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Fingers Were Meant to be Inky

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January 17, 2015 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Paper, Reviews / Leave a Comment

Kyokuto F64° Notebook Review

Kyokuto F64° Pocket-Sized Notebooks Kyokuto F64° Pocket-Sized Notebooks (Ruled & Plain)

A Tale of Six Notebooks, a Chinese Pen, and a Whole Lot of Feathers

This was supposed to be a short, quick review. But it turned into a genuine saga.

I love notebooks. I have piles of them that I’m not sure I’ll ever get to use. But I keep buying them because I’m looking for the PERFECT notebook. As I’ve been trying different brands, paper types, styles, and bindings, I think I’ve identified exactly what I’m looking for. Unfortunately, I don’t think it exists. With the thousands of different types of notebooks out there, you’d think I could find a handful of options that suit my needs. But you’d be wrong…. Read More

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January 17, 2015 / Ken Crooker / Photography / Leave a Comment

Quick Pic: Meramec River

Took advantage of the beautiful, un-winterlike weather to take the family on a 4.5 mile walk along the Meramec River. No foliage this time of year, but the scenery is still beautiful.

A Walk Along the Meremec River

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January 11, 2015 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Reviews / 3 Comments

Kaigelu 336 Fountain Pen Review

Kaigelu 336 Fountain Pen
Next up in my “Inexpensive Chinese Fountain Pens” series, I present to you…

Kaigelu 336 Fountain Pen

Price: $20.00
Nib: Medium
Filling System: Screw-Type Piston Converter

About the Pen:

In my research trying to find good Chinese fountain pen manufacturers, the name Kaigelu comes up a lot. I’ve read reviews on different Kaigelu models and nearly every one claims excellent quality and writing experience. I stumbled on an eBay auction for the Kaigelu 336 and immediately loved the way it looked. It’s a little more expensive than other pens I was looking at, and because I was fresh off my Crocodile disaster, I didn’t want to trust a random eBay seller with this one. So I searched around, found it on iSellPens, and put in my order. Let me say that all the pictures of this pen on the Internet just don’t do it justice. This is an absolutely stunning pen and I just couldn’t wait to ink it up and get writing. How does it write? Keep reading to find out…. Read More

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January 10, 2015 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Reviews / Leave a Comment

Sheaffer Prelude 380 Fountain Pen Review

Sheaffer Prelude 380 Fountain Pen in metallic blue

From the “I expected more from this pen” files…

Sheaffer Prelude 380 Fountain Pen

Price: $41.00
Nib: Fine
Filling System: Twist-Style Piston Converter

About the Pen

I’m on the constant hunt for a fountain pen that puts down an extra fine line, but with the smoothness and wetness of a medium nib. The closest thing I’ve found so far is the Pilot Metropolitan, which really is a brilliant writer. An eBay auction for a Sheaffer with a “fine nib that writes like an extra-fine” caught my eye. I know Sheaffer is a great and respected brand, and the pen looked really pretty, so I decided to take a shot on it. Amazon had the same pen listed for $65, so I thought $41 was a good deal. When it arrived, I cleaned it, inked it up, and this is what I found…. Read More

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December 20, 2014 / Ken Crooker / Security, Tech / Leave a Comment

Telltale Signs that an Email is a Scam #1

Example of a Scam Email
Example of a Scam Email – Click to Enlarge

So I’ve recently written about scam emails and what to watch out for. They just keep rolling in, though, so I figure I might use them to illustrate some of the things scammers do that are easy to spot. And it’s important that you CAN spot them.

The first thing you have to understand is that the people who put these things together are lazy. They do the bare minimum to get these emails out. They only need a handful of people to fall for it, so they don’t put much effort into creating believable, authentic-looking emails. Enough people fall for these that they don’t have to resort to those pesky time-consuming details like formatting and editing…. Read More

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December 11, 2014 / Ken Crooker / Security, Tech / Leave a Comment

Don’t Click that Link! – There’s Evil on the Other Side

It happens every year. The minute the smell of turkey starts escaping ovens, retailers start announcing their deals, discounts, and door-busters. Cards, catalogs, and coupons fill up our physical mailboxes. And electronic advertisements pummel us from our inboxes, social media feeds, and every site we visit. Deals are flying around everywhere. Gifts are exchanged among friends, family, and coworkers. People are buying lots of crap, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores.

The month leading up to Christmas is a veritable feeding frenzy for retailers and shoppers alike.

It’s also a first-class, grade-A, prime-time opportunity for hackers, criminals, and other unsavory specimens to pick your pocket, hack your accounts, and otherwise ruin your holiday.

… Read More

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November 12, 2014 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Reviews / 4 Comments

Yiren 823 Fountain Pen Review

Yiren 823 Fountain Pen

The next entry in my “Cheap Chinese Pens I Got from eBay” series is the…

Yiren 823 Fountain Pen

Price: $7.00
Nib: Medium/Fine
Filling System: Twist-Style Piston Converter & International Standard Cartridge

About the Pen

This was one of the first pens I purchased during my recent eBay bender, and it was one of the ones I was most excited about. I just loved everything about the way it looked in the pictures, so I took a chance on it. Within five minutes of inking it up, I decided it was worth every penny. The short story is: This pen rocks! The long story is…. Read More

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October 15, 2014 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Reviews / Leave a Comment

Knox Galileo Fountain Pen Review

Knox Galileo Fountain Pens (Black and Orange)

Price: $15.00
Nib: Extra Fine
Filling System: Piston / Cartridge (International Standard, I think)

About the Pen

Knox is an interesting brand. They’re only available from one retailer (XFountainPens out of Pittsburgh, PA, USA). They appear to be commissioned from a Chinese manufacturer, but outfitted with German nibs. I heard some great things about the Knox nibs and noticed that the Galileo came with a free bottle of ink. For $15, I figured I’d take a chance on it (okay, the fact that it comes in a nice, shiny orange may have had something to do with it, too). With the exception of one rather large flaw, I absolutely love this pen…. Read More

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October 4, 2014 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Reviews / 4 Comments

Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen Review

Two Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens: one Bronze Lizard and one Black Crocodile

From the “I know there are a million reviews of this pen already, but I’m writing one anyway” files…

Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen

Price: $15.00
Nibs: Fine & Italic
Country of Origin: Japan
Filling System: Aerometric / Squeeze-Type

About the Pen:

The Pilot Metropolitan is undoubtedly one of the best “starter” fountain pens out there. The street price is $15, making it very affordable. But it’s also a hallmark of quality: durable, dependable, reliable, and comfortable. The Metro is available with either a Fine or Medium nib; however, it used the same nib as several other Pilot pens, which are available in other grades: the Pilot Plumix has an Italic nib, and the Pilot Penmanship has an Extra Fine nib (Note: the Plumix and Penmenship cost about $8 each). The nibs can be swapped from those pens into the Metropolitan, giving a total of four nib options.

For this review, I’m using two different variants of the pen:

  • Bronze Lizard with a Fine nib
  • Black Crocodile with an Italic nib (that I swapped from a Plumix)

… Read More

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September 28, 2014 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Reviews / 2 Comments

Duke Uranus M25 Fountain Pen Review

duke_m25_01

The next entry in my “Cheap Chinese Pens I Got from eBay” series is the…

Duke Uranus M25 Fountain Pen

Price: $5.90
Nib: Extra Fine, Steel, Hooded
Country of Origin: China
Filling System: Piston (push type)

… Read More

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What’s Next?

You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything in a really long time. Sorry about that. Once we started up the St. Louis Pen Show and the St. Louis pen meetups, most of my free "pen time" started going into those activities.

My goal was always to write very thorough reviews with lots of great pictures, and that takes a ton of time. The writing, editing, and photo editing for one review took up a full weekend, and that doesn't take into account actually using the pens and taking notes along the way. With all I have going on, it just wasn't sustainable to keep this site going on a consistent basis.

Will I ever come back and start doing reviews again? Maybe. But not anytime soon. I am still around, though. You can catch me at the monthly St. Louis Area Pen Meetup & Eats (SLAPME) events, the St. Louis Pen Show, and a handful of other pen shows around the country.

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