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Fingers Were Meant to be Inky

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Rosetta Notes Pocket Notebook Review

The Rosetta Notes pocket notebooks mixed three-pack fanned out: Wine (DotGrid), Chocolate (Blank), and Black (Ruled)

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This is Part 7 of my Mega Monster Review series on pocket notebooks. You can visit the main Mega Monster Review page for a listing of all the notebooks reviewed in this series. You can also open the massive Master Spreadsheet to see all the aggregated data on these notebooks. Note: This is a work in progress and will take several weeks to complete.

Rosetta Notes Pocket Notebook

Introduction & About the Company:

Rosetta is the house brand of the fine folks over at iPenStore. Although currently an online-only stationery dealer, iPenStore is a fourth-generation family business that first opened in Chicago in 1932 as the Evers Office Supply Company. Over the past several years, iPenStore has released a number of products under their Rosetta name, including pens (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint), pencils & leadholders, and… Read More

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Iron Gall Ink: Redux

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A while back, I published a post describing my experiences with iron gall ink and how one specific ink ate a pen and a spare nib. If you haven’t read it, I’d recommend doing so before reading this post. This is going to be a long, photo-heavy article, so I’m not going to rehash the initial story, which has proven to be really popular. It’s sparked quite a debate across reddit, including one in which a lovely redditor repeatedly called me… Read More

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Scout Books Pocket Notebook Review

An image of the three Scout Books pocket notebooks and brand card from one three-pack of notebooks

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This is Part 6 of my Mega Monster Review series on pocket notebooks. You can visit the main Mega Monster Review page for a listing of all the notebooks reviewed in this series. You can also open the massive Master Spreadsheet to see all the aggregated data on these notebooks. Note: This is a work in progress and will take several weeks to complete.

Scout Books Pocket Notebook

Introduction:

This series is all about the collision between the Fountain Pen and EDC worlds, and finding the notebooks that are most appropriate for fountain pen users who want to write on the go. The perfect pocket notebook handles ink well, never feathers or spreads, showcases shading and sheen, dries immediately, and is durable. That notebook is hanging out in Imaginary Land with Sasquatch and Nessie… Read More

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Newton Pens Eastman Review

Close shot of the Newton Pens Eastman Fountain Pen, showing the black-finished Bock nib and gentle contours of the section

Something a little different…a little special…a little “oh yeah!”

Newton Pens Eastman Fountain Pen

Price: $225.00
Nib: Extra Fine (Bock)
Filling System: Cartridge/Converter (Standard International)

A Different Approach:

This will be a slightly different type of review for me. Up to now, the pens I’ve reviewed have been mass produced in factories, rolling off well-oiled production lines. But this pen is different. It’s as much a piece of art as it is a tool for writing. So you may notice that I’m using different terminology for some sections and not assigning scores.

About Shawn Newton:

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Pendom lies a cozy little hamlet where wildly talented (and sometimes eccentric) artisans sit in their basements, garages, or workshops, transforming various slabs of raw materials into fine writing instruments with their bare hands…and typically with machinery that consists of sharp things that rotate at high speeds. One of these wizards is Shawn Newton, and the pen I’m reviewing is his Eastman model. If you’re unfamiliar with Shawn’s work, you need to drop by his website or his Instagram feed and check some of his amazing work.

An image of the Newton Pens Eastman Fountain Pen, uncapped, with the pen laying down and the cap standing up behind it

Shawn is a former art teacher turned full-time pen maker (see what I did there?) who’s made quite the name for himself in the pen world. He has developed a number of different designs and you can work with him to build a customized pen out of any material you want. His work is highly regarded for its beauty, uniqueness, and functionality. And as if creating beautiful writing instruments wasn’t enough, Shawn has also devoted himself to… Read More

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Weekly Pen Mail Call for 10/8/17

A small but spiffy slate of pen mail this week. Hot on the heels of the latest Field Notes edition, the Fall 2017 Write Notepads “Fingerprints” edition quietly arrived. And all the way from Japan, my Platinum #3776 Century Nyhavn came in like a yellow ray of… Read More

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Nock – DotDash Pocket Notebook Review

Three Nock Co. Nikko Blue DotDash pocket notebooks, fanned out.

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This is Part 3 of my Mega Monster Review series on pocket notebooks. You can visit the main Mega Monster Review page for a listing of all the notebooks reviewed in this series. You can also open the massive Master Spreadsheet to see all the aggregated data on these notebooks. Note: This is a work in progress and will take several weeks to complete.

Nock DotDash Pocket Notebooks

Introduction:

Nock Co. is a small company in Atlanta, Georgia: a collaboration between bag/everyday carry (EDC) designer Jeff Bruckwicki and pen blogger/podcaster Brad Dowdy. Although Nock is mostly known for their (rather awesome) pen cases, they also produce a small range of paper products intended to be both great for EDC and friendly for fountain pen users.

In this review, I’ll be taking a look at their Nikko Blue DotDash pocket notebook. One thing to note… Read More

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Field Notes – Original Kraft Pocket Notebook Review

Mixed three-pack of Field Notes Kraft notebooks, fanned out, with the belly band on top.

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This is Part 2 of my Mega Monster Review series on pocket notebooks. You can visit the main Mega Monster Review page for a listing of all the notebooks reviewed in this series. You can also open the massive Master Spreadsheet to see all the aggregated data on these notebooks. Note: This is a work in progress and will take several weeks to complete.

Field Notes Original Kraft Pocket Notebooks

Introduction:

When it comes to pocket notebooks, Field Notes doesn’t really need much of an introduction. They’re basically the gold standard against which other 3.5″ by 5.5″ notebooks are measured. Field Notes began as a partnership between graphic designer Aaron Draplin and advertising designer Jim Coudal back in 2007. They were inspired by the hundreds, if not thousands, of small, promotional memo books distributed to farmers by agricultural and farm equipment companies throughout American history.

Although Field Notes has their permanent production editions of pocket notebooks, they really made a name for themselves with their

… Read More

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Karas Kustoms Ink Fountain Pen Review

The Karas Kustoms Ink Fountain Pen, capped sitting on a pen stand

Rugged. ‘Murican. Sexy. Okay, maybe not sexy. Nah, I was right the first time…it’s pretty sexy.

Karas Kustoms Ink Fountain Pen

Price: $85.00 to $240.00 (depending on configuration and where you buy it)
Nib: EF, Titanium (Bock)
Filling System: Standard International Cartridge/Converter

About the Company:

Karas Kustoms is a small machine shop located in Mesa, Arizona, USA. Company founder, Bill Karas, started working as a machinist in high school, and after a number of years grinding metal for “the man,” he opened his own custom machine shop. Although he started as a one-man band, he soon hired industrial designer Dan Bishop as an assistant. Bill gave Dan a broom and told him to clean up the joint.

They produced a number of different types of products, most notably iPhone cases. They sold relatively well, and the company saw steady growth, but were still missing that one big idea that would slingshot them to prominence.

During this time, the crowdfunding site Kickstarter was experiencing a trend of successfully funded pen design/manufacturing projects. This phenomenon caught Dan’s eye. He reportedly threw down his broom, ran to Bill and said, “Dude! We need to make pens.” Bill laughed and told him to pick up the broom and get back to work. Dan argued. They grappled a bit. In the end, Bill let Dan run with the idea to see how it would go. Dan fired up his industrial design engine, and their first pen, the Render K, was born. After the 30-day Kickstarter campaign ended, they had just under $70,000 in funding to produce the pen. All were shocked. Bill stopped laughing.

Disclaimer: I took a whole lot of liberties with the facts on that bit of company history. I think the general premise of my tale is correct, but I made up the laughing and grappling parts. For a more complete and accurate journalistic account of their history, check out this August 2016 article on AZCentral.

Revisionist history aside, the Render K was a huge success, and it vaulted Karas Kustoms into the pen manufacturing world, to the shear delight of both the fountain pen and everyday carry (EDC) communities. Over the next few years, Karas Kustoms continued to use Kickstarter to fund new pen designs. Today, they have six major designs (and a new one about to launch any day now) in a number of configurations and material combinations.

About the Pen:

One of their newer designs is a meaty, full-sized fountain pen called the Ink.

I’ll just get it out there now: the name “Ink” is a ridiculous name for a pen. Especially a fountain pen.

“I just got a Karas Kustoms Ink!”

“Karas Kustoms makes INK??? Where’d’ya get that?!”

“No, no. It’s not ink for a pen…it’s a pen named ‘Ink.'”

“Huh?”

“That’s the name of the pen: Ink.”

“So, Karas Kustoms doesn’t make ink?”

“NO! they only makes pens. The pen is called the Ink.”

“Why would they call a pen Ink?”

“Gaaaaahahhhh!”

Unlike its name, the pen is not at all ridiculous.

The Karas Kustoms Ink Fountain Pen, uncapped and sitting on its side

The Ink is machined from rods of metal (aluminum, brass, or copper). All three materials come “naked,” and the aluminum version is also available anodized in a number of gorgeous colors. In addition to the wide array of metals, colors, and finishes, there are five different options for the grip section: polished aluminum, tumbled aluminum, black anodized aluminum, brass, and copper. And if that wasn’t enough, you also have a vast selection of wonderful #6 Bock nibs to choose from. The nibs come in all the standard sizes in regular steel, black steel, two-tone steel, and titanium. So overall, you have a pretty dizzying array of options to choose from.

I bought my Ink back in March 2017 at the Arkansas Pen Show…or more specifically at the Vanness open house during that weekend. I looked over the different colors they had in stock and settled on the red. I paired it up with a tumbled aluminum section and an EF titanium nib. It turned out to be a pretty sweet-looking configuration. So with my customized EDC pen in hand, I happily tottered off into the sunset.

And to be honest, it’s been inked up and part of my EDC ever since.

The Karas Kustoms Ink Fountain Pen, uncapped, with the pen laying down and the pen resting on the cap… Read More

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Iron Gall Ink: Friend or Foe?

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Is iron gall ink Public Enemy #1, or just a poor, misunderstood schmuck caught up in an unfair war of opinions?

Some people avoid it like the plague, flat-out stating that it will eat your pens, paper, pets, and children. Others use it exclusively, saying it’s perfectly safe and they bathe in it and pour it over their cereal with no ill effects… Read More

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Quick Look: Six Organics Studio Inks

Banner image for Organics Studio Ink Quick Look, Part 1

Now you see ’em. Now you don’t. Now you see ’em again.

Organics Studio (OS) is a company I (regretfully) avoided early on. When I started working with fountain pens a few years ago, there was a pretty big kerfuffle going on about certain “boutique” ink brands. People were complaining about SITB (Slime/Stuff in the Bottle) issues with Private Reserve. Others were swearing up and down that Noodler’s Baystate Blue was eating their pens. There was a lot of FUD going on. Some things I chose to ignore (I did buy a pile of Noodler’s ink), but others stuck with me. For some reason, I lumped Organics Studio in with all the scary issues. I think there was one or two reports of SITB in their inks, so I relegated them to the “Do Not Bother” list.

Fortunately, I kept hearing a lot of good things about these inks, and decided to give them a try anyway (plus, even giant brands like Montblanc and J Herbin had issues with SITB, so the one or two reported occurrences with OS inks seemed more like anomalies than an ongoing issue). Unfortunately

… Read More