KenCrooker.com

Fingers Were Meant to be Inky

TwitterFacebookPhotosRSS
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Pen Pain
  • Internet Safety
  • About
  • Contact
  • Toggle Mobile Menu
  • Back to Top

October 3, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Ink, Reviews / 1 Comment

Quick Look: Robert Oster Signature Inks (Part 2)

Banner image for the Robert Oster Signature Ink Quick Look posts

More Amazing Colors from Robert Oster Signature

I asked Rob Oster for stories to share with you, wondering specifically how he decided to start making and selling his own line of inks. His reply: “My obsession with ink occurred out of the blue one day as I looked from over my powerbook at a sea of ink bottles….wondering why I don’t make an ink as close to nature as possible.”

I believe it. Especially looking at… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

September 29, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Ink, Reviews / 3 Comments

Quick Look: Robert Oster Signature Inks (Part 1)

Banner image for the Robert Oster Signature Ink Quick Look posts

Robert Oster Signature: A Tsunami of Color from Down Under

Australia has a lot of the grooviest things on this planet. They have the best spiders. They have the coolest snakes. They have the cutest marsupials. If that wasn’t enough, a mighty wave of new and little-known ink companies are emerging from the wild and wonderful island continent. In the last year, I’ve learned of four such companies from the land Down Under: Toucan, Blackstone, Bookbinders, and the newest kid on the block, Robert Oster Signature. Nestled in the heart of South Australia’s wine country, Robert Oster Signature is a (mostly) one-man outfit run by (you guessed it)… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

September 5, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Ink, Reviews / Leave a Comment

Quick Look: 11 Callifolio Inks

Sampler image and title block for the Callifolio ink comparison: Anahuac, Baikal, Bleu Equinoxe #6, Botany Bay, Cannelle, Cassis, Grenat, Inca Sol, Oconto, Olifants, and Olivastre

Callifolio Inks: Mostly Unknown, but Super Interesting French Export

Callifolio is a line of fountain pen inks from French art supply manufacturer Artisan Pastellier. They actually have two lines of ink (their other is Encre Classique, which  are mixable so you can create your own colors). Artisan Pastellier also makes art pastels, watercolors, natural & metallic pigments, sealing wax, and a few other brightly colored art supplies.

There’s not much talk of the Callifolio inks out there, and I only know of… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

August 17, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Ink, Paper, Reviews / 1 Comment

Quick Look: Cheap Composition Notebooks

The covers of Five Cheap Composition Notebooks, four from Norcom (Brazil, Colombia, USA, Vietnam) and one Casemate (China)

“Back to School” Means Dirt-Cheap Notebooks! Are They Any Good with Fountain Pens?

Fountain pens are wonderful. That’s a given. But because they use water-based ink, they’re really not suitable for most run-of-the-mill paper (see what I did, there?). Fountain pens aren’t very popular in the US, so most of the everyday paper found here is a poor match for pens that use water-based inks. Ballpoints and gel pens effectively make up the entirety of American daily writing instruments, so manufacturers only need to supply paper that works well with those inks…which, really, any crappy paper can do.

So that leaves us poor fountain pen users stuck buying higher quality paper, mostly imported from France or Japan. These papers are great, but they’re pretty expensive compared to… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

July 9, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Babble, Commentary, Conspiracy, Ink / 8 Comments

Stupid? Don’t Give a Crap? Slaves to a Moronic Process? (Listen Up, Amazon!)

Well, it finally happened. I can take some small amount of solace in knowing it’s Amazon’s fault and not mine. But there’s still a giant blue stain on my carpet, and I’m not happy about it.

I’ve wanted to check out Levenger products, but unfortunately, none of my usual, go-to fountain pen retailers carry them. I decided to buy a couple Levenger inks (their bottles are so cool!) and had to decide whether to get them directly from Levenger ($14 per bottle + shipping) or from Amazon ($12 per bottle with free shipping). No brainer, right? (I’m referring to the decision being a no-brainer at this point…I’ll get to the box-packing Amazon employees being no-brainers in a bit.)

Two bottles of Levenger Ink: Empyrean and True Teal… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

June 19, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Ink, Reviews / 5 Comments

Quick Look: Six Pilot Iroshizuku Inks

Sampler image and title block for the Pilot Iroshizuku blue and green ink comparison

Pilot Iroshizuku Inks: Blue, Green, and In Between

Pilot is arguably the biggest name in pens. If you’ve ever put a long, pointy thing in your hand and wrote with it, you’ve undoubtedly used a Pilot product along the way. Pilot is a Japanese company, and regardless of whether you’re using a cheap, throw-away ballpoint or a $5,000 makie fountain pen, their products are all made with impeccable quality, and you’re sure to experience a nice, trouble-free writing experience.

In addition to pens, Pilot makes a wonderful line of bottled inks for fountain pens. While other brands shoot for vibrant, highly saturated color palettes, Pilot aims for colors that mirror the beauty found in nature. Here’s a description from the Pilot web site:

The name Iroshizuku is a combination of the Japanese words Iro (Coloring), expressing high standards and variation of colors, and Shizuku (Droplet), that embodies the very image of dripping water. Each ink name derives from the expressions of beautiful Japanese natural landscapes and plants, all of which contribute to the depth of each individual hue.


… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

May 29, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Reviews / 4 Comments

Baoer 508 Fountain Pen Review

The Baoer 508 Fountain Pen, uncapped, with the pen's section resting on top of the cap with the top of the nib facing the camera

Getting back to some good, old-fashioned inexpensive Chinese fountain pen action. Is it cheap? Or is it good? Could it be Both?

Baoer 508 Fountain Pen Review

Price: $3.00
Nib: Medium (on the finer side)
Filling System: Standard International Converter & Cartridges

About the Pen:

Exploring the world of Chinese fountain pens is an adventure. Some are inexpensive, others are less so. Some are outstanding performers, while others are absolute disasters. And there seems to be no real correlation between price and quality. Some of my best finds were in the $4 to $7 range, while some of my biggest disappointments cost between $12 and $19.

Some Chinese pens lead to adventure not because of the price-to-performance ratio, but because of some of the crazy things that happen with them. The Baoer 508 is a perfect example.

I filled the 508 with ink from a sample, so I used a syringe. I was also filling another pen, so I stood the 508 up on its cap to let gravity help the ink find its way to the nib. After about three minutes, I came back to it and took the cap off. Ink went flying… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

April 23, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Ink, Reviews / Leave a Comment

Quick Look: Toucan-A-Palooza

All six Toucan ink swabs (Scarlet, Bright Blue, Sienna, Crimson, Aqua, and Orange)

Toucan Inks: Bright Colors from Down Under

Toucan inks are made by a company called Dye Manufacturers of Australia, which has been around since the early 1900s. In about 1918, they started to sell dyes meant for clothing and food products under the name Tintex. More recently, they’ve branched out, producing ink for technical drawing and fountain pens.

At first look, Toucan inks don’t jump out as being too interesting or special. They’re bright, but their colors are pretty basic and not too terribly saturated. The beauty with these inks, though, is that they are specifically formulated so you can mix them to produce any colors you want. I haven’t played with them as yet, but I can see myself doing a bit of mad scientist work in the very near future.
… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

April 9, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Commentary, Fountain Pens, Ink / 19 Comments

To Sheen or Not to Sheen? That is the Frustration!

Figure Eights in Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue Ink, showing a thin ruby sheen around the edges

Before I start complaining, I just want to say that I am NOT including shimmering inks in this discussion. Sheen and shimmer are two different things, people. Let’s just get this out of the way up front:

Sheen = Ink takes on a different color (1) at different angles (usually after drying); (2) around edges; or (3) where ink pools

Shimmer = Glittery particles added to ink for sparkle (like J. Herbin and the Diamine Shimmertastic inks…although J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor has both sheen and shimmer, and I do mention that one below)

And if you’re a fan of analogies and/or vampires:

Shimmer : Sheen :: Twilight : Necroscope

Yeah I know, that doesn’t make any sense. I just wanted to cram Necroscope into the conversation. If you like vampires and haven’t read that series, you should. Faethor & Thibor would eat those other glittery sissies for lunch and… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print

April 2, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Fountain Pens, Ink, Reviews / 7 Comments

Quick Look: Five Akkerman Inks

Akkerman Ink Swabs (Konninginne Nach-Blauw, Diep-Duinwaterblauw, Ijzer-Galnoten Blauw/Zwart, Trêves Turquoise, and Zuiderpark Blauw-Groen

Akkerman Inks: Beautiful Blues from the Kingdom of the Netherlands

P.W. Akkerman is a fountain pen shop located in The Hague, Netherlands. They’ve been in business since 1910 and carry all the biggest names in fountain pendom. I first became aware of Akkerman inks from watching Stephen Brown’s pen reviews. Stephen lives in the Netherlands and has ready access to the shop and all the goodies inside.

To celebrate their centennial anniversary, Akkerman came out with their own line of inks back in 2010. The prevailing theory is that because they’re a shop, they must have commissioned their inks from a larger ink manufacturer. Diamine does a lot of this, so a lot of people assumed that Akkerman inks were rebranded Diamine inks. The only problem with this is that no one can really draw a line between specific Akkerman and Diamine (or other brands) colors. So at the moment, it appears that Akkerman inks are unique and not rebranded anything.

Have they been commissioned by a larger ink manufacturer? I’d say that’s probably… Read More

If you found this useful, click some of these buttons to share it!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

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.

Subscribe!

Type your email, click Subscribe, and you'll get notified via email when I post!

Categories

Babble Commentary Conspiracy Entertainment Fountain Pens Ink Music Paper Pen Pain Photography Reviews Security Social Tech Tutorials Uncategorized

Copyright KenCrooker.com

 

Loading Comments...