The Well-Appointed Desk

Ink Drop Reveal: July 2013

AnaJuly 16, 2013September 18, 2014Leave a comment

This month’s Ink Drop selection from Goulet Pens is themed “America” in honor of the Fourth of July. Of course, red (in the form of Noodler’s Rattler Red Eel) and blue are featured prominently as well as inks with patriotically names (De Atramentis U.S. Constitution and Private Reserve American Blue). The two other inks are in honor of our armed forces: Noodler’s Air Corp Blue-Black and Noodler’s Army Green.

This is the first time I’ve gotten a color in an Ink Drop assortment that I already own in full bottle quantities in the Air Corp Blue-Black which is a blue-black that leans a bit greenish to me — more like a muddy teal. I like its uniqueness of color and its usability. Its one of my favorite inks.

The De Atramentis U.S. Constitution is the lightest blue I’ve seen. It would probably work better with a stub nib or with a more calligraphic pen. I think its a bit light for a fine nibbed pen.

I really like the Noodler’s Rattler Red Eel. It is a clear bright red. It does not lean orange or pink. If you’ve been hunting for a true red, this can’t be beat.

Private Reserve American Blue is the most vivid blue ink I’ve seen to date. It is true blue and makes me feel patriotic just looking at it. If you’ve been looking for a blue that hums with overt blueness, this is the one for you.

The Noodler’s Army Green has been a color I’ve been curious about for some time, being a connoissuer of all things green. This is a lovely olive-y green with a slightly yellowish tinge. I love it! I plan on buying a bottle ASAP.

I had no noticable issues with dry time on these inks but I focus more on showing off the colors at this stage rather than a thorough review of all the ink properties. When I purchase full bottles, I tend to go into more detail about dry time and other qualities.

These inks were tested using a TWSBI Mini EF with the syringe fill method on a Quo Vadis Habana blank white notebook (A5-ish sized).

In photo

Dennison Desk Tray

AnaJuly 16, 2013Leave a comment

I fell in love with my Dennison Bookshelf mathcbook set I got for Christmas this year. So much so that when I saw this vintage plastic desk tray, I knew the two needed to meet. The tray is a marbled brown plastic and is in excellent condition. I think the center section was originally designed to hold an ink bottle. On the front are slots for pen and paper clips and the whole tray is angled for easy use. The streamlined design details make me think this is from the 1940s but the plastic is in such good shape I can’t imagine its quite that old.

I only have six Dennison boxes which do not quite fit perfectly in the tray but with a little creative arranging, I fit a Diamine ink bottle on one side and arranged the matchboxes across the left and top.

In DIY

Tutorial: Filling a TWSBI with a syringe

AnaJuly 15, 2013December 30, 201710 Comments

Last week, there was a brief discussion on The Pen Addict Podcast about how to fill a TWSBI with sample ink. There is not enough ink in a sample vial to fill the pen by the usual method: inserting pen nib in the ink and using the piston to draw the ink into the reservoir. Brad mentioned using a syringe to fill instead which hadn’t occurred to me. So, I thought I’d share the technique. I used my TWSBI Mini but this technique would work with a Diamond 540/580 and probably a Vacumatic as well.

Step 1: Remove the nib unit. Its a screw attachment so just untwist the nib and set it aside.

Step 2: Identify the narrow hole in the top of the ink reservoir so you know where you’ll need to insert the syringe.

Step 3: Grab your ink sample.

Step 4: Fill your syringe. For the TWSBI Mini, I only needed to fill up to the 1 unit marker to get just about a full fill.

Step 5: Insert the syringe needle into the reservoir and slowly depress the syringe being careful not to overfill.

Step 6: Admire the filled reservoir.

Step 7: Screw the nib unit back onto your pen. You may need to give it a good shake (put the cap on or wrap the tip in a towel before shaking) to get the ink down into the feed unit. Then start writing!

You can reverse the process if you are using your TWSBI for ink testing by sucking the ink out of the reservoir with the syringe and putting it back into your bottle or vial. Then clean the pen using water and filling and emptying the reservoir until the water runs clear. Let it dry and refill. I dry mine by shaking it vigorously wrapped in a towel and wiping the nib.

Good luck!

In link

Pens on TechCrunch

AnaJuly 15, 2013Leave a comment

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago to comment on the popularity of pen projects on Kickstarter, particularly topical since the latest Karas Kustoms project has been super-successful.. I never heard anything back so I wasn’t sure if the writer followed through with the piece but this morning, the article popped up and I was quoted. Crazy.

(via Tech Crunch)

In feature

Link Love: Instragramatics and more

AnaJuly 12, 20134 Comments

linklove-instagram — Clockwise from top left: MrMikeDudek’s Kaweco AL Sport, trefste-metrese’s On-the-go penpal kit, klpeabody’s currently inked pens and Writetomeoften matched her nail polish to her ink (or vice versa).

I find office supplies inspiration everywhere. As I’ve posted before, Pinterest is a source of products, ideas and inspiration but I get just as much valuable information on Instagram and Twitter too. Yeah for other office supply lovers!

Pens and Pencils:

Lamy 2000 Ballpoint Review (via From The Pen Cup)
Zebra Sarasa 07 RT Review (via Ed Jelley)
Comparison of Noodler’s Black Inks (via Ed Jelley)
Uni Style Fit Multi-Pen, Hello Kitty (via Ink of Me Fondly)
Ivory-topped Pencils in Mr. Selfridges (via Pencil Revolution)
J. Herbin Vert Pre Ink Cartridges (via Ink of Me Fondly)

Paper:

Ink Journal, AKA a Midori Traveler Star Edition (via East, West, Everywhere)
Biffybeans reveals her notebook stash (via Notebook Stories)

Misc.:

Colored Typewriter Ribbons (via Letter Writers Alliance)
Message Masking Tape (via Oh, Hello Friend)
A Tale of Office Supply Subscription Services in Three Parts: Rad + Hungry, Olive Box and Quarterly Co. (via Letter Writers Alliance)
Inside Moleskine’s Identity Redesign (via Digital Arts)
50 years of the ZIP Code (via Smithsonian Postal Museum)
Taming the To-Do List (via A Penchant For Paper)

tour-de-france-wallpaper — Eleanor Grosch Tour De France Desktop Wallpapers (via How About Orange)

linklove-instagram2 — Again, clockwise from top left: IvanR365 and his pen case, Design_concussion finds the magic of Doane Paper, GreerChicago finds our kind of vending machine and Writetomeoften puts her Pelikan M100 through its paces

DIY Inkodye photo transfer pencil case (via Etsy Blog)

In feature

Ask The Desk: Storing Pens Up or Down?

AnaJuly 12, 201336 Comments

Reader Teri asks,

“So, should pens and markers, etc be stored point up or point down?”

In my opinion, it differs depending on the pen.

I find that felt tip pens like whiteboard markers, Sharpies, Microns and highlighters are best stored with the tip down. It keeps the ink in contact with the fiber/felt tip so that it does not dry out.
Rollerballs and ballpoints are best if they are stored upright so they don’t leak or get gummy at the point.
Gel pens seem to be okay stored either up or down. I have retractables that get stored point down and capped gels that get stored cap up. Both will occasionally need a little priming to get going but neither seems to leak or gum up at all.
Fountain pens seem to like to be stored horizontal which keep the ink in contact with the nib but doesn’t let gravity get too sassy.
I tend to store pencils pointy end up but this can be dangerous, especially if you are clumsy or have small children in the house. I’d recommend to store them tip down. Mechanical pencils can be stored tip down as well.

I’ve found these are the methods that work for me but I’d love to hear other people’s opinions and comments.

In feature

Makeshift Ink Cartridge Caddy

AnaJuly 10, 20136 Comments

I found this vintage metal Kodak film canister in my stash recently and wondered if it would hold some of my European short ink cartridges.

It does. Acutally, it easily holds 14 if you alternate directions. The cap screws on nicely and keeps the cartridges from getting knocked around in the bottom of my bag while keeping any potential leaking contained (not that I’ve ever had a cartridge leak but just in case). For my recent trip I wanted to have some ink options but didn’t want to deal with the potential mess of packing a bottle of ink. This method let me bring several different colors with no mess.

The canister also lets me play “ink roulette” since I filled it with several different colors but did not label anything so its anyone’s guess which color I’ll pull out.

I imagine newer plastic 35mm plastic canisters would also work as a good place to stash a few cartridges too. How do you carry spare cartridges?