In feature, Ink Review

Ink Review: Lennon Tool Bar Summer Collection

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 1 Comment
Ink Review: Lennon Tool Bar Summer Collection

By Jessica Coles

Have you ever considered inks to be perfect for a season or time of year? Pastels for the spring, dusty colors in the winter, rusty oranges and browns for the fall? Kelly over at Mountain of Ink does a lot with seasonal palettes (I love those). Lennon Tool Bar seems to think this way as well – each season they release a small group of limited edition inks that are perfect for the said season.

Recently I was sent three bottles of Lennon Tool Bar ink from Shigure Inks – thank you, Alex! Two of the bottles belong to the Summer 2020 group. I also had a sample of the third ink in the set so I’ve included it in the post.

The inks shown below are Hue-Kim-Koo (fireflies) and Pacific Ocean. The third ink, Watermelon, is shown further down. The boxes are card stock with a flower emblem pressed under the labels. The name of each ink is on the top of the label and on the bottle label (so you won’t forget even if you don’t keep boxes). The boxes are a tad tough to open – but I did win in the end.

The bottles themselves are glass and 30mL each. The color on the labels is a bit darker than the actual ink, but a very close match.

Watermelon is a dusty rose color or possibly a slightly unsaturated red that leans towards purple a bit more than towards orange. Fireflies is a bright spring green that is plenty readable while Pacific Ocean is a blue-leaning blue-black.

Pacific Ocean is very close to Robert Oster Tokyo Blue Denim and a bit brighter than Sailor Shikiori.

Fireflies reminded me of Diamine Meadow but is lighter when writing with it. The swatch looks very close to Noodlers Dragon Catfish but the textures of the inks are completely different. All three Lennon Tool Bar inks here are not lubricated but are wet writers. While using a dip nib, the flow was too fast but I loved that quality when in a fountain pen.

Watermelon is close to both Pilot Iroshizuku Momji and Papier Plume Garden District Azalea but writes darker than either ink.

My favorite part of the three inks was using them together. The contrast between the three inks sets off the colors beautifully. I was surprised at the readibility of Fireflies. I used a Pilot medium nib and loved it. The wet flow of the ink was perfect, especially at covering up my mistake spelling limited. Maybe I’m the one who needs to go back to school instead of the kids!

The smearing below came from adding the firefly wings before the ink was totally dry. Pacific Ocean and Fireflies each had nice levels of shading while Watermelon didn’t show much. It is a good medium red that is not eye-searing. Pacific Ocean is a great blue-black. On Tomoe River paper there was no feathering but the dry time was long- over 45 seconds for Fireflies, slightly under 40 seconds for Pacific Ocean and Watermelon. Show through on the back of the paper was normal for Tomoe River and there was only spots of ink that came through where I had pooled ink while writing.

I love the huge varieties of ink colors that are available at this point in the fountain pen world! With so many inks, it’s hard for me to fulfill my quest to collect all the inks. I’m grateful that Alex at Shigure Inks offers not only a huge variety of hard-to-find inks but also offers samples of the inks he carries – I would be much more limited if I had to purchase bottles of each ink!

To order the samples you fill out the super-secret ink sample page (not really secret – it’s on the Ink dropdown menu) and samples can be ordered by the mL typically 1-5 mL. I also learned that earlier this month, Shigure hit the one-year anniversary! Congratulations!

 

DISCLAIMER:  Some of the items in this review (Pacific Ocean and Fireflies ink bottles) were provided for free for the purpose of review. Other items were purchased by me. Except for the Col-o-ring which was provided to me by a wonderful person who pays me to write blogs by keeping me supplied with Col-o-rings, Dippers and occasionally stickers as well. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Friends, Fiends & Spuds

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Friends, Fiends & Spuds

This week, I want to send a shout-out to my friends. These are people who have supported me, bought me drinks and held me up when I drank too many of them so it’s only fair that I show them the proper amount of love and respect. First up is my “other sister” Madeline who designed this amazing “Vote” sticker for Souvenear ($4 each).

Vote Sticker by MAdeline Tompkins

Then there is the amazingly talented (and humble) Mike Allen at Woodshed Pens who launched a new Kickstarter campaign to purchase a new CNC router machine for his shop so that he can make even more of his amazing custom resin fountain pens. His campaign has already met its funding goals but it sure would be cool to see him blow the roof off his funding goals. He has some amazing color options and his pens are truly lovely and well-crafted. There’s about two weeks left to back this project so don’t delay!

Woodshed Pens Kickstarter

And once again, I totally missed left-hander’s day. Sinestra. Fiends. The Devil’s Hand. Three-Fifth’s of The Desk writing staff. Sorry, ladies. We are lefties everyday. United in smudge!

National Potato Day

I’ll make it up to you. Today is National Potato Day. Spud love. You’re welcome.

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We all need each other. Please support our sponsors and affiliates. They help keep this blog going. Without them, we would not have products to review or a server to house our content. Your patronage of their shops, services and products will let them know you appreciate their support of the pen community. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In photo

Eye Candy: Parker 45 Classic GT

Author Laura CameronPosted on 7 Comments

When I was home for the holidays a few years ago, my dad and I sat down and he shared his fountain pen collection with me. One of the pens he had actually belonged to my grandmother and he gave it to me at the time. This was the grandmother that taught me to knit, which made the pen very special to me.

If you know me, you know I’m not super into vintage pens (sorry Jesi!) and I mostly stick to modern ones. So I put the pen carefully away and didn’t use it. Recently I’ve been thinking about it though, so I decided to pull it out and see what’s what.

The first thing I wanted to do was identify it. When I did a quick google search one of the first things that came up was “Which model is my pen?” from the helpful site ParkerPens.net. Kudos to Tony for creating such an easy way to navigate vintage Parkers! Basically I scrolled down the page until I found a pen that  looked like mine, clicked on the image and started reading. Partway down the page I discovered that my pen is a Parker 45 Classic GT (GT stands for gold trim) and was likely produced in the late 60’s. The body is Teal Blue (also listed as Blue Green) and the nib is a Fine (as indicated on the underside of the pen).

Getting it started writing was a bit rough – I went with a bit of Parker Quink Black ink just to see what was what. While the pen didn’t originally come with a converter, there’s one inside. It could probably use a good soak, but otherwise I’m excited that it writes!

 

In Ink Review

Ink Overview: Waterman Inks

Author AnaPosted on 20 Comments
Ink Overview: Waterman Inks

After the enthusiastic reception of last week’s overview of the classic ink brand Sheaffer, it seemed appropriate to continue the series and follow it up with a Desk favorite, Waterman. Waterman has been making pens since 1883 and probably started making ink about the same time.

Waterman Ink Bottles

I can’t find specific details but the current bottle design has been used since the 1920s and 30s with slight variations. The faceted gemstone look of the bottle allows the bottle to be tipped onto its side to make it easier to get ink out as the ink levels begin to get lower. It’s one of my favorite ink bottles.

Waterman Ink Swatches

Waterman offers just eight colors in its ink line up. Of those eight colors, the names have changed over time but the colors have remained fairly consistent both in range and hue. The swatches shown above may show earlier names (i.e. Havana Brown which is now called Absolute Brown) but the ink colors are the same. I got into fountain pens just as Waterman was changing the ink names so I have had bottles with new and older names. The ink colors did not change. Waterman just updated the label designs and the names.

Honestly, I think they should have hired someone from a nail polish company to give these lovely colors poppier names. Maybe Tender Purple should be called “Did You Do It on Purple?” and Inspired Blue could be “Pen Life Aquatic”? Okay… maybe these names need work but they are certainly more worthy of these pretty colors than “Harmonious Green” which is the lamest name ever.

Waterman Ink Sheen

When you see how much these inks sheen, is it fair to give them such humdrum names? I don’t think so. Six out of the eight colors in the line sheen. Tender Purple, Inspired Blue, Harmonious Green and Serenity Blue are the most likely to sheen. Depending on your paper, Audacious Red and Mysterious Blue will sheen too.

When you add the that fact that these inks are safe for vintage fountain pens and the prices per bottle is very reasonable ($11.30 per 50ml bottle) and what’s not to love?

Okay, I’ll give you more reasons…

Waterman Harmonious Green comparison

Let’s compare each Waterman ink color with other similar inks. I’ll start with a color I initially didn’t like but have grown to love. It’s Waterman Harmonious Green. Again, I was thrown by the name. It’s not GREEN as I expected it to be and when I put it next to other similar swatches, it becomes clear that Harmonious Green is actually more of an aqua or a teal green than an actual Kelly or grass green. I think if the color had been named Jade Green or Jadeite it would probably be much more popular. Harmonious Green is quite similar to similarly-priced Kaweco Paradise Blue and the more expensive Pelikan Edelstein Jade. Pilot Iroshizuku Shin Ryoku, De Atramentis Petrol and Kobe #47 are all slightly more green but just by a tiny bit. So, I think Waterman (in my mind) Jadeite Green is in very good company.

Waterman Audacious Red comparison

Waterman Audacious Red shows some sheen which is similar the limited edition Franklin-Christoph ’19. The sheen in Audacious Red is not quite as pronounced and a little darker but the hue is quite similar. Seeing as how the Franklin-Christoph ’19 ink is harder to acquire than a pen show in 2020 (too soon for this joke?), Audacious Red is a good option. I included a swatch of Pelikan Edelstein Garnet which is slightly more orange and Diamine Matador and Red Dragon which are both slightly darker reds and Robert Oster Red Candy which is almost as dark as Red Dragon but not quite.

Waterman Serenity Blue comparison

Waterman Serenity Blue (again, the name is not fitting for the beauty of the color) is very similar to both Lamy Blue and Pilot Blue. These three inks, while simple in name are classic, workhorse ink colors. They are less saturated than the three inks shown on the right: Monteverde Sapphire, Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao and Monteverde 2018 DC Supershow Blue. Asa-Gao is the closest to Serenity Blue while the two Monteverde inks are deeper and darker.

Waterman Inspired Blue comparison

We’ve had several debates as to whether Waterman Obsession Blue and Inspired Blue are the same color. I’m inclined to believe they are but just bottled with different labels. There are only slight differences in the swatches I have from my bottle (labelled Obsession Blue) and the swatches I have from my sample vial (labelled Inspired Blue) that can be chalked up to the amount of ink I put on the paper as much as to the color of the ink. That said, the comparison inks for Waterman’s turquoise ink are very similar to the inks I pulled for Sheaffer last week, including Sheaffer Turquoise.

Sheaffer Ink Overview: Turquoise ink comparison swatches

Just for giggles, here’s the photo from the Sheaffer ink overview from last week. The colors I picked were: Sheaffer Turquoise, J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche, Lamy Pacific Blue, Franklin-Christoph Spanish Blue, Monteverde Caribbean Blue. Yep. All the same swatches.

Waterman Intense Black comparison

While we are rehashing how similar some of the Waterman inks are to Sheaffer, I’ll go through the black ink swatches too. Waterman Intense Black is a solid performing water soluble black ink. This week I divided the black ink comparison with three cool/neutral blacks on the left and three slightly warmer blacks on the right. The cool/neutral blacks are from top to bottom on the left: Monteverde Coal Noir, Sheaffer Black and Platinum Carbon Black (being the only waterproof black included). On the right, from top to bottom: Lamy Crystal Obsidian, Waterman Instense Black and Kaweco Pearl Black. Both Waterman and Sheaffer Black are safe for vintage pens so my advice is to pick one and buy a bottle because everyone needs a bottle of black ink. If you are brave enough to own a waterproof black, then definitely add a bottle of Platinum Carbon Black to your shopping list. That should round out your black ink needs quite handily. If you want to experiment with other blacks, the world is your black pearl oyster. There are so many options to choose from!

Waterman Absolute Brown comparison

Waterman Absolute Brown (shown above as Havana Brown) is a warm, reddish brown. The closest ink comparison I could find was J. Herbin Terre de Feu though it is slightly more orange. Lamy Crystal Topaz is similar in hue but the sheen throws off the appearance of the color on some papers. Absolute Brown shades but does not sheen.

Waterman Serenity Blue ink comparisons

I was surprised how difficult it was to find a good ink match to Waterman Mysterious Blue. Truly mysterious, wouldn’t you agree? It is an ink color that is slightly darker than the brilliant blue of Sailor Sky High but not as dark as Parker Quink Blue-Black or Colorverse 03 Saturn V. It’s definitely not a blue-black ink and much more of a true blue, maybe a bright, clean denim blue?

Waterman Tender Purple comparison

Tender Purple has a similar color and hue as Lamy Crystal Azurite but not quite as much sheen as Azurite. Coloverse 53 Hayabusa is similar in hue but with considerably less sheen. The only other inks I could find that were similar to Tender Purple are shown on the right and are more purple in color than the actual VIOLET color that Tender Purple actually is. I don’t want to get all “Well, ACTUALLY…” but knowing color is kind of my job. Tender Purple is violet, not purple. and Callifolio Violet is purple. These people are killing me with their poorly inaccurate naming. Either be ridiculously charming and clever or extremely accurate, please.

Waterman Ink Bottles

All-in-all, Waterman is my favorite classic ink. I love the gemstone shaped bottles. I recommend Inspired Blue and Tender Purple often at pen shows to folks looking for a “fun color” for their vintage pens but I don’t think Serenity Blue or Inspired Blue should be overlooked either for their striking colors. And Harmonious Green, despite its name is the Jadeite you’re been looking for. Intense Black and Absolute Brown really do round out an ink collection if you don’t already have a good black and brown in your collection. I know we all get blinders on looking for the newest, hottest, fanciest new ink colors but these classics have stayed classic for a reason.

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

In Tools

Four Ways to Carry the Galen Leather Zippered Pen Pouch

Author Jaclyn MyersPosted on 1 Comment
Four Ways to Carry the Galen Leather Zippered Pen Pouch

Galen Leather sent across some of their new products to the Desk crew recently, and their Zippered Pen Pouch (the 4-slot variation) ended up in my mailbox- and eventually on my desk.

I hadn’t changed up the stationery I was carrying and using since March, and as soon as I opened the 4-slot pen pouch I knew it was time to switch things around and get it into the rotation. In a world where pen-show attendance was a regular activity, the Galen Zippered 40 Slots Pen Case was my constant companion. I don’t typically take 40 pens with me to the hospital day-to-day (but I wouldn’t put it past me!)- so I was excited to get a chance to carry a smaller Galen case on a more regular basis.

The Basics

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As with all Galen products, the case comes packaged in a very nice, substantial brown cardboard box. I tend to be pretty brutal in terms of getting rid of packaging, but this box went immediately onto my bookcase and is currently housing an entire collection of ink cartridges. The packaging also makes Galen products particularly well-suited for gift giving.

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The case itself is a zippered leather pouch that contains a leather insert with four elastic pen loops. The insert is the exact same insert that comes inside their notebook cases like their A5 zippered folio.

Unlike some of the other cases- there is no built-in structure to the pouch- without the insert the leather lays flat. It doesn’t offer as much protection as the other cases, but it’s also significantly more portable. I’ve been carrying several of my favorite pens around in it for weeks- throwing the case into my large work bag with my laptop, notebook, and other work items without any issues. I wouldn’t recommend shoving this case into the bottom of a suitcase carrying an entire library of heavy books, but in general I’ve found the leather plenty of protection for the day-to-day carry of pens.

The Details

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The leather that Galen products are made from feels just as good, if not better, in-person than it looks in photos online. In particular, I love their Crazy Horse series, which has a depth of color that goes beyond most other leather products I have seen. It has a suede feel and ages more quickly than normal leather. The first time you carry Crazy Horse leather, it’s already gaining character. It’s meant to get a little scuffed and scratched, but the great thing about this type of leather is that (in my opinion) those “flaws” make the product look even better over time.

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Galan products are hand-stitched with a wax thread, and the photos speak for themselves.

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One of the tiny details that make a huge difference in cases of any kind is the zipper. No matter how high quality the materials are, a bad zipper will shorten the life of a case and make it useless faster than any other aspect. Thankfully, Galen uses YKK zippers, which as I understand them are the industry standard for quality. With all my showing off of pens and putting them back with my 40-pen case at shows, I’ve never had an issue with the zipper. I expect nothing less of this smaller case.

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One of my favorite aspects of Galen pen cases is the elastic pen loop. Somehow, the loops seem to perfectly fit anything and everything from a King of Pen to a Sailor Pro Gear Slim Mini. Some of the thinnest pens on the market are the only pens that don’t work well with these loops, as Ana discussed in a previous Galen review. I’m never concerned that the elastic will damage or scratch my pens, and I’m confident they will stay put. All of those same characteristics apply to this new 4-slot pen pouch.

What makes this particular case unique is that the insert can be completely removed. The leather pouch can be used separately if desired (and I have to say it would make a pretty good looking wallet/ wristlet). Even with the pen insert left inside the case, there is still some extra room for other items. How much extra room you ask? Well, I’ve been carrying it in several different configurations since it entered my daily carry- and examples might be the best way to show what can reasonably be carried inside the case.

Four Variations of EDC

Carry 1: All the Pens

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On the other side of the pen insert, you can fit an entire row of other pens. You could squeeze 10 or more small plastic gel pens into the pouch with your fountain pens, but I’ve found 4-5 gel pens to be the sweet spot for not adding too much bulk to the case. If your job requires permanent black pens like mine, this type of carry is particularly practical.

Carry 2: Mini Sketch Kit

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One of my favorite uses of the extra space is a combination of graphite and colored pencils along with a small sharpener and eraser. This allows me to carry my primary writing and sketching items in a single portable pouch. If i was on the move more these days, this may be the primary way I carry this pouch around.

Carry 3: Ready to Take Notes

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The pouch seems tailor made for the carry of four pens and a couple pocket notebooks. If I was a little more reasonable about the amount of stationery I haul to work, this would honestly be the perfect every day companion. The nice thing about choosing notebooks to accompany the pens is that they maintain the flat back of the case. This comes in handy when you want to use the case on your desk as I describe below.

Carry 4: Exclusively Fountain

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Depending on what I’m carrying with me, I’ve been alternating through several of these different options, but when I head to the hospital on a day-to-day basis I tend to carry it as it was originally intended- with just four fountain pens.

What I have come to love about this case is how easy it is to remove the insert from the pouch, place it on top of the pouch, and leave it on my desk all day- keeping my pens accessible, giving them just enough protection from the other items around them, and keeping them in place without rolling away. The case has a small enough profile to keep out on my desk all day without taking up too much space. If I’m headed to a meeting down the hall, I grab a pen from the insert and my desk pad or traveler’s notebook. When I get back, I just slip the pen back in the loop.

For me, it’s become an on-desk case and a daily carry pouch. A price of $37 is nothing to sneeze at, but comparing it to other non-leather cases on the market and considering it’s dual utility- that price point starts to look like a steal.

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

In DIY, feature

Fun Idea: A5 Notebook with Variety Paper

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 10 Comments
Fun Idea: A5 Notebook with Variety Paper

By Jessica Coles

First thing I’m going to say in this post is that I’m showing ONE way to accomplish a project. There are MANY ways it could be done, especially if you have supplies other than the ones I discuss. I’ll try to bring up some of these other methods as I go.

Another disclaimer – if you click on the photos of products, it will take you to the Amazon page for purchasing. Well-Appointed Desk receives a small amount for referring to the product. I’m mainly using this so I can show what was used while legally using the pictures.

I purchased a pad of A4 paper at the San Francisco Pen Show from Yamamoto. This pad of paper includes 18 different types of paper (nearly all are very friendly to fountain pens) with 5 sheets of paper of each paper variety. Ana reviewed this recently.

I had forgotten one important fact. I don’t enjoy using A4 paper. Additionally, I don’t like using pads of paper.

Oops.

This is why I haven’t touched the item for over a year. I’ve tried. I have opened it up, read the descriptions of each paper type, examined each variety closely… but I have never written on it whatsoever. I realized that I was overwhelmed with the size and with the fact that 5 doesn’t seem like much paper when I’m trying out new paper.

I came to the realization that I was never going to use this paper. I started wishing they had made it in A5 size and into a notebook. That would be amazing. Wait. A5 is just half of A4. What if I folded each sheet in half and sewed stacks of folded sheets together into a notebook…

Too much work.

What if I cut each sheet in half and then had TEN sheets of each kind of paper? One problem solved. But I don’t love loose leaf paper. They always tear or crumple or blow away when the fan is on. 3-hole punch? The three holes are never enough to hold thin paper – they just tear out easily. Should I put reenforcement stickers on each of the three holes?

WAY too much work.

What about disc bound notebooks? The kind that have weird holes punched that look like little mushrooms. You can put them into notebooks, take them out, rearrange the pages, fold the cover completely back on itself, and there are way more than three holes, so it might be less prone to tearing.

The best part? I already had the supplies.

I was briefly in a crafty point of life when I saw Happy Planners at Michael’s. I purchased a hole punch and discs, and got a TUL notebook from Staples… and had used these only a couple of times. Truthfully, I’m just not a crafty sort of person.

So I gathered up the paper, one type at a time. I cut them in half (I used a paper cutting board like this one from Amazon) I already had one because, hey, it took me a long time to realize I am not actually a crafty person:

With each type of paper, I punched holes in it. The mushroom shaped holes. I used this one, but I would recommend the second one instead:


Better choice: 
Very carefully, I put a few sheets of paper (now A5 size) into the disc bound notebook.

On the first page of each group of paper, I wrote the name and weight of the paper.

The result from all of this is exactly what I had craved. A notebook full of many types of fountain pen friendly paper, A5 sized, bound together. AND it didn’t take me long. Maybe an hour total, once I had decided how to go about the process.

I used a notebook with 3/4 inch discs – I think I would recommend 1 inch discs instead. I couldn’t fit all paper into the notebook at the same time. I also found that using a wide 3 or 4 inch rubber band helped to keep the notebook closed and further protected the pages.

One of my favorite benefits of this setup is as a reference when I’m shopping for notebooks that use new kinds of paper. I can try 10 sheets before purchasing an entire notebook.

Hopefully I have given you an entertaining look at this process and some ideas for making paper less intimidating!

DISCLAIMER:  All of the items in this review were purchased by me during the misdirected period of time when I thought I was a crafty person. Some links in this post link to Amazon and Well-Appointed Desk may receive a small amount of the purchase price. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Books vs. the internet

Author AnaPosted on 7 Comments
Link Love: Books vs. the internet

I was inspired this week by the title of the post from It’s Nice That about Ben Longden’s bookshelf. Just as much as we love pens, paper and stationery, I suspect that many of us also love paper books. It’s one of the things I’ve missed most during the time of COVID-19 — going to the library and bookstore. Sure, I still download books from the library and buy books used from Half-Price Books, Ebay and Goodwill Books but it’s just not the same as wandering up and down the aisles of a bookstore, wandering into a thrift store or wandering through the stacks of the library.

If you’re a letter writer, keep an eye on the new Postmaster General. The newest Postmaster General is the first to be hired into the position who has not come from within the postal service. Many are concerned that the changes he will implement may force more privatization of a public service which might limit service to inner city and rural areas, the people in most need of postal services.

Finally, if you apply the Disney filter to your dog photo on Instagram, please, please, please, tag me on the photo because I absolutely MUST see the cuteness.

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We all need each other. Please support our sponsors and affiliates. They help keep this blog going. Without them, we would not have products to review or a server to house our content. Your patronage of their shops, services and products will let them know you appreciate their support of the pen community. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!