In Link Love

Link Love: More Pens, Less Cones.

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Lucy is out of her cone!

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In feature, Pen Review

Review: Sheaffer Star Wars Rollerball Pen and Pencil Case

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Review: Sheaffer Star Wars Rollerball Pen and Pencil Case

If you’ve ever encountered me at the airport or a pen show, you may have uncovered my other obsession besides pens… I’m a Star Wars nerd, so much so that my suitcase is R2-D2. So, when I got upset last year about the Cross Star Wars pens, it wasn’t an act. I can go off about them at a moment’s notice and I often do. You can ask my poor office mate. He has had to listen to me vent about them more times than he  care to count.  And I go on and on…

I believe that licensed products (that’s fancy talk for branded merchandise for a given franchise) is a good thing. There’s a lot of fans with a lot of money to spend and they want to spend it on good merchandise like the almost prop-quality time turners from Harry Potter, or the Montegrappa Game of Thrones pens. They look fabulous and to other fans, they know what they are. To non-fans, they just look cool.

And then there’s all the other licensed products out there. The stuff that just has “Gryffindor” printed on it and sells for $29 so your parents can buy you something at Christmas because they know you love Harry Potter. That’s kind of how I feel about the Sheaffer Star Wars products — with a caveat…

First… Can I point out the packaging says that Sheaffer is a “Pen & Art Supply Co”? This is new. I will leave the rest of the description of the company up to you, dear reader, to interpret how you wish.

I purchased my rollerball pen ($19.99) and pencil case ($14.99) at my local big box store for full retail price. I couldn’t bring myself to buy the full set of Darth Vader and Yoda pens or the fountain pen versions. The rollerball pen came with a standard black medium point which, for me, writes like a fire hose.

The pen barrel is plastic and screen printed with graphics so the longevity of the designs are iffy at best. The clip and end caps are metal but not very high quality so they are also likely to bend or chip. The grip section has a rubber coating which also has a shelf life. Though the pen does have a replaceable ink cartridge so you will be able to get more than one refill’s use out of it, this is definitely not meant to be a “forever” pen.

The cap does post and it doesn’t make it too heavy or too backward weighted. The pen, capped weighs 16gms.

Capped, its 5″. Uncapped, it’s just shy of 5″ and posted it’s 6.75″ long.

You can see that the rubber grip picks up dust, lint and hair and any moisture or oil will alter the coating over time.

Can you see why I don’t like rollerballs? It makes my handwriting look atrocious! The stock black cartridge is a dark matte black though so if that’s your cup of tea, you’ll be pleased. Me? It makes me write like a grade schooler tweaked out on too much Halloween candy.

As for the pencil case, there are two inner slit pockets to hold cards or help separate erasers, cartridges or other smaller items from your larger pens and tools. The overall exterior material is a lightweight nylon, lined with black nylon. It does not feel particularly heavy duty. The case measures 9.75″ x 5.25″ so its big enough to hold water brushes, unsharpened Blackwings, paint markers and other longer-than-usual tools.

There is branding inside and outside of the bag as well for both Disney and Star Wars on plasticky tags. Its a bit overkill since the logo is printed on the bag itself too. But No one asked me.

My last note is that while the graphics on the pen are crisp screen printed designs, the graphics on the bag are loose watercolor designs so the set does not really go together aesthetically. I feel the same way about the Darth Vader and Yoda designs too. The whole line feels very hodge podge. And to be honest, the pen should be closer to $10 and the pencil case closer to $8 really  though I suspect that the pricing was anticipation for big box markdowns.

Bob is going to field test the durability of the graphics on the pen by tumbling it in his pocket, bag and shop apron for a few weeks to see how long it survives in real world wear-and-tear in the print shop. I’ll post “after” photos in a few weeks.

DISCLAIMER: These items were purchased with my own money. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

New Products: Inkello Letterpress

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
New Products: Inkello Letterpress

A couple weeks ago I got a chance to purchase a whole bunch of products from Inkello Letterpress in Lawrence, KS. And now I can share my finds with you. Christine M. Schneider is an illustrator and designer running creating beautiful paper goods in her print shop when she’s not illustrating children’s books and art directing a medical magazine. Truly multi-talented!

First up is the Matchbox Calendar ($8.50) which is slightly larger than regular business cards Its 3.75″ x 2.5″ with a flip cover like a matchbook, with silver metallic ink on the cover plus black and each page inside is  perforated. The booklet might stand up on your desk for a bit or each page could be perf-ed out and pinned up. It could be carried in your bag for quick reference or the thick cardstock pages could be pasted into a journal or notebook for reference. The letterpress calendars are classically typeset and the price is just right. I couldn’t pass it up.

Next was the the Rainbow Monogram Jotter ($6). It is 3-7/8″ tall x 2-1/2″ wide with 20 sheets of heavy cardstock paper (4 sheets in 5 colors: red, orange, yellow, lime and bright blue). The jotter comes with a small golf-sized pencil which I immediately misplaced. I purchased the jotter at a print show and the only monogram left was the letter “P” in the rainbow paper. I could have waited and ordered one with a more appropriate monogram but patience is not a strong suit. P is for Pen. P is for Pencil. P is for Patience of which I have none.

Inkello also offers the Monogram Jotter with plain white paper if you prefer something more subdued.

If you want plain paper, there is also the Gingham Notepad ($5.50) with string-and-button closure and a more traditional paper stock rather than cardstock. This notepad is a bit larger at 4.75″ x 3″ with 64 pages.

I put this paper to the test and it came out with flying colors. There was no show through or bleed through in my quick writing tests. Not bad for a pocket jot pad!

What got my super excited was the Inkello Weekly Planner ($20).  Its an undated weekly planner in a compact A5-ish (5.5″x8.5″) format. Unfortunately, its not yet listed in her shop.

The Planner has a Sunday start and features same size boxes for all seven days. At the bottom of the right hand page is a space for tasks for the week. That’s it. 52 weeks of efficient pages.

Then in the back are monthly calendars for 2018-2021 and a few pages for notes and that’s it. No excess bulk or things you don’t need. The covers are double weight card stock.

The info sheet on the back is lightly tipped on with (what we in the industry call) booger glue so it can be easily removed so you can a clean back cover. The only graphics on the back is the Inkello logo stamped in letterpress so you remember where you purchased the planner.

I used one of the notes pages for pen tests and had fairly good results. The paper is smooth with very little tooth. The only show through I got was with the brush pen and that was more a result of how heavy and dark it was rather than that the ink bled.

The last item I purchased was the “One-of-a-Kind Calendar” ($22). It is a Draw-Your-Own Hanging Calendar. At 9.5″ x 6.75″, it is perforated down the middle and made from 100% cotton paper.

One half of the calendar has a blank letterpress calendar on it and the other half is blank so that you can draw, paint, collage or doodle on it.

Being able to separate the artwork from the calendar portion would allow the artwork to be saved, mailed or framed later. This could be a great way to involve your kids in making art, or a way to have a calendar serve double duty — calendar now, mail art later?

The One-of-a-Kind Calendar is not yet listed on the Inkello web site but if you are interested in purchasing it, email their Contact page (listed on the bottom of their site) and let them know you were interested in it.

There are lots of other great products available at Inkello and I had a hard time not buying ALL her products. I hope you enjoy browsing as much as I did.

 

In feature, Tools

Review: Rickshaw Pen Sleeves

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Review: Rickshaw Pen Sleeves

I had a total fan girl moment at the San Francisco Pen Show when I saw Mark Dwight of Rickshaw Bags walking the show floor. I wanted to run up to him and tell him how I’d followed his company since he first launched it in 2007 and I had a very early Moleskine notebook cover and several Zero messenger bags but I chickened out as I saw other people approach him. The moment had passed. I sighed. Sometimes, my shyness and general fear of making an idiot of myself gets in the way of telling people what an impact they make on my life.

I proceeded to berate myself all day for not being braver and going over to talk to Mark. Then on Sunday, fate worked in my favor and Mark came back to the show so I took a chance and worked up my courage to approach him. I told him what I had been too shy to say days before and he was kind, polite and as humble as you can imagine. And surprise! Like the rest of the pen community, he was generous too! He asked if I’d like to try out some of his new pen sleeves and give him some honest feedback. Mark pulled a Solo Pen Sleeve ($12) out of his giant messenger bag in the perfect shade of neon pink to match my Caran d’Ache 849 Fountain Pen.

The Solo Pen Sleeves are available in an array of colors, with matching plush lining. They are also available in a few different configurations like short, skinny, long and variations of these to fit some different pen styles. I’ve put several other pens into the regular sized Pen Sleeve with no issues, even if the sleeve was a bit long for it and then just pinched the bottom to get it out like a pen Go-Gurt. Since the sleeve is plush lined, even a snug fit isn’t worrisome so I’ve put slightly larger diameter pens in the sleeve as well even if they weren’t as perfect a color match. However, the 849 pretty much lives in the sleeve. It’s the perfect pocket companion for me.

A few weeks after the show, I received a lovely package in the mail with the WALDO Field Case Model 3($30) in the matching neon pink to test. This case has three pen pockets under the flap plus a larger pocket to hold a pocket notebook and business card sleeve. There are two other configurations of this case available where the front pocket stitching is rearranged to hold one pen and a business card sleeve or divided in half to allow pens and/or tools to be stored in the front pockets.

This particular case features the Cordura outer fabric which is pretty stiff. Over time, I am sure it will soften up but it will take some work to do so. Laura ordered the FPD WALDO Field Case ($30) which is made from polyester canvas which is a bit softer fabric and makes it a bit easier to form it to your pens, pocket, hand, etc.

My biggest issue with the WALDO case is the Velcro closure. I am often in meetings where the “RIP!” sound would be unwelcome and distracting. Even the sound of my obnoxious MacBookPro keyboard gets me the hairy eyeball. Hello, quiet-as-a-mouse paper and pen! So, being the person with the “RIP!” Velcro pen case is just not the way to go. I keep looking at the case trying to figure out how to re-engineer it. String-and-button closure? Snap? Just a real button? Anything but “RIP!” Velcro!!

(Side note: Totally amused to discover just how many pink fountain pens I actually own!)

Because inside of it are features I really like. The pen pockets are plush lined like the pen sleeve which I love. I also like being able to carry a few pens and a pocket notebook. I also like the plastic business card sleeve in the back pocket to hold cards, receipts and paper ephemera. It makes it easy to slide things into the pocket and then get it back out.

And finally, the included in the package was the Efficiency Supply Dots+Plus notebook ($5). It’s an interesting combination of reticle and dot grid. The pages are numbered and have arrows at the bottom. At the top is space for a date and a topic or title.

I tested an array of different pens to see how it handled fountain pen, rollerball, felt tip and other writing tools. The paper definitely soaked up fountain pen ink giving my line quality a mushy look.  Finer nibs and rollerball performed better and, of course, pencil was a champ.

From the reverse, there was definite bleed through with the wider fountain pens and a little show through with the others. But the form factor is very unique so if you are more inclined to carry rollerballs or mechanical pencils in your EDC, it might be worth grabbing a Dots+Plus in your next order from Rickshaw to try one out.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Rickshaw Bags for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: For the love of bound books

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

Post of the week:

  • Beatrix (for the win!) and her excellent drawings of donuts and ice cream in her video review of the Baron Fig School Set.

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In feature

Preview: Baron Fig School Set

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Preview: Baron Fig School Set

The latest limited release from Baron Fig in their Vanguard and Archer lines were meant to be together. They are the Archer Number 2 Pencil set ($15 for a dozen pencils) and the Vanguard Composition Notebook Set ($14 for 3-pack of notebooks), known together as the School Set ($26 for the set, 10% discount for purchasing them together).

The Number 2 pencils come in Baron Fig’s signature paperboard tube and, to date, are my favorite pencils that they’ve done. Many have already commented on the distinctly John Deere color combination of yellow and green but the classic yellow paint and the green dipped end cap is also reminiscent of Ticonderogas sans the pink eraser. This is probably the smoothest, best writing Archer pencil yet. It looks good and writes well so if you’ve held off getting a set of Archer pencils, this is the edition to try.

The Composition notebooks harken back to the classic school notebooks with three covers in the sponge-speckled designs in black, yellow and green with a faux tape edge. Inside are lined paper with blue lines and the double lined margin. I would have loved if one would have been graph, one lined and one blank but I can’t have everything.

Inside the back cover is an array of handy, dandy conversions and info just like old school composition notebooks.

The Composition notebooks do what I was hoping the COMP notebooks on Kickstarter would do which is to provide a better quality composition notebook experience. I hope that Baron Fig keeps the black Vanguards as part of their regular line-up in a variety of rulings because I think they would be quite popular. I also think that the improvements to the Archer Number 2 bodes well for the future of their pencil pursuits.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Baron Fig for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Nuuna Journal

Author Laura CameronPosted on 1 Comment

This year was my first year participating in Inktober and I wanted a new notebook to use, so I was thrilled when Ana offered me a Nuuna notebook for review.

Nuuna notebooks are produced by Brandbook which is a German Company. The notebooks feature fine Swedish paper with a very subtle light grey dot grid. The grid is pretty tiny; there are approximately 8 dots per inch (slightly more than 3mm). The pages are thread stitched together and then bound in fine materials; mine was a thick cardstock although there are leather bound versions as well.

This particular model is 16.5cm x 22cm (roughly 6 1/2″ x 8 3/4″, or slightly larger than the standard A5 size). The notebook contains a generous 256 pages of a thick 120g white Munken paper.

I was really impressed with this notebook. It felt substantial and the paper felt thick and lush, although it was quite smooth. Throughout the month of October I tested a variety of pens: fountain pens and inks, Marvy Le Pens, Papermate Ink Joy gel pens and a few others, and I also pulled out a water brush for some of my Inktober drawings.

When writing normally, the paper had no bleed-through and just a bit of ghosting on the backside.

On my drawings, which included heavier ink lines and sometimes water, there was some bleed-through, which is to be expected, but the paper held up really well. Water made it wrinkle slightly, but overall the book hasn’t expanded a lot. One of the things I liked best about this book is that other than the first few and last few pages, it laid open flat every time I went to write and draw. I didn’t need any extra props to hold it open in order to create, or to shoot photos.

I don’t see this exact design on the Nuuna website, but I did find a variety of graphic covers for anywhere from 14,90 € to 27,90 €, all of which seem reasonable prices for notebooks of this quality.

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