In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable Friday: La la land

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

Seems only fitting that this week’s theme be LA-centric with the LA Pen Show being in full swing (pun fully intended) and Lalaland up for 14 Academy Awards and the Oscars are next week. So, the walk of stars are on my mind.

I haven’t gotten to see the film La La Land yet but if there’s ever been a movie made “just for me” this is probably it. I love musicals and the fashion in the film looks right up my alley. As much as I think this film looks fabulous, I am secretly pulling for Hidden Figures to bring home the big Oscar prizes because at our house a film about NASA is always going to be “best picture.” And I still get sassy, smart talking ladies in vintage clothes so I still win.

  • Oscar Bingo Cards Downloadable PDF, free (via How About Orange)
  • Pelikan Souverän M400 fountain pen tortoiseshell white, 14k nib €315 (via Fontoplumo)
  • Visconti Michelangelo White Marbelized Venus Fountain Pen with Fine Stainless Steel Nib $179.40 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen – Gun Metal Gray with Rhodium Trim, Broad Nib $148 (via Anderson Pens)
  • Karas Kustoms Ink Fountain Pen – Aluminum Gold Body with Fine Nib $95 (via JetPens)
  • GOLD Morning Field Star Pattern MT Washi Tape $3.50 per roll (via CuteTape)
  • Hidden Figures, nominated for 3 Oscars (via IMDB)
  • Diamine Shimmertastic Golden Sands Ink (50ml Bottle) $20 (via Anderson Pens)
  • La la land, nominated for 14 Oscars (via IMDB)
  • Midori Brass Pencil $16 (via Fresh Stock Japan)
  • Cross Stitch Washi Tape Chugoku $2 per roll (via CuteTape)
In Fountain Pen Review

Pen Review: Weight of Words Fountain Pen (Fine Nib)

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments

This morning I noticed several other people posting about their YStudio The Weight of Words Brassing Portable Fountain Pens so it must be in the air this week. These somewhat rare little gems from Taiwan seem to be making their way around the world and ending up in the hands of many fountain pen fans. Dries at The Pencilcase Blog in Europe posted his pure brass COPPER version today and Leigh posted one she got in Singapore today as well. So… around the world in brassing pens!

The packaging is fantastic and normally I don’t care much about packaging. However, if the packaging can have secondary use for storage later and doesn’t look too overly branded then YEAH! for good packaging. The Weight of Words pen comes in a deep stained wood box with paperboard lining that can be removed  making the outer box fully reusable. There’s a thumb hole to remove the lid and the only branding on the box is the company name and the characters for what I assume is the name of the pen in Chinese on the lid in gold foil. Very simple and elegant.

Under the lid is a piece of fine grit sand paper and an instruction booklet for the pen, including on how to use the sand paper to weather and age your pen to look more worn. I’m not sure I can bring myself to do that as I like how my pen looks as is at the moment but I’ll hold on to the sandpaper for now in case I change my mind.

Inside the box is the die cut layers of recyclable corrugated cardboard (not foamcore!) to hold the pen, wood carrying tub and lanyard in place. I got the black lacquered copperBRASS version of the pen.

The carrying tube is wood (I think) with a slit at the top to  allow the cap of the pen to stick out of the top. Its a clever design element. The leather lanyard ties can be threaded through the cap of the pen and then looped on to a bag loop, key fob, or whatever else you can think of. The pen cap clicks into place rather than a twist mechanism making it a nice option for everyday quick writing.

Its a smaller pen so its probably not something a lot of people would want for long writing sessions and the cap does not post. For my small hands though the brass added enough weight to make it comfortable to use for note taking and on-and-off use throughout the day.

The nib is a standard Schmidt fine nib. Pretty and scaled to fit the pen overall.

When the pen is wrapped up tight in its carrying case and with a leather lanyard attached it looks pretty unique.

The Schmidt nib means its a good writer and it comes with a converter.

Since this pen is quite hard to come by I won’t torture you with price points and availability. If you’re in the EU or Asia, keep an eye out in your local stationery or pen shop for YStudio products because they are worth taking a look at. If you’re in the US and planning to travel, leave some room in your shopping budget for the possibility of seeing one of these in the wild. Maybe they will wash up on our shores sometime soon.

EDIT: Thanks to Dries for catching my errors. I really shouldn’t write my reviews at 6AM!

In news

Letter Writing Call To Arms!

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments

I have two big news items I wanted to share and they were too important to wait.

The first is the new Love Letter America web site. Artists are creating postcards you can download and send to you representatives to tell them the reasons you love your country and the values you want them to uphold. The first artist to submit designs to the project is one of my favorite artists, Oliver Jeffers the creator of The Day the Crayons Quit.

The second item is a local Kansas City event this Saturday. It’s a letter writing event to show support for the immigrants and refugees in the Kansas City community at the KC Library’s #ToImmigrantsWithLove open house event. The event will be held this Saturday, February 18, 2017 at the Kansas City Public Library Central Library at 14 W. 10th Street downtown in the Helzberg Auditorium on the 5th Floor from10 a.m. – 1 p.m. The library will provide postcards at letter-writing areas in the auditorium along with a photo station where you can snap a selfie with your letter. Postcards and letters will be collected and delivered to local immigrant families through Jewish Vocational Service.

There will also be activities for children and families in the Children’s Library (2nd Floor) with coloring sheets available, and two special themed story times at 10 a.m. and noon.

RSVPs are requested so the library can anticipate the number of attendees. RSVP or for more information, email Hannah Johnson at hannahjohnson@kclibrary.org.

In Link Love

Link Love: Two Sides of a Lamy 2000

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks and Paper:

Planners:

InCoWriMo & Letter Writing:

Other Interesting Things:

In Pencil Review

Pencil Review: All the Blackwing Volumes (thus far)

Author AnaPosted on 9 Comments

This has been a post I’ve been planning for a long time. I wanted to compare and test all seven of the Blackwing Editions that have been released thus far against one another. The rub was that I didn’t start my subscription until the second edition, No. 1138. So, thankfully, a kind knitter on Ravelry sent me a brand new No. 725 in order to complete the collection. Then I destroyed it by sharpening it for the test. So, here we go.

I sharpened a fresh Blackwing from each edition to start the test, even if I had one I’d been using to make everything consistent. I used the same sharpener — a brand new Stabilo Swan, mostly because it has a good German blade and its gorgeous. Thanks to Wonderfair in Lawrence, KS for stocking such a cool sharpener! The photos are each of the pencils sharepened, in the order they were released: No, 725 (Sunburst/Newport), No. 211 (John Muir), No. 1138 (Mélîes), No. 24 (Steinbeck), No. 56 (DiMaggio), No. 344 (Dorothea Lange), and No. 530 (Gold Rush).

The No. 56 makes my favorite shavings!

The No. 530 looks amazing and its really golden next to its perfect curl of shavings.

I went through each of the Blackwing Editions and noted the descriptions listed on the Blackwing 602 site regarding the type of graphite used in the edition to help establish if I could tell a notable difference in the performance of each pencil.

The No. 1138 is the only edition listed with the soft graphite and was definitely the darkest lead. Alternately, the first edition released, the No. 725 was the only one with the “balanced graphite” core. All the rest of the editions have used either the firm or extra firm core.

While both the No. 530 and the No. 24 list the “extra firm” graphite, I think the No. 24 graphite seems a bit firmer but it could just be me.

Regarding overall finishes on the pencils, I like the look of the No. 56 ($25 per dozen) the best. I just love those stripes. But the No. 530 ($25 per dozen) metallic gold is quickly moving up the ranks. In a blindfold test though, the pencil that felt best in my hands was the No. 24. The finish of the the Steinbeck is one of the best I’ve ever felt. The lacquer on it is impeccable. Unfortunately, the Steinbeck No.24 is almost impossible to find anymore. The red metallic ferrule on the No. 344 ($25 per dozen) is so cool. It also looks good if you switch out the eraser with a different color though to be honest, none of the stock Palomino erasers work all that well. Your best bet is to use a stand alone eraser if you are inclined to erase. Check out my eraser reviews for my best recommendations.

To give some perspective about the various graphite firmnesses used in the Editions, the firm graphite is the same as what is used in the Blackwing 602. While the “balanced graphite” is the same as the Blackwing Pearl. The “soft graphite” is the same as the original Palomino Blackwing which is colloquially known as the Blacking MMX. As for the “extra firm”, this is a new design as far as I understand it only available through the Editions.

So, to give you a wrap up of how the Editions shake out thus far, there have been one MMX edition, one Pearl edition, three 602 editions and two “extra firm” editions. So, what do you think the release in March 2017 might be? Will Palomino go back to one of their classics like the MMX or Pearl cores or will they try something totally new?

In Pen Review

Kickstarter: DUO Everyday Ballpoint Pen and Stylus

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments

One of the most recent Kickstarter projects to cross my path is the DUO Ballpoint Pen and Stylus. It’s a slim aluminum, twist retractable ballpoint pen with a stylus tip on the reverse end.

For my tech-savvy friends out there, the stylus is a 6mm Wacom Bamboo Stylus tip and actually works really well on my iPhone and iPad. I haven’t had a chance to put it to the test using any of my drawing apps yet but navigating through email, and regular touch interface worked fine. As someone who uses a Wacom Intuos Pro tablet and a Cintiq, I’m pretty picky about touch capabilities and the Bamboo Stylus worked well enough to not make me crazy. Often, my fingers are so cold that they don’t actually work on my touchscreens so having the DUO handy is actually a bit of a blessing.

The pen is slim and small enough to fit into a pocket, even some of those ridiculous “girl jeans” pockets. The anodized color is pretty without being flashy and is available in four colors: gunmetal grey, copper orange, satin black, and my peppy electric blue which is a lovely turquoise color. The etched crescent moon is the only branding on the pen which is subtle and makes me feel a bit like Sailor Moon.

The pen takes a standard Cross ballpoint refill. I’d say the Cross ballpoint refill is a fairly common refill but there are not a lot of options with this particular refill. It is a “ballpoint only” refill. There are not any gel or rollerball options available. Monteverde makes a version of this refill in Medium or Broad in their “soft roll” and the medium tip option is available in ten colors but that’s the extent of your options.

Most big box office supply stores (i.e. Office Depot, Staples, etc) or your local pen shop should have the Cross ballpoint refill in stock in some variation. Places like RefillFinder, Amazon, and Cult Pens list the Cross refill on their site. I know Vanness Pens and Anderson Pens stock the Cross ballpoint refill in store but don’t list them on their site so if you’re ordering from them, you may want to call in or email and ask to have them add a couple to your next order.

The DUO can be backed for £20 for one pen as an Early Bird for one pen and one refill and they estimate shipping in July of 2017.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by 529Studio for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Fountain Pen Review, Ink Review

Pen Review: Lamy AL-Star Pacific Special Edition 2017 (EF Nib) and Lamy Pacific Ink

Author AnaPosted on 22 Comments

I spent a very amused hour listening to Myke and Brad fuss about the new Lamy Special Editions for 2017 on this week’s episode of the Pen Addict. Did you hear the episode? First, a big congratulations to the guys for reaching their five year milestone!

I was tickled that Brad was so passionate about not liking the AL-Star as much as he liked the Safari. My feelings on the subject are the exact opposite. The plastic Safari cost is about $30 but for about $7 more you can get the more durable (and IMHO more aesthetically appealing) aluminum AL-Star.

Finally, knowing that Lamy is doing the same pebbly finish on the Petrol Safari special edition that they did on the Dark Lilac means that the AL-Star is going to remain a classic since it keeps the original smooth finish. I’m not a fan of the pebbly finish that Lamy is using on the Dark Lilac and the upcoming Petrol model but you may disagree. So, as you can see, my opinions are diametrically opposite of Brad and Myke on the subject of the new Lamy Safari and AL-Star releases.

Onward, to the Pacific! Isn’t the color stunning? Like all the other limited edition Lamy colorways, the question really boils down to this… will you kick yourself later if you don’t buy it? Its the whole FOMO thing. If you love Lamy AL-Stars or you’re a fan of all things turquoise-y you are going to want to pick one of these up. If you’ve never purchased a Lamy Safari or AL-Star before and were considering buying one, this would be a good one to buy. As a fan of the AL-Star over the Safari, I’m always going to prefer it over the Safari but if you asked Brad, he’d tell you the exact opposite so you’ll have to use your best judgement here. Do you like metallic sheen? Or do you prefer glossy plastics or pebbled finishes?

I received the Lamy AL-Star Pacific with an EF nib ($37.60) from Goulet Pens. Generally, I find that the Lamy nibs tend to run a little wet and a bit wider than other European nibs. I find the Lamy EF nib to be a very pleasant everyday writing pen and with the Lamy Pacific ink ($10.50 for the 50ml bottle) its a great pick-me-up for a grey February day.

Don’t forget to add a Z24 converter ($4.95) to you order if you plan to use bottled ink.

There’s been a lot of discussion around the Lamy Pacific ink being repackaged Lamy’s Turquoise ink. Many pen shops (as well as Lamy) have clarified that the Lamy Pacific ink is the same ink as Lamy Turquoise so if you already own a bottle of Lamy Turquoise, you do not need to purchase another bottle of Lamy Pacific — unless you really want to. However, if you have not purchased Lamy Turquoise in the past, this would be a perfect opportunity to grab a bottle to match this lovely pen.

Lamy Pacific ink is a vibrant turquoise blue that has good shading and even a big of magenta sheen. Shading is visible even in the EF nib writing and the color stays bright and legible even in the fine writing of the EF nib. While Lamy has trouble getting a bright, legible green, they do a splendid job with their bright, legible blue. And at the price point, this ink cannot be beat. Add in the cool bottle with blotting paper built into the bottle and you have a great deal.

I’ve included a couple other current turquoise inks that are popular at the moment for comparison. All were painted on Rhodia paper. Robert Oster Torquay is notably darker and Sailor’s new Yuki-Akari is a bit lighter than the Lamy Pacific.

In the end, I find the AL-Star, and the Pacific color in particular, to be one of the nicest looking pens Lamy has done in awhile. Could you imagine if the Lamy 2000 had been Pacific Blue Makralon? I wish Lamy had been a bit more upfront about the ink color name change with retailers but Pacific/Turquoise is such a gorgeous color and it really does have a lovely sheen that I don’t think anyone will get stuck with too many bottles.

It does make me wonder if the ink for Petrol won’t be rebranded Blue Black though.

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