The Well-Appointed Desk

Ana and I reviewed the BENU Fountain Pens last fall. Today we have a chance for three lucky winners to take home a BENU of their own.

BENU Pen Giveaway

From top to bottom the pens available are: the Bird of Paradise from the Essence collection ($200, B nib), Nebula from the Supreme Collection ($200, F nib) and Sublime 025 from the Supreme Collection ($185, F nib).

BENU Pen Giveaway

These pens have all the sparkle and shine you could want in their aventurescent resin with rhodium and gold plated brass trims. They are lightweight, and have standard Schmidt nibs.

BENU Pen Giveaway

Some of the pens above have been inked up and tested for review, but all pens are in like new condition and will be delivered to you clean and ready to fill with your favorite inks!

BENU Pen Giveaway

TO ENTER: Tell us which BENU fountain pen makes your heart sing? Please include which of the BENU models shown above you’d like to win. Only one of each model is available so in drawing a winner, we will select the first name and they will win the pen they have chosen. The second name selected will win the pen they have chosen, assuming it is not the same model selected by winner #1. If they picked the same model, we will select another name until we have selected someone who has chosen a different pen… and so on, until we have given away all three pens. Make sense?

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, April 13 , 2018. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday, April 16. 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 – just email you if you win. If winner does not respond within 7 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US residents and APO/FPO only please.

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 Bird of Paradise and the Sublime 025 were generously sent to us for giveaway The Gentleman Stationer. The Nebula was part of the BENU Indiegogo campaign. Please see the About page for more details.

In Pen Review

Pen Review: PaperMate Flair UF (vs. Sharpie Art Pen)

AnaApril 5, 2018July 6, 20184 Comments

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.

There are some pens in the virtual pen cup that are tried-and-true or that just get overlooked at the office supply stores. The are so ubiquitous that they are forgotten, invisible or completely ignored. The PaperMate Flair is one of them. I decided it was time to bring them back into the open. Partially because I kept seeing them in new colors and because one of my favorite people, Mike Rohde of Sketchnotes fame, is a big fan.

I discovered that the PaperMate Flair has been steadily releasing new color options as well as making the UF (the ultra extra fine) more readily available as well as the more commonly recognizable medium tip edition. The UF is identitfiable by the silver plastic body compared to the medium tip which has a unified cap and body color. Overall, the PaperMate Flair pens are lightweight with a metal clip and the classic two-heart embossed logo mark on the clip. The look of the pen is a slim, cigar shape with blunt ends that is so classic a design as to be universally familiar.

I purchased the Paper Mate Flair UF 8-Color Set which came is a plastic sleeve and included a standard array of colors as well as a set of Paper Mate Flair UF 6-Color Limited Edition Candy Pop Set. I removed the Candy Pop set from the packaging and immediately forgot the name of the set and the colors so please ignore my writing sample names, I was totally guessing.

First thing to note is that the “Candy Pop” colors aren’t the least bit candy bright hence my inability to remember that they were supposed to be candy-inspired. The original color range are far brighter. In fact, the “Candy Pop” colors aren’t even as interesting as the coveted color tones of the Marvy LePens so I wouldn’t waste the money on them. The original 8-color range in both the medium and UF are far more vivid.

The medium tip PaperMate Flair pens are traditional felt tip pens and are prone to wearing down quickly but are reasonably priced. The UF tips are the pointed tips that are more prone to getting bent from pressure like the Sharpie Pen, Sakura Pigma Micron and other micro-tipped “felt-tipped” pens.

Tested on the Papier Tigre blank A6 notebook.

On the reverse of the paper, no showthrough.

And since I mentioned the Sharpie pen, I thought I’d include a comparison of the PaperMate Flair UF ($11.82) and the Sharpie Pen “art pen” set. ($17.07). The Sharpie Pen set comes in a hard plastic case that can be folded into an easel stand if you are so inclined (pun intended). What have they done to the Sharpie Pen to make it the “art pen” rather than the standard “pen”? I have no idea. Even going to the official Sharpie web site does not include the new pen packaging or any clarification though they list the “art pen” and show the original “pen” so Sharpie may be rebranding the capped “pen” as the “art pen” overall. Regardless, the tip looks the same in the fine-tipped version to the Sharpie Pen we are all familiar with.

Overall, the plastic carrying case is quite durable and if that’s something you like, its a plus in the Sharpie column. The plastic case that the PaperMate pens come in is pretty flimsy and will probably split and degrade in a couple of months of regular use.

When compared to the PaperMate Flair UF, the Sharpie Pen tip actually looks slightly more bulbous though the housing seems a bit more solid and able to withstand the rigors of day-to-day use.

When compared side-by-side, the first six colors are fairly comparable in both sets. The black, blue, red, orange, green and pink are all pretty much similar. The PaperMate Flair green is a bit darker, as is the red and pink but overall the colors are comparable. The color sets diverge with the last two colors, however. With the PaperMater Flair set, the last two colors are purple and turquoise. With the Sharpie Art Pen set, the last two colors are brown and yellow. For highlights and coloring the yellow is a nice addition but its probably too light for legibility purposes.

While I prefer the color mix in the the PaperMate Flair set, the make-or-break point for many will be the water solubility and/or the price point. The PaperMate Flair set is $5 less expensive on Amazon while the Sharpie set is pretty much waterproof.

DISCLAIMER: The items 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 news

Giveaway Winner: Wancher Luxury Leather Pen Collector’s Case

AnaApril 4, 2018Leave a comment

Random number generator was put to work today and picked the winner for the Wancher Luxury Leather Pen Collector’s Case and picked…..

Congrats to Kay! Clearly 6 was your lucky number today.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway this week. Laura and I plan to keep it going this Friday too… so check back for the next giveaway!

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Papier Tigre 3 Pocket Notebooks Set

AnaApril 4, 2018April 4, 20183 Comments

The Papier Tigre A6 3-Pack of Notebooks ($15.33USD) is simply packaged with a black bulldog clip that holds the paper wrap onto the books and is then reusable by the books’ owner. Handy! The set includes three A6-sized (105 x 148 mm or 4.1 x 5.8 in) notebooks, each printed with graphic illustrations in bold colors. Inside, there is a lined notebook on ivory paper in one, dot grid on a light grey paper in another and blank paper on a natural white stock in the third.

All three books have a nice, heavyweight textured, cover weight cover and the paper on the insides feel substantial but smooth.

Since each book had different stock, I decided I needed to test all the papers in case they were different. I went ahead and started with my fountain pens. I figured I needed to know immediately if this paper could withstand the “sharks” first. And it did. There was no feathering or bleed. So, then it was time to try the rest of the arsenal… And the paper even held up to my regular brush pen abuse.

I flipped the paper over and there was no showthrough either. Not even the brush pen. WOOT! On to the next book.

Lined paper survived the shark attack and all the other pens too!

There’s a little evidence of the brush pens from the reverse but it was more halo effect than showthrough. Another success.

Finally… the blank book was used to start my testing for my PaperMate Flair review that will run in a few days. The image above is closer to the actual color of the paper. It’s very warm and creamy.

Again, from the reverse, there is no real showthrough and no bleed at all.

I claim these pocket notebooks as a roaring success. The only reason I would be reticent to recommend them is if you weren’t inclined to want a mixed pack of lined, dot grid and blank paper. Or if the slightly uncommon size (by pocket notebook standards) was an issue for you. Otherwise, I find these notebooks to be a stellar option. I like that the paper colors differ from notebook to notebook and the covers are graphic but non-specific. The minimal-yet-useful “packaging” is an added bonus and the paper is top notch.

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

In Link Love

Link Love: Atlanta Countdown Starts Today!

AnaApril 4, 2018April 4, 20183 Comments

Pencil Review: Uni Dermatograph Oil-Based Pencils

AnaApril 2, 2018March 30, 20186 Comments

Review by Tina Koyama

The only grease pencils I knew about were the white and black ones I’d seen in hardware stores. Recently a few of my urban sketcher friends shared sketches they had done with some kind of bright, opaque material on toned paper, and when I asked what they were using, the answer was Uni Dermatograph oil-based pencils. When I found them at JetPens, I decided I needed to try a few for myself. And unlike the ones I’d seen in hardware stores, they come in 12 colors.

Like traditional grease pencils, Dermatograph pencils are intended for use on non-porous surfaces. According to JetPens, they are “perfect for writing on glass, metal, plastics, ceramic, vinyl and cellophane, and marks can be removed from any non-porous smooth surface.”

I tried writing on a glass jar and its metal lid with mixed results, mainly due to the colors I chose. Black showed up best; the lighter colors were harder to see. The writing easily wiped off clean from both surfaces by rubbing with a tissue.

I didn’t have plans to use Dermatograph pencils on jars, though; I got them to sketch with, and I especially like them on toned paper. Waxy like crayons, they are very opaque. When I layered colors (as on the right side of the pear), later applications could obscure colors underneath, or the colors could be blended by using a lighter application on top. I sketched in a black Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook, and the white, yellow and green really pop.

Sharpening these pencils is a bit of a trick. Brand new, they come with a blunt end. After the exposed core is used up, you pull the thread to tear some of the paper wrapper and peel a few coils off, exposing more of the core. But you don’t get a point that way.

I wanted to get a finer point on the yellow pencil, so I peeled some wrapper off and then took a knife to it. I’m used to knife-sharpening graphite pencils, so I bore down with the blade with too much pressure, and the soft tip broke off. Once I got the hang of the softness, it was relatively easy to get a good point on it, but it’s important to think of it as a crayon, not a pencil.

Now that I think of them as crayons for grownups, I’m having lots of fun with Dermatograph pencils. The range of colors makes them more versatile in the sketchbook as well as at the work bench, and I especially like how opaque they are on dark colored papers.

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

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.

In news

Giveaway: Wancher Luxury Leather Pen Collector’s Case

AnaMarch 30, 2018December 16, 2018192 Comments

This week, I thought I’d give you a chance to win the Wancher Luxury Leather Pen Collector’s Case. The exterior is navy leather and the inside is ivory. It holds thirteen pens and closes with a magnetic snap.

The case will hold larger pens with clips and there is room in the pocket to hold a slim A5 notepad as well if you’re so inclined.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment here on the blog and tell me if you think thirteen is an auspicious number or an unlucky number. Or what your lucky number is and why. Only entries who play by the rules will be officially entered in the drawing.

FINE PRINT: You are entering to win the Wancher Luxury LeatherPen Collector’s Case pictured above that was used in the review here. There may be slight signs of handling but will be shipping with original packaging, dust bag and has been handled with the utmost care. All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Tuesday, April 3, 2018. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Wednesday. 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.

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