The Well-Appointed Desk

Several of my fountain pens seem to be clogged. Certainly the ink does not flow as freely as it did when they were new.

The tried and true cures – such as soaking in a bowl of warm water with two drops of ammonia – do not seem to work.

What is the approved 21st Century approach?

Many thanks,
Tom

I have not had a lot of clogging issues myself. I have purchased several old pens that needed cleaning and I just let them soak in warm water for several days, changing the water every day and then flushing the pen completely with good success.

Since it sound like you have more serious issues, I put a call out to some of the folks out on Twitter and here are there responses:

Azizah from Gourmet Pens: Can you disassemble it? Soak it in 10% ammonia and 90% water (section and nib) and flush it out with water.. Should clear it.
Inktronics says: Time for a total tear down and getting the toothbrush out.
FPGeeks says: After Azizah’s advice, next step would be to use ultrasonic cleaner.
Anderson Pens says: How long did they let it soak? Overnight at least if no ultrasonic or use a bulb to force water through the feed.

I would also wonder about the ink that you are using if you are continuing to have clogging issues. You may want to try a new, different ink once you get your pen cleaned out to see if the issue was a result of gritty ink.

I hope these tips help. Let us all know if you have any luck.

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Evergreen Office Spaces

AnaJanuary 9, 2014Leave a comment

With all the grey, bleak weather around these days, I got the itch to redesign my office speace with lush greens and natural woods. I want to create an oasis of greenery, woodsy beauty indoors.

Lime and Floral office sapce — (via Macs Magazine)

Putting a desk near the window takes advantage of natural light without being distracting.

I love how functional this space is – and crammed to the gills. The Vitra vintage plastic wall (available new from Design Within Reach for a mere $475) caddy is a great way to keep tools handy and makes an office space feel more like a workshop.

Green and white office — (via Real Simple)

In feature

DIY: RK Design Printable Desk Calendar

AnaJanuary 8, 20142 Comments

Want to have a simple, swanky calendar on your desk? Check out this free, printable calendar from Weekday Carnival. Print it out and clip it to a clipboard on your desk. To mix it up, try printing it out on neon paper and post on a kraft clipboard.

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A Blank Book Called New Year’s

AnaJanuary 8, 2014Leave a comment

new years quote

I meant to post this on New Year’s Day but I left the lettering in my scanner at work and forgot to scan it. I found it this morning. The sentiment remains true and any day can be the first chapter of your new year.

This was drawn with a flexible nib dip pen in a Tachikawa wooden nib holder using Pelikan 4001 black ink on Borden & Riley 100R Rough Cotton Rag Marker Paper (which has been discontinued). I scanned it in black and white and colorized in Photoshop.

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Ask The Desk: Condensation in my TWSBI

AnaJanuary 7, 2014Leave a comment

Ask The Desk Header

Chris asks:

My wife bought me my first TWSBI for Christmas this year–a TWSBI Mini demonstrator. I’ve filled it with Iroshizuku Kon-Peki and carry it in my front shirt pocket, right next to my heart.

One problem: I’ve had trouble with moisture collecting inside the cap and the grip section of the pen. Initially the cap was the only culprit. Now, the condensation is found in both locations. The cap is easy enough to clear with a cue-tip, but the grip is a little more difficult.

Have you had problems with moisture so collecting in any of your TWSBIs or is there something I could do to prevent it?

I suspect the moisture is a result of condensation from the temperature changes. Especially if you are keeping your pen close to your body, it may warm up. Then when it cools on your desk or faces the arctic outdoor temperature shifts, there may be some moisture that builds up in the cap. I suspect that other fountain pens may face the same issue but without the clear cap and grip, we don’t ever notice it.

A quick search on the internet for “demonstrator fountain pen condensation” revealed that this is not an issue exclusive to the TWSBIs. It appears that most demonstrator pens will reveal some sort of condensation or ink in the cap over time.

disassembled TWSBI mini

My Mini tends to get it less frequently in the grip area unless I’ve recently cleaned it. If I don’t let it dry completely before reassembly, I get moisture in the grip section as well. With a firm push on the threaded end of the nib unit, it should pop out of the grip area allowing you to easily swab out any condensation build-up. Then reassemble it.

I have some of those long cotton swabs on a wooden stick that let me wipe away any moisture or stray ink from the inside of the cap though a standard issue Q-Tip should reach just fine.

Does anyone have advice for minimizing the condensation build-up?

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Review: Apica C.D. Premium Notebook

AnaJanuary 7, 20143 Comments

Apica CD Premium Notebook

I finally got a chance to try out the much-touted Apica C.D. Premium notebook ($18.50). I got the A6 size (approx. 4″x6″) with plain paper. The notebooks have a bookcloth-wrapped perfectbound spine and the cover is a mica-flaked dark grey paper with embossed and foil-stamped “C.D. Notebook” on the cover. Below that printed in the same silver grey ink as the decorative border are the words “Choose the paper like you would a good pen.” This paper is definitely setting itself up to be a better quality than most. The price reflects this as well.

Apica CD Premium Notebook

The metallic paper cover is pretty but just doesn’t feel durable enough for the price point and the quality of the paper. Maybe its just me but at the upper end of the price spectrum, I prefer my notebooks to have a full hardcover binding, not just a flimsy (though lovely) cardstock cover.

The notebook has a healthy 96 sheets and a traditional stitched binding, the pages are not simply glued to the tape. When opened, the book lays fairly flat too.

Apica CD Premium Notebook writing sample

Of course, where this notebook really shines is the paper. It is silky smooth with no noticeable tooth. I tested fountain pens, felt tip, gel and pencil and all performed lovely with no bleeding or feathering and all dried in a relatively acceptable amount of time. The paper is also fairly opaque so it would be easy to use both sides of the paper making this an even better value.

Apica CD Premium Notebook reverse writing sample

From the reverse of the test sample, you can see there is no bleed-through at all. I can see just a hint of the burgundy LePen in the middle of the page but otherwise, the Apica Premuim paper really does live up to its name. The Apica C.D. series really is a stellar quality paper product.

Now if they only offered a hardcover version it really would be PERFECT.

I received this notebook as a gift from a friend but JetPens would happily sell you one. The Apica Premium line of notebooks are available in grid (5mm), lined (6.5mm and 7mm) and blank in A6 (approx. 4″x6″) and B5 (approx. 7.25″x10″) size, $18.50 or $32 respectively. There is also an option to buy a set of three at a reduced price ($33.30 and $57.60 respectively) which is a healthy reduction to the single notebook price.