The Well-Appointed Desk

Tag Team Fountain Pen Review: Diplomat Esteem MadC Fountain Pen (Fine Nib)

As soon as we saw the new Diplomat Esteem MadC Fountain Pen, there was some excitement in the virtual clubhouse. Laura and I have been fans of the Traveler for some time and the colors on the new MadC Esteem are hard to resist. Laura and I both broke down and purchased the new Diplomat Esteem MadC Fountain Pen ($90) within minutes. I got the blue model with a fine nib. Laura got the purple model with the fine nib.

To give you some background, MadC (Claudia Walde) is a German-born artist who is inspired by graffiti using calligraphic swashes of color in her work. MadC grew up in Cunewalde, not far from where Diplomat pens are manufactured. Diplomat wrapped her artwork around the Esteem fountain pen to create two unique, vivid pen designs.

The Packaging:

The Esteem comes in a paperboard box with the Diplomat logo and some of MadC’s brush graphics on the front.

On the back of the box is a photo of the artist and details about her, some images of her artwork and more swashes of her brushwork.

Inside the paperboard box is the aluminum slipcase with a heavy duty paperboard base. Etched on the aluminum cover is the Diplomat logo. Sliding the two pieces apart reveals a white overlay card with the Diplomat logo again and then the pen is revealed on a white, satin bed screenprinted with the Diplomat flower/sun logomark. The bed of the box can be lifted to reveal warranty card. The pen came with one standard international cartridge and a place holder cartridge. A converter must be purchased separately.

The Esteem is a larger, wider pen than the Traveler but both are sleek enamel barrel pens with plastic grip sections and snap caps. It was inevitable that we would make comparisons.

The Esteem is the same length as the Traveler (5.25″ or 133mm capped). Both pens are snap caps and both caps will post. It took me a couple tries to post the Esteem cap but it does post though I was worried I might scratch the finish if I posted the cap so I wouldn’t really recommend it.

The nib on the Traveler is smaller and the grip section in a little shorter. The Traveler has a silver ring at the join of the grip and body and a slightly different curve of the grip.

Ana’s Impressions:

First, I love the colors. The wrap on the pen is really pretty. I was a little sad that the wrap seam is really apparent though.

My Traveler has an EF nib and my Esteem has an F nib. The F nib is very smooth but a little monoline looking. The nib is a stiff steel nib so it has no bounce either. There is nothing wrong with that but it’s a little uninteresting to me.

Compared to other metal fountain pens, from left to right: Faber-Castell Hexo, the Diplomat Esteem, Ferris Wheel Press Brush, Lamy Al-Star, Diplomat Traveler and Pilot Metropolitan. Despite mentioning that the Esteem is bigger than the Traveler, its clear that the Esteem is still relatively small in comparison to Metropolitan, the Lamy AL-Star and the Faber-Castell Hexo.

Posted, the Esteem is pretty long, almost 6.25″ (159mm). Uncapped the Esteem measures 4.875″ (101.6mm). The Esteem weighs 29gms capped and filled with a converter and 17gms uncapped and filled.

In the end, I love the look of the pen. It’s gorgeous but the nib is kind of humdrum. I might send it off to a nibmeister to make it more interesting.

Laura’s Impressions:

I love my Diplomat Traveler and how slim and sleek it is. The Esteem is definitely wider in girth, but still writes very smoothly. The fine nib is just a smidge smaller than the medium on my Traveler; both are still fairy broad compared to Japanese nibs, but that suits me just fine. I can write comfortably with the Esteem, though I think I might slightly prefer the Traveler because of my very tiny hands (I know! I know!).

Honestly, the only thing I’m a little disappointed about in the Esteem MadC is the color. The photos on Pen Chalet looked bright and vibrant and overall my pen seems more muted, with wider sections of light color (pastel?) then I expected. As someone who loves beautiful striking colors, my particular pen left me wanting a bit more.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 7mm guide sheet, Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
Pens: Diplomat Esteem MadC Fountain Pen with Fine Nib ($90)
Ink: Robert Oster Velvet Crush (50mL for $70) and Diamine Maureen (£9.50 for 80ml)

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

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Lamy Bronze

AnaJuly 20, 2020July 20, 202010 Comments

Lamy Bronze is the limited edition ink Lamy released in 2019 to accompany their Lamy AL-Star Bronze pens. I’m going to clear the air right now and say this should be renamed Lamy Orange. It’s a lovely orange. It is not, by any stretch of the imagination be called Bronze. I checked the swatch I made last year from the cartridge I received and that cartridge was a little darker but the bottled ink proves otherwise. I’ve been messing around with the ink for a week.

I did some really questionable illustrations (no judgement, okay!) using the ink on different papers to see how the color behaved and no matter what I did, the ink was orange.

This is the collage illustration I did. I wasn’t going to share it because I thought it turned out really wonky. Bob convinced me to post it anyway. I combined the Lamy Bronze with my favorite black ink, Platinum Carbon Black.

My AL-Star Bronze isn’t really Bronze anymore but I inked it up anymore — in the spirit of consistency. It has an EF nib on it. That’s not really what you want to know about though, is it? It’s my EPIC urushi sparkly, shell pink Carolina Pen Co custom Lamy AL-Star. Whatever you do, don’t ask for one of your own. It’s one of four priceless urushi Lamy Safari/AL-Star fountain pens he has ever created and will probably ever create.

When compared with other orange inks, Lamy Bronze is very similar to Montblanc Lucky Orange, Monteverde Topaz, Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin, Sailor Jentle Kin-Mokusei, and Robert Oster Pen Addict Fire on Fire. It’s similar in price to Topaz but the other inks are more expensive so Lamy Bronze is a good alternative.

I did discover the perfect use for Lamy Bronze: painting a portrait of our newest rescue cat, Ollie. Thee drawing is based on his first adventures on the couch. He is all legs and very orange. I don’t like the water droplet under his chin though. Sigh, my drawing mojo is WAY off this week.

In the end, while I would like Lamy to be a little more experimental with its limited edition inks like the Petrol, this specific color is a nice addition to the Lamy line-up.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 7mm guide sheet, Artezea Watercolor Sketchbook A5, Pack of 2 (No Longer Available), Stillman & Birn Softcover 5.5 x 8.5″ Epsilon Sketchbook ($17.99)
Pens: Tachikawa Comic Pen Nib Holder – Model 40 ($8.25) with Zebra G Chrome nib ($13.50 per 10-pack)
Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
Brush: Schraff Fineline 3000 #3 ($34.50 <– my most extravagant brush but seriously, how much have you paid for a pen?)
Ink: Lamy Bronze ($12 for 50ml bottle)

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

In Tools

Product Review: Sun-Star Kadomaru Pro Neo 3-Way Corner Cutter

AnaJuly 17, 2020July 3, 20204 Comments

Review by Tina Koyama

The corner rounder I’ve been using is an old Fiskars squeeze punch that is not very comfortable to use. I am also not fond of how the cutting scraps scatter all over the desk and floor. It was time to upgrade to the Sun-Star Kadomaru Neo 3-Way Corner Cutter ($13.75, available in black and white).

I’ve been making myself doodly, abstract coloring books with engineering templates and Field Notes Brand notebooks (see my personal blog for details). I usually use dry colored pencils, but sometimes I get in the mood to use watercolor pencils. Field Notes paper, however, is not the best for wet media, so I decided it was time to make a small coloring book with water-friendly paper. It was an ideal opportunity to test the Sun-Star corner cutter.

A key feature of the Sun-Star Pro Neo is that it offers three corner radii in one compact device – small (3mm), medium (5mm) and large (8mm).

A lock in back keeps the cutter from cutting paper inadvertently.

I tested it first on a scrap sheet of cover stock. Slide a corner into one of the three marked cutting areas, and press the lever. Requiring little pressure, it’s very easy to use.

I chose the medium-size (5mm) radius for my little book. The cuts are neat and clean.

The paper I chose for the innards is Canson XL 98-pound mixed media, which has a nice tooth and can hold a light wash. It’s heavier than typical notebook paper, and I comfortably punched two sheets at a time. Three is pushing it.

Corner scraps are neatly collected in a compartment at the bottom, which is easy to open and empty into a wastebasket (instead of leaving corners all over the floor or my desk).

There’s nothing like rounded corners to make a little homemade booklet look so much better and more finished! The Sun-Star cutter does the job nicely.

Incidentally, if you are DIY-ing your own little booklets, I recommend a long-reach stapler. I use a Bostitch PaperPro, which requires very little effort to press and takes standard staples. Its only downside is that it’s difficult to see where the staple will go. I recommend stapling a scrap sheet and use a Sharpie to mark your stapler where the staple went. Then just line up your mark to the location where you want to staple. You will be an instant bookmaker.

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Some items in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

In Link Love

Link Love: The Pen Shows That Weren’t

AnaJuly 15, 2020July 14, 20201 Comment

Last week, news that both the San Francisco and Dallas Pen Shows were cancelling this year hit the pen community. The Chicago Pen Show announced that they were not going to hold their show in 2020 and announced their 2021 spring dates. There are only a few US Shows left on the calendar and it’s unlikely, at this point, that they will be going forward this year.

The 2020 St. Louis Pen Show worked with several pen makers to create special pens that matched this year’s show ink (purple). The show was cancelled but they hosted an online virtual event, including a launch video featuring several of the makers involved in the virtual event.

The pens sold quickly but there may still be a few available and a couple bottles of the KWZ show ink available for sale. The plan is to do a lottery to give everyone a chance to get some – available worldwide. More details on their site.

The effects of COVID-19 continue to impact our community. Small makers, distributors, pen shops and the pen community at large have all been impacted by this pandemic along with the hospitality industry, the travel industry, and the service industries. The dangers of this health crisis can’t be ignored but the financial and social impacts have also been devastating.

We will continue to update our Pen Show Schedule with changes for 2020 and any dates available for 2021. Our fingers are crossed that we can all gather in 2021.

Ink Review: Robert Oster True Blue

Laura CameronJuly 14, 2020July 14, 2020

Review by Laura Cameron

When I last went shopping looking for blue inks, of course I had to look at Robert Oster. Robert Oster has approximately 1 million blue inks (ok maybe I’m exaggerating a LITTLE) and somehow I love all of them. This time I opted to what they call True Blue (50mL for $17) to see what I thought.

As it turns out Robert Oster True Blue is very, very close to the last ink I looked at, Diamine Florida Blue. In person, I think Florida Blue contains the lightest parts of True Blue, and then True Blue also has a darker, more intense blue in heavier applications.

I love Robert Oster inks. They work beautifully in my pens, and they give me all that deep saturated color that I’m looking for. I haven’t had any problems with their inks, and this one is no exception.

And oh all those beautiful blues!

Paper: Crossfield Journal ($24.00)
Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80)
Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
Inks: Robert Oster True Blue (50mL for $17)

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 feature

DIY: Make Your Own Pen Flush

AnaJuly 13, 2020July 13, 202036 Comments

It is ridiculously easy to make your own pen cleaner. It’s also really inexpensive. In fact, it’s so inexpensive that you could make up a whole bunch and share it with your local pen friends. Leave it on their doorstep in a pen equivalent of ding-dong-dash.

In our current era of working-from-home (or in some cases, maybe not really having a full-time job at all, like me) this is something that you can do while loading and unloading the dishwasher, washing machine, fixing lunch or doing household cleaning. This is a chore you’ll actually want to do because it means you can refill your pens with new ink!

The materials needed to make pen cleaner/pen flush can be acquired on your next trip to the grocery store. Just grab a bottle of

a bottle of household ammonia (usually 5% solution, non-sudsing)
a bottle of plain dishwashing liquid (the kind without any lotion or moisturizers in it. In the US, I recommend Dawn or Joy)
a bottle or distilled water (no impurities, chlorine or hard water deposits)

Using a measuring cup, measure out 9 parts water (say 9oz or 90ml, etc) then top with 1 part ammonia (1oz or 10ml). Add a couple drops of dish liquid… one, two, three, maybe four if you’re feeling generous.

Then pour all of it into a storage jar. Make another batch if this only fills your jar a little bit. You have TONS of ammonia and water and dish soap. Pour it in too.

If you have more jars, make a batch for a friend or to keep at work — whenever you go back into the office. Repeat as needed. That did not cost anywhere near the $10+ that most people charge for pen flush. Now, you can go spend that $10 on paper or ink or something else way more fun.

Label it “pen flush” or “pen cleaner” so no one tries to drink it or pour it out.

To use, either decant a small amount into a dish or ultrasonic cleaner and drop dirty pen parts in or just flush pens in the jar until the liquid is completely black and then make a fresh batch.

Be sure to rinse your pens in clear fresh water several times after using pen flush to be sure you’ve removed any residue of soap and ammonia before storing or refilling.

In news

Giveaway Winner: Schneider Voice Fountain Pen

AnaJuly 10, 2020July 13, 20201 Comment

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for our little Schneider Voice Fountain Pen. I know it wasn’t as enticing as some of our higher priced pens but sometimes it’s nice to have a little budget pen in our reviews to give us some perspective and have something we can just toss around.

Congrats to Liz! We had fireworks going off for weeks prior to the 4th of July and for several days afterwards. I think people were literally “blowing off” steam.

May we have a quieter, cooler weekend.

Ana’s Impressions:

Tools:

Tools:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Black Lives Matter:

COVID-19/Coronavirus-related: