In feature, Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Sheaffer VFM

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Fountain Pen Review: Sheaffer VFM

Review by Laura Cameron

A short while back, I received the Anderson Pens Newsletter promoting the Sheaffer VFM in a gorgeous blue.  When I clicked through to see what it was, I was surprised that it was a very affordable fountain pen ($17.50). It reminded me quite a bit of the Pilot Metropolitan that I so love.  So I ordered what they had in stock: a Medium Nib in the Peacock Blue.

The Sheaffer VFM is so named as a “vibrant, fun and modern” pen in Sheaffer’s pen line. It features a slim body with a brushed satin finish, nickel plated trim, and a stainless steel nib. A postable, snap cap complements the body.

When it arrived I had high hopes. I went ahead and filled the VFM with the cartridge that came with it, notably not a Sheaffer cartridge, but a short international standard black. And then I took it out for a spin.

I was surprised to find that I didn’t like the VFM much at all. In the last few months I’ve been meandering towards finer nibs, but I still do enjoy medium nibs. However, this pen had a western medium nib which is actually quite a bit larger than those I had been using. The pen let down a LOT of ink and on most kinds of paper I got a lot of bleeding and feathering. My sample for this post, on my trusty Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5, looks pretty good, but when I tried to use the pen at the office (legal pads, copy paper) it just looked incredibly messy.

The finish was beautiful, but I was dismayed that it got scratched almost immediately.  I had put it in my pen case and taken it with me to show off to some friends, and by the end of the night, just in being handled around the table, it came back to me with big scratches. Since then, still in the protected pen case, it has gotten many more scratches.  The snap cap is still very stiff, despite my use, and frankly I’m not so sure about posting it as I’m afraid it will add more damage to the body.

Overall, I found this pen to be pretty disappointing. Maybe I shouldn’t have expected so much from a pen that is at the lower end of the price range, but the Pilot Metropolitans just knock it out of the park at the same price point.  If you’re looking for an inexpensive fun pen, I’d start there instead.

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 Link Love

Link Love: L’Oural, Ana!

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

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In Ink Review

Review/Preview: Jacques Herbin 1798 Amethyst de l’Oural Ink

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Review/Preview: Jacques Herbin 1798 Amethyst de l’Oural Ink

J. Herbin unveiled its latest specialty ink and I crawled out of bed at the crack of dawn this morning to do a special preview/review of the new sparkly jewel. This new ink is not a 1670 ink, its a 1798 and its no longer just J. Herbin branded, its under Jacques Herbin. The color is the long-awaited purple: Amethyst de l’Oural!

And, as if they knew we’d turn the bottle over to see the sparkle, there is an embossed ship and branding logo on the bottom of the bottle too. I was trying to capture the sparkles at the bottom, they are silver this time and you can see them a bit at the top of the bottle bottom. They look like dust particles.

Another note about the bottle, the opening in the bottle is larger making it easier to get your pens into it. It’s also a little bit bigger overall but the volume is the same. The box is also grey instead of white.

With the help of some early morning sun, you can see the sparkles in the ink swatch and you can also see that dear ol’ Jacques is the one ink that doesn’t always get along so well with the Col-o-ring paper and my dip nibs. I got a little feathering towards the bottom there. Grrr!

With the flick of the wrist, I did capture a bit of the sparkle in the sunlight though. Oooooooo!

I tried to catch some of the sparkle in a quick sketch of the bottle, Its more evident in person, of course.

In my writing sample, on Tomoe River paper, using a Lamy Safari and a 1.1mm nib, the ink flowed well. I did need to continually agitate the pen to keep the metallic flakes appearing. The ink dried pretty quickly considering it was Tomoe River paper, metallic flake ink and a 1.1mm nib but I still managed to stick my hand in it a couple times.

As always, I do recommend that sparkle inks are not for the faint of heart, vintage pens or pens that are difficult to disassemble to clean as it is sometimes challenging to get all the metallic flakes out of the feed fins if you cannot fully disassemble the pen for cleaning.

Also, the wider the nib, the more you’ll be able to see the metallic flake. So plan accordingly when choosing a pen for this ink.

As with most metallic inks, there’s not a lot of shading with Amethyst de l’Oural. The metallic flake more than makes up for the loss of shading, right? Compared to the DeAtramentis Brilliant Violet Silver, Amethyst de l’Oural is a bit more understated.

We were all waiting for a purple ink in the 1670/1798 line and its finally here. Is it what we were waiting for? I wish the metallic flakes didn’t sink quite so quickly… damn you, gravity!

Jacques Herbin 1798 Amethyst de l’Oural is available for pre-order today at all your favorite pen shops and will start shipping in September.

DISCLAIMER: This item was for review free of charge by Exaclair USA. Please see the About page for more details.

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Kaweco Perkeos

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Fountain Pen Review: Kaweco Perkeos

Finally! The Kaweco Perko fountain pens are available. These entry level plastic-bodied fountain pens look to be direct competitors to other student pens with a molded grip section, poppy colors and a faceted barrel. The price point is €14,95/$17.65 (€12,36/$14.59 Outside EU)  There are four color options available: the “Bad Taste” which is the hot pink and black, the “Cotton Candy” which is a soft pink with cool grey cap, “Indian Summer” which is mustard seed yellow-green with a black cap and the “Old Chambray” which is a white body with a blue-grey cap.

The Perkeos are a matte finish plastic with faceted bodies and the classic hex barrel cap. The caps are snap caps with a tight fit. The caps can be posted. Because these are lightweight plastic pens, they do not feel substantial but they also don’t feel intimidating. They walk that fine line — playful without feeling too juvenile.

The pens with black details have black nibs and the lighter colors have steel nibs. I got two pens with fine nibs and two with medium nibs; one chrome, one black of each nib size.

 

While the nibs aren’t exactly the same as the nibs on the Sport models in terms of design, they seem to write pretty consistently to them. Actually, I find the medium nib on the Perkeos to be better than the Sport mediums which I’ve always had issues with.

I really like the black nibs! They look slick!

The finials on the end coordinate with the nibs and are the classic Kaweco logos.

The other awesome upside to the Perkeo is that they take full-sized converters and extra long cartridges! Any standard European cartridge or converter is fair game. I used a Waterman cartridge, a Pelikan Edelstein cartridge, and two random converters I had laying around. The Perkeos ship with one Kaweco blue cartridge so you will need to order additional cartridges or converters if you don’t have your own personal cartridge roulette wheel like I do.

Because the Perkeos are so reasonably priced, I couldn’t resist having all four so that I could play Perkeo mix-up. I swapped caps and bodies to make new color combinations. I wanted an all-black with the citrus-y green grip and the hot pink and green above all other things (so Bad Taste and Indian Summer are MUST-HAVES for the swap). I also like the look of the white body with the grey cap. I’ve swapped things around about four times already! But a mod black-and-white would be cool too.

In writing tests, I noticed just a slight difference on the Tomoe River paper between the medium and the fine nibs. The Papier Plume ink was a bit wetter and spread a bit more than the other three inks I used so that was the only place I really noticed the nib difference. With a drier ink, the medium nibs in the Perkeos were quite pleasant. I’m not normally a medium nib fan, but these I like a lot. I’ve used these pens for about a week on other paper surfaces and enjoyed them. They are pretty stiff nibs but smooth.

On the downside, the colors may not be for everyone. Right now, the only nib options are fine or medium and like I said earlier, they do not come with a converter. There is no packaging. The pens came wrapped in a cellophane sleeve each. I suspect these were designed to be sold on store countertops like lollipops.

But for about $15 each, Perkeos are some of the least expensive full-sized fountain pens available from a major European manufacturer. Yes, the Pilot Metropolitan is still a (Japanese) metal alternative at $14.50 but if I was looking to buy a pen for my niece, I’m more inclined to get her a Perkeo which is a bit lighter for her younger hand but still cute. I’m certainly not embarrassed to use them.

DISCLAIMER: Some items used in this review were sent to me free of charge by Fontoplumo. Please see the About page for more details.

In news

News: DC Pen Show Early Edition

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments

If you will be coming to the DC Pen Show this weekend, here’s some things to look for. Even if you’re not, some of the events will be broadcast or available online as well. So, if you’d like to feel a part of the excitement, here’s how:

Susan Wirth Memorial

On Saturday evening there will be a memorial service held in honor of Susan Wirth who passed away suddenly in May. The service will be held at 7pm. There will be efforts made to livestream parts of the event. Details to follow. Check on Instagram, Twitter or the Pen Addict podcast episode 268 (yet to be broadcast, but this is where the link will be when available) which will be recorded on Friday night. Myke is hoping to get it uploaded as quickly as possible and may be able to get some information broadcast about the whos and wheres of any recording. I am sure people will be taking photos, videos and sharing their own experiences as well.

In general, most images of this year’s Pen Show can be found on Instagram via the hashtag #dcpenshow2017. You can find images of Susan Wirth under the hashtag #susanwirth . If you have any images you’d like to share, please upload them to Instagram and add the hashtag to share along with your stories.

Pen Show Specials

In honor of their second anniversary, Federalist Pens has a special edition Robert Oster Signature ink called Frankly Blue. Its a rich dark blue-green with shading and its exclusive to Federalist Pens, of course. If you are interested in this new exclusive ink you can pre-order on their web site and pick up your order at the show. Be sure to mention in your order if you want to pick up your ink at the show. Or send an email to Frank.

Also available at the Federalist Pens table will be the new Soda Pop Blue and Black Violet inks but those will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis so come by the table to get these two new colors as there are a limited number of bottles available. The best way to see these colors and what Robert Oster is working on next, check out their Facebook page.

Vanness Pen Shop  is bringing the Rollbahn notebook collection from Delfonics to the show. The notebook covers are available in both brilliant neons and more subtle colors in top- and side-binding in a wide array of sizes with lines and grid formats. The paper is a warm ivory color and  pretty fountain pen friendly. In the back of the notebooks are plastic storage sleeves (multiple sleeves!) for loose ephemera sandwiched between two sheets of cardstock. Black elastic keeps everything tidy. Of course, Vanness is also bringing towers of ink from all the brands from across the globe and the new Kaweco Perkeos (shown above), new goodies from Caran d’Ache and so much more. Vanness will also offer 8 colors of Bungbox for $35 per bottle. Come get them while you can!

Anderson Pens will be bringing their fabulous wares including the new Retro 51 Tiki Kona, the new TWSBI Eco Turquoise, the Leuchtturm1911 notebooks, Graf von Faber Castell Guilloche pens, the new Akkerman Dutch Masters ink colors, and the Kyoto TAG inks. The Andersons will also have the new Robert Oster Black Violet ink.

The Kanilea Pen Company will debut their new Haleakala Fountain Pen design at the DC Show. The Haleakala fountain pen, has a rose gold medallion and is available with an 18K rose gold or rose gold steel nib. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to see it in person.

NockCo is bringing an array of their products including so unusual mix-ups like these “Funkytowns”. Just in time too because someone at my house ran off with my Brasstown.

Special Guests

Master Penman Jake Weidmann will be at the Montegrappa table Saturday & Sunday. If you’re not familiar with his work, this is a great opportunity to see him in action.

and, of course,

There will be Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books available at the pen show! I will be at the Vanness Pens table with a goodly amount. I know that Tom of Ink Journal plans to be at the show with a stash of Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books as well.

If you have any questions, drop me a line via Twitter, Instagram or my handy, dandy Ask The Desk email form. Please come by and say hi at the show! I can’t wait to see every one, their purchase and their Col-o-rings!

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable Friday: Secret Societies

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

Secret Societies have always existed. Groups were formed with a similar goal or passion. Sometimes their interests ran counter to the rest of society so they met in secret but sometimes they were created to eat, drink and have fun.

There is a fascination with the symbols, hierarchy and culture that emerged from these groups and has been maintained for centuries in some of these societies like the Freemasons, Shriners and such.

Whether real or fictional, secret societies continue to fascinate. Have you ever joined a club, secret society or organization that had special insignia? Are you a member of the infamous Black Pen Society or a recent member of the Karas Pen Club? Or maybe you follow W.C. Fields belief that “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member”?

  • Freedom of Peach Nail Polish (via OPI)
  • Seal Wax Washi Tape MT Ex Japanese Wide $6.50/roll (via CuteTape)
  • Edison Beaumont Fountain Pen – Black Onyx Flake $149 (via Anderson Pens)
  • Pelikan M101 Bright Red fountain pen, special edition €485 (via Fontoplumo)
  • CDT Mechanical Pencil $18 (via Fresh Stock Japan)
  • Pen UNO $45 (via ENSSO)
  • J. Herbin Stormy Grey Ink – 1670 Anniversary – 50 ml Bottle $25 (via JetPens)
  • Plain Kraft Notebooks £8/3-pack (via Backpocket Notebooks)
  • Yale Skull And Bones Secret Society Ring $92 (via NewNeo2012 on Etsy)
  • Shriner’s Fez $49 (on Shop Diem on Etsy)
  • Vintage 14K White Gold Diamond Masonic Tie Tack $260 (via Fine Jools)
  • Akkerman Dutch Masters 03 Gele Oker van Frans “French Yellow Ochre” $38 (via Vanness Pen Shop)
  • Karas Pen Club Coin $20.17 (via Karas Pen Co.)
  • Visconti V Bottle(40ml) Fountain Pen Ink in Black $17.50 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Robert Oster Signature Ink(50ml) Fountain Pen Ink in Ng Special 16 $16 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Rhodia Heritage Collection Tartan 80-Sheet Notebook $16 (via Vanness Pen Shop)
  • Paperblanks Grande Journal in Exotic Marquetry Mother of Pearl, Lined $24.95 (via Anderson Pens)
  • Journal Set of 2 $10 (via Sapori)

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