I'm filling one A4 journal and an A6 pocket notebook at the moment, but will soon have a couple more blank journals available for use, one A5 and one almost A4 sized.
My wife has just bought me a handmade A5 hardback bound journal holding 135gsm writing paper from a very talented maker over on Fountain Pen Network, and I have a "large" Midori MD journal on it's way from The Journal Shop which should be with me in the next day or so.
The Midori MD will become a personal "daily diary" when it arrives, and the handmade one will probably be saved until I pluck up courage to start writing in such a nice handmade book!
Read on to find out what I use each journal for...
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Brief status update.
Work has kept me exceedingly busy over the last few days, and will be keeping me busy for the next week or so; hence the absence of other updates this week (until this evening) and likely some gaps next week.
There's been a few changes...
There's been a few changes...
Monday, 10 January 2011
It's here! TWSBI 530 Diamond review
Time for a super quick review. (I'll take some photos and upload them soon, promise!)
Mine arrived today and is fitted with a medium nib. The nib is a steel nib, and is (to my mind) as good as the nibs on my Lamy Al-Stars or Safaris.
Some people on Fountain Pen Network have even swapped it's nib succesfully for the nib from a Pelikan M400. Apparently this turns this pen into a pen "as good as" a FAR FAR more expensive pen. And apparently you can even fit a vintage #5 nib if you wanted to.
Size wise, it's more or less identical in size to my Pelikan Souverän M800, but much lighter in the hand as it does not have the brass internals of the M800.
It has a lovely "faceted" shape to the body of the pen, making the ink in the fill chamber sparkle like a jewel in daylight (especially if you have it filled with a nice bright ink!).
Feels really nice in the hand too when writing, unless you post the cap on the end of the pen at which point it becomes a bit too top heavy for my liking.
Mine arrived today and is fitted with a medium nib. The nib is a steel nib, and is (to my mind) as good as the nibs on my Lamy Al-Stars or Safaris.
Some people on Fountain Pen Network have even swapped it's nib succesfully for the nib from a Pelikan M400. Apparently this turns this pen into a pen "as good as" a FAR FAR more expensive pen. And apparently you can even fit a vintage #5 nib if you wanted to.
Size wise, it's more or less identical in size to my Pelikan Souverän M800, but much lighter in the hand as it does not have the brass internals of the M800.
It has a lovely "faceted" shape to the body of the pen, making the ink in the fill chamber sparkle like a jewel in daylight (especially if you have it filled with a nice bright ink!).
Feels really nice in the hand too when writing, unless you post the cap on the end of the pen at which point it becomes a bit too top heavy for my liking.
On the subject of inks.
What ink to use is a very personal choice, and there are many different companies producing inks in every colour imaginable (even UV light reactive invisible ink!).
I mostly use inks from two companies:
Diamine - an English ink company, based in Liverpool since 1925, but making inks since 1864.
J. Herbin - a French ink maker, based in Paris since 1670.
This is because they produce inks in a range of really nice shades that are free flowing and, most importantly, reasonably pH neutral so the shouldn't corrode the insides of my pens.
I mostly use inks from two companies:
Diamine - an English ink company, based in Liverpool since 1925, but making inks since 1864.
J. Herbin - a French ink maker, based in Paris since 1670.
This is because they produce inks in a range of really nice shades that are free flowing and, most importantly, reasonably pH neutral so the shouldn't corrode the insides of my pens.
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Pelikan Souverän M800 nib width comparison
Before I got my Pelikan Souverän M800 I spent a while wondering what nib width I should get.
The reason for this is that I primarily use a medium width fountain pen nib, and I had heard from several people that Pelikan nibs "are usually a bit wider than normal - if you like a Medium nib and get a Pelikan, get one in Fine nib".
So I asked about it over on the Fountain Pen Network and got conflicting comments from people - some said I should go with a medium nib, others with a fine, and some even suggested a broad nib.
In the end I got it in a Medium nib, andI'm glad I did Lovely juicy line of ink on the paper and it writes like a dream. after testing it for a few days, I decided that I should have got it with a FINE nib instead of a medium. So I took advantage of Pelikan's offer that you can change the nib for free within 28 days of purchase and exchanged it for a FINE.
So, just in case there are folks reading this who normally use a Medium nib and are wondering whether to get a Pelikan nib in Medium or Fine, here's a comparison between the Pelikan Medium nib, a Lamy Al-Star Medium nib and the Pilot Medium nib (as fitted to my Pilot Capless / Namiki Vanishing point)
The reason for this is that I primarily use a medium width fountain pen nib, and I had heard from several people that Pelikan nibs "are usually a bit wider than normal - if you like a Medium nib and get a Pelikan, get one in Fine nib".
So I asked about it over on the Fountain Pen Network and got conflicting comments from people - some said I should go with a medium nib, others with a fine, and some even suggested a broad nib.
In the end I got it in a Medium nib, and
So, just in case there are folks reading this who normally use a Medium nib and are wondering whether to get a Pelikan nib in Medium or Fine, here's a comparison between the Pelikan Medium nib, a Lamy Al-Star Medium nib and the Pilot Medium nib (as fitted to my Pilot Capless / Namiki Vanishing point)
A little history...
Fountain Pens and I have had an "on-off" relationship for many years, largely due to my former habit of not giving wet ink the respect it deserved and always being in a rush. I also tended to go for really cheap fountain pens, and not knowing better, an extra fine nib.
Result, inky smears on pages, blots and inky fingers, and a scratchy nib... I loved writing with a fountain pen though, but ended up going off it in short order. Then I'd lose the cheap pen I had been using somewhere and buy another cheap one to replace it, and we'd go round again!
So, I found myself giving up on fountain pens, and just using a gel ink rollerball for the last few years. Yes it works, but it has no soul.
Then a couple of years ago, my Wife bought me a silver anodised Lamy AL-Star with a medium nib and a converter as a surprise present.
WOW. A non scratchy fountain pen! And I could choose what ink colour I wanted from a huge range, and not just what was available in cartridges.
Result, inky smears on pages, blots and inky fingers, and a scratchy nib... I loved writing with a fountain pen though, but ended up going off it in short order. Then I'd lose the cheap pen I had been using somewhere and buy another cheap one to replace it, and we'd go round again!
So, I found myself giving up on fountain pens, and just using a gel ink rollerball for the last few years. Yes it works, but it has no soul.
Then a couple of years ago, my Wife bought me a silver anodised Lamy AL-Star with a medium nib and a converter as a surprise present.
WOW. A non scratchy fountain pen! And I could choose what ink colour I wanted from a huge range, and not just what was available in cartridges.
Yet another pen & ink blog...
Hi there.
I'm Dave, aka "The Yeti" aka "TallNHairyDave", and this is the starts of my blog about fountain pens, inks and paper. I'm on FPN and a few other forums, so if you see me there, say hi :)
Going on my track record of keeping my flickr photo stream updated with images or even keeping my personal non-pen related website up to date, I'll probably only post here infrequently.
However, I figured that this would be a good place to post stuff about my adventures with fountain pens and tribulations in finding the perfect journal!
I'm Dave, aka "The Yeti" aka "TallNHairyDave", and this is the starts of my blog about fountain pens, inks and paper. I'm on FPN and a few other forums, so if you see me there, say hi :)
Going on my track record of keeping my flickr photo stream updated with images or even keeping my personal non-pen related website up to date, I'll probably only post here infrequently.
However, I figured that this would be a good place to post stuff about my adventures with fountain pens and tribulations in finding the perfect journal!
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