In Link Love

Link Love: Hot Wheels & Chair Socks (You can’t resist clicking through now, can you?)

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

Hot Wheels MINI JCW Cooper

Welcome to Wednesday Link Love brought to you by the inside of my local MINI dealership. Don’t worry, I am not throwing my beloved Fat Charlie (2009 MINI Cooper in BRG) out but I thought you all would be amused to see the Hot Wheels JCW MINI Cooper S sitting in the lobby. I’m actually waiting for Charlie to get his long-overdue service. The pandemic and my financial situation have both improved so that taking him to get all his bits checked over is actually possible. Should I have them add this spoiler and air intake onto Charlie? NAW! He just needs his fluids topped off.

In pen-related news, we are chock-a-block with paper posts this week and Joe over at Gentleman Stationer asks the hot-button question “Has the market for ‘limited editions’ jumped the shark?” which is a topic ripe for discussion. What’s your opinion?

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Cat Paw chair sock
TABBY Cat Paw Chairs Socks $8 (via Wonder Fair Home Shopping Network)

Other Interesting Things:

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In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Platinum Prefounte

Author Laura CameronPosted on 2 Comments

When I started my fountain pen journey, one of the first pens I loved was the Pilot Metropolitan (this was back in the day when they were the entry model and $15-18 a pop). From there I bought a TWSBI Eco and a Retro 51. While I still love what I consider inexpensive fountain pens (Kaweco Sport anyone?) I admit that I sort of skipped right over one of the entry classes of fountain pens and never went back to try them.

I do love Japanese nibs, so I when Ana had a spare Platinum  Prefounte ($10) in Night Sea with a medium (0.5) nib, I wanted to give it a try. The Prefounte comes basically ready to rock and roll with the pen and an ink cartridge for the price of around $11.00.

The body of the Prefounte is made of a transparent resin and comes in several muted colors. The pen has a chrome clip, and a stainless steel nib. The cap snaps shut and is made with “Slip and Seal” technology that claims it will keep your pen inked for up to a year. The cartridges are proprietary, which is the only downside I can see (that you can’t just grab one of the random cartridges you have rolling around at home) and has a small steel ball in it. While I gather this makes ink flow easier, it does make a little clicking noise in there if you shake the pen, so beware.

The pen is a nice length at 5 3/8″/13.7 cm capped, and 4 3/4″/12 cm uncapped. It comes in at a super light weight – 13g (capped and with the cartridge inserted).

In general, the writing experience was only ok for me. In the first sample, it took a bit to start, but then seemed ok. I took a break to take some photos and came back, and the nib was a bit dry and had a hard start. I got it going again, but every so often it would skip a bit. So I hate to say it, but compared to my TWSBI Ecos that I can pick up after weeks and write with right away, it was a little disappointing. (ETA I picked it up again this morning just before hitting post after it sat overnight and it wrote perfectly on the first try, YMMV?)

However, I would take my review with a grain of salt. Other pens that would fit in the same category as the Prefounte are the Kaweco Perkeo and the Pilot Kakuno about which I do hear lots of positive feedback. Unfortunately, I don’t own either, which is to my (and your) detriment when I write this review.

I did take a quick shot of the Prefounte with the closest competitors in my collection: (L to R) Kaweco Frosted Sport, Pilot Metropolitan, Platinum Prefounte, Scrikss 419. In terms of preference I would use the Pilot Metro or the Frosted Sport over the Prefounte.

Even though the Prefounte wasn’t my favorite, I do like that there are fountain pens available at every budget level. I think that makes them more accessible to everyone one, and also an easier entry pen to share with your kids or someone you’d like to entice over to the hobby (or should I say way of life?).

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

Giveaway: Galen Leather Writer’s Medic Bag (Crazy Horse Forest Green)

Author AnaPosted on 206 Comments
Giveaway: Galen Leather Writer’s Medic Bag (Crazy Horse Forest Green)

In honor of Memorial Day weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate with a giveaway.

This is one of the original prototype Galen Leather Writer’s Media Bag in Crazy Horse Forest Green (retail price $219). The gang at Galen gave this to me at the DC Pen Show a couple years ago. I have been holding on to it for the perfect opportunity and THIS IS IT.

Galen Leather Writer's Medic Bag

The Writer’s Medic Bag is designed for modern pen folk but is based on vintage medic messenger bags. It was the last design Zeynep created and on Memorial Day weekend, it seemed appropriate to remember not just Zeynep but all the people who gave so much of themselves to the pen community.

Galen Leather Writer's Medic Bag

Galen Leather Writer's Medic Bag

The bag features lots of loops for pens, slots for cards and ephemera and the magnetic opening makes it easy to see all the items in your bag when you arrive at your destination.

This bag is all-leather in my favorite Crazy Horse Forest Green. The leather is pre-distressed so there are marks and scratches and tonal variations built into the leather. I love this look and it means you don’t have to worry about scratching the leather — it’s already been done. Rubbing it with a soft cloth or even the pad of you hand will diminish any big scratches easily.

Galen Leather Writer's Medic Bag

The bag includes a clippable keychain and the Galen signature leather tag.

Galen Leather Writer's Medic Bag

Galen Leather Writer's Medic Bag

The strap is long enough to carry the bag crossbody and there is a stud mechanism to adjust the strap length.

This is a prototype and may vary slightly from the final production version. The bag has not been used but has hung around the studio as eye candy so may be sprinkled with a cat hair or two and a dollop of dust. Will be packed well but does not include original Galen packaging.

To enter to win this Galen Leather Writer’s Media Bag in Crazy Horse Forest Green, follow the instructions below.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling us someone in the pen community who means a lot to you. It could be someone you know personally or just someone who makes awesome online content. (Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay?) One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Wednesday. ONE winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this post were provided free of charge by Galen Leather for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

Link Love: Patently Awesome

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

What are the odds that a post about a book about patents would show the page featuring the 1930s patent drawing from Parker Pens? On my planet, always. What I wouldn’t have expected is that the patent was filed by Kenneth Parker. Did he actually design the pen or did someone on his staff? I wonder if there’s more info in the book about it? Do you wonder about this kind of stuff too?

Patented: 1,000 Design Patents by Thomas Rinaldi (Phaidon). Fountain Pen, Kenneth S. Parker, for the Parker Pen Company, (1929/1930) (left); Cash Register, Bernie M. Shipley, for the National Cash Register Company (1929/1930) (right)

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Lego “Everyone is Awesome” set

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In news

News: Field Notes 50th Quarterly Edition!

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment

We can hardly believe it but Field Notes is celebrating the release of it’s 50th quarterly edition this month! Though 50 is traditionally the “golden anniversary,” Field notes opted instead for bright red covers with silver ink, flyleaf colors reminiscent of past editions, and a special die cut.

For our 50th edition we wanted to go back to basics, but as usual we couldn’t leave well enough alone,” said Jim Coudal, cofounder of Field Notes. “So while it looks simple, we’ve incorporated little nods to techniques and materials we’ve featured in the past, and then we created the ‘Subscriber Anniversary Desk Ledger’ to go along with the 3-Packs, and that, I think, is the most complicated, and most fun, thing that we’ve ever made.

Each three-pack of notebooks is filled with silver graph grid paper (48 pages per notebook).

There’s also a bonus for annual Field Notes subscribers (including brand new ones): a retrospective book, the “Anniversary Desk Ledger,” filled with historical details, trivia and wisecracks.

One of the things we love most about the Field Notes editions is the  video that they put together for each edition, and this “behind the scenes of a short video” is no exception:

Congratulations to Field Notes – here’s to another 50!

This limited edition set is part of Field Notes’ Quarterly Edition Series, which is available individually or as a year-long subscription that includes two packs of each quarterly release, as well as frequent bonus or exclusive items. Annual subscriptions are $110 including shipping in the U.S. (For all other countries there is a one-time $20 shipping charge that covers the full year.)

In Pen Review

Pen Review: Sharpie S-Gel and Roller Pens

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Pen Review: Sharpie S-Gel and Roller Pens

When I saw that Sharpie had expanded their pen line-up to include gel and rollerball pens, I couldn’t resist giving this Big Box brand a quick look. I have always been a fan of the Sharpie Pen (the felt tip/fiber tip version) and, of course, the ubiquitous alcohol-based Sharpie Markers for labelling boxes and other big jobs. As Big Box pens go, Sharpie is a pretty safe option so I was really hoping that their new S-Gel and Roller pens would also be a bright spot in the Big Box pen world.

The Sharpie S-Gel ($1.75, available in 0.5mm, 0.7mm and 1.0mm in black, blue and red) features a knock mechanism, plastic clip and conical point. The S-Gel pen also features a hard rubber grip section and was probably the only thing I wasn’t thrilled about. The etched grooves and hard rubber surface pressed into my hands noticeably. However, the writing experience was excellent. The ink was smooth flowing and consistent, even for this janky lefty.

I got a 0.5mm red as that was all that was in stock when I ordered and the color was a clean, readable red.

Sharpie S-Gel 05 nib close up

The Sharpie Roller 05 ($2.25, available in black, blue and red and also in 0.7mm) features a snap cap with a metal clip and a needletip point. The ink was super smooth and a rich dark black. The pen reminded me of the gateway pen of my youth — the Pilot V5 — it was a delight. The V5 had a tendency to collect paper lint but in the writing I did, the Sharpie Roller seemed a bit smoother and maybe less likely to get clogged with paper fibers and gummy on the end. Longer testing will have to occur to determine for sure.

Sharpie Roller 05 pen nib close-up

So far, the Sharpie Roller is a delightful writing experience and I’ll be the first to tell you that rollerballs and I DO NOT GET ALONG. I am a lefty who tends to overwrite which causes me to push the tip and that will inevitably choke a pen feed. But not this rollerball. The longer I wrote, the smoother it felt. The smooth barrel did not have any bumpy grip section either so — surprise, surprise! — I think I like the Sharpie Roller a little more the S-Gel. I know… stunned me too.

Sharpie S-Gel and Roller 05 pens
(I took thee photos of the writing sample before I actually did my water proof test. Oops!)

 

As expected, the smooth gel ink in the Sharpie S-Gel is not waterproof or even particularly water resistant but the ink in the Sharpie Roller is highly water resistant when dry.

If you’ve been looking for a new Big Box pen to grab or add to your office stationery cupboard order, I highly recommend the Sharpie S-Gel and Roller. They will not make you groan when you have to pick up a pen off the conference room table or add to your sharing pen cup. But someone else might walk away with them — and that’s okay. You may have started someone down the path to better pens.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.