October baseball is the best, and thanks to my friends at Out of the Park Baseball, I hope to make it even better with this awesome giveaway package. It includes a copy of OOTP 19, one pack of the new CW Pencil Enterprises Baseball Scoring Pencil, and a copy of the Halfliner, my favorite scorebook from Eephus League. And the winner is:
Congrats Jeff! Be on the lookout for an email from me to collect your shipping info.
Each week in Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter, I publish Ink Links as part of the additional content you receive for being a member. And each week, after 10 to 15 links, plus my added commentary on each, I'm left with many great items I want to share. Enter Misfill. Here are this weeks links:
— The Cornell Note-Taking System: Learn the Method Students Have Used to Enhance Their Learning Since the 1940s (Open Culture)
— All manner of cases from Nock Co. (Inkdependence!)
— Eye Candy: Penlux Inks (The Well-Appointed Desk)
— Pocket essentials: Milim fountain pen first impressions (UK fountain pens)
— The Author Tomoe River Notebook Review by GLP Creations (Gourmet Pens)
— Museum Discovers Math Notebook of an 18th-Century English Farm Boy, Adorned with Doodles of Chickens Wearing Pants (Open Culture)
— Uncle Tupelo’s ‘Anodyne’ at 25: An Oral History (Rolling Stone)
— Sailor Souboku (Wonder Pens)
— Review: Scribo Write Here Fountain Pen (The Pencilcase Blog)
— News: Edelstein Garnet Added to the Standard Line-Up (The Pelikan’s Perch)
— Rudeboy: The Story of Trojan Records documents the origins of Jamaican and British youth culture (It’s Nice That)
— Vintage Parker Pencils (Dave’s Mechanical Pencils)
— Ink Review #474: Robert Oster Sydney Lavender (Mountain of Ink)
— Shop Tales – Part Two by David Pennington (Ed Jelley)
— Building a Well-Appointed Home Office (The Well-Appointed Desk)
— Buckminster Fuller Creates Striking Posters of His Own Inventions (Open Culture)
— Review: Robert Oster “Shake N Shimmy” Rose Gilt Tynte (Alt. Haven)
— Review: Platinum Izumo (Soratame, Broad Nib) (Hand Over That Pen)
— The Graf Classic exudes quality (UK fountain pens)
Want to catch the rest, plus extra articles, reviews, commentary, discounts, and more? Try out a Pen Addict Membership for only $5 per month!
One of the most fun parts of being a pen addict is trying out stationery from all over the world. I’ve tried many pens from many countries, and am always on the lookout for more.
Ballograf was a name I was familiar with, but I had never tried this Swedish brand until two years ago when my friends from the country brought me one. It had a classic style that I loved, almost a throwback/retro look, and it felt great to use. They told me these pens were EVERYWHERE in Sweden, from offices, to banks, to schools, to homes. Ballograf is Swedens pen.
As it should be. The company was started there in 1945, was owned by Bic from 1959 to 2004, and returned to Swedish ownership from then onwards.
The history of the brand is on display with the Ballograf Epoca P ballpoint pen. This pen is a throwback, but in browsing through the history of the company I think it is more fair to say it has never changed. And that is ok by me.
The design and colors of the Epoca are right out of the era when it first launched and gained popularity. I chose Khaki Green to honor the heyday of 1970’s avocado green kitchenware. There are more modern colors available, like Heather Purple and Mint Green, but if I’m going throwback, I’m going all the way.
The plastic barrel of this pen is sturdy, and is comfortable to hold when writing. It looks like a simple design, but there are small elements like the octagonal upper barrel and clip detailing that set it apart from basic ballpoints.
The ballpoint ink cartridge is different too, in that the ink is rated as archival. Outside of the Uni-ball Jetstream, are there other ballpoint inks that claim this? Honestly, I’ll have to do more research on that. Mine shipped with a medium blue refill and it was finer and cleaner than I hoped it would be. So much so that I want to order the fine blue ballpoint refill to see just how perfect it could be.
As much as I like the Ballograf, it’s not all ABBA and IKEA here. This pen has a ton of tip rattle, or click-clack as I like to call it. You know that sound when the tip of the pen hits the page and you think “Who is using a typewriter in here?” The Epoca is not a quiet writer because of this. I’d be interested to try another one to see if it is consistent, or if this is manufacturing variance.
Also, I find the price to be interesting. At $6.50, it is not expensive in the grand scheme of things. Although relative to the competition, you could argue that it is. The Jetstream is half the price and is far superior. The Parker Jotter is twice as much and is practically the same. So, why do you want to own this pen?
For me, it is the statement pen for an entire country, and that is something I can get behind. I’m glad I have it, and I want another one to test out. In fact, looking through their catalog, there are several products I would jump at the chance to buy, with their chrome-barrel pens and pencils at the top of the list. Let’s do this Sweden!
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
Image via Vanness Pens
We are in peak 2019 planner season, and Midori brought their A-game to the table with endless options for all of you planning needs. I spent some time going through all of them at the Vanness Pens table at the Dallas Pen Show, and one of them stood out above the rest.
If I were going to use a planner for 2019 (and I’m not!) the Midori 2019 Diary Professional PRD-15 Slim Planner would get the call. Why? The two-page per week layout is perfect for me. Not to mention the paper size, quality, look, and feel - all the best of Midori in one package.
I have one of these to give away, so read the rules and enter below.
Midori 2019 Diary Professional PRD-15 Slim Planner GiveawayHeckin’ good job Lamy!
Myke and I discuss a huge amount of products this episode, among them:
— Lamy’s 2019 special edition Safari and Al-Star
— The Sailor King of Pen Shumibun Edition
— The Pink Robots Retro 51
— Lamy Pokémon Edition
I even shipped Myke one of each of the Blackwing Volumes editions and forced him to talk about pencils for a few, tense, minutes.
All of that pales in comparison to the beauty that is the Chaos Pen. Yes, it’s our annual “Hey, someone just discovered this pen again” post, and we bask in all of its glory. You should too.
This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:
Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code PENADDICT at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
Mack Weldon: Smart underwear for smart guys. Get 20% off your first order with the code PENADDICT.
(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)
If there's anything I love as much as my pens and notebooks, it's the bags I carry them in. I'm always looking for the perfect bag, and always hoping I never find it--because then I wouldn't have an excuse to try more bags. When I first saw the Doughnut Denver Messenger Bag, I got a little concerned. Is it The One? Is the search over already? It sure looked promising. Fortunately, great as it is, I have a few nitpicks that allow me to say no--this is not the one perfect bag. It came close. But I'm free to keep looking. (Thank goodness.)
This messenger bag solves so many problems that it creates new ones. I now understand what the kids at my work mean when they say something is "extra". I suspect what it really is is overdesigned. I love so many of the features individually, but together they become overwhelming.
This bag has a lot of pockets. Twelve of them! I've joked before that you can never have too many pockets--but, hey, you totally can. There is the main large pocket, which is very high capacity. It can hold up to B4 size paper. Inside that pocket is a mesh zipper pouch, a Velcro compartment, and two side compartments for water bottles/umbrellas/cables, etc. This compartment has a volume of extra fabric at the top zipper so taller items can fit inside. I did use that feature once or twice, but mostly all that extra fabric got in the way. I was constantly pushing it aside to get to things in the main compartment.
Behind the main compartment, there is a padded laptop/tablet pocket that can be accessed from the main opening, or through a waterproof zipper at the back of the bag. It can hold items up to 13". I used this back zipper more often than the main one, to avoid having to get past the jellyfish of fabric. I could reach most of what I needed through that back zipper, though it was difficult to see items toward the front of the bag.
Below the main top zipper, there's an A5-sized zip pocket. It has a Velcro pocket and two smaller pockets inside. On the front of that pocket are two horizontal zipper pockets for fast-access items. Though these are all mostly covered by the flap, the vertical zips allowed access to these pockets from the side. They were very handy--though I found that if the bag was very full, not much would fit in these pockets.
The flap folds down over the whole front and secures both with Velcro and with a slide buckle at each strap for extra security. I rarely used the buckles. They were just another thing between me and what I needed. But when the bag was stuffed, they kept the flap from springing open, so they were handy at times. There are also two leather snap straps for securing things to the front of the flap.
The strap is a soft seatbelt-like woven band. It does not swivel, which was often irritating. It is a bit too flimsy for this bag, I think. It kept folding and twisting so that it was uncomfortable to wear but annoying to constantly straighten. I think this strap was my main complaint about the bag. Every other nitpick still had its good points, but I think this bag really needs a more substantial strap.
Part of the reason it needs a hefty strap is because it is a BIG bag. It doesn't look it, but it feels massive and carries a boatload of gear. It's 17.7 x 11 x 5.3 inches. When filled, it gets quite heavy. When not filled, it is difficult to find things in its multitude of cavernous compartments.
For everyday use, this is too much space and too many features for me. I think for travel it would be great. I could also see it making a good bag for a commuter who needs a bag to hold their whole day's worth of stuff. But I don't think it's ideal even for day outings, as it gets heavy and the strap doesn't support its weight comfortably. It did make a pretty good purse/diaper bag combo--and the compartments allowed me to keep the kiddo's gear separate from mine. That was probably the best use I found for all its features--but the strap was still a bother.
Ultimately this is a fairly ingenious bag, where the designers thought a lot about what people might need, and then managed to fit it all on one (large) bag. Honestly, I think if it had backpack straps, or just a better strap system in general, my bag quest would have been in serious peril. I like what Doughnut is doing and I hope I'll get to nitpick more of their bags in the future.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
(As in here, right now! Head over to Kickstarter for Early Bird pricing.)
Urban Survival Gear (USG) launched the TiScribe-Bolt (TS-Bolt) in early 2017. The integrated clip assembly solved a myriad of common bolt-action issues. We decided to make the TS-Bolt even better with Version 2.0! 2.0 is ceramic coated for increased wear resistance. In addition, ceramic coating is available in a multitude of colors and patterns. Current colors/patterns are: black, orange, tan, green, blue, red, black/red, black/green, desert camouflage, and black camouflage.
Pledge any TiScribe-Bolt and get additional TiScribe-Bolts for the early bird price.
Version 2.0 is CNC machined from aerospace grade titanium. The clip screws are grade 5 titanium (Torx®) due to it’s fantastic strength-to-weight ratio. The Torx screws allow for greater fastening without stripping. These screws are more durable and half the weight!
USG is relocating to Texas. Funds from this campaign will be used to construct a 3200 sqft production facility. We need your help in funding the construction. In return, you’ll get construction updates and a personal invite to the open-house in late 2019.
Head over to the Kickstarter campaign page and check it out now!
My thanks to Urban Survival Gear for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.
(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
I’ve been wanting to take a calligraphy course ever since I started using fountain pens. I wanted to learn how to form fancy letters and to improve my regular writing as well. Unfortunately, I could not find an in-person course in Abilene, so I gave it up as a lost cause.
Eventually, I started looking for calligraphy courses I could take online. I found several, but some were over $100, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to commit so much money as a beginner. That’s when I found The Postman’s Knock Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy eCourse. The basic course costs $25 plus supplies. I thought that was a reasonable price to dip my pen into. The $25 fee includes a downloadable calligraphy course worksheet packet and six lessons (some lessons have multiple videos).
The supplies recommended for the course were:
My supplies cost a total of $48.61. So, I paid a total of $73.61 for the course plus the supplies.
The Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Course contains six lessons plus a short homework video. Lesson 1 takes you through the supplies you need for the course.
Lesson 2 teaches you faux calligraphy using any writing instrument. I didn’t really find this lesson all that helpful, since I knew I wanted to learn dip-pen calligraphy, but I gave it a try with mixed results.
My attempts at faux calligraphy weren’t the best.
Lesson 3 introduces you to using the straight calligraphy pen using a modern form of calligraphy called Kaitlin Style, created by Lindsey Bugbee from the Postman’s Knock. I enjoyed this lesson because it teaches you the basics of how to use a straight dip pen, first by learning down and up strokes, and then by creating letters. You graduate to writing individual words.
I struggled using the straight pen, mainly because you have to angle the paper so much to get a proper angle.
Plus, even though I dipped and tapped the pen to remove excess ink, my letters often came out blobby and fat.
I emailed Lindsey to ask about this problem (because you’re supposed to have access to email support with the cost of the course), but I never received a reply. I don’t know if this was because my question was asked by someone else in the comments section, and I didn’t see the response, or if my email just got overlooked. I eventually discovered for myself that I had to blot the nib on a paper towel after dipping and before writing to avoid excess ink.
At the end of the lesson, Lindsey provided a traceable project using Amy Style calligraphy. I didn’t exactly feel “proud” of this project since I just traced the letters and didn’t do the calligraphy myself. But, it was good practice.
Lesson 4 teaches you how to use an oblique calligraphy pen with a more formal calligraphy style.
This was my favorite lesson. I definitely prefer the oblique pen holder to the straight pen. Even though the oblique holder takes a little bit more practice, in the end you are able to hold your hand at a more natural angle and let the pen do the rest. I also much prefer the formal calligraphy style. I still had some problems with blobs, but not nearly as many, and I felt like my calligraphy improved somewhat with this lesson.
In Lesson 5, you learn how to create a calligraphy medallion. Although this was a fun project that required you to practice different kinds of strokes, in the end, I didn’t find it all that useful. I would have preferred more lettering practice. Still, after a couple of attempts, I created a reasonably good medallion.
Lesson 6 describes how to create calligraphy envelopes. This was the most challenging lesson of all, because, depending on the style of envelope you want to create, you have to do some measuring and centering. Plus, you have to draw guidelines. I honestly didn’t feel like I was ready for this lesson because I needed more lettering practice. But after several failed attempts, I managed to create a fairly adequate envelope. I sent my daughter, who is a freshman at Southwestern University, her first letter in this envelope.
The last video is simply a reminder to do some homework exercises and to practice. Although you are given two reference alphabets (Kaitlin Style and Flourish Formal), the Beginner’s Calligraphy packet doesn’t include additional practice sheets. For that you must purchase other packets from The Postman’s Knock. I’m planning to purchase the Premium Calligraphy Worksheet Set: Flourish Formal Style ($10.00) as soon as I get more toner for my printer. Obviously, that’s $10 more on top of the supplies and original course, which gets me to about $85. That’s still cheaper than other online courses I considered.
Overall, I was pleased with The Postman’s Knock Modern Calligraphy eCourse. It was not overly expensive, and the supplies were easy to acquire. Lindsey is an excellent teacher, and the videos were never too long or overwhelming. As a beginner’s course, it doesn’t go into too much depth, but instead introduces you to two different alphabet styles, calligraphy medallions, and envelopes.
The main weaknesses of the course were:
If you’re like me and can’t find a face-to-face calligraphy course, I recommend this one from The Postman’s Knock. As I explained, it won’t make you proficient in calligraphy, but it gives you a sample of different writing styles and a taste of other things you can do with calligraphy. It’s a good starting place, and from here, the best thing you can do is practice.
(I purchased the course and supplies with my own funds.)
I’ve been looking forward to the Urban Survival Gear TS-Bolt Version 2.0 since Kelvin teased me with a few test pictures early in the design process. If I had my way, I would Cerakote all the things, and with this project you can do just that. I had no idea there were so many color options!
The project is just underway on Kickstarter and has crossed the $20k mark already, so take a look if you need a highly durable and functional pen to add to your every day carry.
My thanks to Urban Survival Gear for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.
Midori has gone wild with planner options this year - in the best way possible! I took a look at several of them from Vanness Pens and the Midori 2019 Diary Professional PRD-15 Slim Planner stood out as a wonderful option. I had one to give away this week, and the winner is:
Congrats Mark! I’ve sent an email your way to get your shipping address.
Each week in Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter, I publish Ink Links as part of the additional content you receive for being a member. And each week, after 10 to 15 links, plus my added commentary on each, I'm left with many great items I want to share. Enter Misfill. Here are this weeks links:
— The Best Notebooks for 2018 (Wirecutter)
— Vantablack, the World's Darkest Material, Makes Gaming Amazing (Digital Trends)
— King George artisan writes tale of success with handmade pen business | News (Fredericksburg.com)
— Schon Horology: Making Analog Mechanical Watches in a Digital World (BU Today)
— This court artist has drawn everyone from Manafort to RBG. Will his craft survive? (The Washington Post)
— Closca Bottle by Moleskine (Dexigner)
— Full-color Basil Wolverton cards rejected by Topps in 1968 (Dangerous Minds)
— 8 Amazing Sling Bags Perfect for EDC (Carryology)
— Haruki Murakami Became a DJ on a Japanese Radio Station for One Night: Hear the Music He Played for Delighted Listeners (Open Culture)
— A Plethora of Japanese Planners (The Well-Appointed Desk)
— Behind the Scenes at the Hilroy Notebook Factory (Notebook Stories)
— Review: Montblanc Antoine de Saint Exupery (Alt. Haven)
— Scriptus Toronto Writing Show 2018 Inks - Maple Red & Northern Twilight! (Gourmet Pens)
Want to catch the rest, plus extra articles, reviews, commentary, discounts, and more? Try out a Pen Addict Membership for only $5 per month!
(Note: I'm not sure I've had a harder time accurately capturing two ink colors than these. It was challenging, and I'm still not happy with the results. No matter the lighting setup, I never fet I did them justice. YMMV.)
Over the past year or two I have taken a passive stance on two of the most popular ink trends: Shimmer and sheen. While I have admired them from afar, I haven’t wanted to use them myself. I’m not a big risk taker when it comes to fountain pen inks, although the siren’s call of their results on the page is breaking me down.
If I am going to head down one of these two shiny paths, sheen seems to be more my thing. And when I saw the first pictures of the new collaboration from Cult Pens and Diamine, I knew I was done for. Maureen and Robert are the ones for me.
Just look at the stock pictures and you will see why I am so enamored. The purple ink of Robert has a beautiful greenish-gold sheen, and Maureen’s deep and saturated blue ink pops with red. And these are not passive, slightly on the edge of the line, sheens. They are full-bore, 50-75% coverage sheens, if not more.
The kicker with these inks is do you like this type of effect when writing? Some people live for it. Others can do without. Big sheening inks have never been a priority for me because of my use of primarily extra fine nibs. Finer lines inherently don’t show off the ink properties as well, but Maureen and Robert are here to change my mind.
I inked up Maureen in my Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl with an EF nib. This nib is essentially a Japanese Broad in line width, so I knew it would show off most of the ink properties, and it did. This is a rich, saturated blue, and I immediately though of Parker Penman Sapphire. Maureen may be a shade darker, but the way this ink behaves is awfully similar.
Robert was put into use in my Pilot Falcon. I purposely chose this soft fine nib to see how the ink would perform, and I have to say, it’s better than I thought. It may be the two nib choices, but I assumed I would prefer Maureen over Robert. I assumed incorrectly, as I’m enjoying the purple and green sheen out of the Falcon nib more.
To get the full effect of the sheen, you need to use a coated paper - like Rhodia - or the magic capabilities of Tomoe River. Basically, a paper where the ink takes longer to dry than is sometimes acceptable. That is the tradeoff to get the beautiful sheen of these inks to pop. Using them on a faster-drying paper like Leuchtturm deprives you of the main feature of these inks.
Swabs on Tomoe in a lightbox
With specialty inks like this, my main concern is: “Will I be able to use these for more than special occasions?” For Maureen and Robert, undoubtedly yes. I’ve enjoyed general every day writing with them, but I do make sure to use Rhodia for the most part. When I’ve used them on my favorite Nock and Studio Neat notebooks I haven’t enjoyed them nearly as much. I think you may even be able to get away with these in an office environment - if you bring your own paper.
Finally, and as I mentioned on the podcast recently, I have a soft spot for fun names, and fun stories about how they came to be. Fountain pen inks named Maureen and Robert? Sign me up!
There are many factors to consider when making a buying decision, and these inks tick all of my boxes. They are fun, functional, innovative, and have a great story behind them. They are also priced well, at £9.50 in the UK, or approximately $10.50 per 80ml bottle, minus the VAT. Big thanks to Cult Pens for send these my way for review.
(Cult Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
Image via Cult Pens
If you have been playing along with my weekly giveaways all year, then you know I often like to sneak in a product on Tuesday that I just reviewed on Monday. This is one of those times. I mean, how can I not share the awesomeness that is Maureen and Robert?
One winner of this giveaway will receive both inks to add to their collection. Read the rules below, and enter away!
Cult Pens + Diamine Maureen and Robert Iridescink GiveawayImage via Cult Pens
(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
It's easy to spend years in the pen community and be completely unaware of various pen companies that are also operating in the same space. That's what happened to me with the Pineider Avatar. Pineider is an Italian stationery company that dates back to 1774, and recently rebooted in 2017. In the case of the Avatar, I've been pleasantly surprised by this new (to me, anyway) brand.
The Avatar is made of resin and silver trim, but that's really selling it short. The mixture of red shades and translucent material gives this pen a little something extra when the light catches it. Moving under the light, the pen appears to have dimensions and space beneath the surface, an intoxicating chatoyance.
The silver trim matches the pen nicely without detracting any from the real star of the show. The ends of the pen and cap are both rounded, and the clip is a spring-loaded mechanism that integrated into the top of the cap. It's not the strongest clip out there, but it gets the job done.
One of my favorite things about this pen is the magnetic cap system. Instead of a traditional screw-on cap or friction fit system, the Avatar has a nifty magnet catch design. Uncapping the pen is easy, and recapping it results in a satisfying /chink/ to let you know it's secure. When capped and not in use, the cap feel secure and I don't think it would slip off in normal circumstances. I would keep a close eye on this pen if I put it in my pants or shirt pocket if the pen couldn't reach the bottom of the pocket.
Another fun feature of the cap is the band. There's a lot going on with the band, and I wasn't sure I liked it at first. After looking a bit closer and realizing that it was a skyline, it started to grow on me. Since I didn't recognize the city skyline at first, I looked at the small pamphlet that came with the packaging and discovered that it was a skyline of Florence, Italy. Along with the skyline is a classy "Pineider" logo. I wish the band had a little more thickness and dimension, but I also appreciate that it's flush with the body of the cap.
The section of this pen is longer than most, but it has a nice shape. It's a slick metal finish that can get a bit slippery, but I haven't had any issues with it so far. One issue I did have during the first few days of using this pen was inky fingers. I wasn't sure how my fingers kept getting ink on them, but I finally figured out what was happening. Since there's no lip or ridge at the bottom of the section, my finger would slip down onto the feed and pick up ink. After realizing this, I consciously changed my grip on the pen to stay a little higher up. After doing this, I had no more issues with inky fingers. This is more of a individual preference problem, but worth mentioning since I don't normally have this problem with the dozens of other pens I own and use regularly.
The steel nib on the Avatar is also something that surprised me. It's minimally decorated and the size matches the size of the body perfectly, but it's also buttery smooth on paper. The nib is firm without feeling like a nail, but you also can't get any flex out of it. Even though it's labeled as a medium, it feels more like a fine — possibly even an extra fine. I'm not sure if Pineider nibs run small usually or if this is just an issue on the unit I have. Either way, I enjoy using the nib and it's performed beautifully right out of the box.
Speaking of the box, Pineider really takes pride in their presentation. The box that this pen arrives in is a black pleather covered box with a couple of small flaps that are secured with magnets (someone at Pineider really likes magnets...). Upon opening the box, you're greeted with the pen on a stand at the top of the box. Under the pen is a small drawer that contains some information on Pineider and some stationery supplies — small envelopes and pages for letters. It's a nice touch and something that I've never seen before for a pen of this price.
I think it's fair to classify Pineider as a luxury brand, and I've had mixed experiences with luxury brand pens before. This certainly isn't the norm, but there are times where the presentation is on par with a luxury brand, but the writing experience is poor. Sometimes it's hard to justify the price of a luxury pen if it doesn't easily attain the number one practical goal of all pens.
In the case of the Pineider Avatar, I'm pleased to report that this luxury pen is a satisfying mixture of elegant materials and presentation as well as a beautiful writing experience.
The Pineider Avatar retails for $280, but Pen Chalet sells it for about $225 at the time of this review. At that price, there's a lot of excellent competition that usually blows weaker luxury pens out of the water. With the combination of a great writing experience and the gorgeous, tantalizing materials of the Avatar, I think it sits fairly in this price range along with the likes of the Pilot Custom 823 and others.
If you're interested in the Avatar, it comes in four beautiful colors. The color featured in this review is Lipstick Red, but you can also choose from Coal Gray, Pacific Blue, and Saffron Yellow. Each pen comes with a cartridge converter and accepts international short cartridges. Unfortunately, there are no nib options outside of medium steel nibs.
(Pen Chalet provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
You are going down #TeamAL-Star!
We are coming at you from the past to bring you the future! Ana, Myke, and myself got together last week to discuss this week’s trip to New York City and Toronto. We talk about all of the shenanigans we will be involved in, and we hope to see you there.
I also took this opportunity to to talk a big game about the 2019 hopes for #TeamSafari.
This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:
Harry’s: Redeem your trial set!
Pen Chalet: Click the ‘podcast’ link at the top of the website and enter the password ‘penaddict’ for this week’s special offer, and to get your code for 10% off.
(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)
Of all the pen breeds, ballpoint is my least favorite. I still think they're fun, because pens, but I don't love them with the same manic fervor as I do other kinds. Except for this one!
There's something about the Retro 51 Buzz design and these crazy smooth Retro 51 Easy Flow 9000 ink cartridges. The pen will take any Parker-style ballpoint refill, but I've never used one that's better than this. It writes butter-smooth and never skips, but the line is crisp and as dark as gel ink--without the smearing. It has all the utilitarian properties of ballpoint ink but eliminates all my pet peeves about it. It's nicely saturated and doesn't feel dry or require hand-cramping pressure.
When you take a refill that good and put it in a pen this beautiful, well. That's just pure fantastic-ness. The body of the pen is acid-etched in a honeycomb pattern, enameled with honey-gold colors and adorable wee bees. The accents are in brushed copper. It has the classic Retro 51 knurled twist mechanism and sturdy metal clip. The finial is decorated with a hungry looking bear who has just found his favorite snack.
On top of all that, the proceeds from each sale go to the NW Honey Bee Habitat Restoration. So if you needed one more reason to push you over the edge, there you go. These would make excellent gifts, too--especially for people who like pens but don't want anything fussy or who need that ballpoint ink for work. It's just a good pen and this edition does good for the world. It is sweet as honey in every aspect.
(Pen Chalet provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
Every once in a while, you run across a pen that is so unique and so absurdly beautiful that you’ll do whatever it takes to own it. For me, that pen is the Danitrio Kama-nuri Kamakura-bori Blue Tame-nuri on Takumi (what a mouthful!) I honestly did not intend to buy another Danitrio. I owned a Sho-Hakkaku (reviewed here) that I eventually sold because I didn’t use it that often, and I found the soft stub to be too wide for my writing style (though I loved the feel of the nib). I told myself that if I found a Kama-nuri in blue, I would buy it.
Sure enough, Bryant, at Chatterley Luxuries let me know he got some Kama-nuris in, so I went to the site and looked. My finger was poised to click on the blue Kama-nuri when I saw a pen that dazzled me. I’d never seen anything like it before. Not only was it Kama-nuri style, it was more than that--blue diamonds were carved all over the body of the pen with carved black dots in the middle of each diamond. It was more expensive than any pen I’ve ever bought (I’ll just say it was close to $2000), and I told myself, “Absolutely not.” But then I thought, “What’s the chance that you’ll ever see a pen like this again?” So I bought it, and subsequently I sold a bunch of beloved pens to cover the cost. Was it worth it? You’ll have to read the rest of the review to find out.
Considering how expensive Danitrios are, the packaging is a bit of a disappointment. My pen came in a softwood box lined in fake red velvet. Unlike Nakaya, you don’t get a kimono for your pen, and although I never use my kimonos anyway, they are a nice touch. I found no paperwork or information about the artist included in the box.
My Kamakura-bori began life as a black Urushi Takumi model. Then, the artist (Mr. Kazushi Kanego) applied layers of blue Urushi over the black. This was followed by more layers of black Urushi. Next, the artist hand-chiseled the diamond (or rhombus) pattern into the blue layer. Last he chiseled dots down into the original black layer. You can see the individual chisel marks in the macro photo below. Plus, you can see how thick the Urushi is in the second photo.
The result is a pen that is both beautiful to the eye but also tactile: you can feel the patterns with your fingers. Plus, this is no machine-made pen. The patterns are imperfect because they are done by hand. This makes the pen all the more beautiful, and it is absolutely unique.
The Takumi model is a cartridge/converter style pen, which suits me just fine. I’ve tried Danitrio’s eye-droppers and found them messy and unreliable in terms of flow (I may have just had bad luck). Sure, an eye-dropper holds more ink, but the converter is easy to use.
My pen has a gold-plated clip that is easy to manipulate. I prefer Danitrio’s painted clips, but obviously that wasn’t a deal-breaker for me.
The Takumi is a large pen, measuring 145mm/5.71 inches capped and 130mm/5.11 inches uncapped (Danitrios aren’t meant to be posted). Because it is made of Urushi, the pen is by no means heavy. It is comfortable in the hand (even though it is 16mm in diameter), and I experience no fatigue writing with it.
The #6 size, two-tone, 18k gold fine nib is perfectly proportioned for the pen. It has Danitrio’s distinctive fire logo on it. Unlike Japanese nibs, Danitrio fines are really closer to a western fine or a Japanese medium.
Unfortunately, my nib has issues. I noticed from the beginning that the nib was a bit scratchy and that it didn’t seem to write a consistently wet line. It’s been so rainy in Abilene that I had to wait quite a while for a day with enough sunlight to take macro photos of the nib. I discovered that the tines are misaligned, so that explains the problems I’m having.
I filled my pen with Sailor Yama-Dori, which is a terrific color to match the blue on the pen. When the pen is freshly inked, the nib alignment is not as noticeable, and the writing looks pretty good. But after the first few sentences, the misalignment becomes noticeable and the ink no longer flows as smoothly onto the paper. Obviously, this is a major disappointment in a pen this expensive.
So, is it worth it? Well . . . yes and no. Obviously, a pen’s worth is completely subjective. Some readers might think this pen is rather ostentatious. Others might agree with me that it is amazingly beautiful and unique. But ultimately, what matters is what I think, since I’m the one who spent the big bucks to buy it. Considering the amount of time the artist spent crafting this pen, and considering how unique the pen is, I purchased more than just a writing instrument. I purchased a piece of art that no one else on earth possesses. True, Mr. Kanego may have created other pieces with the same design, but since he hand-carved them, each pen is unique.
That said, I am disappointed with the nib. While it writes adequately, the misaligned tines definitely detract from the quality of the writing experience. I will have to send it in to get the tines realigned and the nib adjusted for better flow.
Only a few pen dealers offer Danitrios, and Chatterley Luxuries currently has the largest inventory. If you’re interested in a Kama-nuri model (all of which are hand carved), I suggest you head over to Chatterley Luxuries soon.
(I purchased this Danitrio pen with my own funds (and sold a ton of pens to pay for it!))
I’ve been having fun with these Cult Pens + Diamine inks, and I hope the winner of this giveaway does too! My good friends Maureen and Robert are ready to take a trip and see:
Congrats Shelley! I have an email headed your way to collect your shipping address. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
The top stop on our NYC Stationery Tour: C.W. Pencil Enterprise
Thank you New York City and Toronto!
This was a whirlwind trip of epic proportions, and it was fantastic. From the time I arrived in New York until the minute I flew out of Toronto, I was enamored. Every step of the way was met with smiles, laughs, hugs, and stationery. ALL OF THE STATIONERY.
Our recaps are underway, with the post-trip podcast scheduled to publish Wednesday morning. We barely touched on the goods we picked up, so look for a rolling stream of goodness on Twitter, Instagram, and maybe even a Twitch stream near you.
Unicorn Dust, Pink, and Arctic Trooper have been added to an already huge lineup.
The TiScribe-Bolt Version 2.0 is going gangbusters on Kickstarter, with over $40,000 raised 10 days into the campaign.
Not willing to rest on his laurels, Kelvin Verrett, owner of Urban Survival Gear, has added three new finishes to the campaign: Unicorn Dust, Pink, and Arctic Trooper.
All barrel finishes in this campaign are Cerakote, which is a high-end, durable coating. I adore my Cerakote finish pens, and look forward to adding another via this campaign. If only I could decide on which color!
The Ti-Scribe-Bolt Version 2.0 campaign ends in 8 days, so if you are interested, now is the time check out the project. My thanks to Urban Survival Gear for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.
