In Ink Review

Ink Review: L’Artisan Pastellier Encre Classique Carmine

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
Ink Review: L’Artisan Pastellier Encre Classique Carmine

By now most pen folks have probably heard of Callifolio inks, if only because of the frequent mentions of a certain shade of pink ink: Andrinople. The French company that makes that ink, L’Artisan Pastellier also makes another line of  fountain pen ink called Encre Classique (Classic Ink). There is not a ton of information about the differences between the two ink lines available. I did my best to scout around on the L’Artisan Pastellier website via Google Translate but the general vibe I got was that this operation is probably made up of classic French, more inclined to spend time making their fine art supplies and drinking wine than maintaining a modern online presence with a grand social media strategy and SEO sorted out.

Encre Classique inks are available in about 26 colors and the biggest difference I noticed, other than price ($7 per 30ml bottle vs $12 per bottle for Callifolio inks) and bottle shape (Encre Classique come in a more traditional round bottle to Callifolio’s pie slice triangular bottle) is that the Encre Classique color range feature a wider selection of reds and greens while the Callifolio inks have a wider selection of blues and browns.

If you are looking for a some vivid basics, Encre Classique inks would be a good place to look to build an ink collection as the colors are rich in pigment and well made by a brand I’ve come to trust for their quality in the Callifolio line. I feel pretty confident that the Encre Classique will be equally good. I would place these inks as a competitor to J. Herbin though the inks are a little drier.

Now, to the specific ink I am reviewing. I got a bottle of the Encre Classique Carmin ($7 for 30ml bottle) which is actually one of the more muted colors in the line. Its a burgundy/red wine color which I discovered had a bit of a gold sheen.

I got a bit messy on my Col-o-dex card but the gold sheen is evident in the upper left. Even with a dip pen, there is evidence of shading to a cherry blossom pink or dusty rose color which is kind of nice.

In writing, I used a fine nib Esterbrook which gave a range of burgundy to dusty rose shaded writing. With a wider nib, the writing is definitely darker when more ink is laid down and the color leans towards more of a red wine/burgundy. The water test shows little-to-no water resistance so spilling your drink is definitely a no-no with this ink.

When cross-referencing with other inks in my collection, it appears I have a real penchant for this dark, smoky pink/burgundy color these days. Carmin is very similar to Colorverse Andromeda with a little less sheen and $28 less price tag. Kobe #41 is a little more purply. De Atramentis Apple Blossom is very similar and it comes with a floral scent. And the Krishna Azaella (Floral) is a bit more fuchsia and is a similar price for a smaller bottle.

I’m very glad I gave Encre Classique Carmin a try. I like the color, the ink is well-behaved and reasonably-priced and I am looking forward to trying more in this line in the future.

Tools:

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

In From the Archives, Paper Review

From the Archives: Maruman Mnemosyne N183A Inspiration Notebook A5

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment

Mnemosyne 183

Sometimes, we discover there are great pens that have been around for quite some time that we never got around to reviewing. This is one of them.

Review by Laura Cameron

Several weeks ago Ana and I were discussing what products needed to be tested and reviewed and she handed me a Mnemosyne notebook. I laughed and told her I’d been using one for ages now and she asked me why I’d never reviewed it before. So today I’ll talk about my trusty Maruman Mnemosyne N183A Inspiration Notebook ($10.00 via JetPens)

I bought my Mnemosyne back when I was first getting into fountain pens and I wanted to try a bunch of different kinds of paper. At $10.00, the Mnemosyne is perfectly priced for trying out and I ordered one from JetPens right away.

Mnemosyne 183

The Mnemosyne N183A is an A5 sized notebook (6.5″ x 8.25″/16.25 cm x 20.5 cm) oriented in what I now think of as “landscape” format. The notebook contains 70 pages of 80gsm acid-free paper. The pages are primarily blank, although there is a small line at the top of the page designated as “Title/No.” I usually use this line to document what pen and ink I’m using, but that’s up to you. The notebook is called Mnemosyne after the Greek goddess of memory and this line offers you a way to memorialize and organize your writings.

Mnemosyne 183

The N183A is spiral bound with a dual ring system that allows you to fully open the notebook and fold the front pages behind the back cover. I had no trouble opening and turning the pages, or folding them behind. The pages are also perforated, making this a great notebook if you want to pull your sheets out and use them elsewhere. The notebook itself is very light, weighing in at 8.7 oz/247 g and most of that weight is the paper. The cover is made of a flexible black plastic, and there is a yellow cover sheet at the front of the book. The back of the book is sturdy cardboard.

Although I don’t have information on exactly how this paper is produced, it feels slightly slick and coated when used. It performs very well with a variety of pens and ink and, while there is sometimes a bit of bleed through or ghosting on the back with heavier applications (think ink splotches!), I haven’t had any feathering issues at all. This notebook has been my go to notebook when testing new inks, as you’ll note from most of my ink reviews.

Mnemosyne 183

Mnemosyne 183

Mnemosyne 183

I have tried a variety of notebooks and papers since joining the fountain pen community and while I may be pretty smitten with Tomoe River paper, I really can’t say enough good things about the Mnemosyne. It really is an excellent notebook at an affordable price.

Laura is a tech editor, podcaster, knitter, spinner and recent pen addict. You can learn more about her knitting and tea adventures on her website, The Corner of Knit & Tea and can find her on Instagram as Fluffykira.

In Ink Review

Ink Sneak Peek: Papier Plume Chicago Pen Show 2018 Exclusives Da Blue & Bootlegger’s Sacrament

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Ink Sneak Peek: Papier Plume Chicago Pen Show 2018 Exclusives Da Blue & Bootlegger’s Sacrament

At this weekend’s Chicago Pen Show, Papier Plume is offering two limited edition inks: Bootlegger’s Sacrament and Da Blue. Both inks are limited to 120 bottles of each and will sell for $10 each. Papier Plume will be selling them at their table starting on Friday morning on a first-come, first-serve basis and once these bottles are gone, they are gone!

Bootlegger’s Sacrament is wine colored and based on how Catholic priests were essentially bootleggers during prohibition in an effort to keep sacramental wine for services. Chicago, being populated by Irish, Polish, Mexican and many more of the Catholic faith, it stands to reason there were probably quite a few bootlegging priests. I think our good friend, Father Kyle would have made a good bootlegging priest back in the day.

And Da Blue was inspired by the classic SNL sketch of the most famous Bears fans of them all. But mostly, the deep navy blue of da Bears jerseys. Its a classic blue-black ink that will make you crave a Portillo’s Italian Beef wit extra giardiniera peppers, dipped. Crap, now I’m hungry.

I like the consistency of these colors much better than the House of the Rising Sun color that was released in time for the Atlanta Show. I love the Bootlegger’s Sacrament color and I’m pretty much a softie for anything named after something named for my hometown, even if its just another in a long line of blue-blacks.

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

In Link Love

Link Love: Chicago or Bust

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

Link LoveLaura and I are hitting the road for Chicago this morning so think road tunes, podcasts and crappy truck stop coffee for us. We’ll peel into the parking lot in scenic Hoffman Estates around 5pm tonight in time for dinner with my dad and mom and then drinks at the bar later. Keep the home (Malört) fires burning.

Pens:

Ink:

Paper & Notebooks:

Other Interesting Things:

In Pencil Review

Pencil Review: Koh-i-Noor Diamond Lead Holder Drawing Pencils

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Pencil Review: Koh-i-Noor Diamond Lead Holder Drawing Pencils

Review by Tina Koyama

While woodcased colored pencils are commonplace (a quick search on Amazon resulted in 20,000 products!), colored leads for mechanical pencils or clutches are much harder to come by. They seem like they should be a promising idea – compact, refillable, no need for sharpening – and yet they generally aren’t. I’ve tried several, including the Uni NanoDia (0.5mm), the Pentel Multi 8 (2mm), and a really inexpensive 2mm set from Daiso. (Ana reviewed the Pilot Color Eno, which I haven’t tried.) While some are better than others, they all fall short of their woodcased sisters in critical ways: the leads are more fragile, and the pigment is paler. They are also harder (probably by necessity), which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the first two flaws are usually deal-breakers for me.

With that as my background, I tried the KOH-I-NOOR Mechanical Pencils (Set of 6) ($30) with some skepticism. A set of clutches in six colors, the Diamond pencils (Versatil #5217) come in a tin box that also includes an L&C Hardtmuth eraser.

Although the barrels are narrower than I prefer, the Diamonds have the classic look of mechanical pencils used by engineers. A textured metal knock opens the clutch “claws” and advances the lead.

To refresh my memory of some colored leads I’d used before, I gave the Pentel Multi 8 and Daiso leads a few scribbles – yup, they were as hard and pale as I remembered them. Then I gave the Koh-i-Noors a try, and I was pleasantly surprised by their relative softness. Also surprising was that the hues are more vibrant.

Mind you, these aren’t comparable to woodcased; maybe it’s just not possible to make leads that are as soft and pigmented as medium-quality woodcased colored pencils and still be sturdy enough to be handled and used without a wood support. Still, I found the swatches to be bright enough that they were worth attempting a sketch. On smooth Stillman & Birn Epsilon paper, the colors applied smoothly and blended well in my apple sketch. Compared to woodcased pencils, I would still put the leads on the hard end of the scale, but they are not at all scratchy, so they are pleasant to use.

I don’t have a lead pointer for 2mm leads, but they are easy enough to sharpen with a knife. (Ed. note: In the silver cap is a claw-like lead pointer. Check out TJ’s Wood & Graphite Lead Holders video around the 0:55 marker for how they work.) They didn’t snap on me at all while making this sketch, even with fairly firm pressure.

While I was coloring the apple’s right side, I started to lose some of the highlight from the paper’s reflection, so it gave me an opportunity to try erasing the Koh-i-Noor leads. The Hardtmuth eraser that came with the pencils made a smeary mess, so I stopped immediately and switched to my electric Seed Sun Dolphin (winner of my Eraser Rub-Off), which took the pigment off satisfactorily. Color swatches above show erasures done with the Sun Dolphin. Shown below is an erasing comparison.

Final Impressions

Encouraged by the softness and vividness of the leads, I then had to get over the thin engineer-pencil barrel, which is not my favorite form factor. Then I had my “duh” moment: They are 2mm leads, which fit in the Pentel Multi 8! I immediately swapped out six of the leads in the Pentel with the Koh-i-Noor leads (which are twice as long as the Pentel leads, so they need to be broken in half). Now I have a very compact way to carry a small range of pencil colors (which was my intention in buying the Pentel in the first place). Win! (Koh-i-noor 2mm Colored Leads (Assorted Set of 6) are available on Amazon.)

DISCLAIMER: The item in this review include affiliate links. 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.

In Paper Review, Planners & Organizers

Papers and Planners: Nock Co. Weekly Calendar and DotDash Gigante Note Cards

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment

Review by Laura Cameron

I am the queen of making lists.  It’s an excellent day when I can make a big list and start checking off the items as I go.  So I was thrilled to get to test out Nock Co.’s Weekly Calendar Gigante Note Cards ($8.00 for a pack of 52) and the DotDash Gigante Note Cards ($8.00 for a pack of 25)

Nock Co Cards

First let’s talk about the similarities between the cards.  All cards are:

  • 3.5″ (8.75 cm) x 5.5″ (13.75 cm) in size
  • Printed on 80lb Bright White card stock
  • Lined with Nock Co.’s DotDash grid

First let’s look at the Weekly Calendar cards.  The front side of each Weekly Calendar card is divided into sections for each day of the week.  The cards are undated, so you can date them yourselves, or just start a new card for each week.  The back of the Weekly Calendar cards are printed in a light DotDash grid for overflow notes or to do lists.

Nock Co Cards

I tested a variety of pens (gel ink, rollerball and fountain pen) on my test card and found them all to work well with the paper.  I didn’t have any bleeding or feathering.   I found the cards useful for memorializing appointments and a few key deadlines.   Overall, I found the product itself to be high quality.

Nock Co Cards

However, the issue I ran into use of the cards is that the space wasn’t big enough for my personal use.  I write fairly large, and the 4 grid rows  per day just weren’t enough for me to get everything I needed to do on paper.  I could easily flip the card over and continue on the back, but the system wasn’t perfect for my use.  If you write very small, or just have a few items to note for the day, then this system might work well for you.

The second product I tried were the DotDash note cards.  These are actually double size note cards [7″ (17.5 cm) x 5.5″ (13.75 cm)], but folded in half for ease of use and storage.  Although these cards had less pre-printed structure (they just bear Nock Co.’s signature DotDash grid), I found these worked so much better for my use.  Here I had 4 surfaces to write on, which I could easily divide into sections as needed (home, The Desk, work, blog, etc.) and I could make my lists until I ran out of things to write down.  The drawback to these cards is that they don’t provide the daily scheduling structure that the Weekly Calendar cards do, but then again you could divide these cards into 7 half-card increments (with one leftover!) and take it from there.

Nock Co Cards

Nock Co Cards

Both the Weekly Calendar and DotDash Cards were designed for pocket use.  However, women’s clothing doesn’t often have shirt pockets (or pants pockets… don’t get me started) so I stuck mine in my personal size Chic Sparrow cover along with my other travel notebooks.  This kept the cards safe from any wear around the edges, although I think the card stock would hold up pretty well over the course of any given week.

Nock Co Cards

Overall, I have to say that I think the Nock Co. cards are a good tool if you like a highly portable, small-but-not-to-small, lightweight calendar or list. I think I’d tend towards the DotDash cards for my personal use, but I can see where the Weekly Calendar cards also have their uses!

Laura is a tech editor, podcaster, knitter, spinner and recent pen addict. You can learn more about her knitting and tea adventures on her website, The Corner of Knit & Tea and can find her on Instagram as Fluffykira.

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