Category Archives: FOUNTAIN PENS

Paradise Pens (Part 1)

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Mr. P and I hit up Paradise Pen in Las Vegas last week. I was so sad to see that they are closing this location effective June 1.  Other than Montblanc in Caesar’s Palace, Paradise Pen is the only pen shop that I know in Vegas. It’s too bad – but I definitely get that the high cost of rent in big malls doesn’t make it easy.

Everything was on sale – up to 25% off all items. The employee on duty didn’t seem to have any wiggle room with this. I asked, they are not selling any fixtures or displays.

But they were selling this….

Montblanc 145

I’ve actually been pondering on this very pen for quite some time. Uncle Robert’s 149 is a bit too big and heavy for my wee lady hands.  (My hands are not actually wee, but the 149 is definitely on the bulky side for me.)

I’ve not inked it yet, but will post about it when I do.

I probably won’t use only Montblanc inks in it – I’m just pentulant that way.  I love that the converter has a mixy thing in it. You can see it in the picture above near “ink only.”

Mr. P didn’t come away empty-handed either. Stay tuned!

PEN REVIEW: Namiki Falcon

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This Namiki Falcon with a soft fine nib was actually my first nib with any kind of serious flex to it. My gateway to flex, if you will.

Super-easy to clean. A real joy with which to write. Springy nib with just a bit of flex. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with the amount of flex. If you’re looking for a wet noodle, this is not the pent for you.

Know what I love? The CON-50 converter that comes with the pen. I know the thingy in there is supposed to help keep your ink mixed (and how nice is that?), but I also use it to tell how much ink is left in the pen – when that thing starts rattling around like crazy, it’s time to refill!

Got mine from Goulet Pens. It’s $144, but as of this writing – out of stock. Wahwah. (The pen, not the converter.)

And that nib?  Falcon.

But..how did it write? I wrote the review below shortly after inking it the first time . . .

click to see larger
And these pictures were taken just a few days ago. I’ve had lots of time to practice and I really like the pen. Not as much as I like my (new to me) vintage Waterman 52, though.
The ink is Noodler’s Habanero (a favorite). You’ll just have to forgive the color inaccuracy.
Lily is one of our three (!!) dogs. We lovingly refer to her as The Crazy One

Missing Converters

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A couple of weeks ago, I gathered up all of my pens that were missing this or that. And then sorted through my this or that pile to replace what I could.

The above pens were all missing converters.

And today, only the Delta on the far left is missing its converter. From my understanding, the regular Delta converters won’t work in this style. I may go with cartridges if I can’t find a suitable converter soon.

From left to right we have . . .

Delta
Sailor
Parker
Waterman
Waterman
Namiki Vanishing Point x 5!!

How did all of these pens end up with missing converters? I used to be a cartridge-only girl. So much so that I’d toss the converters right over my shoulder and into the trash.

It’s a good thing converters aren’t very expensive to replace!

PEN REVIEW: Waterman 52

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On Friday, I shared some recent purchases including this little gem I acquired from VintagePen.

Going to (mostly) let the pictures do the talking here . . .

That’s a little nib creep – not rust or anything icky like that
love the gentle chevron – so subtle

And now . . .

Sammy is one of our three (!!) dogs.

My handwriting needs a bit of work, but man-oh-man, I am digging this pen. So much so that some of my other favorite pens have been sitting around unused in the short time I’ve had the Waterman 52.

It’s a little skinny, a little short – neither of those things are a bother to me. It writes wonderfully – perfectly smooth, easy to flex. It’s not even a little scratchy and it doesn’t skate uncontrollably across the paper.

The lever-fill is easy to manage – perhaps a pain to clean and ink capacity seems a bit low, but I can live with those things.

I love everything about the pen except there’s no clip on the cap – making the pen very likely to roll around. I hope so much that I never inadvertently set it down and have it roll onto the floor. Yikes.

This is a pen that will stay in the house because I really would be heartbroken if something happened to it.

It’s love! True love.

The Fine Point: Recent Purchases

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I’ve been shopping!

The picture above are some of the items from my most recently Goulet Pens order. Reviews coming to a blog (this one!) near you soon.

I’ve heard Private Reserve Spearmint is a great shading ink. Going to take it for a spin.

I’ve read a lot of positive things about Nalgene bottles – especially for traveling with inks. I bought a few bottles and am going to give them a try soon. Will report back.

And…omg…finally…

It’s a Waterman 52. I have to tell you – I’m in love. Over the moon. Warm + fuzzy. I am in love with this pen. It’s a wet noodle – ultra-super-flexy – and I am in love. Mini review and handwriting samples coming soon!

Have a great weekend!

PEN REVIEW: Pelikan Script 1.0

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A quickie review of the Pelikan Script 1.0 for you today.

I bought this inexpensive (I’m thinking under $10) pen at the SF Pen Show a couple of years ago. I remember someone saying that this is the pen that young French children use when they are learning to write. I’d dipped it in a little ink to test it out and then put it in a drawer and totally forgot all about it until a couple of weeks ago.

There’s no converter – and I don’t think one is even available for it. One of the standards might fit – to be honest, I didn’t even try. Instead, I bought a couple of packs of Pelikan cartridge ink from Goulet Pens.

Definitely a big broad nib. For such an inexpensive pen, I found it quite nice to write with. Smooth, maybe even a bit of a “skater.”

Very easy to deal with. Am thinking this would be a fun pen to take on trips. Just pop 1-2 cartridges and the pen into a bag and we’re off. No mess, no fuss. And, really, if this pen gets lost in transit, I’m not going to be heartbroken for long.

You know what’s irritating about this pen? It’s not made to be posted. Not an issue if you don’t normally post, but a bit, well, irritating if you’re a poster like I.  The cap will definitely fit on to the end of the pen, but it rattles around up there like mad.
All-in-all, I like the Pelikan Script. 
Are you into any cheapie pens right now? Or maybe a special Pelikan? I love that they make pens for every budget, don’t you?

PEN REVIEW: Pelikan M200 Demonstrator

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What’s better than a demonstrator pen? A demonstrator with a great looking fill system.

And an italic nib.

Of course, looks aren’t everything.

I liked it!  Shorter than your average pen, but well-balanced and neither too heavy nor too light. 
It holds a gallon of ink and as I rarely use more than a couple of ml of ink per pen each week, I didn’t fill it completely. Lordy, I love seeing that ink slosh around in the pen. Even if it was “just” Noodler’s black doing the sloshing. Beautiful.
I had some repeated issues with hard starts. Wondering if it’s the italic nib + my dastardly left-handedness that causes the trouble. Fortunately, I have a replacement nib (it was free with purchase – nice!) and can try again another day with this one.
Do you like demonstrators? I like them and have a strong preference for those that are perfectly clear. 

PEN REVIEW: Montegrappa Espressione

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So pretty.  So sleek and modern. A great profile. This Montegrappa Espressione is quite the looker!

And..it has a screw-to-post cap – Mr. Pentulant loves that.

Montegrappa is a well-respected line, many people love their pens. I don’t love this. In fact, I pretty much hate it. How is that even possible?

See the metal grippy part? (Grown ups call the the Section or Gripping Section.) It’s metal. And it’s omg, too short. Which means that my finger is resting on the threading. Which means it hurts. Bad.
And. It’s heavy. Too heavy. When posted (as it’s clearly meant to be), it’s unbalanced and gross.
No likie.
But man, it’s pretty.
Here is my written review.  Click to make it bigger.
In an act of unselfish love, I offered the pen to Mr. P. And even though he loves him a screw-to-post pen and he agrees the Espressione is gorgeous, he rejected this pen, too!
I’m going to ponder a bit on what to do with this pen. I won’t write with it again. Mr. P won’t use it either. Seems a shame to let it hang around here with no love when someone else would probably love to have it.
Will keep you posted on how this one plays out!
But tell me your thoughts – have you tried this pen? Have you given away pens you would never use?

PEN REVIEW: Delta Autodromo Nazionale Monza

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So. Pretty.
I don’t know much about this pen.
I Goggled and didn’t get much help.
I know I bought it from Fountain Pen Hospital.
It was the first $$$$$ pen I bought.
This is the first time I’ve used this pen.
Pretty, right?
Well. I tried and tried, but it just wouldn’t go.
It’s flexy – love that.  
I’m going to assume this is a bad ink/paper/pen combination and follow-up.  I sure hope this is a bad ink/paper/pen combination.  Right? Otherwise, I’m going to be so bummed.