The Well-Appointed Desk

J. Herbin Rollerball Fail

AnaMarch 6, 2013Leave a comment

Sometimes, being left-handed really blows. I usually get this feeling whenever someone talks about fine calligraphy or rollerball pens. The classic Uni-Ball Vision rollerballs literally throw me into apoplexy because every time I try to use them, they skip, stutter or seize up completely. I believe that they were designed to roll for right-handed people but not lefties and I tend to avoid them. Somehow, when presented with the option of loading ink cartridges with fountain pen inks and using them with the J. Herbin refillable rollerball ($9.75) — I thought things might be different. As you can see from the writing sample above, I was wrong. Skipping, stuttering and generally making me a very unhappy writer.

To make sure that the issue was me and not the pen, my darling husband agreed to take the pen for a spin, pink ink and all. As you can see, it wrote fine for him though he did complain that it was clumping as he wrote, especially when he tried to write small.

So, the long and short of it is that you love the array of colors available in fountain pen inks, use a fountain pen.

Not recommended.

In feature

Let’s Talk About Stub/Italic Nibs

AnaMarch 6, 20136 Comments

Last week, I posted a link to Richard’s Pens informative article about the difference between stub and italic nibs. As I own a few fountain pens that fit this description, I thought I’d put them altogether to see the differences. I own a Lamy Studio with a 1.1 mm italic nib, a Kaweco Sport with a 1.1mm italic nib and a vintage Esterbrook with a # 2442 nib known as the fine stub.

In the close-up above you can see that the Esterbrook nib is much narrower than the 1.1mm nibs that flank it. If I had to guess, I’d say that the Esterbrook is half the width of the other two.

In the writing samples at the beginning of the post (or click on the photo to see a larger version on Flickr), you can see that the character of the writing is different with the italic nibs versus the stub. The italic nibs create much sharper angles between its wide lines and its fine lines — it could almost be described as crispier. The stub softens the variation of the line widths but still allows the shading from the ink to show.

All three of these pen models easily allow you to swap out the nibs at a fairly reasonable price. Have you considered a stub or italic nib? Do you like it?

In Fountain Pen Review

Budget Fountain Pen Showdown

AnaMarch 5, 2013May 27, 201716 Comments

After lampooning the Pilot Varsity, I got a lot of feedback from readers that they had a good experience with the pen and that it helped to inspire them to try fountain pens. While I am still not over the bruising experience of the Pilot Varisty, I was willing to try some other sub-$5 fountain pens. I did like the Zebra V-301 that I’m willing to admit that not all entry-level fountain pens are cheap. So I ordered a Platinum Preppy 03 ($3.30) and a Pilot Petit 1 (fine) ($3.80) from JetPens in hopes of finding a gem or two.

The most notable difference between these two pens is the length. The Platinum Preppy is a full-length pen (5.5″ closed) while the Pilot Petit 1 is a tiny pocket-sized pen. The Pilot Petit 1 is about the same length as a Kaweco Sport when closed at 4.25″ long. It’s 3.75″ uncapped and 5.25″ with the capped posted. The Preppy is 5″ uncapped and 6″ with the cap posted. If small pens are uncomfortable in your hands, then the Preppy will definitely be better suited than the Pilot Petit.

Both nibs seem similar in width. The Pilot Petit actually has a longer nib-to-grip ratio and the Preppy nib is tinted to match the cap and ink color chosen at purchase. Both pens are cartridge-filled and use a proprietary cartridge style. Preppy cartridges refills are available in packs of two for $1.65 and the inks work in both the fountain pens and their line of Preppy sign markers. The Pilot Petit 1 cartridges work with the fountain pen and their two other pen styles — the marker and brush pen. Their cartridges come in sets of three for $1.90.

In writing tests, they both preformed really well. For me, surprisingly well. The Preppy had a little bit of friction on the paper but no more than a pencil would have — I never felt like the pen was moving without my control. The Pilot Petit 1 was silkier on the paper but I think the grassy green ink is much wetter than the red in the Preppy.

I will probably refill the ink cartridges in both these pens with my syringe method to see if they behave differently with other inks. In general though, I am quite satisfied with the results of these pens. If I had to pick one, I like the way the Preppy writes a little better than the Petit 1 but I think both are great options if you are just getting into fountain pens or are looking for pens you wouldn’t be heartbroken to lose in the office or while traveling.

Lefty-approved. Recommended for anyone.

(This pen was tested on the Miquelrius medium flexible 300 grid paper book purchased from B+N.)

In feature, Ink Review

Ink Drop for January 2013 (Aurora Borealis)

AnaMarch 5, 2013September 18, 2014Leave a comment

I’m a little late to the party with the reveal of the January Ink Drop from Goulet Pens but you’ll forgive me, won’t you? The more I think about this set, the more I like it. The theme for January was the Aurora Borealis which I think is a great idea for January — to think of the bright color-shifting skies on those long dark nights. But the more I delve into these colors, the more I am just pleased with the mix of colors and how unusual they are.

As you all know, I am always looking for the perfect shade of green and the DeAtramentis Moss Green has an awful lot to recommend it. Its in the yellow-green side of the spectrum which I prefer and its not so light that it would be unreadable. Its a perky springy green.

The Diamine Majestic Purple is quite a royal purple — more purple than violet. I’m not inclined to choose a vivid purple ink but this is one I might use.

The Noodler’s Rome Burning is the most unusual ink color I’ve seen. Its not brown, sepia or yellow. It has a sort of mustard hue which I keep looking at, trying to discern its hue. The closest ink comparison I could make is the DeAtramentis Gold in the July 2012 Ink Drop: Olympics Edition. According to Noodler’s, Rome Burning is a bulletproof ink that turns purple when submerged in water. Check out the video on the Noodler’s site to see how it works and amuse yourself with the Indiana Jones-style epic soundtrack. Talk about a crazy ink!

Noodler’s Borealis Black is a very deep black, the blackest of black. According to Noodler’s site, this is a 1950s-formulation and it is water-resistant but not bulletproof. It is a wet ink so I put it into my Pilot Prera which is very fine nib and worked fine.

Now, can I wax rhapsodic about the Diamine Eau de Nil? The name translates to Water of the Nile and its a teal blue with a little black in it. This is a color in my wheelhouse. The closest comparison I can make is to DeAtramentis Pigeon Blue but its more turquoise while Eau de Nil is leaning more towards a blue black.

Needless to say that Eau de Nil was my favorite color in this collection though I am amused with the wild color-changing properties of Noodler’s Rome Burning.

See larger photos of each ink test in my Flickr Set.

In feature

Word Notebooks

AnaMarch 4, 2013Leave a comment

Word Notebooks do something with the concept of the pocket notebook that is a little different than the rest. These notebooks are lined with a dot/circle along the left margin specifically to aid the list-maker. Color in the small dot for a bullet point or use the larger circle to check off all those to-do lists.

The Word Notebooks are the same size as a Field Notes at 5.5″ tall x 3.5″ wide but just a tiny bit thicker which I believe is due to a slightly weightier paper stock (60# white text vs Field Notes 50# text). The paper is a bright white with pale, warm gray lines and circles in the margin which are unobtrusive.

In the writing tests, the paper performed acceptably. There was a little bit of show-through with the fountain pen inks from the Platinum Preppy, Pilot Petit and TWSBI Mini but the finer lined pens, the gel-based and rollerballs all did fine. Since the lines on the paper are light, using lighter colored inks is a pleasant experience and will limit the likelihood of show-through. The Pilot Hi-Tec C Coletos worked great and would pair well with this notebook for jotting grocery lists.

Three-packs are available for $9.99

I have one orange and one tan camo book to give away. I will draw two names and send one book to each winner. Tell me which color you prefer in the comments. First number chosen by the random number generator will get their choice and the second selected will get whichever is left.

FINE PRINT: Giveaway ends at 10pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013 (US Central Time). All comment must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Friday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear.

In link

Print Your Own Post-It Notes

AnaMarch 4, 2013Leave a comment

If you ever wanted to have better looking post-it notes, How About Orange has a DIY waste-time-in-the-office project for you! Download the template, adhere your own post-it notes to the template and then run it back through your printer. Be sure you know how your printer feeds so you don’t jam it up. Nothing gets you busted for goofing around at work like gluing post-its to the inside of your printer.

Go forth and while away your Monday morning!

In photo

Thumbtack Upgrade

AnaMarch 3, 2013Leave a comment

diy-colorful-thumbtacks

You never know where inspiration might strike. Modcloth had a great idea for jazzing up those plain silver or brass thumbtacks. Grab some old nail polish colors and paint those caps to be something that you want to see rather than something you’re trying to ignore.

A tip for paint thumb tacks is to pierce them into a piece of corrugated cardboard so you don’t have to hold them or balance them as they dry. Paint them solid, stripey or with dots. Voila! Crafty project that makes your office look fancy or so you know when someone steals your supplies.

(via Modcloth)