Fingers Were Meant to be Inky
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
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
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.)
I’m extremely impressed by how much I’m unimpressed with this pen.
Price: $15.00
Nib: Fine
Filling System: Standard International Cartridges (and apparently nothing else)
The quick review: I’d rather jam it in my eye than write with it. The end.
If you’d like a little more detail, then feel free to read on. But don’t expect a different outcome in the long version.
I recently started to run across Schneider fountain pens on eBay. The most common model I saw was the Base, which is a funny-looking thing. It sort of resembles some Faber-Castell designs…but more of a cheesy, drunk-looking version. But then I found some listings for their Glam model, and I thought it looked a little more interesting. The Glam comes in a number of different screen-printed designs, and their “Cog Wheel” design was the one that caught my eye.
So I got to looking at the pen a little more in-depth. I noticed right away that… Read More
From deep within the “It’s not a knockoff, it’s an homage” files, I present the…
Price: $12.50
Nib: Medium
Filling System: Screw-Type Piston Converter (also takes Standard International cartridges)
Do you remember the old Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons where they would give each episode a normal title followed by a silly alternative title (such as The Flat of the Land – or – A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moose)? I feel compelled to do that here. So in the spirit of everyone’s favorite Moose & Squirrel, here is “Review: Jinhao 159 Fountain Pen – or – I Got Me a Big-Ass Pumpkin Pen.”
I’ve got several Jinhao pens in my collection (that I’m slowly getting around to trying). The few that I’ve tried so far have been pretty unimpressive. Until recently, neither the 159 or the x750 were in my collection. Both of these models typically get great reviews, so when the fine folks at Goulet Pens were running a “Free x750 with Purchase of any Jinhao” sale, I couldn’t resist. The color options are pretty limited, but I’m a sucker for orange, so… Read More
From the “I expected more from this pen” files…
Price: $41.00
Nib: Fine
Filling System: Twist-Style Piston Converter
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
The next entry in my “Cheap Chinese Pens I Got from eBay” series is the…
Price: $5.90
Nib: Extra Fine, Steel, Hooded
Country of Origin: China
Filling System: Piston (push type)
Recently, I went a little berzerk with eBay and picked up a poop-load of Chinese pens. As they come rolling in, I’d like to share my thoughts with everyone on their performance.
My first contribution in the Fountain Pen Reviews Department is for the…
Price: $18.50
Nib: Medium, Steel, 22KGP/two-tone
Country of Origin: China
Filling System: Piston / Cartridge (International Standard, I believe)… Read More
