front

CYO-BO Back

MIO Performance

This is a lovely paper. First touch makes you think of the Tomoe River paper. It's thin, light, and smooth. It's not Tomoe River paper, though. Despite being thin paper, there's no feathering at all. There's a good amount of show-through, but that's to be expected for thin paper. Keep in mind, I'm talking about show-through, not bleed-through. I haven't seen any bleed-through.

The paper feels almost slippery with certain pens. Particularly gel pens – they wanted to slide off the page. I like this effect, but it could take some adjustment. Fountain pens felt great and there is just enough tooth to maintain excellent control of the nib.

Kokuyo explains that the MIO paper stands for "Mobile Ideal Original" paper. I'm not sure what that means, but I can vouch for the quality of the paper.

MIO Front

MIO Back

Conclusion

The Kokuyo Campus high grade MIO notebook is an excellent writing tool. It's extremely thin and handles pens and inks with ease. I love the size of semi-B5, but they also sell A5 for this notebook.

The major cause of hesitancy for me is the paper thickness. Being so thin, there's a good amount of show-through on the back sides of the paper. For me, this means I can't use both sides of the sheet. Effectively, this is a 30-page notebook for me, unless I use gel pens that are less than 0.5mm or pencils. Given the price, I don't think this is a good value. Still, it's fun to try and experience the silky smooth paper. Hopefully, Kokuyo will keep this notebook around for a while longer.

JetPens offers the MIO notebooks with blue and red accents in B5 or A5, and as bundles.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)

My friends at Word. Notebooks reached out recently and offered up A BUNCH of notebooks for readers of The Pen Addict. I am a fan of these wonderfully designed and extremely functional notebooks. If you are not familiar with Word. they are set up perfectly for tasks, lists, and to-dos. Sure, you can use them for anything, but the bullet point layout is an excellent feature.

I have (5) 3-packs to give away, all pictured above. From left to right they are: Black, Swedish Camo, Orange, Traditional Camo, Natural. That's not all they offer so check out their full lineup for other options you can purchase. JetPens has even gotten into the Word. Notebooks game and are stocking four of my favorite colors.

There will be five winners of this giveaway, each taking home one of the 3-packs pictured. Winners will be able to choose their favorite color on a first come, first serve basis once the winners are announced.

Here is how to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Saturday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is open to US and International readers.

2. For this contest, I will pick five winners at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the numbers of the winners.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Sunday, March 30th. The winner will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page.

Thanks and good luck!

-- Every feature in fair accord: A review of the Edison Hudson (A fool with a pen)

-- Wahl-Eversharp Skyliner 50 (Inkdependence!)

-- J. Herbin inks and Vintage pens (Drawing with a Squirrel)

-- Diamine Oxblood ink review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- A Quick Review of the DashPlus System (The Newsprint)

-- Review: Kaweco Special AL Lead Holder - 2 mm - Black Body (Gourmet Pens)

-- Monteverde Poquito Fountain Pen – Chrome (No Pen Intended)

-- Guest Blogger Fred Pitts: Yellow vs White Rhodia Paper (Rhodia Drive)

-- Ti-Post RAW Pen + Stylus Prototype by BIGiDESIGN (The Clicky Post)

-- Doane Paper Grid+Lines notebook review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Pilot Down Force (Pen Pursuit)

-- Swan Rapi-Dry ink resurrection (Palimpsest)

-- Parker Vacumatic (That One Pen)

-- Pilot Kaküno Fountain Pen Review (Write to Me Often)

-- JetPens Rocks: The Ohto Graphic Liner (Good Pens)

-- Ink Review: J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- Field Notes Shelterwood Spring Colors Edition – Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Disappointing Notebook Shopping (Notebook Stories)

-- New Pentel Graph 1000 (My Supply Room)

-- Hero 616 Doctor Review (The Frugal Fountain Pen)

-- Yellow Rhodia Paper (Pencil Revolution)

-- Uchida Drawing Sharp S Mechanical Pencil Review (Dave's Mechanical Pencils)

Pen Addicts love our notebooks, don't we? And if the number of entries is any indication, everyone likes what Word. Notebooks is doing as well. Here are the winners of the giveaway, each of who will be sent a 3-pack of these awesome notebooks:

Congratulations to all of the winners! I need each of you to leave a comment on this post and claim the color you want. First come, first served! Also, please send me and email with your shipping address. You have one week to claim your prize.

Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks to Word. Notebooks for offering these items for giveaway!

It's not often I get to use the word portmanteau (unless I'm watching TMZ, of course) but that is exactly what the Quink in Parker Quink is. It is a combination of 'quick', as in quick drying, and 'ink', as in, well, ink. Those two features are what made Parker Quink fountain pen ink so popular in its heyday, but how does it compare to the wide range of inks now available to consumers?

I am a bit of a blue black aficionado so of course I chose Parker's entry into this crowded color field to see how I liked it. The ink is very well behaved, flowing nicely from my TWSBI 1.5 mm stub nib and leaving behind excellent shading characteristics. It dries reasonably quickly as well, although not as quink (see what I did there?) as something like Noodler's Bernanke Blue.

My hold up with falling in love with this ink is the color. With very few exceptions, I like my blue black inks to contain just those two shades. Parker Quink Blue Black has too much green in it for me to use regularly. It is hard to explain, and even hard to see in the pictures, but there is something not as pure about it as say Lamy Blue Black or Pelikan Blue Black, which are two of my favorites.

If the color is to your liking you will love how this ink performs. You will love the price too, and I can see it being many people's workhorse ink. For me, I'll be inking up with something else.

For another take on this classic ink check out the review from Seize the Dave.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Wow. 100 episodes. Never in my wildest dreams did I think a podcast about pens would exist, much less run for 100 episodes. Myke and I are eternally grateful for everyone who takes the time out of their busy schedules to listen to two guys separated by thousands of miles ramble on about the most inane subjects for an hour or so a week. Utterly amazing.

We wouldn't be here without all of you and without the amazing companies whose products we discuss on a weekly basis. I cannot thank the following people enough for helping to make Episode 100 of the podcast special for all of our listeners by providing giveaway items:

Anderson Pens

Cult Pens

Chad Doane

Mike Dudek

JetPens

Karas Kustoms

Word. Notebooks

The most special shout-out is reserved for the best podcast partner and friend one could ask for, Mr. Myke Hurley. Thank you for talking me into doing this 100 episodes ago. I can't imagine a better person to spend an hour of my week with.

We made a huge giveaway announcement in this episode, so be sure to listen all the way through and head over to the Show Notes page to find out how to enter.

And don't forget to order our limited run t-shirt to commemorate #penaddict100. Feel the orange and Futura goodness!

If there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I'm a sucker for metal barrel writing instruments. This is the reason I flicked the Parker IM rollerball into my cart one day when I was browsing through the different rollerballs on JetPens. It's the only Parker rollerball on JetPens, so I thought I'd give it a try. In short, I love the design and aesthetic of the pen, but not the refill.

Aesthetics

The Parker IM has a really pleasing look and feel. I opted for the gunmetal finish, which is a dark gray with a silver sheen. The accents look like chrome, although they probably aren't real. The clip on the pen has the classic Parker arrow shape, which is a nice touch. My favorite part of the pen is the all-metal grip area – this is a huge plus for me. I love pens with metal grips.

The pen is a little on the heavy side, but it's not noticeable unless writing for more than 20 minutes or so. I usually write with it unposted anyway. The pen looks classy and feels well-built.

And then I tried to write with it.

Writing performance

I was greeted by poor ink flow and a really scratchy sound when I tried to write. It sounded like I was writing with a nail, and the ink trail looked like I was using a ballpoint pen that hadn't been used in a few months. It was skippy and faint. I was perplexed.

A little background info that might be helpful here: I hold my pen in the "standard" grip. The grip rests on my middle finger, and my thumb and index finger hold it in place. The angle of the pen to the page is usually between 40 and 60 degrees. From my knowledge, that's a fairly common and universal grip.

I couldn't write with the Parker unless I held it perpendicular to the page – 90 degrees – any deviation would result in the scratchy sound and feel. This was frustrating, so I put it away for a bit. I wondered if there was something I did wrong. Did this pen have some sort of seal on the tip like some of the gel pens? It didn't look like it.

After fiddling with some other pens, I had an idea. I put the Parker refill through a similar process as smoothing a fountain pen nib. Figure eights and infinity symbols on varying grades of grit while holding it at a 45 degree angle.

To my relief, a few rounds of smoothing produced a better (not perfect) result. It was closer to what I was expecting, but still scratchy. At least the ink was flowing well now. And, wow. This ink flows. It's extremely smooth and bold ink. Parker calls this a "medium" point, but I would call it a bold. It looks like a 1.0 mm line on the page.

My only guess is that I received a refill that wasn't quite ready for retail. Maybe there was too much metal around the roller ball that was causing the problem? Seems like that might be the case since a little grinding made it better.

But really, who's going to do that to a roller ball? These are the types of refills that just work straight away. I considered buying a replacement refill, but decided it wasn't worth it. They're the same price as the Schmidt refills used in the Retro 51s, but I'd much prefer those to the Parker. The Zebra R-301 is only a few bucks and delivers a stellar performance.

Instead, I set out to find another refill that I could retrofit into the body. It's pretty universal and will accept a Pilot G2 size or a Pentel Energel with very little fuss. I used a 0.25" piece of tubing from the kit I received with the Retrakt to provide the right amount of spacing for the refill. Perfect.

Conclusion

I'll continue using the Parker IM, but not with the Parker refill. For now, I have several better options that produce smooth, silent results on the page. Maybe one day I'll try another Parker refill in this pen to see if I got a lemon, but I doubt it.

JetPens sells several colors of the Parker IM roller ball. With the experience I had with it, I can't really recommend it unless you're prepared to do some retrofitting or tuning.

One of the latest releases at JetPens, the Zebra Fortia Ballpoint is a surprisingly good entrant in the less than $10 ballpoint category.

This is a classically designed pen. There is no show to be seen, no flair to be tossed around. The Fortia is all business because sometimes that is what you need. Rock your favorite Hello Kitty multi pen in your cube, but swap it out for the Fortia when you head into that meeting. Your boss doesn't understand the depths of your addiction, so no need to own it until the time is right. These are the things us addicts must consider.

The Fortia features a glossy plastic barrel with a metal inner sleeve to give it a nice weight when writing. The design of it reminds me of a wider Pilot Hi-Tec-C Cavalier. Like the Cavalier, the Fortia hides a refill worthy of excellent housing. No, it's not Hi-Tec-C quality, or even Jetstream quality, but for a standard ballpoint it is very good. Smooth, clean, and dark - can't really ask for much more. I generally enjoy Zebra's ballpoint refills and this is no exception.

Should you rush out and buy a Zebra Fortia? It falls into the situational use category for me. It's not game changer, but rather a solid offering if you have the need for this style of pen with a ballpoint refill. For only $8.50 I'd say it provides good value.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

-- Lamy Safari Fountain Pen – Apple Green Body – M nib (No Pen Intended)

-- Field Notes: Retail Performance Art (Atramental Otaku)

-- Organics Studio Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass Review (Office Supply Geek)

-- Kokuyo Campus Wide Notebook – Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Caran d'Ache 849 Ballpoint (The Clicky Post)

-- Kokuyo NeoCritz Transformer pencil case review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Pilot Capless - 1971 - C-400BS and C-400SS (Crónicas Estilográficas)

-- Ink Notes: Graf von Faber-Castell Garnet Red (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- Three minute hero: A Review of the F/C 03 ‘Iterum’ with Masuyama needlepoint nib (A fool with a pen)

-- Review: @Kaweco Calligraphy Pen Set - Black Body @JetPens (Gourmet Pens)

-- Post 004 Conklin Crescent Model 20 (My Antique Pens)

-- Pelikan M205 Yellow Demonstrator, M250 14K 0.9mm CI, inked with De Atramentis Indigo Blue (Just DaveyB)

-- Sunshine On My Sketchbook Makes Me Happy (Yippee Cahier!)

-- Review: Banditapple Carnet Notebooks (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- My father-in-law’s old notebooks (Woodclinched)

-- A Girl Named Elastika: An Animated Adventure in Office Supplies (Colossal)

-- Review – Uni-ball Signo UM-151 – .38 mm (My Pen Needs Ink)

-- On My Desk: Field Notes Shelterwood Edition — (The Newsprint)

-- Energel vs. Vicuna (or Gel vs. Hybrid in general) (That One Pen)

-- I [heart] you: Pelikan M205 and Levenger Shiraz Ink (From the Pen Cup)

-- Cool, Blue Sun-Star Pencil Gear, Part I (Pencil Revolution)

-- Pelikan 400 Tortoise Shell Fountain Pen Review (Write to Me Often)

-- Diamond Ink Co. (Once New Vintage)

-- New Arrival: Rotring Trio Lava Multipen (My pencils draw worlds)

-- Inspiration So Pure So Smooth So Precious (Mere Blather)

-- Behind the Scenes: Making a Menlo Pump Filler (Edison Pen Company)

The 2014 Atlanta Pen Show is scheduled for Friday, Apr 11th through Sunday, April 13th. This will mark my third year in attendance and I cannot wait! Are you going to be there? If so I would love to meet you. I plan on being at the show all day Saturday (10a-5p) and will have an informal Pen Addict meet up in the hotel bar from 5p-7p.

Feel free to leave a comment here or get in touch via Twitter for more specifics. See you there!

As a purveyor of plastic tipped pens I like to think I know what I like in pens similar to the Yasutomo Y&C Stylist Marker Pen. Sharp lines are key, which goes hand in hand with a firm plastic tip. Color brightness and comfort are secondary, but still important. The Yasutomo Stylist Marker covers all of that with surprising ease.

I almost didn't add this pen to my cart at JetPens, considering the poor perfomance of the Yasutomo Stylist Gel. It was a scratchy writer and is poorly designed in the grip area. While the Stylist Marker has some barrel design concerns (which I will get to in a moment), the writing performance is so good I am willing to overlook them.

You cannot make a plastic tip pen too firm in my opinion. To give you a baseline, the Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Mangaka is very firm, while the Marvy LePen is very soft. The Sakura Pigma Micron is right in the middle. The Stylist Marker is right up there with the Kuretake.

Looking at the writing sample, the edges of my lines are very sharp, which I love. That is what a firm plastic tip will give you. In no way did I expect to find performance like this from this pen. The only thing left to determine is durability, which will come with time and use.

It's not all roses for this pen though. The barrel design could use some improvement, especially regarding the clip. Mine fell right off after receiving it and I tried to shove it back on as you can see in the image below. That didn't work, so I just trashed the clip. It is comfortable to hold and write with otherwise.

I don't normally have good luck with unknown brand name pens but the Yasutomo Y&C Stylist Marker Pen is a keeper.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Kaweco AL Sport Matte Blue (Image via JetPens)

The time for the 2014 Atlanta Pen Show is near and I'm jonesing like a madman. I'm feeling kind of guilty too, talking about all the cool things I hope to see this coming weekend while many of you don't have a pen show nearby to travel to. That is where my friends at JetPens come in. There is a pen show going on there 24/7/365 and you are always welcome!

One lucky winner is going to have their own personal pen show with this $100 gift certificate I have to give away. What will you spend it on?

Here is how to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is open to US and International readers.

2. For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

3. The contest winner will be posted on Thursday, April 10th. The winner will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page.

That's it - good luck!

If there is one thing I know for a fact it is that the readers and listeners of The Pen Addict are awesome. Is it so wrong I plastered my face all over Myke's timeline thanking everyone for their kind words last week? I don't think so, Mr. Hurley!

Aside from the wonderful Episode 100 feedback, we got back down to pen business and discussed my Atlanta Pen Show prep. C'mon Saturday!

Show Notes & Download Links

This week, I'm really pleased to talk about one of my favorite notebooks: the Leuchtturm 1917 Soft Cover Large Notebook. I've had this particular book for about two years now, and it's always a joy to use. When this one is full, I'll buy a replacement or two (or twelve).

Look and feel

There's something about a simple black notebook that catches my eye. It's not trying to be fancy or flamboyant. I'm neither of these things either, so maybe that's why I like it so much – we're two peas in a pod.

The synthetic cover is soft and pliable in the hand. In my years of using it, the cover hasn't discolored or worn at all. It sill looks new. Of course, there's an elastic closure and a black ribbon marker to hold your place. The sides of the notebook are completely square, and by that I mean that there aren't groups of pages that are misaligned due to hasty cutting at the shop. From the outside of this book, you can tell that quality was one of the top three requirements.

One thing I don't completely understand is the length of the page marker ribbon. It extends about 4 inches below the book and tends to get in the way when open or closed. My guess is that this can serve as a dual page marker, meaning you can tuck the end into a different place in the book. This is a small quibble, but worth mentioning.

On the inside, the Leuchtturm has a page dedicated to your name and address, a blank page, and then another page that has a pre-printed table of contents. This is really useful, and I know that several people have mentioned that this is really handy when using the Bullet Journal method. The back cover has a sturdy pocket for holding loose pages, which I've never used. Pages 107-121 are perforated.

One of my favorite features is the page numbering. Yes, the Leuchtturm notebooks have the page numbers printed in the bottom corner of each page in a light gray ink. I number all my notebooks, and this is a huge convenience for me.

The book also came with a sheet of stickers that you can place on the front or spine to label the notebook. I haven't used them yet, but plan to once it's full and I store it away for reference. Another cool thing that is included is a ruled card that can be placed behind the blank page so that you can have a rule to follow on the page. I haven't used it, but it's a nice thing to include. I have a plan paper version, and I'm not sure if they include this card with the other types.

Like I said, my notebook has plain paper, but this seems to be slightly difficult to find sometimes. Goulet Pens has a softcover book, but only with lined paper. Amazon has the Large Squared Soft Cover, which I'm sure Brad is all over.

Now, on to the paper.

Writing performance

In my testing, this paper has worked splendidly with every pen and ink I've tried with it. It's an 80g ivory paper, so it's a tad bit thin and allows heavier inks or pens to show through, but I haven't seen any bleed-through. I also haven't seen any feathering or bleeding on the paper.

It's a thin, bright paper that is enjoyable to write on. The paper tends to have a small amount of tooth with some pens, but it's nothing that bothers me. It gives a sense of feedback, which is usually helpful. Any pens that caught a bit more tooth were somewhat scratchy on other papers anyway. Overall, it's an excellent paper.

Being thinner than other papers like Clairefontaine, the dry time is slightly faster. The color and properties of the paper also show what I think of as the "true" color of the inks being used. Some papers make inks appear more or less saturated, which can be annoying.

Overall, this is a fantastic paper. I don't have any complaints.

Wrap up

Leuchtturm 1917 look like Moleskines on the outside, but they're so much better in quality and writing experience that it's not even funny. What is funny, however, is that the Leuchtturm notebooks usually cost a couple of dollars less than Moleskine. Now, if only Leuchtturm were in every major book seller in the states...

If you haven't tried a Leuchtturm book, it's a worthy risk to take. They have larger and smaller sizes, soft and hard covers, as well as different colors.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)

The only thing I love as much as JetPens is giving away some of their awesome products to readers of The Pen Addict. Who doesn't love filling their online shopping cart with tools of greatness? I know one person that will have fun doing that this weekend:

Congratulations Jeremy! Get in touch via the Contact Page and I will email your gift certificate ASAP.

Don't worry if you didn't win - there are going to be many more opportunities like this very soon!

I will be at the Atlanta Pen Show from 10a-5p today, followed by a Pen Addict Meetup in the hotel bar from 5p-7p. Look for the guy with the blue and red Topo backpack and say hi! I'll do my best to post a few pics throughout the day on Twitter and Instagram as well.

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-- The Bolt – Copper (No Pen Intended)

-- Montblanc Lavender Purple (inklode)

-- Monteverde's Artista Crystal (Inkdependence!)

-- Kaweco Allrounder Fountain Pen Quick Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- Pentel Ain Clic (Bleistift)

-- Flexible Fountain Pen for Calligraphy (Katrina Alana)

-- Review: @1901FC Franklin-Christoph Model 02 Intrinsic Smoke & Ice - Broad (Gourmet Pens)

-- Comparison of D1 Refills (Part one) (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Prussian Blue - Diamine Ink Review (Ink of Me Fondly)

-- Uni-ball Signo UM-151 Review - Revisiting an Old Favorite (Office Supply Geek)

-- Hero 100 Fountain Pen (The Frugal Fountain Pen)

-- Palomino Golden Bear #2 Wood Cased Pencil (The Clicky Post)

-- My new Navy Blue Cover by Cody Williams (Blank And Write)

-- Soft Landing: Uni Jetstream Alpha Gel Grip Ballpoint (From the Pen Cup)

-- Kokuyo CamiApp Notebook Review (Inktronics)

-- A cure for pen and ink addiction is needed: Diamine Graphite ink review (Peninkcillin)

-- Baron Fig Confidant Is The Best Paper Notebook I’ve Used (Cult of Mac)

-- Review: Hahnemuhle Travel Journal and Travel Booklets (Notebook Stories)

-- A clear winner: A review of the TWSBI Diamond 580 (A fool with a pen)

-- Rohrer & Klingner Salix Iron Gall – Ink Review (Ed Jelley)

-- White-ink Pen Tests (Burning Monster: A Sketch-Blog)

-- On My Desk: Field Notes Expedition Edition (The Newsprint)

-- First Papermate Retractable Ball Point Pen (My Supply Room)

-- Why I Use a Fountain Pen (Reverenced Reading)

-- Review: Sheaffer Intensity Carbon Fiber (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- Weekender: A Review of Myself Trying to Use Field Notes (Overthought)

-- Pen Review: Fountain Pen Revolution Triveni (The Pen Habit)

-- Review: Uni-ball Signo 207 .7mm (in honour of The Pen Addict’s 100th) (Blessed Are The Geeks)

-- Ti2 TechLiner Prototype Pen by Mike Bond (The Clicky Post)

-- Pensieve: Nakaya Ao-Tamenuri Decapod Twist: A Review (Scribalishess)

I know those people (Image via Mark Bacas)

My Saturday at the Atlanta Pen Show was so great I feel that it deserves it's own title. I hereby dub it "The Experience", as in my experience was so awesome I will never forget it.

My day started out early. 5am alarm, out the door at 6am from Macon, GA to Sandy Springs, where I met my friend Aaron Mahnke from Wet Frog Studios and the Home Work podcast. We try to catch up in person at least once a year and I am glad we were able to make it happen again. I always learn a lot talking with him, but the highlight of our meal was when a group of guys rolled up in a Lamborghini, a Lotus, and two Aston Martins. The fifth guy rocked a Corvette - he must have been the personal assistant.

After my fill of blueberry granola pancakes I drove the 10 minutes over to the hotel where the pen show was located. I was a little early so I checked my Twitter feed and it was go time:

Pierce (@mysticalthing) @dowdyism just got my badge and waiting for the show to start! #atlpenshow

I headed inside around 9:30, paid my $8 entry fee, got my name badge, and headed over to talk to Pierce until the doors opened at 10. While we were chatting, long-time internet friend Grey Williams joined us, and I finally got to meet Heath Cates from Pen Paper Ink Letter in person. We were chatting about Field Notes and Heath's drive up from Auburn when the doors opened and we got our pen show on!

Mike Masuyama was in his usual spot - immediately to the left when you walk in the first door. I double-checked my name on his nib work list (#2!) and headed over to see Brian and Lisa Anderson to get my #LisaHug.

Meeting with the Anderson's was one of the highlights of my 2013 show and they were great again this year. We chatted for a while, I dropped off some Nock Co. goods and they gifted me a Field Notes America the Beautiful edition after listening to Episode 101 on their long drive down from Wisconsin. Hopefully Myke and I gave them a little entertainment!

Right when I left the Anderson's table I turned around to be greeted by the one and only Jeff Abbot, aka my savior. I'm not sure where this blog would be right now without his weekly post so I was excited he made the drive over from Alabama. He and I hung out for most of the day during the show as we browsed around.

Speaking of Alabama, John, aka Bamapen called me up to handoff two new cigar box storage cases I had on order. They turned out great as usual, and I guess you could say that was my first purchase of the day.

My second purchase came from Lisa Vanness from Vanness Pens. I had put two bottles of Akkerman Inks old hold before the show via Twitter and there they were behind the table with my name on it. Lisa and Wendi were super nice and liked the Nock Co. products I dropped of to them as well. I can't wait to see them again in the future.

By this time it is almost noon and I haven't looked a pen yet. I did get my Lamy 2000 nib tweaked again by Mike Masuyama, where my favorite picture of the show was taken by Heath:

Listen here Masuyama!

Business was handled, now it was time to shop! I had my list committed to memory, which was easy because it was fairly short. I picked up two secret-for-now Franklin-Christoph pens and two nibs from the F-C table. Hopefully Myke will be happy with what I got him, but it is a secret until it arrives in London.

My largest single pen purchase of the day was a Visconti Opera Typhoon, a pen I have fawned over since its release. I actually had the Visconti Wall Street on my mind as my main purchase of the day but got a deal on the Typhoon I couldn't pass up. There is always next year for the Wall Street.

Typhoon warning

I also picked up a Waterman 52 with a flexy nib, another item from the shopping list. I'm in the process of giving it a good cleaning so I haven't fully tested it out yet. It looks great though.

The full loot list:

-- Visconti Typhoon Opera, F nib

-- (2) Secret F-C pens

-- Waterman 52, flex nib

-- (2) F-C nibs

-- (2) Bottles of Akkerman ink

-- (2) Cigar box pen cases

-- Mike Masuyama nib grind on Lamy 2000

-- Pendelton Brown nib grind on Pilot Custom Heritage 912 stub

-- Bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki

-- Bottle of Organics Studio Blue Merle

-- (2) Sailor convertors

-- (2) 12000 grit nib smoothing sandpapers

Bag Dump

It was an amazing show for "stuff" but nothing I bought can compare with the experience I had and the people I met. I had several people introduce themselves to me throughout the day saying they read the blog and listen to the podcast. That was humbling, and cool. I am grateful for everyone who reached out and glad you came!

Post show meet-up. Getting WILD!

The pen show ended at 5pm, but the fun continued well after the doors closed. I set up an informal meet-up in the hotel bar where we showed off our purchases, nib work, and traded pen and life stories. Mark Bacas, one of the cogs in the wheel at the pen show and a friend of mine, showed up for a drink, along with the aforementioned Grey, Heath, Jeff, and Brian and Lisa Anderson. We were also joined by @heymatthew and my Nock Co. partner Jeff and his wife Rachel. What had tentatively been scheduled to end at 7pm went on until 8:30 when I HAD to get on the road. You can see more pictures of the meet-up on the Atlanta Pen Show Facebook page.

I learned more at this pen show than the last two combined. My most important takeaway is that friends and friendship are more important than any pen I own, or will ever own. Pens are the sideshow at an event like this. The people are the real reason to be there and even if I didn't have a dollar to spend it would have been an amazingly successful day.

What an experience.