Wancai Mini Eyedropper With Diamine Aurora Borealis

Eli on Instagram used a combination of pen and ink that looked very appealing to me so I decided to try the same duo, a Moonman (Majohn) Wancai Mini Eyedropper with Diamine Aurora Borealis It would be my first eyedropper filler and was destined for use in my journal. For $20, it was worth a gamble. Note that the color and swirls called Daydream give the pen a happy vibe that encourages use so that is another plus in its favor.

The body is a little odd in that even posted it is short but the body circumference is greater than the pens I usually use. Finding a balanced, comfortable position for it has been tricky especially since the nib is not the smoothest. It isn’t bad but it isn’t as smooth as the Delike New Moon 2 EF used for comparison. Surprisingly, the Wancai Mini F writes finer than the Delike EF. The latter has slightly more flow so that might account for the line difference. Maybe.

In terms of appearance, the New Moon is colorful if traditional. The Wancai Mini is an eye-catching cutie. From the swirls to the size, it looks like a pen that was meant for fun.

Note that the Mini has no clip so it does tend to wander around the desk but a pen rest will keep it anchored.

 

Moonman Wancai Mini Transparent Pocket-Size Eyedropper Fountain Pen with Fine Steel Nib 0.5mm

Dimensions: Length closed is 87mm and posted is 122mm. The diameter is 14mm. Net weight is 11.9g.

Cap screws on. Eye dropper filler or ink cartridges.

Material : Acrylic Resin.

 

Delike New Moon 2 with Extra-Fine 0.38mm (Rose Red)

Dimensions: Length closed is 132mm and posted is 155 mm. The diameter is 12mm. Net weight is 23g.

Cap screws on. Cartridge or converter filled.

Material: Acrylic Resin.

 

What I learned from experimenting with the Wancai is that eyedropper fillers are easy to use and hold a ton of ink which is perfect for journal writing in my favorite Traveler’s Notebook.

A pen with a cap that needs to be screwed on to give it adequate length for writing is frustrating and awkward. My pattern is to write a few sentences, pause, then write a few more. Unscrewing the cap from the back then screwing it on the front then screwing it on the back again just to write another sentence or two was too disruptive. A standard twist cap is interruptive enough. However, an eyedropper would be useful. Attractive as it is, the Mini is headed for the pen drawer though on occasion it might get a peak at daylight just for fun.

Diamine Aurora Borealis is good just like all Diamine inks are though it will have to find another mate. Perhaps one of my Platinum #3776 pens with a clear barrel would be happy to show off an aqua mate. Except when testing ink, I do not fill multiple pens with the same color so the Plat will have to wait until the Wancai Mini is empty. That is taking forever thanks to the bottomless eyedropper. I think the pen fairy must be refilling it when I am not looking. Sigh.

 

Review: A Few Chinese Fountain Pens

Over a year ago, I decided to expand my collection of fude nibs. During the research phase, I ran across the Delike New Moon 2. Nothing in my collection was as fine as the Delike fude appeared to be and I was willing to gamble $20 to find out if this pen would fill that niche. In its favor was a very appealing design and color. Even the size and weight of the barrel are in my preferred range. So I plunked down my money and waited for its arrival.

When the package showed up at my door, I wasted no time and opened it immediately. First impression? Wow, what a beautiful pen! After a thorough rinsing, I filled the converter and was delighted to find that the nib was as good as the rest of the pen though it took several tries to find its best ink mate, Iroshizuku syo-ro.

More than a year later, this dynamic duo has been my daily companion completing nearly 300 pages in my journals. It has been filled dozens of times and is still going strong.

The green cracked ice pen was so enjoyable to use that I bought a blue marble so I could have two colors of ink ready to write. That pen has a tad more feedback, but otherwise is identical in performance. Rumor has it that the fudes are hand ground from Dlike extra-fine nibs and I wondered if the standard nibs were as good. So I bought a burgundy marble extra-fine that was beautiful but had a nib that was a stinker. After several emails with the seller, they decided to send a replacement nib that works perfectly.

Despite being the happy owner of three new pens, I decided to explore a little further and purchased a purple wave Moonman S1 with a fine nib. That pen had flow issues from the beginning that I addressed by widening the slit. I overdid it and the flow is a bit excessive. The build quality is not as good as the Delike New Moon 2 and feels more like a $20 pen that I could lose and not care about the loss.

Recently I noticed that Jet Pens carried the Moonman N6 though their inventory was low. I zoomed in on a photo of the nib and to my surprise the fude had the same imprint as the Delike New Moon. However, the design of the pen was quite different with no metal furnishings, not even a clip. Such a lightweight pen might be handy in my handbag or on days when my grip is uncooperative. So I ordered one along with a bottle of matching ink, Private Reserve Shell Pink, two packets of Tomoe River paper and a corner punch to make the paper look more like stationery when I want to write a letter. The pink pen came with a glass dip nib that I haven’t tried yet. Maybe someday my fascination with the fude will subside and I will swap the nibs. Or not.

Just to see what would happen, the blue fude and the burgundy extra-fine were set aside filled with Colorverse Crystal Planet and Andromeda. After seven weeks of no use, they both wrote instantly though the flow from the EF was a tad light for the first few words. Perhaps I just hit on the ideal combination of pens and inks, but it is still an impressive result.

This is not a full review because the pens have become difficult to find in the last six months and generally my reviews are about currently available products. However, I promised a review of the Delike so here it is. The bottom line is that these pens are inexpensive but the build quality varies. You might hit the jackpot as I did with my first two or you might get a stinker. If the retailer is one you can count on to back up its products like Jet Pens does, your risk is reduced. The Delike is hard to find, but there are a few at Amazon and eBay. At the price point, there are a number of other options including the Pilot Metropolitan. I have three of them and all of the nibs are good but none is a fude. The Delike fits my hand better and has more visual appeal so the Pilots are in the pen drawer. However, I am fickle so that is always subject to change.

More about the New Moon from Rupertarzeian at Early thoughts on the Delike New Moon bent nib fude pen

and More thoughts on the Delike New Moon fude nib fountain pen.

Pen Vibe: The Beginners Guide to Delike Fountain Pens

JanineScribbles: Delike New Moon fountain pens

Fountain Pen Blog: Early thoughts on the Delike New Moon bent nib fude pen.

 

 

Waldmann Xetra Vienna Fountain Pen Review

Luxury Brands of America sent a Waldmann Xetra Vienna Black fountain pen for review quite some time ago and now it’s time to share some thoughts about it.

The Xetra Vienna is a handsome pen that has a layered, lacquer finish and hand engraving that makes every pen unique. The Vienna pattern sparkles against the black finish. To say it stands out on my desk would be an understatement.

With certainty, it is one of the most well-built pens I have ever used. It is both elegant and solid. It is not a large pen, but heavy for its size. Given its length, diameter and balance, I still found it useable even though I prefer pens that are half its weight. It posts securely and has a spring clip that grips snugly.

The broad, iridium tipped, rhodium plated, stainless steel nib is very wide creating lines that are bold and strongly colored. There is no definition as is found with a stub, so it is a true, round nib. Initially it experienced hard starts,  but that has disappeared with use. In fact, after over a month of idleness, it wrote as soon as put to paper though that was with the very well-behaved Waterman Blue-Black ink. Writing more slowly than usual allowed the ink flow to keep up with the broad nib, but I have found that to be helpful with wide nibs in general.

Quite a few retailers carry Waldmann pens, so it should be easy to find this model. It comes in white as well as black, both neutrals so any ink will look fine with it. Admittedly, I am partial to the black and silver that puts my matchy-matchy urge to rest. One of these days I’m going to introduce it to a pale pink or orange and see how the wide nib handles a softly colored ink. It should be very pleasing and appropriate come spring.

The Waldmann Xetra Vienna Black would make a beautiful addition to any collection. Thanks Luxury Brands for sending such a fine pen for review.

Dimensions from Waldmann:

• length closed in mm: 137,00
• diameter in mm: 10,80
• weight in g: 38

Fill Mechanism: Cartridge/Converter Cartridge Type: Standard International

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Waldmann Xetra Vienna Fountain Pen Unboxing.

Review: BENU Scepter Fountain Pens

The BENU Scepter has received a lot of attention and interest, and rightfully so. If you like colorful pens, these can’t be topped and sporting Schmidt nibs, they write well, too.

Fountain Pen Quest has an in depth review including measurements and a performance comparison between the Scepter II and the Grand Scepter X. I would concur except for the nibs.

The Scepter has a #5 medium nib that writes a bit wider than expected with significant flow. The Scepter Grand has a #6 fine nib that is perhaps slightly wide for a fine with just the right amount of flow to make it a pleasure to use. I usually like wider nibs, but in this case, the fine beat the medium for my purposes.

These pens are surprisingly lightweight. The only real differences between them are the patterns and the nib size. The Scepter I is red, blue and gold and the Grand Scepter IX is blue and pink. In my hand, the Grand was a little over-balanced due to the angle required to use the large nib. It is comparable in size to the nibs on the Platinum Century pens that I use daily, so the larger nib doesn’t deter me. It’s that I had to adjust to the balance between the nib and barrel for the best writing experience. The smaller nib on the Scepter just fit my hand from the first mark on the paper. It is such a personal thing that other writers might never even notice. Both nibs had a touch of feedback, but were still quite smooth.

The pens wrote well with Iroshizuku ink, but Noodler’s Eel Blue was a little too free-flowing for the Grand’s medium nib. So like all pens, it’s trial and error to find the best ink, but isn’t that part of the fun?

Given the brilliant colors of BENU pens, it was challenging to find inks that suited them without detracting from the stunning barrels. Colorverse Glistening Stars and Stripes worked well in the Scepter. The Grand eventually got filled with Iroshizuku yama-budo and the Scepter was complemented nicely by asa-gao. Both are deep colors without sheen or other special characteristics. Too little inventory here to find matches of that sort beyond the Colorverse ink.

As for the pen, it is eye-candy of the highest order. There are a number of color combinations available making it easy to find a BENU that is just right for you.

Note that the wide barrel end makes the cap too narrow for posting and that might make the pen a bit short for really large hands. The section is average sized, but I hold pens quite far from the nib so the threads fell under my fingers. With a light grip, this was not a deterrent for short writing sessions. There is no clip, but the hexagonal shape prevents rolling. On my cluttered desk, that is a definite advantage.

The BENU Scepter is an eye-catching pen that writes well and could make a worthy addition to your collection. Or do you already have one? If so, what do you think of it?

Thank you Luxury Brands USA for sending the Scepters and Colorverse ink. I am now firmly spoiled for any other colorful pen. In other words, none need apply.

BENU Tattoo Fountain Pens

Although I haven’t gotten my hands on one, the new Tatoo design from BENU looks intriguing. Luxury Brands of America is bringing it to the U.S. and it’s already getting some buzz. Teoh posted a review yesterday showing each of the eleven tattoo designs quite clearly. What do you think of it?

Sunday Reads: Ink, Pens And Paper

A few on-topic links…

• The Well-Appointed Desk: Eye Candy: Penlux Inks (My fave is Rouge.)
• Fountain Pen Follies: Five Months: an Extended Test of Platinum Carbon Black Pigment Ink
• The Pelikan’s Perch: News: Pelikan Raises U.S. Prices
• The Pencilcase Blog: Review: Scribo Write Here Fountain Pen
• inksharks: review: diamine teal (Mirrors my own experience.)
• Hand Over That Pen: Review: Platinum Izumo (Soratame, Broad Nib)
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Planner Review: Easy Tiger Pocket Planner

From the archives:

Sunday Reads: Junk And Other Stuff

It was an eclectic week…

• Does Your Computer Have a Virus? 10 Signs It Might!
• Quick Fountain Pen Reviews
• The Best Sites to Watch TV on Your Computer Over the Internet
• 7 Weekend Projects for a Better Windows Experience
• GoFundMe Page Established for Horses Rescued from Lilac Fire
• Abandoned Kitten Found At Gas Station Rescued, Turns Out To Be Miracle
• Sketch exercise that makes simple doodles
• Ancient LIVING shark born in 1500s is world’s OLDEST vertebrate and could be 512 years old (Sounds insane to me, but maybe…)
• The Well-Appointed Desk: 12 Days of Inkmas

Got some last minute shopping to do on Amazon? Please consider using the Inkophile portal in the side bar. You can also get search results for Fountain Pens and Fountain Pen Inks via these links. It won’t increase your cost, but it will send a few pennies to my ink and pen fund. Thank you!

A bit of holiday spirit!

#TBT to the massive Christmas tree we built last year. It contained 502 Paperblanks books! #Paperblanks25 https://t.co/m6DENrFtK0—
Paperblanks (@paperblanks) December 14, 2017