A Dozen Distractions From The Pen World And Beyond

An odd mix of things that provided much-appreciated distraction this past week…

• UK Fountain Pens: 10 pen experiences to try before you die
• LED Project Nexen R&D facility, Seoul, South Korea (mesmerizing)
• Gourmet Pens: Oddly Satisfying Writing
• Anderson Pens: Aurora Ink In Colors (55ml bottles and 3ml samples)
• UK Fountain Pens: Franklin-Christoph Model 20 with Masuyama Needlepoint
• Survey to Help Choose Next House Color
• 67 Beverly Park Court
• Anderson Pens: Endless Works journals are made with Tomoe River Paper
• From The Pen Cup: EDCC: My Everyday Covid-19 Carry
• Paris Breakfasts: Paris Outside
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Top Ten Pens (Non-Fountain Pens)
• Cigar Aficionado: A Fine Line: The Joys of Fountain Pens

Five years on, I still love this duo.

Need A Distraction? Pen Links To The Rescue!

Whether you call it quarantine, lockdown or unscheduled stay-cation, fifteen straight days at home has provided too much time to squander in the pursuit of a quick fix, either intellectually or emotionally. Seeking out noteworthy sites has helped me stay out of trouble. Well, for the most part. What keeps you going?

• Jet Pens: Our Top 7 Notebooks for Journaling
• Lamy Safari and a watercolor painting
• JolyPoa and the Carrot
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Fountain Pen Review: Leonardo Momento Zero
• Fountain Pen Love: The Big Fountain Pen Paper Sample Pack
• Kanopy: Stream thousands of films for free
• The Pelikan’s Perch: The Origin Story Behind Pelikan’s Original M800 Tortoiseshell Brown
• 11 Classic Video Games You Can Play Online for Free
• Open Library
• Fountain pen blog: A New Year party conversation

From the archives, inks in rotation April 3, 2012.

It’s Fountain Pen Day!

Fountain Pen Day is a time for celebration, but also a time to appreciate my collection. Four years on, these pens remain favorites. Perhaps I am not as fickle as I thought. Do you have pens that remain in use despite acquiring new ones? Which are your favorites?

 

Sunday Reads: Lotsa Pen Stuff Plus Extra Credit Questions

This post started out as exclusively pen and ink links but the “Extra Credit Questions” piece begged to be included. I couldn’t resist.

• The Pelikan’s Perch: How To Differentiate The Pelikan 400 From The M400: A Guide
• Mountain of Ink: Small Pen Makers
• Learn Something and Pen Ink on a Leaf
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Eye Candy: Lamy Bronze Al-Star & Fountain Pen Ink
• Introducing Inexpens Fountain Pens (Never used one but they do have a lot of nib choices.)
• Fountain Pen Love: Creating and Keeping A Fountain Pen Ink Journal
• Montegrappa Reaches For the Moon – Introducing Moon Landing LE Pens
• 16 Interesting Office Stationery Facts You Can File Under Amazing
• Extra Credit Questions

From the archives

Sunday Reads: Pen Gear And Frolicking Felines

The past week was insane and it wasn’t just the craziness the media covers. Spending time reading about pens and such was a most welcome distraction.

• Leigh Reyes: It’s the pens, not the destination
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Planner Review: MiGoals 2018 Planner
• Fountain Pen Blog: Some early thoughts on the Pelikan M120 special edition, green and black fountain pen.
• The Passionate Penman: J. Herbin Bleu Nuit
• Estellosaurus: Notebook Therapy – Japanese & Korean Stationery Review

https://twitter.com/i/status/1017640868923224064

Sunday Reads: Pens, Inks, And A Pup In Pink

The pup in pink won me over…

• 27 Winners Of The “Not My Job” Awards
• The Pen Addict: Kokuyo Sokuryo-Yacho: The original Japanese field notebook
• Contour drawing with a fountain pen here and here
• The Pen Addict: TWSBI ECO-T Yellow Green Review
• Fountain Pen Inks & Bleach: Five new Herbins
• Bruno Taut: Kubo, Momose, and Iwase
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Fountain Pen Review: Pelikan Souverän M600 Turquoise White (Love this pen!)
• Play it safe: Reboot Your Router

https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/998716425173983232

 

No, I definitely haven't seen your lipstick!! Pic. https://t.co/BNwBkoQAFZ pic.twitter.com/uBD7WgTgY9

— J Evans (@Distinctboxes) May 25, 2018

Pelikan’s European Price Increase

The Pelikan’s Perch has a comprehensive post about the price hike and a theory behind the increase. The comments to the article add to understanding how Pelikan aficionados view the situation.

At its peak, there were a dozen Pelikans in my collection. That number has been cut by half so I remain an enthusiast. My modern M400 has been a solid worker for many years though it needed adjustment before it truly suited my hand. It has a fine nib with no drag and significant flow. There are days when it is the perfect pen though it is never inspiring since I like lines with at least a modicum of character. The fine has none. Round nibs aren’t expected to so that isn’t a fault. Just something that is.

The current offering of just five nib sizes does not appeal to me and I would not spend the going rate for any of them. In the past, Pelikan offered a huge variety of nibs but that has long since ceased to be. That deficiency in addition to the escalating prices makes older and vintage Pels more appealing. Not that you can’t spend a goodly sum on a vintage pen, but why buy new when there are gems on offer that are far more exciting to use.

Platinum and Pelikan Pens

Binder Modified Pelikan Stub

Pelikan M400 with Waterman Florida Blue Ink

Pelikan 400 Tortoiseshell Brown (1951-1954) Quick Fountain Pen Review

Pelikan M400 (Old Style, 1982-1997) Tortoiseshell Brown Quick Fountain Pen Review