In feature

Great Minds: Pens & Tea: Top 5 fountain pens I recommend but don’t use myself

Author AnaPosted on 9 Comments

I have been a fan of Pens & Tea on YouTube for many years now. While we have never met, we have similar perspectives on pens, though sometimes our reasons differ. Her recent post: Top 5 fountain pens I recommend but don’t use myself was remarkably similar to a list I would make, though we have slightly different reasons for making these decisions.

Kerry’s list of Top 5 Pens she recommends but doesn’t use/own are as follows:

  1. TWSBI
  2. Lamy Safari/AL-Star
  3. Kaweco Perkeo
  4. Diplomat Magnum
  5. Conklin Duragraph

I 100% agree with the first two in her list. I recommend TWSBI  fountain pens frequently to people but I have a TWSBI curse (every one that has ever passed into my hands has been weirdly scratchy) so I tend to give away or sell any that I buy. But when I know someone particularly wants a pen to use with bottled ink, it’s the first pen I’ll recommend. Every other member of the Desk staff loves their TWSBIs (whether its the Swipe, the ECO or a Diamond) so I am definitely an outlier when it comes to TWSBI pens.

While I do own several Safari/AL-Star pens, I don’t often reach for them nor do I plan to add anymore to my collection. I mean, c’mon, how do you top an Urushi Lamy? Seriously, though, as a lefty, I find the triangular grip section tends to dig into my fingers. Aesthetically, I prefer other pens, even at a similar price point (the Kaweco Sport line immediately comes to mind).

As for the Kaweco Perkeo, it is actually a pen I do recommend. The color combos are a little odd but the ability to accept a full-sized converter or standard international cartridge makes it a great starter pen. The low price point makes it also within the reach for a lot of people.

As for the Diplomat Magnum, I have to admit that I don’t own or have even tested the Magnum. I guess its time to put it on the list for future reviews.

And as for the Conklin Duragraph, I don’t own nor do I ever really recommend it. I think its name and its history is what often brings it to people’s attention but the current production quality is not something that makes it consistently good writer or aesthetically all that appealing.

So, if I were to write my own list of Top 5 Pens I recommend but don’t use/own:

  1. TWSBI
  2. Lamy Safari/AL-Star
  3. Pilot Vanishing Point
  4. Diplomat Aero
  5. BENU

I’ve already explained my feelings on the TWSI and Lamy Safari/AL-Star above so I’ll just go over the last three on my list.

I often recommend the Pilot Vanishing Point because it appeals to gadget-heads and fidgeters. The classic VP is too big for my hands but I do own a Decimo which I like but I’m disappointed that Pilot doesn’t offer the Decimo in more color options.

The Diplomat Aero is a beautiful pen with unique aesthetics and really good build quality. For eme personally though, it’s anther pen that is too big for me. In this way, Kerry and I are very different. My hands are tiny so many of the pens I use personally are often too small for most people so I recommend other, interesting and unique pens that I know are well-made and beautiful.

Citrus Diplomat Aero
Photo from Vanness Pen Shop.

Finally, I often recommend BENU pens even though I don’t own one. They are just eye candy that it is often the gateway for people looking for a very unique, eye-catching pen. The quality is excellent and BENU offer an array of colors and sizes at reasonable prices so its often a pen people choose when they are wanting to upgrade beyond the under $50 pens. I haven’t found “the” BENU pen for myself yet though. I often love a finish but not the shape or vice versa. So maybe someday I will own one but for now, I will continue to recommend them and see the delight in someone’s eye when they hold the gem that is a BENU pen in their hands and know that it is their new favorite pen.

BENU Pen
Photo from Vanness Pen Shop.

I hope Kerry doesn’t mind me hopping on her proverbial coattails but I was so tickled when she said she recommended TWSBI but didn’t use them that I felt a kinship and spent the rest of her video thinking what list I would make. So I did.

What pens do you recommend but don’t own or use?

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review (and Giveaway): Narwhal Voyage Shanghai

Author AnaPosted on 122 Comments
Fountain Pen Review (and Giveaway): Narwhal Voyage Shanghai

The Narwhal Voyage Shanghai fountain pen ($150 available in Fine, Medium, Broad and Stub nibs) is one of three city themed models release din March of 2022 with a limited edition quantity of 500 of each. The other two models in this release are the New York and New Orleans editions.

The body of the Shanghai is a shimmery, blue-black swirl Diamond Cast resin by McKenzie Pen Works and features a clear ink window. The hardware is silver tone and the nib is a stainless steel. According to various comments on the internet the nib is a standard #6 Bock nib with a narwhal engraved on the nib. Its a screw-in nib so if you plan on swapping it out, the whole unit will have to be replaced, not just the nib.

The pen is described as an oversized piston filler. Having handled it and placed it next to some of my other daily-use pens, I completely agree.

The Narwhal Voyage, has been described as part of the “Nautilus” pen model but I think the Nautilus is distinct with its round “ship’s portal” ink window. The Voyage looks more streamline where the Nautilus looks a little more steampunk.

From left to right: Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Opus 88 Coloro, Narwhal, TWSBI Eco and Pelikan M205
Uncapped and posted when possible, from left to right: Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Opus 88 Coloro, Narwhal, TWSBI Eco and Pelikan M205

The Voyage cannot be posted but the weight and size of the pen means most larger hands should be able to use it comfortably. The grip section on the Narwhal Voyage is also wider than the other pens shown above.

Product Specifications (from vendor):

  • Capped Length: 5.9 in.(149.9mm)
  • Uncapped Length: 5.24 in.(133.1mm)
  • Diameter of Body: 0.54 in.(13.7mm)
  • Diameter of Cap: 0.6 in.(15.2mm)
  • Diameter of Grip: 0.48 in.(12.2mm)
  • Weight: 33g

Comparison weights:

Pen Weights

When compared with other pens, the 33gms weight is definitely on the heavy end. A good deal of the weight is the cap and since the pen cannot be posted when writing, in use, the pen does not feel inordinately heavy nor is it off-balance but it is definitely a bit “too much pen” for me.

The nib is smooth and wet and seems a little wider than what I’d normally consider a Medium. I am not sure if Narwhal is tuning the nibs before shipping out the pens or if I just tested a particularly wet nib.

The Voyage is a large pen with great details and construction so far. I find it too big and too heavy for my little pixie-sized hands but I know that there is a reader out there who would love to take this pen on a voyage. So, we are going to give it away to a lucky reader!

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us what sea adventures you’d most like to experience. (Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay?) One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Wednesday. ONE winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules, one for each color (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

Giveaway is for pen only. There is no original packaging but the pen will be cleaned and protectively wrapped for shipping.

Tools:

DISCLAIMER: The pen included in this post was generously provided by Narwhal Pens for the purposes of this review and giveaway.

In Ink Review

Vinta Fairytale Inks

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 1 Comment
Vinta Fairytale Inks

The Fairytale line of inks from Vinta has been released – a beautiful group of five inks with plenty of shading and sparkle as well. Rather than explain too much about these inks, let’s get to the photos instead. I received a set of samples from Vanness where they are priced at $3.50 for a 4mL sample or $15 for a 30mL bottle.

Lakambini has a base layer close to Sailor Peache with pink sparkle.

Vinta Pangtangi was a difficult color to match – in certain lights, it looks very close to ColorVerse Anti-Matter Glistening or even Mermaid from Dream Ink. But the base ink color is absolutely closest to Bookbinders Ground Rattler with gold sparkle on top.

Vinta Saysay may be the darkest sparkling ink that I have seen in a while. It is a blue-based black with silvery-blue sparkle.

Vinta Salimbay is a wonderful blue-purple complete with multi-chromatic shading and purple sparkle.

Last in the Fairytale line is Lakbay – a light ocean blue with pink-copper sparkle.

On Tomoe River paper, the Fairytale inks are beautiful at any angle:

But the five inks are amazing when the light hits them just right:

 

 

 

 

Cosmo Air Light paper shows the Fairytale inks differently:

 

 

 

I love the color combinations in these five inks – especially Salimbay and Lakbay. The sparkle in the Fairytale inks can spread from the ink to other surfaces – hands, paper, blotting paper, face. However, I do believe sparkle is extremely under-represented in everyday life, so that’s not a negative!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: What’s in a Name?

Author AnaPosted on 12 Comments
Link Love: What’s in a Name?

This past week there was some scuttlebutt about Noodlers Ink. I wasn’t sure how to to approach the subject because it hits so many hot buttons for so many people but since Inkophile tackled the topic, I’m grateful for the opportunity to discuss the matter.

If you’ve been a part of the pen community for some time, you’ll know that Nathan from Noodlers Ink often includes his political views in the naming and design of his inks. Overall, I’ve always been of the opinion that Nathan was trying to draw attention to social and political issues but I know some of his choices have really bothered people. I just choose not to purchase Noodlers Ink both because of the politics and because of some issues with the ink formulations (Bay State Blue, I’m looking at you.).

In light of the announcement that Noodlers was renaming and rebranding many of the ink colors, as well as an apology and charitable donations will hopefully help to improve the public opinion of Noodlers.

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

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In Ink Review

Ink Review: Dominant Industry, Periwinkle Twinkle

Author Laura CameronPosted on

For those of you who have been reading the blog for a bit, you know that each year I like to purchase some inks that are representative of the Pantone Color of the Year. The color for 2022 is Very Peri.

What IS periwinkle? Is it blue? Is it purple? Is it blurple? According to Pantone:

Encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time possessing a violet-red undertone, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression.

It also comes from the plant of the same name, which can appear blue, pale lilac, or some combination in between.

With that in mind, I searched the web for periwinkle fountain ink. I have lots of contenders to share over the next few weeks, but the first one that came up was Dominant Industry Periwinkle. It comes in both a matte finish (Periwinkle Blue) and a pearl finish (Periwinkle Twinkle, 25mL for $20.00). How could I not choose the pearl?

Periwinkle Twinkle displays more blue than lavender, though there are some violet undertones. The pearl finish helps to add that bit of sparkle and color to it. In the swatch itself, I get a bit of sparkle that’s hard to capture on camera, but it is there. In the large ink droplets, there’s no denying that pearly sheen!

The ink shades nicely – it is on the lighter side in finer nibs, but still very readable.

In terms of comparable inks, I have a few. I was surprised to see Stipula Deep Blue was close, if not a bit lighter. Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire has a bit of a purple cast to it and Pilot Iroshizuku Ajisai is another ink that reads fairly blue/purple.

Overall, I’m not quite sure I hit the exact shade of Veri Peri, but I’m glad to have added another fun blue to the collection. I do have a few more to explore though, and a few that look a bit more purple – stay tuned!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Nagasawa Original Pro Gear Slim (Gakuen-Toshi Fresh Green)

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Fountain Pen Review: Nagasawa Original Pro Gear Slim (Gakuen-Toshi Fresh Green)

Nagasawa is a stationery shop located in Kobe, Japan. Most pen enthusiasts will know the brand from their line of Kobe inks — a proprietary line of colors made by Sailor for Nagasawa and sold as Kobe. Less well known is the collaboration that Nagasawa often does with Sailor in creating their own exclusive Sailor pens.

Cat paws provided for scale.

Other than exterior colors, the key differences between a stock Sailor pen offering and a Nagasawa branded Pro Gear is the engraving on the nib and cap band and the custom low flat ink bottle icon on the end cap. From the perspective of “is this a real Sailor pen?” the answer is unequivocally yes.

Comparing end cap detail, from left to right: Nagasawa Kobe, custom Zodiac Sailor nib from Bungubox, and Sailor Pro Gear.
Comparing nib engravings, from left to right: Sailor Pro Gear, Nagasawa Kobe and a custom Zodiac Sailor nib from Bungubox.
Comparing cap band details, from left to right: Nagasawa, custom Zodiac Sailor from Bungubox and Sailor Pro Gear.

The model I chose is the Gakuen-Toshi Fresh Green. The color is 100% me. Why I waited so long to purchase it is beyond me. I purchased the last of this particular color left on JetPens. It was originally sold at the same time as the coordinating ink along with several other ink/pen combos. While I don’t think the Gakuen Toshi pen and the ink of the same name are exactly a perfect match, I can live with that. Mostly because I love the color of the pen barrel.

While Gakuen Toshi and its fellow models are mostly sold out at this point, Nagasawa recently released its newest collection of Sailor Pro Gear Slim models, the Onomatopoeia series: Doki Doki (Pink), Puka Puka (Light Blue), and Kasha Kasha (Gray) ($299 each) which is a delightful collection and is only slightly more expensive than the pervious line (which sold for $253 on JetPens).

The Nagasawa nib is just as smooth as a Sailor-branded Pro Gear Slim. The writing experience was exactly what I’ve come to love about the Sailor 14k nibs. While I do get mushy when I get a 21k nib in hand, the 14k is still an excellent option. Since I was purchasing the absolute last Gakuen Toshi available at JetP

ens, I got the F nib which is one of my favorite Sailor nibs anyway. I really do need to branch out a bit.

If you have ever wondered, “What’s the deal with those Nagasawa/Kobe Sailor Pro Gear pens?” I hope this helped to clear it up a little and provide you with yet another channel to seek out unique and unusual Sailor models.

Zoey approves this review. And thinks the pen matches her eyes perfectly.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Planners & Organizers

Planner Status Update, Mid-Year Report

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Planner Status Update, Mid-Year Report

I posted at the beginning of the year about my planner set-up and I am delighted to say that I’ve stuck with my set-up. So much so that I have filled my modified Bullet Journal notebook and I will be starting a new notebook next week.

So this seemed like a perfect time to talk about what is working and what needs to be improved.

Planner inside spread

I chose to create a page-a-day for notes, to-dos and other details. I often add things I ate (if I cooked something or we ordered take out, etc), what I’m reading or listening to and anything we watched — movies, series, YouTubers, etc.  I keep a monthly calendar in a separate notebook in front to keep some upcoming events like appointments, events, etc that can be transposed to the individual day. I am not as good about adding upcoming events to the paper calendar however and may move to using a digital calendar for those events and then transpose them to the day-on-a-page as I go along so I’m not rewriting info multiple times. Most of my appointments already exist in the digital form complete with reminders so I don’t miss them so it seems unnecessary to write them in the paper calendar.

It is nice to have a paper calendar however for quick reference ” what day is June22?” or “four weeks from today is when?” without having to pull out my phone and open the calendar app.

Planner inside spread

I am really loving the B6 size (approx. 5″ x 7″) though it limits the availability of ready-made notebooks. Luckily, the Paperblanks Midi Format size is very similar in size to B6 and the 120gsm paper weights are quite fountain pen friendly. The notebook I used for the first half on 2022 was one of the 100gsm Flexi cover models which is not the best for fountain pens but held up about as well as Leuchtturm1917 — so bold, italic and stubs may bleed on the 100gsm stock but not on the 120gsm which is what I’ll be switching to for the second half of the year.

Planner inside spread

Early on in the year, I made cursory efforts to use washi tape and other elements in my daily pages but by March, it was mostly all text with the occasional bit of paper or ephemera taped into the book.

I need to be more specific about the bullets, asterisks, boxes and other symbols I use in my journal. I am very random about them but would like to make i more clear to myself that a dot is ______, and a box is _____, etc. Do you have a specific system for symbols to discern between to-do, event, or info?

Planner inside spread

By writing the day at the start of everyday, I had the luxury of using multiple pages when necessary or maybe only a half page on really uneventful days or if I forgot to write anything in the later part of the day.

Overall, I feel like I have found a system that works for me and is getting me writing regularly, even if its just bullet points and random brain dumps. Its not tidy, beautiful or instagrammable but it is getting crap out of my head and onto paper.

How is your planning set-up working for you this year? Have you switched up at all or adjusted your system at all since the start of the year?