Review by Laura Cameron I recently went on a bit of an ink buying spree. Rather than grab the newest, hottest colors, I went back and added a few inks I missed along the way. The first of those is Diamine 150th Blue Velvet (40mL for $16.00). Blue Velvet is a beautifully rich cornflower blue.…
Showing all posts in 2019
Fountain Pen Review: Esterbrook Phaeton
The second release from the new, improved relaunch of Esterbrook is the Phaeton 300R (MSRP $85, street price $68). While the Estie was designed to be a modern fountain pen that could also use the original Esterbrook screw-in nib units, the Phaeton is a retro-styled fountain pen with a semi-hooded nib reminiscent of mid-century pen…
Brush Pen Review: Pentel Ultra Fine Artist Brush Sign Pen
Review by Tina Koyama I’ve seen a few brush pens in my day, and most with bristles have the same average-size tip. Pentel’s Ultra Fine Artist Brush Sign Pen ($3.65) is a rare exception. (I chose black to test, but it comes in 12 colors.) On the outside, it has a basic plastic body typical…
Ink Review: Sailor Studio 273
By Jessica Coles I fell in love with Sailor Studio 273 as soon as I saw a photo of the ink on two different types of paper – the ink looked like an entirely different color when only the paper was changed. This is another ink that I have placed in my “Inks that have really…
Link Love: Spiders & Tortillons
Several months ago, I was supposed to receive a Montblanc Rouge et Noir Metamorphosis Fountain Pen from Appelboom but FedEx lost the package and has spent the last few months vehemently passing the buck. They told me they sent it back to Europe, they told Appelboom they tried to contact me and when I didn’t…
Ink Review: Monteverde Coral (LA Pen Show 2019)
Review by Laura Cameron I wasn’t able to attend this year’s LA Pen Show, but my favorite pen show attendee brought me back a bottle of the special show ink, Monteverde’s Coral. It turns out that Monteverde’s version of Coral is a very orange ink, leaning slightly red. When I compared it to other ink…
Pen (Pre)Review: Spoke Pen
I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an early edition of the Spoke Pen (starting at $65 — 5 days left), a collaborative project recently launched on Kickstarter between Brian Conti of Spoke Design and Brad Dowdy of The Pen Addict. Y’all have heard of Brad, right? Of course you have. Probably have…