J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage

J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage (wild ivy) is a true green and a bit brighter than the sample below. It is closer to ivy than spearmint with the blue component stronger than the yellow. The result is a mid-range color that won’t offend your non-green friends but would make a pleasing substitute for red or a useful complement to medium blue ink for a two-color project.

In addition to the test page pictured, I used Lierre Sauvage in an Apica 6A10 journal but to mixed results. Same pens as below but the wider nib produced some mild feathering and lines that had a soft appearance. The more narrow nib did not produce noticeable feathering but the color was considerably less intense. In fact when I used the Lamy EF a few days later, I noted in my journal how well suited the ink, pen, and paper were for each other. Scratch tests on a variety of papers produced good results though some softness on poor quality copy paper and the like.

That mild feathering observed in the Apica seems best attributed to the combination of a free-flowing ink with a somewhat absorbent paper. The ink just followed the paper fibers perfectly unlike the clean lines it produced on Rhodia where the performance was stellar.

Shading with a wide nib is excellent on Rhodia but less apparent with a fine nib. In fact the nib makes such a difference that the sample below could have been made by two different inks. And that makes J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage an inky bargain.

J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage

J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage

Arabian Rose, A Tasty Leftover

Yesterday a big box of goodies arrived, leftovers from reviews by BiffyBeans. Pretty cool, eh?

No question about which ink to try first since Private Reserve Arabian Rose has been on my list for at least a year. So ink in hand I took a quick look through the pen box. I am not a big fan of demo pens, the clear ones that let you see the cartridge or converter. Often they look messy with ink in wrong places. But for purple I will make an exception and chose a Lamy Vista with a 1.1 italic nib.

The longer I use this ink the better I like it. Depending on the light, it can appear dark reddish purple, magenta or even burgundy. On this page of purples at Wikipedia, Arabian Rose most closely matches tyrian or imperial purple. It is also in the colors of this Angel Rose Viola.

Have a look at my initial notes scanned below. As the writing test progressed, Arabian Rose lightened just a tad to its true color and revealed some nice if inconsistent shading. Drying time is typical for a rather saturated ink but not awful. Expect three to five seconds with a very fine, dry nib but significantly longer with a wide, wet nib like the Lamy italic.

Purple may not be appropriate for a staid business environment but it is lovely for personal use. Speaking of which it’s time to write a thank you for a sweet Japanese notebook I received recently. Hope Arabian Rose suits the recipient since I’ve got plenty left in the converter and a pen just itching to go to work.

Private Reserve Arabian Rose

Guest Review: Lamy Studio Fountain Pen

Hi! I’m Beth. I bought my first fountain pen last summer and quickly became semi-addicted. In my limited experience, the Lamy Studio in Palladium with a fine 14k nib is the smoothest pen I’ve used. I bought the pen because I have a Lamy Safari that I use almost daily. The Safari is wonderful, but I wanted a pen that looks a little more professional.

LAMY Studio Palladium Fountain Pen

Appearance – 5/5
Sleek, shiny, and a little fancy!

Writing – 5/5
Smooth. I have had no problems with the Studio on any of the paper I have tried it with. I’ve been using Lamy cartridges with it because they are just easier since I am a student and am on the go a lot.

Lamy Studio Writing Sample

Feel – 4/5
The Studio is much heavier than my Safari Al-Star, but I honestly do not mind. In a way, the weight causes me to be aware as I’m writing and really focus on what I am saying. My only complaint with this pen is that it can get slippery if you write with it for a long period of time. This is only a problem because it makes my messy handwriting even messier.

Conclusion
The Lamy Studio is my new favorite fountain pen. I highly recommend it. Thanks so much to Inkophile for giving me the opportunity to do a guest review!

Inkophile: Thank you, Beth. Come back soon!

My Pens Love the Exacompta Forum Journal

Need a new journal? The Exacompta Basics Forum Journal has a lot going for it not the least of which is that it is designed to fit any Exacompta Club or Nostalgie Journal cover. Lots of variety so there ought to be something to suit most everyone.

Exacompta Club Leatherette Journal

No covers to test but I did receive a refill journal from Exaclair that has turned out to be quite different than I expected.

Exacompta Graph Forum Journal

The tan-colored, plain board cover allows the refill to work as a basic notebook. However, the elastic band closure is attached in a manner that interferes with comfortable writing and makes the right side quite lumpy as you work through to the back half of the book. If you can make do without the band, the elastic can easily be removed leaving behind only two tiny holes. With a Nostalgie or Club cover, that elastic band is unnecessary anyway.

Exacompta Nostalgie Journal

The refills have sewn signatures, so the pages will lie flat and not fall out. The 80g acid free, creamy Clairefontaine paper is very light-weight compared to most of my other journals. No feathering, true ink colors, and a smooth satin finish make the Forum Journal great with fountain pens.

However, mild to moderate show-through happened with every pen and ink I tested. Bleed-through was rare so for most writers, both sides should be useful though some folks will find only the right side will work. The refill alone is about 5/8″ thick. With a cover it would be even thicker. Since I find writing on the left side difficult in a book of this size,  single-sided writing worked well for me.

The advantage to that thickness is lots of paper. The blank and graph versions contain 200 sheets of 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ paper. There is an undated 365 page version, too.

Exacompta Forum Journal Ink Test

Exacompta Undated Forum Journal

The more I used this paper, the better I liked it. A larger size with more narrow line-spacing would be my preference but the smaller journals are more versatile. My fine and extra-fine fountain pens and inks absolutely loved the Exacompta Forum Journal. Bet yours will, too.

Moleskine Cahiers with Style

Ever decorated the cover of your journal? From stickers to stamps to doodles, there is nothing better to proclaim your individuality. Fill the inside with your musings and the outside with your unique vision. Perfection!

Not an artist? No worries. Champignons will turn a Moleskine Cahier into a work of art for you. These decorated journals would make such cute gifts and the size is perfect to tuck into an envelope along with a greeting card. But it could be hard to part with such an attractive miniature work of art. Might want to buy two just in case.

I’ve no experience with this Etsy store but the owner does have lots of happy customers. That’ll do for me.

H/T moleskinerie via The Pen Addict

When Gold Isn’t Really Gold

In this case it’s Private Reserve Shoreline Gold. It is an interesting name but what does it mean? What color do you picture?

Online swatches make it appear red-orange but it seems to depend on flow and nib size. In a wide nib the color is muted yellow-orange. With a fine nib it looks more golden brown. The sample below was written with a Pilot Custom 98 fine nib on Staples Eco-Friendly (bagasse) paper.

Private Reserve Shoreline Gold

Shoreline Gold is a pretty and fairly saturated ink. It isn’t fast drying so lefties beware. Flow is good as is coverage. Depending on the pen and flow, shading can be terrific.

Color variety from a single ink always intrigues me. It makes each new fill a surprise much like trying a new ink for the first time. What an economical solution to wanting ink variety despite having a strained budget. Definitely good news for a true inkophile.

Hey, can I have your autograph?

Faster than a speeding bullet, you could become a celebrity. Whether sought after or not, the 24 hour news cycle could turn your world upside down in a New York minute. Don’t “pshaw” me. You know it’s possible.

If it did happen and someone asked for your autograph, would you panic or be at ease?  Want to spruce up your writing before the clock on your fifteen minutes of fame starts? It might be easier than you think if you just do it one letter at a time. That’s how I did it and it couldn’t be more simple.

Start with a letter that you use frequently like a capital letter in your signature. Next it’s time to pick a style for that letter. Check the links under Calligraphy & Penmanship in the sidebar for some beautiful examples. Or you can start where I did with Getty-Dubay.

Once you’ve found a few styles you like, test them. Fill a few pages until one style emerges as both suited to your hand and your sense of what makes writing attractive.

“Skill to do comes of doing.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

For some folks the next step may seem difficult or boring but do press on. Use your new letter until it comes naturally. Filling pages with it is the only way to make it yours. It can be a relaxing activity once you get past the newness.

Then just keep adding letters one at a time and before long you’ll have a legible and attractive signature.

Practicing Letterforms

Don’t get discouraged if it seems you will never get it right. First of all, there is no “right” – only what you like. Second, keep in mind that it took you years to learn to write way back in your personal dark ages. Learning to write your signature a new way will take mere hours in comparison. All you are doing is modifying/improving a skill you already have. It’s simple. Really!

There is one shortcut I discovered as my dissatisfaction with some letters threatened my plans: Find strokes common to several letters. Work on that one stroke and then build other letters around it. Here is one that worked for me. The first stroke is the one with which I started. I only saw it as the letter “T” at first but a little experimentation proved it was far more useful than as just a single letter.

Letters That Have Something In Common

So there you have it. Start with a single letter and build from it until you have a signature that suits you. Do it for you but don’t be surprised to earn the occasional compliment for your eye-catching autograph. Fans love that stuff!

Inkophile

Esterbrook 9128 Nib Comparison

If you are not familiar with Esterbrook fountain pens, check out

• Vintage Pens
• Richards Pens
• Esterbrook.net
• Esterbrook.com

Bottom line is Esterbrook fountain pens were made during the middle years of the 20th century and have held up very well. They come in a variety of colors, several sizes, and have easily swapped nibs. Since the nibs unscrew, Esties are extremely easy to clean even though they are lever-fillers. Pop out the nib and rinse. It’s as simple as that.

Here is what I discovered this week when I finally got my hands on another Estie and just happened to set up two 9128 flexible extra-fine nibs at the same time.

Esterbrook 9128 Written Samples

They truly are different. The nib used at the top has 9128 written across the nib while the second one has 9128 written down the length of it. No photos to show but the shape of the nibs is slightly different. The first one is slightly longer, more fine and has less flex catching occasionally on the upstroke. The second nib is closer to a fine with significantly more flex and somewhat smoother performance.

I thought I had a couple of oddball nibs but then I compared them to a third 9128 and discovered that the differences were consistent. The 9128 with the number across the nib is finer/stiffer and the 9128 with the number the length of the nib is thicker/more flexible. Laura (a/k/a Phthalo in the pen world) has found the same to be true with her Estie 9128 nibs.

So if you are looking for a really fine nib, the 9128 with the designation written across the nib is the one for you. If you want more flex and a slightly wider line, look for one with 9128 written down the length of the nib. Or you can do what I did. Get two Estie barrels and buy one of each style nib. It’s twice the fun. Promise!

Hey, sucker, have I got a pen for you!

Buying online does have risks and sometimes I think of a smiling huckster in an alley opening his trench coat to reveal dozens of dazzling fountain pens, every one a fake but oh so shiny. Ha!

Certainly the majority of online sellers are honest and legitimate. Unless you’re looking to score a Mont Blanc for $1.95, most new pens are safe to purchase. It’s the used and vintage pens that bring out the cheaters. It also is fertile ground for careless sellers who may or may not be know they are selling damaged goods. Case in point.

Here’s a nib image posted by a seller a few months ago.

Eversharp Nib - First Listing

The pen took two weeks to arrive and to my dismay the nib had problems along with other undisclosed issues. So I returned it at my expense of course. Recently the pen turned up for sale again but with a new nib photo plus a neat little warning to “enlarge the pics to see the condition of this pen.”

Eversharp Nib - Second Listing

This time the pen sold for 60% less than what I paid for it. At least the seller did the right thing the second time around.

So caveat emptor, pen friends. There are fair deals out there but a few unfair ones, too. Look closely, very closely, and ask questions. I’ve scored a few sweet vintage pens online and you can, too. But be prepared to land a few failures. It just seems to go with the territory. Return the bad ones if you can. If you can’t, toss the loser in the pen box. One day you might discover it’s turned into buried treasure and become just the thing to satisfy your newest pen craving.

Yea! Iroshizuku Adds Three New Colors!

Pilot has done it again with its fourth release of colors for the Iroshizuku line. This time two browns and another orange join the party. Think autumn leaves and you’ll have it dead on.

No photos yet from Pilot but you can search Iroshizuku on eBay for a few seller images. The box colors reveal the new orange, Fuyu-gaki (winter persimmon), is brighter and has more blue in it than the previously released Yu-Yake. Tsukushi (horsetail) is an intense, rich brown with 35% more red than Yama-Guri (mountain chestnut). The latter is a rather balanced and versatile dark brown.

In terms of expanding the colors offered, Pilot has been consistently clever in its choices. This new release is no exception. The Iroshizuku line still needs a purple or two, a yellow-green and a wine/burgundy to span the spectrum. But the addition of two browns is a brilliant move in just the right direction.

I’ll delay till the last minute deciding my autumn rotation just in case the new Iroshizuku inks turn up stateside. They look to be worth the wait.