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Link Love: Lots of Pens with Video Bookends

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

(video of hand-lettered cards with the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues from Leandro Senna.  It looks like it was lettered with an assortment of Pigma Micron and Faber-Castell PITT artist pens)

Fountain Pens

Pencils

Paper

Everything Else

(Evan Hecox paints with ink and dip pens for InCase. From The Arkitip Chronicles on Vimeo)

Updated: Fixed the Wired and Rhodia links. Sorry for the snafu! (10/10/12)

In feature, Ink Review

Ink Drop Reveal for October 2012

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

Inks and pens

I’m so tickled with this month’s Goulet Pens Ink Drop ink sample subscription that I couldn’t wait to share. The colors this month are from one ink manufacturer called Scribal Work Shop and the series is called Cryptid. All the colors are inspired by mythical creatures. What could be more perfect for October?

I filled each one of my budget fountain pens with a color using my cartridge syringe filling method and tested them out. My Kaweco Student got the Kraken, my white Kaweco Sport got the Zhulong, the Ohto Tasche got the Nessie, my Muji was filled with Leviathan and my Kaweco Sport Guilloch was filled with the Siren color.

October 2012 Ink Drop

First I have to say that Leviathan, the green ink is one of my favorite greens thus far. Its not a kelly green but more of a greyish green. I love it! Siren ends up being a slightly midnight blue with a little greenish undertone. I’m not normally a fan of plain blue ink but I sort of like this one. Nessie is a muted purple which is also a great color. Zhulong is a red ink with a little orange undertone — it will not go pink on you. Kraken is a black but not a super dark black, at least not to my eyes — its more on the grey side.

Since doing the ink sample test, I’ve written several pages with each color and they all seem to be performing fairly well in each pen with an assortment of colors. I am using fine nib pens overall and my comment is that the inks seem a little dry. The dryness has worked to my advantage on my Leuchtturm 1917 pocket notebook which has fairly thin paper and I had no feathering or bleeding.

Goulet Pens posted an in-depth video about the Scribal colors on their blog, Ink Nouveau.

Each bottle of this ink is available for a mere $8 a bottle from Goulet Pens and I might buy them all.

In Fountain Pen Review

Muji Fountain Pen Review

Author AnaPosted on 9 Comments

Muji FP posted

Thanks to a dear friend, I recently came into possession of a Muji Fountain Pen. For those who are unfamiliar, Muji is a home goods and clothing company from Japan that focuses on simple, utilitarian items that are beautiful and totally functional. The fountain pen is brushed aluminum with a diamond grid texture embossed in the grip area. The brushed exterior is the exact same color and texture as the casing of my MacBook Pro, just so you know.

The cap snaps on rather than a threaded screw cap and can be posted on the end of the pen. Capped, the pen measures  5.5″ and 5″ unposted. If the cap is posted on the end, the pen is a lengthy 6.5″ long making it long enough for even the largest hands. The overall width of the pen is about 3/8″ which is just a tiny bit thinner than a standard Sharpie marker.

Muji Fountain Pen

The pen weighs just 20 gms which is comparable to the Pilot Prera at 17 gms and the Kaweco Sport which weigh just 15 gms. The only other metal casing pen in my arsenal is the Lamy Studio which weighs in at 27 gms.

The nib is iridium point and seems to be about a medium nib though it is not marked. I find that it behaves like a very fine stub adding a lot of character to my handwriting. Its has a little bit of friction when writing so its not quite as smooth and buttery on paper as the Kaweco pens but I don’t mind it. It will probably wear down over time.

Muji FP writing sample

The Muji FP takes standard European cartridges but there appears to be enough room in the body for a standard converter though I have not tried it yet. I used a Kaweco stock blue cartridge which worked well with the pen.

Muji FP capped

For the price of $15.50, there really isn’t any reason not to invest in one of the Muji fountain pens if you like the looks of it. I think it would make a great starter fountain pen for designers, architects and engineers. Its currently sold out on the Muji website but if you live in an area with a Muji shop, it would be worth the trip to pick one up or find a kind friend to pick one up for you! (Thanks to Cecelia for picking this one up for me!)

UPDATE: Stationery Art also stocks the Muji Fountain Pen. They are currently listing their price at $16.99.

In feature

Better Work Enviroment? Add a Plant or 11.

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According to Gardenista, the best way to improve your work environment is to add some real live greenery in the form of a plant. Acutally, eleven plants. According to a study by NASA plants help to break down the stale, carbon dioxide-laden air and filter out harmful organic compounds but you’ll need eleven plants for every one cubicle dweller. Even a teeny, tiny, little plant might help clean the air and brighten your work space like the succulent pictured above.