Fountain Pen Review: Kaweco Special FP

Fountain Pen Review: Kaweco Special FP

There aren’t a lot of fountain pens on the market, within a certain price range (under $200) that, if I like them, I haven’t purchased at some point. That said, when I saw the new Kaweco Special Fountain Pen in Collectors Edition Blue ($97.50), I was reminded that I have never purchased this particular pen despite having always liked the look and feel of the Kaweco Special line. While I decided not to buy the Collector’s Edition Blue for reasons that will become apparent as you read this review, I did decide to purchase the Kaweco Special FP in Matte Black ($92.75) with a fine nib.

The Packaging:

I don’t know how much other people care about how their pens are packaged. It’s something that, after I accumulated 20 or 50 or 100 pens, has lead me to continually thinking about the reusability, recyclability and just general waste in packaging. Specifically in regards to Kaweco boxes, I am inclined to like their packaging. There is a paperboard oversleeve (totally recyclable like a cereal box) that covers an embossed, tin box.

Inside the box is a molded plastic liner that holds the pen and accessories.

The plastic liner can be removed and the tin can be reused for keeping your treasures. Useful. Of course, since its metal, it can also be recycled. Yeah! This makes the Kaweco packaging some of my favorites of all. While packaging won’t make or break anyone’s pen buying decision, it might affect a decision to make a second or third pen purchase.

The Pen:

The Kaweco Special FP is a soft hexagonal shape. So, even though it doesn’t have a clip, the hex shape keeps it from rolling away. The grip section is round but very short. Luckily, the pen is not very widde so there is not a big step up to the barrel making it easy to move your hand up or down the body of the pen as needed for gripping. The ridges of the threads are a bit crisp but they are close together so they feel more grippy like knurling than sharp or painful. They are noticeable if you stop and think about it.

The length of this pen allows for a full length converter or a cartridge-and-a-spare making this a great office option. Kaweco pens take standard international converters and cartridges which adds to the ease of use in an office environment. Who doesn’t have a drawer of cartridges?

On the cap end is an engraved Kaweco badge in silver. It’s the only silver besides the nib on the pen. (Psst! Hey, Kaweco, black nib, black badge…. Blackout Edition. You’re welcome.)

There are threads at the end of the pen that allow cap to be posted securely.

At the point where the threads meet, there is a black rubber ring to help keep the threads from untwisting unexpectedly. (pardon the dust, when I zoom in this close, it seems inevitable.)

The nib is a standard steel nib but is a smooth writer. Kaweco’s EF and F nibs seem to be excellent out of the box.

The most surprising thing about the Kaweco Special is how well it writes when posted. It makes it a really long pen but it is light and well-weighted. I did end gripping the pen a bit further back than other pens but the slim shape makes that an easy, comfortable transition. The cap screws onto to the end so using it posted is definitely something to do for longer writing sessions and not an activity you’d want to do for every single line entry in an on-going to-do list.

The Comparison:

When compared to other pens, the Kaweco Special is slimmer than many recognizable pens while being similar in length. In this line-up, all the pens are almost the same length when capped. From left to right, Lamy AL-Star, Caran d’Ache 849, Kaweco Special FP, YStudio, YStudio Resin, Faber-Castell Grip, Diplomat Traveler and TWSBI ECO. Of the four hex-shaped pens, the Kaweco Special is the slimmest. I don’t have a caliper but it is closer in width to a thick drawing pencil (like a pastel pencil) than the others. The Kaweco Special is the only one with a screw cap. The other three hex-shaped pens are snap caps.

When uncapped/posted, it’s easy to see a much wider variation in lengths. The Caran d’Ache reaches record lengths when posted.The Kaweco Special is shorter than the AL-Star when posted but not by a huge margin. It’s comparable, when posted to the TWSBI, Traveler and Grip. The Kaweco Special’s closest competitor, the YStudio in brass doesn’t post at all. (The YStudio Resin cap does post. My mistake when photographing it here. It’s not a tight fit, but it will sit on the end of the pen).

The overall weight of the pen is 20gms posted/capped and 15gms uncapped with a full length converter. The length is 5.5″ (142mm) capped, 4.875″ (122mm) uncapped and 6.6875″ (170mm) posted.

The Kaweco Special Line-Up:

I told you it would become apparent why I chose the Matte Black over the Collector’s Edition Blue. As you can see from the photo above, over the years, I’ve acquired the Kaweco Special Nib Holder ($40.50) and the  Kaweco Special 0.7mm Pencil ($44.25), both in Matte Black. I have the earliest version of the Nib Holder which does not have a removable tail end. The white streak is evidence of me trying to wrench the end off as demonstrated by a fellow pen friend who has one of the more recent models which does allow for the end to be removed for easier storage or to keep nibs in the body.

So, while the Collector’s Edition Blue is lovely, I needed to complete my triumvirate. (Why yes, I am a member of the Black Pen Society, thanks for asking!)

Tools:

The ink used in this review is the new Papier Plume Le Héron Bleu. It’s created as a fundraiser for the Coalition to Restore and Protect the Louisiana Wetlands. Each bottle sells for $12. The ink will go live later this week. Follow Papier Plume on Instagram to find out when it is available.


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


In the writing of this review, Ollie required petting:

My job is very demanding.

Notebook Review: Geistnotes Pencilog

Notebook Review: Geistnotes Pencilog

Review by Tina Koyama

Every stationery-related collection goes through these stages: At first you have a few, or several, or even a dozen, and they look beautiful displayed on your desktop. Very soon, you have too many to keep on your desk at one time, so a few select ones stay there, and the rest go into a storage bin or drawer. Not too long after, they fill numerous storage bins, drawers, closets, entire rooms. You know you’re in the latter stage when someone asks if you have this one, and you can’t recall, so you have to go into the bins, drawers, closets and rooms to see if you do.

If you are in that last stage with your pencil collection, this product won’t help you (I’m there with mine, and I use an Excel spreadsheet). But if you’re still in either of the first two stages, the Geistnotes Pencilog (2/$10) is just what you need to manage your beginning and intermediate collection.

2 Pencilogs unwrapped

Handmade by Justin Ryan Books for stationery purveyor Notegeist, the Pencilog is a Field Notes-sized log book for tracking pencils as you acquire, use and collect them. They come two to a pack, and the covers have the same cute pattern of stationery goods in two colorways. (Incidentally, I was not familiar with Justin Ryan until now. He makes a variety of log books for interests and hobbies, such as beer, wine, coffee, pizza and even dreams. Notegeist carries several.)

The handy pocket size is intended to make it easy to carry the log with you while shopping so you can refer to your growing collection before adding to it. (Admit it: You’ve inadvertently bought the same thing twice because you forgot you already had one.) The paper weight and type are not indicated, but it feels like 60 pound with a tiny bit more tooth than the typical smooth Finch that Field Notes favors. It feels good with graphite.

3 Pencilog front covers

4 back closeup

The inside front cover offers suggestions for using the log, such as pencil details to record, where it was acquired, and where it is stored (I might have to add this to my Excel). The first two pages serve as an index to the log entries.

5 inside front cover

The log entry pages form the meat of the book. You could track 56 pencils in one book, two entries per page. The pages are not numbered, but the lower corners indicate a place to number them yourself.

6 log pages

7 log entry closeup

The log ends with a two-page Want List. The inside back cover offers pencil trivia (14 billion pencils are made each year!) and suggestions for pencil use.

8 want list and inside back cover

Although I’ve seen a few log books for tracking foods and beverages (apparently tacos are important to log), the Pencilog is the first I’ve seen of its kind. Alas, my collection is long past the stage where I could benefit from it, but I think this would make an excellent gift, along with a few choice pencils, for someone who already has a few but won’t admit it’s a “collection.” (We all know that stage of denial, right?)


tina-koyamaTina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

Ink Review: Sailor Virginia and Sailor Illinois

Ink Review: Sailor Virginia and Sailor Illinois

By Jessica Coles 

Sailor started releasing a new lineup – the 50 States collection – early in 2019 with California and Colorado inks. Recently New York and Texas followed. I was surprised when Virginia and Illinois joined the set so quickly with only about 2 months between releases. Thank you to Dromgoole’s for sending over both Virginia and Illinois so we could show the newest two states.

As with each ink in the Sailor 50 States collection, Virginia comes with a brief description of the reason behind the color choice. Virginia’s state bird, the cardinal, is a welcome sight to see, especially when standing out from the snow in the winter. The red is so striking that the Catholic church named Cardinals after the bird rather than the other way around!

The colorful backdrop of ink splatters on the labels is a wonderful touch for continuity through the States collection.

The sheen in Virginia can be seen as soon as the bottle is open with the first look at this orangish red ink.

I was quite happy seeing Virginia is so close to one of my favorite inks – Bungubox Ink of Naotora, although it is closest to Diamine Communication Breakdown but has less sheen. Brown undertones are brought out with the brownish-gold sheen.

Illinois is a brilliant blue that was inspired by the Chicago skyline. Even the drawing of the skyline makes me want to head out and catch a glimpse!

Again, the theme of the ink splatter background is a great touch with this series.

When first opened, there seemed to be a slight sheen on the bottle threads, but more understated than most of the previous States inks. Even just in the bottle cap the blue is brilliant blue rather than showing up as a dark navy.

Sailor Illinois is very close to Pure Pens Saltie (which is only sold from Pure Pens in England) and slightly darker than Robert Oster Flaming Blue. I was actually surprised to find more sheen in Illinois than in the Flaming Blue. Illinois’ sheen is very subtle, however. But it does show in normal writing – enough that it brings a special quality to your writing but not so much as to be obvious at first glance.

In writing, Sailor Virginia was on the dry side while Illinois was just barely on the dry side of normal.

The difference in the amount of sheen between Illinois and Virginia is easy to see when the two are beside one another. I did find I needed to be a bit careful with Illinois when it was drying. Even when I thought it was dry, it smeared a bit. After it had dried for an hour, however, this didn’t happen. I was didn’t have the same issue with Virginia, but I do recommend extra drying time for any sheening ink. I always keep a piece of blotter paper in the back of my notebook to ensure no ink transfers to the opposing page when I close it. If I can’t leave the book open after writing, I slip the blotter paper in front of the most recent page. It also doubles as a quick bookmark.

The price for the Sailor 50 States collection inks is $25 for 20mL at Dromgoole’s, making the inks rather expensive even for Sailor. But I do believe that a state ink from a special state is a special item to add to your ink collection or a wonderful gift idea for a fountain pen enthusiast. Do you have a favorite state that you want to see as the next ink from Sailor?


Tools:

DISCLAIMER:  Some items in this review were provided free for the purpose of this review. Except for the Col-o-ring which was provided to me by a wonderful person who pays me to write blogs by keeping me supplied with Col-o-rings. Please see the About page for more details.

Link Love: Election Hangover

Link Love: Election Hangover

Regardless of where you live, you probably have an actual or emotional hangover from the US presidential election. As of this post, the results are not conclusive and the results are too close to call. As a result, the stress and strain of this year continues to linger.  The fact that the US election results are so close suggest that the US is very divided politically. This division means many families are disagreeing about politics or can’t even be in the same room.

My wish for the future is to find more things that unite us and to be more understanding when we disagree. We all want security, happiness, good health, and the option for choices in our lives. How we get there is often why we disagree. I want to be optimistic and say that it’s possible to be compassionate and understanding. If we start small… being kind to our neighbors, smiling and saying thank you to anyone who provides a service (delivery drivers, servers, cashiers, etc) and putting our frustration into constructive action (volunteer with an organization that matters to you, donate to charities, write letters to your political leaders or heck, run for office!) we can make the world a better place.

Pen people are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. We argue about modern vs. vintage, different nib styles and grinds, paper types and inks (“Who needs all those colors?!?”) but we can all agree we love pens (or pencils or stationery)… so it’s a start!

Friday is Fountain Pen Day. If nothing else, it gives us a reason to keep going… in the meantime, we have lots of pen and ink reviews, ghost cakes, video recommendations from Modern Daily Knitting, and some shameless self-promotion for both our shop (FYI: more notepads will be available Friday or Saturday. We sold out of our first print run!) and for Laura’s new knitting pattern.

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:


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Ollie under covers

Now, you can go back to hiding under your covers. Ollie approves.

Fountain Pen Day 2020 + Giveaway

Fountain Pen Day 2020 + Giveaway

Now that Halloween is over we can get down to celebrating the important holidays, namely Fountain Pen Day!

Fountain Pen Day was started in 2012 by Cary (we call him Mr. Fountain Pen Day) and is a celebration taking place on the first Friday in November each year to embrace, promote, and share the use of fountain pens. Basically, if you love fountain pens, Fountain Pen Day is the day to show it!

This year, Fountain Pen Day takes place this Friday, November 6th. There are a number of ways you can celebrate fountain pen day.

  1. USE your pens and inks (and papers, and other stationery tools)!
  2. SHARE your love of pens with your friends. Since we can’t safely recommend getting together in person to celebrate, try hanging out virtually, or share your thoughts and photos of your favorite pens on Instagram with the hashtag #fountainpenday2020 (or look at past years with the hashtag #fountainpenday).
  3. SUPPORT your favorite vendors! This year has been hard for them, and with pen shows still in limbo due to coronavirus, they’d love your business. Stock up on holiday gifts for your loved ones, or treat yourself to something special. And the Fountain Pen Day website has a WHOLE PAGE FULL of participating stores who may even have discounts codes or special offers!
  4. USE the code FPD2020 for free shipping on orders over $25 on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7 in the Well-Appointed Desk shop. We’ve never offered free shipping before so don’t miss it! (Fountain Pen Day swag will be added to every order while supplies last. Offer valid in the Big Cartel shop only.)
  5. ENTER the Giveaway below! We’ll draw a winner on Friday, November 6th to celebrate!

THE GIVEAWAY

Mr. Fountain Pen Day sent us a variety of goodies to celebrate the day, and we’ve added some items from The Well-Appointed Desk shop to create a fun package for Fountain Pen Day. You’re entering to win:

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us how you’re celebrating Fountain Pen Day. 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 midnight CST on Thursday, November 5, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Friday. 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 7 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 review were provided free of charge for the purposes of this giveaway. Please see the About page for more details.

What’s Up with the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen?

What’s Up with the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen?

I often recommend the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen to artists, designers, illustrators — anyone who wants to draw with a fountain pen. First, it’s a relatively inexpensive fountain pen — usually under $20. Next, it ships with Platinum Carbon Black ink which is permanent and perfect for mixed media uses. Finally, the tip is very fine, comparable to the creative favorite, the Sakura  Pigma Micron and other of its brethern (the fine fiber-tipped “technical” pens).

Recently, I’ve had trouble finding the classic EF Platinum Carbon Desk Pen through my favorite online retailers. I reached out to a couple contacts and received some conflicting information. On one hand, I was told that Platinum was no longer listing the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen. I looked on the Platinum web site for Japan and it appears that this is the case. The other info I received from the US distributor for Platinum suggested that the pen was still available from some online retailers but they did not clarify if the Carbon Desk Pen was being discontinued, rebranded or anything else.

I let the issue drop for a couple months (pandemic distraction and all) but when I started teaching, I really wanted my students to have access to this pen so my hunt started again.

Platinum Carbon Desk Pen

In my renewed search, I found three variations: the EF, the M and the Desk Pen (no Carbon ink and a snap cap and clip). The EF and M (approx. $15) I got at Wonder Fair and the Desk Pen ($13.41) was purchased on Amazon. All three were sold in blister packs with one cartridge. Previously, I owned a 14K ($24) version from Amazon which I swapped the housing with a friend and cut it down to fit into a pencil case.

Platinum Carbon Desk Pen

Above is a close-up of the nibs to show the difference in the housing and nib shapes. You can see there is a little bit of fiber stuck to the EF nib (something that can happen often because this nib is so fine). Amazingly, the 14K is even finer if you can believe it. Because it’s gold, there is a little give to it but its not flexible.

I have mentioned in the past that the Platinum Carbon Pen is not the prettiest pen in the world. The cap is hideous. The nib and its ability to handle permanent ink well and compete with the technical pens that end up in the trash when the tips wear down or the ink is used up make these worth their weight. And seriously, Sakura Pigma Microns are not going to win any beauty contests so I can look past their ugly. In fact, over time, I have learned to love their weird looks and their funny DEVO caps.

They are definitely function over form. But you can use Carbon Black cartridges or converters and they last so much longer than technical pens. The tips do not wear down and the variety between these styles provide the same range as several of the widths of technical pens.

Platinum Carbon Desk Pen

On different paper, the Carbon ink will be more or less waterproof. I’ve done other waterproof ink tests but Platinum Carbon Black remains my favorite. Either way, it’s clearly water resistant. Depending on how much ink coverage you have, there might be a little transference but for fountain pen ink, it’s the most permanent I’ve found while still being easy to clean out of your pen.

Platinum Carbon Desk Pen

So, while I’m having trouble finding the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen in the usual places, don’t give up. Until I know where Platinum has hidden these, do pen equivalent of crate digging and hunt down some of these gems. They are worth it. And if you know what has happened to them in the Platinum line up, please let me know.

Tools:


DISCLAIMER: This post includes affiliate links and links to items we received for free for review. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.