The Well-Appointed Desk

Pen Review: Akashiya Sai Thin Line Brush Pens

Review by Tina Koyama

Akashiya Sai ThinLine Brush Pens ($4.95 each or set of 5/$14.25) are, by far, the thinnest brush pens I have ever used. Available in five earthy colors, the pigment-based inks are waterproof, which is still relatively rare among bristle brush pens. After waiting less than a minute, the inks could be washed without a trace of bleeding.

These slender pens look a bit like eye liners (if you use both brush pens and eye liners, avoid unfortunate accidents by storing them far apart in your purse).

I chose Seiboku (a cool gray) and Hiwadairo (a purplish brown) for this review.

Like most brush pens, the extra-fine brush tips are made of a synthetic material that can be reshaped easily to retain the point. With the pen held vertically, the tip can impart a remarkably thin line. Used at an angle, the brush can make a relatively broad stroke, too.

I sketched a tree with the Seiboku color in a Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook to see the range of line variation, and I love the organic look of the strokes this brush delivers. I think calligraphers and letterers would also appreciate the flexibility and thinness of the brush tip.

If I have any quibbles, it is that the slender barrel – about the same as a pencil – is not very comfortable to work with for any length of time. I prefer a chunkier barrel on a brush, especially for the delicate work that this brush invites. Still, it’s a lovely addition to my (admittedly sizable) arsenal of brush 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.

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

In Fountain Pen Review

Nib Review: Grind from NibSmith

Jessica ColesAugust 1, 2019August 1, 20192 Comments

By Jessica Coles

As promised in last week’s review of the Pelikan Violet & White fountain pen, this week’s review is all about the nib I chose for this beautiful pen.

I have previously had experience with both steel (Amythyst M200) Pelikan nibs and gold (Honey and White M400) Pelikan nibs. I have enjoyed the quality of both the steel and gold nibs, however, my writing preference has always pulled towards very fine nibs. Even with the extra fine nib in the Pelikan line-up, I found they were still too broad for my taste.

With the Pelikan Violet & White fountain pen, I decided to look outside of the standard nib offerings from Pelikan into a custom ground nib.

For anyone who has not experienced a custom ground nib, I cannot recommend this option enough. No stock nib (extra fine, fine, medium, broad, etc.) can come close to the feel of a nib that has been ground by an experienced nibmeister.

Typical stock nibs (excluding stub nibs) are tipped with a small ball of iridium. The effect of this ball is to give a smoother writing experience (because of the rounded tip) and to give the nib a longer life (iridium is a very hard material, harder than steel or gold). However, the rounded surface of the nib also gives a wider line. Imagine using a used crayon with a rounded tip. It writes smoothly but puts down a wide line.

Enter a nib meister. Using various tools, a nib meister removes a portion of this tipping material to shape the amount of the nib that will come into contact with the paper while writing. by changing the shape of the nib tip, the width and shape of the written lines also change.

Common nib grinds include narrowing the tip (changing from a fine to an extra extra fine, for instance), a stub nib (shaping the tip of the nib into a rectangle rather than a ball), italic nib (a stub nib with sharp edges for a crisp line) and others. Here is a more detailed explaination.

* From Nibsmith.com

Now for the tough part. Because custom ground nibs are, well, custom, they are not an item that can be ordered from the manufacturer. Some manufacturers offer custom ground nibs for an additional fee with their pens, and nib meisters offer their grinding services on nibs that you already have purchased. Nib meisters, however, often have long waits for their services. Pen shows are the best place to find these services since the nib meister can also make minute changes to make sure the nib is right for your writing style.

Unfortunately, not everyone can attend a pen show. Even at a pen show, nib grinding services are in high demand and waitlists often fill as the show is starting. Dan Smith of Nibsmith offers an interesting way around this problem by offering a variety of custom nib grinds on any pen sold in his store. These are also offered at his table at pen shows where he grinds nibs to order.

The first time I tried a custom ground nib, my fountain pen experience reached a new level – a needlepoint nib that was finer than any I had ever tried previously. Stub nibs that created a thick line (but with clean edges) in one direction and a fine line in another direction! My writing looked completely different (much nicer in my opinion).

This is the reason I decided to obtain my Pelikan pen from Dan. I requested a cursive italic nib grind on a medium nib (this means the tip of the nib is made into a rectangle with somewhat sharp edges) and I asked Dan to make the cursive italic a bit on the crisp side (to make the edges a bit sharper).

These small changes in the nib (only a small amount of material is removed from the nib but in a very specific way) make a world of difference. The vertical lines are thick, the horizontal lines are thin and the edges of all lines are well defined and not rounded. I am amazed at the difference in the appearance of my line and each time I write, I smile at the feel and look of my writing.

If you are able to attend a pen show, Dan offers each of his nib grinds on sample pens to help with selecting the nib grind best for your taste. If you can’t get to a show, you can still experience these next-level nibs on pens purchased from Dan just by ordering online!

Paper: Rhodia Blank #19 A4 ($8.99)
Pen: Pelikan M600 Violet & White ($440-$535)
Nib: Custom ground medium cursive italic by Dan Smith (No additional cost)
Ink: Rohrer & Klingner Cassia (50ml for $11.95)

Disclaimer: Some of the items in this review were provided on loan for the purpose of this review. Other items in this review were purchased by me. For more information, visit our About page.

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Monteverde Rodeo Drive Iridescent (Medium Nib)

AnaJuly 31, 2019July 28, 20194 Comments

The Monteverde Rodeo Drive Iridescent Fountain Pen ($85) is a pretty, opalescent white with silver tone hardware.

Like all Monteverde pens, it ships in the evergreen box with padded, ivory vinyl interior. The packaging is functional. I wish it was more recyclable or reusable but it protects the pen so it accomplishes its task.

The end of the pen is rounded and silver tone. The cap has a rounded top with the logo and lines etched into the opal material. The clip is silver tone. All the pearlescent parts have a matte finish which is a nice contrast to the shiny chrome appearance of the sliver hardware. The cap band is silver tone and is etched with “Monteverde” in their standard architect-style font.

The grip section is also chrome silver. There is a severe step between the opalescent body and the threads and grip section that I found noticeable when writing. The threads were also noticeably sharp.

The nib is etched with the Monteverde logo and was a medium steel nib.

The pen is heavier than I anticipated weighing 28gms unposted and 39gms posted or capped and filled. The Rodeo Drive is heavier than a lot of other pens since the barrel is constructed over a brass base. Posting it makes the Rodeo Drive much too top heavy for me.

The pen is 6.25″ capped and 5.125″ unposted. The pen will post and is 6.25″ long posted. Compared to other pens, left to right: Lamy AL-Star, Pilot Metropolitan, Aurora Style, Pelikan M605, the Monteverde Rodeo Drive and Faber-Castell Grip 2011.

Posted, these pens are similar in size, color and/or price. Obviously, the M605 is considerably more expensive and the Lamy and Pilot Metropolitan are considerably less expensive but provide a comparative size range.

I forgot to actually write down the length and weight information while doing my writing sample but I’ve included it above in the actual type review. In writing, the nib felt smooth overall but I did have occasional skipping issues. When I posted the cap, however, the skipping issues were minimized so I think someone who wrote with a heavier hand may not experience the same issues. Whether that is indicative of a tine misalignment, I am not certain. I would have to inspect it more closely. I do still love using Monteverde California Teal though.

Overall, the pen has a few quirks that makes it a bit difficult to recommend at this particular price point. While it’s a very pretty color, the harsh step down on the grip section and the finicky nib give my pause to recommend it without caveats. I also find the amount of logos and branding on Monteverde pens to feel a bit excessive. The nib itself has the brand on it twice.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 6mm guide sheet
Pens: Monteverde Rodeo Drive Iridescent Fountain Pen with Medium Nib ($85)
Ink: Monteverde California Teal ($13.50 for 90ml bottle)

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

In Link Love

Link Love: Notebookish

AnaJuly 31, 2019July 29, 2019

As I am madly packing for the DC Supershow, this week seems to be about notebooks. I love having a good notebook for a pen show so that I can try pens from friends and inks, both purchased and from the ink table. There are some interesting articles in the Notebooks & Paper section listed below as well as the Arteza Sketchbook in Art & Creativity section.

If you can’t find just the right notebook, you can always grab a Col-o-ring Oversize ($15 each) at the Vanness Pen Shop table at the show, starting Friday morning. We will have a small stash of them available there for show attendees! You can still order one directly from our shop if you are not attending the show.

Even if you don’t buy an Oversize, stop by the table and say hello or come by the bar in the evening and show us what notebook you are using.

Planners: Where are they now?

Laura CameronJuly 30, 2019July 26, 20192 Comments

Review by Laura Cameron

At this point we’re more than halfway through the year and we’re on the precipice of ordering 2020 planners, so I thought I’d take a quick look back at the planners and organizers I’ve reviewed in the last year or so and which ones are working for me, and which ones I haven’t used. I should say that even if I haven’t used a planner it doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it (I’ll be specific about that if it’s the case), but in general it just means that the planner didn’t work for my routines.

Let’s start with the ones I can’t live without.

Desk Calendar Weekly Planner from Ruff House Art (review)

Far and away the best planner I found in the last 12 months in terms of what works for me is the Desk Calendar Weekly Planner from Ruff House Art. The calendar is 6.5″ tall by 12″ wide, and contains 54 weekly pages that are undated – you can add your own dates and use as you wish. I find that this is the perfect calendar to keep at my desk right next to my keyboard. I can jot down notes during calls, make my daily work to do lists and flip over the current page and write on the back of it if I need more space. The paper isn’t 100% fountain pen friendly, but since the pages are only intended for 1-side use, I use whatever fountain pen I have handy and don’t worry about any bleed through or ghosting. I only have a few pages left, so I just placed an order for another one. If that isn’t a sure sign this is the right one for me, I don’t know what is!

Rhodia Goalbook (review)

The Rhodia Goalbook isn’t a planner per se, but it’s perfect for a list maker like me. I keep my events on my desk calendar, but when I need to make a to do list that is a huge brain dump, Rhodia is my jam. The Goalbook measures 5.8″ by 8.3″ (14.8 cm x 21 cm) and contains 120 dot-grid numbered pages and lives in my purse (you can see it’s a bit worse for wear). I don’t leave home without it and I’m constantly adding things to it that I need to remember (as I get older I find things fall out of my head more, eh?). I can’t guarantee this one will work for everyone, but this one is my favorite way to keep track of things.

Now let’s look on the books I reviewed that didn’t quite work for me.

The Knitting Planner 2019 (review)

I was super excited to see this entrant to the planner world, a planner geared towards knitters. I did fill out the first section of the book and tried to use it, but I found it just didn’t work well for me. First, I didn’t need to track my daily work to-dos because I already had the desk calendar, so this felt like a duplication of effort for me. I did really like the 2-page full month spreads for a month-at-a-glance view, but it seemed like a big book to carry around for just those. I had also intended to do more knitting design this year, so I thought the project pages would be a big help. However, the way the year worked out I have mostly been doing sample knitting for other designers, so I haven’t had a chance to make use of those features. Overall, I still think it’s a great book, but it just didn’t fit my daily planning needs.

Saint Belford Curation Diary 2019 (review)

When I received the Saint Belford Curation Diary 2019 I was super impressed with the production quality and details that had been included. I have a lot of anxiety, and I was hoping that a diary devoted to self care and practicing good habits would be a good fit for me. I think I didn’t use this diary much for a few reasons. First it’s hard cover book and a bit heavy and bulky to throw in my purse each day (6.25″ x 8.5″ (16cm x 21.5cm) and approximately 1lb, 4oz. (520g)). Again, I did like the organization of the book which includes both monthly and weekly spreads, but I found it duplicative of some of the other planners I was using, so I didn’t keep up with this book. In 2020, I might take a closer look at this book and see what elements of self-care I could add to the systems that already work for me. I still think it’s a gorgeous book and might work for a lot of people.

MYO String Tie Planner and Midori A5 Color Paper Notebooks (review)

This one falls into the category of not quite a planner, but a system I tried to employ this year. Ana gave me a lovely MYO String Tie Planner from MochiThings at the end of last year and I attempted to fill it with beautiful notebooks (Midori A5 Color Paper Notebooks) to replace my haphazard brain dump lists in the Rhodia Goalbook. I had hoped to maybe segment my lists (i.e. work, home, craft) into different colored notebooks in an attempt to get more organized. This one failed miserably. I found that I stuffed the planner cover full of notebooks which made it too big and bulky to carry with me everywhere, so I never really used it to its full advantage. Given that this one is undated though, I still hope to work these beautiful materials into my 2020.

Compoco Airplane View Journal (review)

This one also falls into the category of not a planner, but I added it to the stack of things I meant to use this year but haven’t. This beautiful journal from Compoco is perfect for documenting your travels to exotic places. I meant to take it with me to Ireland when I went earlier this summer, but I ended up voting against it because it was a running trip and we were hauling gear everywhere. I was too exhausted at the end of each day to think about writing and there weren’t as many ticket stubs and items that I wanted to keep in memory. But I’m saving it for the day I take another trip.

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 Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Hippo Noto x Herbert Pen Co Pygmy Invasion Pen

AnaJuly 29, 2019July 28, 2019

Hippo Noto created some special add-ons and collaborations for the pre-order period for the latest phase of their Hippo Noto notebooks. Along with new notebooks in A5 an B6 size and a new Robert Oster ink color, there is also a limited edition fountain pen collaboration with the Herbert Pen Company: the Hippo Noto x Herbert Pen Co Pygmy Invasion Pen ($345). These pens are an unusual combination of sparkly colors inspired by the colors of the Hippo Noto notebooks. There are just 32 of these pens available.

The material used to create these pens is Diamond Cast which means the glitter effect is the result of actual diamond particles in the resin. So, not only is the color a combination of vivid fuchsia, turquoise and dark grey, but it’s full of diamonds.

(The Pygmy Invasion pen was hanging out with my original Hippo Noto A6.)

It’s a bit ridiculous to post this pen as it’s 6.75″ long posted. If your hands are very big, then posting it may be useful. For me, it makes the pen back heavy. Unposted, it’s 5.125″ and capped it’s 5.875″ which is manageable.

Here’s a size comparison photo: from left to right: Sailor ProGear Slim, Parker 51, Opus 88 Koloro , Leonardo Momento Zero, Hippo x Herbert Pen Co. Pygmy Invasion, Platinum 3776, Lamy AL-Star, Sailor Pro Color (different model).

The Pygmy Invasion is notably larger in diameter and length than many of the pens in my collection. It’s even bigger than the Leonardo which I thought would be comparable in size.

As you can see in the photo above, when posted, the only other pen that is similar in length is the Lamy AL-Star which is similarly weighted.

The Pygmy Invasion weighs 13gms uncapped and 22gms capped or posted and filled. So, even though it’s a big pen, it’s not particularly heavy.

The model I tested had a 1.5mm stub nib on it. I don’t normally use a nib this broad but it was kind of fun to experiment with something this broad. The pen takes a standard #6 Jowo nib so you can easily switch out the nib for something that might be customized by your favorite nib doctor.

Some of the 32 pens available have already been claimed so if this is a pen you want, I wouldn’t hesitate. I’ll be returning this pen to Herbert Pen Company at the DC Supershow so if you want to see it in person, I recommend swinging by his table to see it.

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

In Ask The Desk

Ask the Desk: Danish Time Manager & Water Erasable Fountain Pen Ink

AnaJuly 28, 2019July 28, 20192 Comments

I have had several people ask me about the Danish Time Manager planners recently. It’s been brought to my attention that they will no longer going to be manufacturing their inserts for their A5-sized planners.

Hello For 30 years I have used an A5 Time Manager shipped from Denmark for my diary. I am devastated that they cease trading at the end of 2019. I am looking for A5 diary pages to replace the the Time Manager ones. I have looked at Filofax and whilst they do an A5 version the holes are wrongly spaced for my A5 binder. However, the holes of the Filofax smaller size are spaced correctly. It would be a compromise for me to switch from A5 to this smaller size. I would like to know if there is a company which produces A5 pages with 4 hole ring binder where the holes are spaced like this : Hole 1.5 inches Hole 2 inches Hole 1.5 inches Hole 0————————0————————————0———————0 (Not to scale) Can you help? Julie

There was also a comment in one of the planner posts (I don’t remember which one. My apologies!) about this as well. So, my best advice is:

Agendio inserts

My best advice would be to try Agendio customizable planner inserts. The advantage of Agendio inserts is that you can order them without the holes punched and then take the pages to a local copy shop and have them punch the holes for you. Just remember to save a page from your old inserts as a guide for placement and size.

Most copy shops will punch holes for a few dollars/pounds/euros and then your inserts should fit perfectly. If you would prefer to punch the holes yourself, there are hole punches available on Amazon with adjustable hole placement. This Officemate Adjustable Hole Punch (90070) can be adjusted from 2-7 holes for about $19.

Alternately, you can print your own pages. Etsy is filled with printable options for planner pages or you can download free inserts from Philofaxy and then punch the holes yourself or take them to a copy shop and have them punch them.

Hashini asks:

Do you know of any water erasable fountain pen inks that will just wipe off, if i tried to wipe them off with a wet cloth. Something like the Pliot Frixon pens. The reason is, i have been wanting to buy one of the reusable notebooks. I write a lot and am very environment conscious. Using as much plastic as the Frixon pens for this purpose seems a waste. I want to make it more sustainable and use a fountain pen in conjuncture with either the Rocketbook Everlast notebook or the Elfinbook which is made of stone paper.

Oh, this seems like such a great idea on so many levels but then there are also so many ways that make it not as great as it sounds.

Where to start? First, stone paper is not as environmentally friendly as it may sound. Some folks have also had issues with potential damage to fountain pen nibs, particularly gold nibs because the surface of the stone paper can act as a “smoothing stone” and gold nibs are generally softer than steel nibs. Long term use of stone paper can continue to “smooth” your nib in ways that you may not like.

As for the Pilot Frixion pens, it is possible to purchase a pen body and just replace the refill which will cut down on the overall waste. An example would be the standard 0.7mm gel refill which, according to JetPens site can be used in 200 different products found on their site alone.

The Rocketbook Everlast books use polyester paper (so it’s still synthetic material) that you can write on and wipe off like a dry erase board. However, this will allow you to combine it with a pen like the Pilot Frixion or potentially (and I say potentially because we have not tested this out) or something like the Noodler’s Watererase ink in a refillable marker like a Platinum Preppy Highlighter (which accepts Platinum cartridges or converters) that could be filled with the Noodler’s Watererase/Waterease ink. On traditional paper Noodler’s Watererase/Waterease is listed as permanent so results on Everlast paper could be mixed..

In the end, all of this seems like a lot of work to find a “paperless” solution. Depending on how long you plan on keeping your notebooks, keeping paper may be an easier task than maintaining digital storage solutions (when factoring in cloud storage fees, changing formats, etc). Especially since paper can be recycled and a good pen with refillable refills, cartridges or bottled ink limits overall environmental impact.

Some paper (like Tomoe River) is made from bamboo, other is made from sugar cane or cotton. All of these are renewable sources and not likely to create environmental issue. If purchasing paper made from wood pulp, be sure it’s FSC-certified which means it’s sustainably grown and harvested.

Tools:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things: