A Spring Bouquet From Levenger

Levenger has a new True Writer with a color scheme based on Redouté’s flowers. It is called Bouquet and certainly suits the season. It also works well as a gift for Mother’s Day. If I owned one, it would be a sure bet for green ink but there might be a pink lurking in my collection that would be a cheerful alternative. Fun either way.

Now if only the Tiffany styled Arrondissement Ballpoint came as a fountain pen, I might splurge on a new pen for myself.

Arrondissement is a municipal district of certain cities, esp Paris. I don’t know what that has to do with the pen but the colors are very attractive.

Diamine Dark Brown Ink Earns Top Marks

Diamine Dark Brown is a seldom mentioned ink that deserves top marks for performance as well as its soft brown color. Even for ink users who aren’t fond of brown, this one might be a useful option.

A different name would be more descriptive, so I think of it as Diamine Dark Brown – That Isn’t. Unlike the rather orange colored Sepia that barely qualifies as a brown, Dark Brown is properly a medium brown. Very well-behaved and easy on the eyes, it produces lovely shading and a hint of outlining here and there. Good flow and average lubrication make it suitable for a wide variety of nibs. It dries slightly faster than Diamine Sepia and significantly faster than some of the heavily saturated inks in my collection.

Dark Brown is a chameleon depending on the light source. In daylight, it has a red slant. In artificial light, it looses the red and looks balanced or neutral. It isn’t a red-brown like Waterman Havana but there is a subtle bias. My ancient scanner was flummoxed by it and no amount of color adjustment could produce an accurate rendition despite three of us attempting to pin it down to a single image. This one will have to do.

The color is soft and attractive enough for drawing purposes. It also works well for correspondence and in many business applications. My Kyoto Levenger True Writer custom stub suits it perfectly.

Diamine’s selection of brown inks has expanded greatly in recent years and it is a color at which the company excels. It’s hard to go wrong no matter which one you choose but my current favorites are Dark Brown and Chocolate Brown, just in case you were wondering.

From Paper To Ink For Your Sunday Links

“Flaneur” is easily my new favorite word…

• Journaling Arts: Review of Stillman & Birn’s Zeta Paper
• James Yu and Magical China Inner painting world
• JustDaveyB: Sailor 1911 Medium Maroon/Gold inked with Pilot iroshizuku murasaki-shikibu
• mantisandme: Oh, Flaneur—
• The Missive Maven: International Geek Girl Pen Pals Club
• Ed Jelley: Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen – Handwritten Review

Noodler’s Ahab’s Pearl Fountain Pen

Noodler’s hit the mark with the Ahab model. It’s attractive, chunky, and sports a stainless flexible nib for around $20. What’s not to love about that?

Dick Egolf of Luxury Brands USA sent an Ahab’s Pearl for review. Its silvery, pearlescent white color and stainless appointments make an attractive and neutral pen. Headed into spring it’s a great match for seasonal colors but it’s just as good with the rest of the spectrum. Absolutely every color works well with it.

According to Peyton Street Pens the Ahab “is made of a celluloid derivative and is technically biodegradable and formed from a “renewable resource.” Given the material, care in cleaning is recommended. However, if you don’t let ink dry out in the feed, a rinse with cool to lukewarm water is all it takes to make the Ahab ready for a new ink.

The Ahab is larger than the Konrad but has the same slightly flexible nib. Previous remarks about it apply. The upside is that employing a light touch, the nib is stiff enough to be used like a normal fine nib. Put a bit more pressure on the nib and the line turns broad. That makes it versatile.

The downside is that the nib is too stiff to make supple lines easily. It improves with use and, for writers new to soft nibs, this is probably a benefit. It is easy to bend a really flexible nib too far and either release a flood of ink or overextend a nib causing damage. The Ahab nib should stand up to that learning curve quite well. Another benefit is that the Noodler’s nib will adapt to your hand as you grow accustomed to it. Use it enough and you will become a team. Use it rarely and you may enjoy the outings less. Reaching full potential will take a little effort.

The Ahab’s pump filler is simple and easy to use. The instruction sheet explains the process. The pen has a significant flow of ink which indicates the filler is a good type for the nib. No restrictions, skips or railroad tracks which is not something all flexible nib pens can boast.

On the Rhodia Bloc No 16 tablet, it deposited so much ink that I had to leave it for a bit to dry but I’ve experienced longer drying times. However, unlike some inks that dry slowly, I couldn’t feel a layer of ink when I ran my finger over it.

Without flexing, the amount of ink on Apica 6A10 is just right but it is very free flowing when flexed. Too much ink resulted in some fuzzy edges but that’s happened with other combinations on Apica in the past. Anticipate some trial and error when looking for a good combination. If your Ahab doesn’t flow as freely as you would like, the ebonite feed can be adjusted according to the included instructions.

Initially, my daughter thought the Ahab’s Pearl smelled like cheese and the Konrad Tortoise like baby powder. A couple of weeks on my desk and the Ahab is now fragrance free. The Konrad is less aromatic but still mildly scented.

The Ahab comes in a variety of colors so it’s easy to find one that suits your favorite Noodler’s ink. Not that an Ahab won’t match well with another brand but the degree of lubrication with the Noodler’s inks I tested was a pleasure.

At around $40 for the Ahab, a bottle of ink, tax, and shipping, this is one sweet deal.

The Kaweco Sport Converter!

Finally, it’s here. The Kaweco Sport Converter! Yea! If you aren’t familiar with the Kaweco Sport series, here is my review. It’s a great entry level fountain pen with an impressive variety of nibs. With a converter, it’s even better.

Noteworthy For Early Spring At Levenger – Free Shipping Ends 2/24

Free shipping with promo code SHIP2013 ends February 24, 2013.

• Work & Play iPad Folio – for the split personality
• Circa and more in spring colors of celadon green and celestial blue – mood setting
• The Shades Collection in Mediterranean hues of aqua, lavender, sienna – limited edition so grab ‘em fast
• Waterford Kilbarry Emerald Isle pens – the Pantone Color for 2013
• Sit-to-Stand Rolling Workstation – so you can do it anywhere
• En Vogue Quilted iPad Envelope – especially in champagne beige

Three Noodler’s Inks – Beaver, Purple Martin, Tiananmen

Nathan Tardiff, grand master of the Noodler’s realm, never ceases to invent new colors and types of inks. For that he deserves the highest marks. But the colors that have been around for years are no less worthy of note. Dick Egolf of Luxury Brands USA kindly sent three fan faves for review. What could an inkophile do but accept the opportunity and set to work.

The trio includes Beaver, Purple Martin, and Tiananmen. Brown, purple, and red are workhorse colors so they were easy to incorporate into my rotation. My Levenger True Writers leapt at the opportunity to test new inks and away we went.

Noodler’s Inks Meet Levenger True Writers

Fair warning that my scanner lamp is dimming so colors are not as they should be. For better color renditions, go to NoodlerInk.com.

Noodler’s Beaver, Purple Martin, Tiananmen

These are clean, saturated colors. No dramatic shading or other exotic properties but the flow is especially well-suited to a fine nib on smooth paper. The True Writers were perfect mates especially on Rhodia Bloc No 16 paper. My Apica 6A10 daily journal was a good match, too. There was a small amount of feathering on Staples (pineapple) bagasse paper and in a Mead composition book with Tiananmen. Moleskine performed as expected. The full-sized image of the Mead composition book shows feathering with a number of inks. Caveat emptor on that one.

Noodler’s Ink Test On Rhodia Paper

Noodler’s Ink Test On Staples Bagasse Paper

Noodler’s Ink Test On Moleskine

Mead Comp Book Ink Test

Should you be as silly as I was this past month and forget that Beaver was in a pen that got no use, well, it might not start up instantly. All it took was priming the flow to get it back on track. No damage noted.

My three-pen leather case stocked with these new friends and a pad of paper would carry me through any day. Brown for work, purple for personal notes, and deep red for edits that don’t scream. Now if I could just find that pen case…