The Well-Appointed Desk

Review by Tina Koyama

It may seem like fountain pen inks come in a bazillion colors, and they do – but the vast majority are water-soluble. Finding a range of ink colors that are also solidly waterproof isn’t as easy. Some may say they are waterproof and may be sufficiently water-resistant for addressing an envelope, but if watercolors or other wet media were applied over them, they could smear. Of the ones I’ve tried, DeAtramentis offers the widest range of hues that are also sufficiently waterproof for use as an art medium.

I suppose that’s why the German ink maker’s latest line of waterproof inks is called DeAtramentis Artist. I’m not sure how different its formula is from the DeAtramentis Document line, which is also waterproof, but at least on Vanness Pen Shop’s website, the Artist inks are described as being lightfast as well as waterproof. Available in eight colors, “All inks of this group are mixable with each other. The inks can be painted and written with fountain pen, brush and quill pen.” (Awhile back, I reviewed DeAtramentis Document inks in Fog Grey, Dark Red and White.)

1 - pens and swatches

For this review, I tried the Artist inks in Green, Brown and Black. Green is on the slightly cool side tending toward emerald. Brown is a rich chocolate that is neither orangey nor grayish. Black is neutral, although in the brush swatch, it’s a bit on the warm side. (I had a chance to sample the inks on some Col-o-Ring Dippers!)

2 - Dippers and samples

These inks do not show fancy features like sheening or shading, but they would be excellent for addressing envelopes or writing in a journal when you might be apt to spill a beverage on it. They are also ideal for sketching with wet media, which is my primary interest with these inks.

After making my usual swatches on Col-o-Ring cards with various fountain pens and a brush, I gave them a good hour or two of drying time. Then I swiped them with a waterbrush. Even the thick brush swatches barely show traces of bleeding (right side of cards).

3 - DeAtramentis Artist inks -cards

My long-time favorite black waterproof ink for sketching is Platinum Carbon Black, which I have used for years because it dries very quickly and then becomes as waterproof as I need it to be with wet media. I decided to put it head-to-head with Black DeAtramentis Artist. Since I had sampled the DeAtramentis with my juicy Franklin-Christoph fude nib, I used an equally juicy Sailor Naginata fude nib for the Platinum ink.

4 - DeAtramentis and Platinum Carbon test

I typically draw with ink and then apply wet media immediately afterwards, and I don’t like to be kept waiting. For this test, I waited only one minute before putting my waterbrush through the lines (right side of scribbles). As you can see, whether I wait a minute or an hour (on the left), the very minor solubility is negligible. DeAtramentis Artist is just as waterproof as Platinum Carbon and dries just as quickly. The bonus is that DeAtramentis is available in a much wider range of colors.

Convinced that the ink wouldn’t bleed all over my sketch, I stood on our upstairs deck to sketch the fully blossomed cherry tree across the street. As soon as I made the ink lines, I colored the blossoms with water-soluble Caran d’Ache Supracolor pencils. Then I spritzed it generously with water to activate the color. I see no trace of bleeding from the ink.

I know that waterproof DeAtramentis inks are popular with many sketchers, and I can see why. The collection offers fast-drying, fully waterproof inks in more colors than I’ve seen elsewhere.

TOOLS

Sketchbook: Stillman & Birn Beta ($17.99)
Pens: Pilot Prera (M nib) ($32.50), Pilot Metropolitan (M nib) ($19.50), Franklin-Christoph 20 Marietta (fude nib) ($165 + $55 for nib), Sailor 1911 full size (Naginata Fude de Mannen nib) ($450)
Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-Ring “Dipper” ($5)
Brush: Winsor & Newton pointed round 4 ($13.04)
Inks: DeAtramentis Artist Brown, Green, Black ($19.95 each)

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.

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 Pen Review

Pen Review: Pokka Pen (and Giveaway)

AnaApril 16, 2020April 23, 202066 Comments

When I first saw Pokka Pens (3-pack for $8.45), I was in the throes of fountain pen mania and I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out why anyone would want a slightly plussed-up ballpoint pen. Then the world turned itself on its head and the idea of not touching the delivery driver’s questionably clean Bic Stic became the source of many sleepless nights. Going forward in this new world, I think having my own pen to sign receipts will be of paramount peace-of-mind. Enter, the Pokka Pen.

The Pokka Pen is designed to click and close into its own cap. This makes it very portable and very unlikely to leak. When I had initially seen photos of the Pokka Pens, I thought the material would be a softer, less rigid plastic. I was wrong. The Pokka Pens feel sturdy, albeit hollow plastic, that will withstand being cleaned with Clorox Wipes.

Closed, the Pokka Pen measure 3.25″ long. Open and posted, the Pokka Pen measure 5.5″ which is similar in length to the Field Notes Click Pen shipped with subscriptions. Rubber gaskets help to seal the pen open and closed.

Pokka Pens can even be refilled or plussed up with a clip. Refills can be purchased directly from Pokka Pen and clips can be purchased from Gentleman Stationer or directly from Pokka Pens.

My model demonstrates how the Pokka Pen fits into the pocket of a pair of jeans. Thanks, Model Husband!

In writing, the Pokka Pen performs surprisingly well. That’s saying something from a lefty with a general dislike for ballpoint pens. It writes smoothly, with a fine point. While I would be unlikely to write a novel with the Pokka Pen, for jotting a quick note, signing a receipt or logging my mileage, the pen performs admirably.

~~THE GIVEAWAY: We are giving away one set of three (3) Pokka Pens, winner’s choice: choose any three from the 3 orange, 3 black and 1 yellow available. They will be shipped in the original packaging.~~

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me your favorite place to order take-out or delivery. 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, April 21, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Wednesday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (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.

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

In Link Love

Link Love: (Week Four Quarantine) Relax & Reflect

AnaApril 15, 2020April 14, 20202 Comments

Another week of living in our contracted worlds. The pen and stationery community continues to try to bring you pen, ink and notebook reviews and inspiration to keep you going as you work from home, try to educate your kids from a distance or continue to go to and from your essential job while staying healthy.

I have been keeping busy by trying to keep a regular schedule: exercise, getting actually dressed everyday (PJs are great but enough is enough), making meals, packing orders, and working on lots of projects from painting to knitting. I’m even trying to redesign a vintage knitting pattern.

There is nothing that says that you have to be productive, or super-hyper productive. Just getting through the days is enough right now. The article below from the NYTimes “Stop Trying To Be Productive” is permission to step back. I also want to remind you of the Library Extension which will add library availability to any books you search for on Amazon, including ebooks and audiobooks. Seek out a favorite read and step away from the barrage of news and Instagram for awhile. Grab that notebook you’ve been saving for a “special occasion” and write down all the things you want to do when you can finally get out of the house. I want a haircut, a trip to the library and to go to my weekly knit night. What’s on your list?

Bortoletti Entwined Glass Murano Glass Dipping Pen With Glass or Metal Nib

Laura CameronApril 14, 2020April 14, 20202 Comments

Over the last few years I’ve come to love my dip nib pen. I use it for all my ink testing because I love the way I can change the nibs easily in the pen and see inks over wide variety of line types. This is to say that I have long coveted one of Papier Plume’s Bertoletti Entwined Glass Murano Dipping Pens ($42+), so I was excited when Ana loaned me hers to play with.

The Bertoletti glass pens are hand-crafted in Italy, and come in a variety of colors of entwined glass. Mine is the Alexandrite color. The grip section is a nickel-metal alloy with an elegant design of flourishes. Despite the scroll work, it is comfortable to hold, and the glass itself is well-balanced. The glass pen comes standard with a metal nib or you can upgrade to a glass nib (+ $12) or get both (+ $14).

I spent the most time playing with the dip nib, which is very fine with a bit of flex. I used a bottle of Papier Plume Ivy Green that I already had to play with lettering and flourishes as well as my sad little attempt at sketching an ivy leaf.

Truthfully, I found the glass nib a bit harder to play with. The glass nib has swirling channels in it, designed to hold the ink so you can keep writing. I have an acrylic nib in a different dip pen that I use quite often and I love how long I can write with it, but I didn’t quite find my sweet spot with this one (It took me a while with the other one as well, so I can’t say that it’s a fault of the pen … probably user error!)

I was also a bit disappointed in how the nib + ink + paper worked together. I was writing in a Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook. Though I haven’t had problems with that paper in the past, you can see that the ink feathered quite a bit.

Regardless, I loved playing with this pen and I may need to own one for future exploration!

Papers: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($8.75)
Pen: Bertoletti Entwined Glass Murano Dipping Pens ($42)
Inks: Papier Plume Ivy Green (30mL for $8)

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 Paper Review

Giveaway Winner: Baron Fig Work/Play III

Laura CameronApril 13, 2020April 13, 2020Leave a comment

With my apologies for being a bit late in the day, the winner of the Baron Fig Work/Play III from last week’s post is Katy! Katy said:

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy your new Work/Play!

In Fountain Pen Review

Fountain Pen Review: Montegrappa Elmo 01 Fantasy Bloom Edition (Blue Cross Gentian B Nib)

AnaApril 13, 2020April 13, 20202 Comments

I don’t have a ton of experience with Montegrappa pens. In fact, in the ten years I’ve been reviewing pens and ink, the Montegrappa Elmo is only the second Montegrappa I’ve ever reviewed (The first was the Montegrappa Felicita). Needless to say, I don’t have an extensive knowledge of the brand. The Montegrappa Elmo 01 Fantasy Bloom Edition in Blue Cross Gentian (B Nib)($200) is a reissue based on a 1920s model. The Elmo has been updated with bright, swirly resin material (also available in Iris Yellow and Black Star Calla Lily). It features a stainless steel nib in a range of sizes from Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, Stub 1.1mm, and Stub 1.5mm.

The Packaging:

Montegrappa treats its pens like royalty. The packaging is posh, almost to the point of excess. But Italians are nothing, if not excessive.

There is a paper wrap around the glossy paperboard box.

Then, there’s the branded paperboard box.

And inside the paperboard box is a embossed, leatherette box with an engraved metal branding plate.

Then, inside all that is the sueded interior and behold! The Montegrappa Elmo under a satin ribbon. Inside the pen is the cartridge converter but two cartridges are included. Lifting up the pillow reveals the Montegrappa information booklet.

The Pen:

The Elmo 01 is a smooth, cigar-shaped pen with the understated Montegrappa clip with the rolling ball at the end.

The pen and grip section are all in the resin material. Only the threads, clip and nib are in a contrasting stainless steel/chrome silver.

A close-up of the material reveals the layers of undulating swirls of color, even the peek of pink/purple.

The nib is embossed with the signature octagon pattern which is perfectly aligned so that the diamond in the center of one of the octagons is the center of the breather hole.

The one aspect I found less appealing was posting the cap. While it does post, it seems to do so kind of precariously. I think the pen itself is long enough not to need to post it but if you are inclined to post your cap on your pen, the Elmo 01 might not be the pen for you.

Writing Sample:

Oof! What can I say about a pen that makes my handwriting instantly look better? Yes, please.

As a lefty, I tested the pen writing both over-handed, under-handed and side writing. I wanted to make sure the pen performed in many angles. I even tried writing with it right handed (but I am not posting photos of that. My right handed writing is horrific.).

With the large, expressive B nib, this particular pen is not for ye of tiny writing. Any time a pen nib creates filled centers on your letters (like the “a” and “e” in the sample above), it’s time for a finer nib or larger writing. For a B nib though, the Elmo 01 does have a good deal of line variation. I often find B nibs to write more like blunt crayons than fine writing instruments. The Elmo 01 B nib is definitely an exception.

In Comparison:

Pictured above from left to right are Lamy AL-Star, Platinum 3776 Kumpoo, Opus88 Koloro, the Montegrappa Elmo 01, Franklin-Christoph P45 and Kaweco Sport. I’ve included these to show size comparison. The Elmo is 5.5″ capped. It’s probably most similar in overall size to the Platinum 3776.

Posted, the same pens from the previous photo, show how the Elmo 01 is much longer posted than the Platinum 3776. It’s almost the same length as the Lamy AL-Star which is a much lighter pen.

The Elmo 01 is 31 gms filled and capped and 24 gms uncapped. It’s not a heavy pen overall but posting it puts a lot of weight on the back of the pen.

Conclusion:

The Elmo 01 is a beautiful pen and a chance to do some pen traveling to Italy while our bodies must stay confined due to the current pandemic. So, I sit with my travel books and Montegrappa Elmo 01 and imagine the faraway places I will go… someday.

Tools:

Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
Pen: Montegrappa Elmo 01 Fantasy Bloom Fountain Pen in Blue Cross Gentian with B nib ($200)
Ink: Lamy Pacific ($12 for 50ml bottle)

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

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Nanami Café Note B6 Slim Grid

AnaApril 10, 2020April 10, 20206 Comments

I love when I’m stationed close to the Dromgoole’s tables at pen shows. Inevitably, I find things I cannot do without. When I saw that they had the Nanami Café Note B6 with 3.7mm dashed grid ($20), I couldn’t resist trying it out.

The Café Note comes with a heavyweight matte white paper wrap over the actual cover of the notebook. Under the wrap is a brand-free burgundy heavy cardstock cover with a woven texture embossed into the paper. The pages are stitch bound (the line of stitches up the spine is visible under the burgundy wrap, if you angle the book just right in the light) which allows the book to lay flat. I did find that the first page, which is glued to the end pages does not open flat but with 384 pages of Tomoe River paper (52gsm lightweight), I can overlook this.

The Café Note features a diminutive 3.7mm grid which is printed in light grey dashed lines. The paper is the white Tomoe River. While it’s not bright white, it is a good natural white. It should not alter the color of your inks dramatically nor strain your eyes from staring at paper with a 97% brightness rating.

As with other Nanami notebooks, a pink blotter sheet is tucked inside the back cover to help with the slower dry time of Tomoe River paper.

The notebook is a compact B6 Slim size (176mm x 110mm, approximately 7″ x 4.3″). The size the same as the standard “Shinsho” books, the second most popular book size in Japan, also known as “Slim B6”. Shinsho size is used primarily non-fiction books. The most popular book size is A6 which is called “Bunko” and is used mostly for fiction. These compact, portable book sizes were created for commuters in Japan.

This size format is not one I’ve used in the past and I was surprised how much I liked how the book felt in my hand. The beefy page count makes the Café Note about the same size as a paperback book.

The photo above shows an A5 notebook on the bottom with the Nanami Café Note next and a paperback on top for scale.

The photo above shows just the Nanami Café Note and the A5 notebook for reference.

Since the Nanami Café Note was acquired during a pen show, it immediately fell victim to pen tests, doodles and drunken scrawls. When I pulled it out to write this review, I decided use these pages as part of the review. Enough has been written about the merits of Tomoe River paper at this point that another laundry list of pen tests is not really necessary.

As you can see from the above photos, the notebook appealed to everyone who picked it up to use it.

My biggest takeaway from using the Nanami Café Note is two-fold: Nanami notebooks are some of my favorite Tomoe River notebooks. Their simplicity, brand-free aesthetics and generous page count make them my first choice when I need a new Tomoe River notebook. Second, I really like the B6 size. I will be looking for more notebooks in this size.

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

TOOLS

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Coronavirus-related:

The Packaging:

The Pen:

In Comparison:

Conclusion:

Tools: