Inks

Early thoughts on the Faber-Castell Ondoro, Smoked Oak fountain pen.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 7 Comments

Faber-Castell is a well respected maker of pencils, pens and art supplies with a history dating back to 1761. For fountain pen enthusiasts, their nibs are among the best in the business.

None of this was on my mind as I breezed into Harrods one evening, for a quick browse around their Fountain Pen arcade on the lower ground floor, prior to taking my seat for a concert at the nearby Royal Albert Hall. I was off to see Sir Mark Elder conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra, massed choirs and four soloists, in a rare performance of Delius’ “A Mass of Life”, as part of the BBC Proms. I say “rare” because the piece had not been performed at the Proms for 37 years.

As always on my also-rare visits to Harrods, it was a triumph to locate the pen department. Once there, I enjoyed making a round or two of the displays, including Montegrappa, Chopard, ST Dupont, Caran d’Ache, Graf von Faber-Castell and of course Montblanc. There were notebooks and stationery from Smithson and Moleskine.

At the Graf von Faber-Castell counter, I spoke to the helpful assistant, Melvyn and chose a bottle of Cobalt Blue ink. I have almost finished my first bottle and this is probably my favourite “posh” ink. The rich dark blue ink, the attractive 75ml heavy glass bottle and packaging are all luxurious.

I then asked to take a closer look at the Faber-Castell Ondoro, in wood with a metal cap. I recalled seeing the pen some years ago with an orange barrel, but was not aware of this wood version. I enquired as to what the wood was and after consulting the catalogue, Melvyn informed me that it was “Smoked Oak”. It is an appealing, mid-brown with a dark grain. I have not yet discovered the significance of the “Smoked” in the title. I wondered whether it might perhaps be a process whereby the wood is heated, altering its enzyme constituents in a way which “ages”, dries and hardens the wood as Yamaha does for certain guitars in its range, to emulate the tone of a vintage guitar. However this was just a fantasy conjecture on my part. Presumably the oak is not smoked to improve its flavour like bacon or mackerel. Is it smoked just to give it a charred look? I am yet to find out.

Faber-Castell Ondoro, Smoked Oak fountain pen.

Edit: Since publishing this post, a Google search revealed that Smoked Oak is a term for oak that has been exposed to ammonia fumes, in a sealed environment, for a number of hours. The fumes react with the tannins in the wood, causing it to darken. The longer the exposure, the darker the wood, until black. The process also enhances the natural grain.

The Ondoro features a hexagonal cap and barrel. It is not very long, but is chunky. Aside from the hexagonal form, another striking feature is the hour-glass shaped grip section. This is a short section and so, if you use a pinch grip around the section, your grip will be close to the paper.

Posted and showing the dimpled nib and the hourglass section.

At first, I was undecided how best to hold the pen. A pinch grip around the section is a bit too low and too crowded for me. But if you hold it higher up, at the barrel, you have the issue of gripping around the faceted sides, which may or may not conform to your preferred way of holding a pen. Then there is the option of posting the cap. It does post securely but adds considerable weight and alters the balance such that you would want to hold the pen much higher up.

Finding my grip.

At £165.00, the pen looked to be a bargain compared to most of the others on display and might have been the most affordable pen in the showroom. I was drawn to the Oak material which may develop a lovely patina eventually. I was also mindful that I had enjoyed good experiences with steel nibs from Faber-Castell in the past with pens such as the eMotion, Grip and Loom. I was sufficiently intrigued by the pen to include it with my impulse purchase of the Cobalt Blue ink and I left with a smart Faber-Castell shopping bag and a smile on my face.

Later at the Royal Albert Hall, before arriving I had switched the pen and ink to my shoulder bag. At the entrance, halting for the security check, a torch was shone into my bag and the man pointed to the box and said “What’s in there?” “It is fountain pen ink” I replied. I got the impression that he did not get that answer very often.

I had the opportunity to fill the pen during the interval. The performance (both the concert and the pen) was excellent. It was necessary to crouch down and put the ink bottle on the floor of the Hall by my seat, as even I was not stupid enough to open an ink bottle in my lap. Once filled, I could take my seat again and test the pen in a small pocket notebook. The nib appeared to be perfectly tuned, right out of the box and wrote smoothly and well, as I have learned to expect from Faber-Castell.

Highly reflective cap.

However, within a fairly short time, I began to suffer from an attack of BR or Buyer’s Remorse. This was triggered by the realisation that the pen was lumpy and angular and unusual to grip. I soon discovered that I could have bought the pen and the ink considerably cheaper online. Then thoughts began to crowd in, that I had not needed the pen, that it was arguably not as comfortable, or as good value, as my recently purchased Asvine J16 – a titanium bodied piston filler pen made, we generously assume, as an homage to the Montblanc Meisterstuch 146.

The following day, the BR only got worse, exacerbated by a visit to a home furnishings superstore where I made the realisation that, if it was Oak that I was after, I could buy an attractive table for a modest sum of £99.00.

You get more wood in a table.

However, after a few days, I was over the worst of the BR. I realised that it is not helpful, thinking about a fountain pen’s value in comparison to other household items. Even comparing pens from different brands and countries, it is a mistake to think that we should acquire a new pen “at cost.” As for comparing values in recent pen purchases, of course some appear better value than others and it sometimes helps to combine the cost of a few pen purchases and then average their cost.

Happily, I soon grew to fully enjoy the Ondoro once again. The key to this, in my case, was finding a comfortable grip. I found this by resting the section on my second finger, and then gripping the pen between thumb and forefinger a little higher up at the bottom of the barrel. I found that I could hold the pen with the nib at the “sweetspot” (rotated inwards slightly) if I held the pen at the facets, leaving one facet in between.

Some writing with the Ondoro and Cobalt Blue ink on Stalogy paper.

On my pen, and I don’t know whether they are all like this, when the barrel is screwed on to the section tightly, the nib aligns with a ridge between two facets, not a facet itself. I could hold the pen comfortably with the nib rotated inwards (I am a lefty). Once found, the grip is actually very pleasant and a bit addictive!

It is normal to have both likes and dislikes about the design of a pen. A few of mine are as follows. Let’s hope the likes outweigh the dislikes:-

Likes:

  • Bold and unusual, attractive design;
  • Facets: the hexagonal barrel with flat sides, is like an oversized pencil; also prevents rolling:
  • The use of wood, as a warm and natural material – with a satin finish which may develop an attractive patina in use; I love having a piece of Oak in my hands;
  • Short, chunky proportions;
  • Weighty metal cap – with shiny plated finish contrasting with the satin finish of the wood;
  • Subtle imprint of name and logo on the top of the cap, with the words “since 1761” imparting a sense of history:
  • Comfortable hour-glass section on which to rest the pen;
  • Well-tuned steel medium nib writes smoothly and with excellent flow:
  • A Faber-Castell branded, Schmidt converter is included;
  • Fit and finish are excellent: brass liner and threads to barrel; metal threads on the section; plastic liner to cap;
  • Slightly domed metal barrel finial, protects the wood when pen is standing:
  • Cap can be posted (although making the pen back-weighted and heavy);
  • The tough, short and stocky feel of the pen make it well-suited for an EDC pen.

Dislikes:

  • Facets: Unless held around the section, gripping the pen at the barrel has a risk that the facets may not necessarily fall where you would wish to grip the pen. You may instead encounter a sharp ridge between two facets, or else have your grip dictated by the position of the facets, rather than by the best rotation of the nib to the “sweetspot.”
  • On my pen (and again this may not be same for all), the snap cap is very tight and it needs considerable force to uncap the pen: however this may ease eventually with use; meanwhile, if using the pen intermittently, the pen could be “soft-capped”, to reduce ink evaporation;
  • If posting the pen, the hexagonal cap has to align with the facets and, on my model, this means that the sprung pocket clip will either be to the left or the right of the nib’s centre line and not in line with it – a slight annoyance.

Weights and measurements.

The pen looks and feels, chunky, solid and dense! Capped, it measures around 127mm and uncapped, 123mm. Posted, it is around 157mm. The width of the barrel across opposite facets, is about 12mm. It weighs 44.5g capped, or 27g uncapped and 17.5g for the cap alone. Using the pen uncapped, the weight is very comfortable.

Conclusion.

I am fond of Faber-Castell’s steel-nibbed fountain pens such as the Grip, the Basic, the Essentio and Ambition and have in the past enjoyed the writing experience, particularly with a Faber-Castell Loom, in gunmetal grey, a long-term EDC. I recall the excitement of once buying a Faber-Castell eMotion in Fortnum & Mason, and then heading to the men’s room to ink the pen (with Waterman’s Harmonious Green) and on to the British Museum to write with it. Perhaps I was hoping to recreate that new Faber-Castell feeling with my Ondoro purchase.

This time, the purchase was followed by a wobble and a couple of days of regret, but having come through this, and having spent some time experimenting with different grips, I can now report that I am enjoying the pen and that my bond with it is perhaps stronger as a result of this emotional roller-coaster ride.

Naturally, it sometimes pays to shop around before buying. Also it is best to handle a pen before buying to check that it will be comfortable or whether you will need (and be able) to adapt to it and so there are advantages to buying from a bricks and mortar shop, if you have one. Also, it is human nature to forget to be sensible once in a while.

A gripping challenge, but worthwhile.

Travelling with ink: the Maldives, March 2025.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 7 Comments

Our latest holiday destination was well-chosen by my wife, from her bucket list. We were both hoping for a peaceful break with little to do, other than snorkel by coral reefs. Faced with this prospect, I set about picking fountain pens to bring for some holiday journaling.

As usual, I briefly contemplated bringing just one pen to use exclusively, but caved in and eventually went with five. These included three recent acquisitions from the London Spring Pen Show – a Parker 17 Lady, a Parker Duofold button-filler and the TWSBI Eco T Saffron with EF nib. The other two were a Wing Sung 699 vac filler, which I have been enjoying since the start of the year and finally the red Caran d’Ache 849 bought in Bruges last November.

Vintage Parker button filler and a 17 Lady.

I should say now, that this will not be a post about all the best places to see fountain pens throughout the Maldives. We stayed on only one of the 1,190 islands. Aside from the Dive shop, the island had only one other shop, for gifts and souvenirs. The region is thus more an opportunity for pen using, than pen shopping.

However the trip was not entirely without something for the stationery fan with gear acquisition syndrome. If I had been careless enough to leave home without any fountain pens at all, then help was at hand in the duty free shopping mall at London Heathrow Terminal 4: a Smythson stationery shop held a good selection of Yard-O-Led pens and pencils in Sterling Silver. Phew!

A rare sighting of some Yard-O-Led pens in London Heathrow Airport.

Also in the Terminal, is a Montblanc shop. Here I enjoyed a good browse around and a chat to the helpful assistant Lenka. A number of the fountain pens were on special offer with around one third off! But even with such a discount, a pen such as the Montblanc Meisterstuck Solitaire Blue Hour Legrand is still a hefty sum of money, especially for a spouse-accompanied impulse buy. However, I did succumb to a bottle of Montblanc “Around the World in 80 Days” special edition ink. This appeared to be an interesting grey with dark green undertones which I liked, although strangely described as Brown on the box.

Around the World in 80 Days.

I added this ink to my clear plastic bag of liquids under 100ml, to pass through security, along with my Pineider travelling inkwell of Quink Black. I emptied the vintage Parker Duofold button filler and the Parker 17 Lady, to avoid the risk of them leaking on the flight. The other inked pens remained in my carry-on backpack for the journey, with nibs uppermost and I had no trouble with any of them on the flights, out or back.

To write in, I had brought a Leuchtturm A5 journal. I see that I refilled the two vintage Parkers with my new Montblanc Around the World ink. I had brought a collapsible plastic cup (possibly a dog’s drinking bowl?) which was a useful accessory for holiday pen flushing. I used the Duofold button filler which wrote for about 10 x A5 pages on one fill. The nib is a medium to broad. I then switched to the Parker 17 with a fine or extra fine nib, which I enjoyed a lot with the Montblanc ink, since it produced a sharp pencilly grey line on my Leuchtturm paper. Next I used the Caran d’Ache for a short while before moving on to the TWSBI Eco T Saffron, with EF nib. I had paired this with New Old Stock Waterman Blue Black ink from the pen show and, with my Leuchtturm journal, I enjoyed this combo and used it for the remainder of the holiday. Even so, the capacious piston filler was still half full when I got home. It is a comfortable pen; I love the firm EF nib and the Saffron beachy vibes.

A TWSBI Eco T, Saffron, on vacation.

On the return flights there was another opportunity to be tempted by Montblanc in the duty free shop at Malé airport where I had a nice conversation with the friendly salesman, Irhan who was knowledgeable on the special editions and showed me the James Dean (in a sale) and a Chopin. He told me that they attend a course every few months to keep up to date with the pens.

As for the holiday itself, the Maldives are of course a wonderful, tropical paradise and we had a great time, swimming and snorkeling every day. Our small island resort was bounded by a coral reef and it was a joy to swim out from the beach, over the reef to the far side where it dropped off steeply to the deep blue depths. Here, a variety of colourful fish could be found, among the coral. In the course of the trip, we saw plenty of marine life, including turtles and reef sharks.

My Wife enjoying the beach view.

But the highlight of our stay was a guided snorkeling trip, by fast boat, to a patch of ocean about 25 minutes’ boat ride away, where we swam for an hour blissfully observing a group of manta rays, gliding by us in the crystal clear waters, feeding and occasionally showing off with a loop-the-loop. It was while watching these beautiful creatures, that our group was treated to the awesome sight of a Whale Shark, also feeding (but happily not on snorkelers) which was perhaps around 12 metres long. Our guides were excited as it was only their second sighting of a Whale Shark this season. We did not have an underwater camera but some friends in our group had one and later shared some of their photos with us.

Manta Ray in the Maldives

If we were to go again, I would like to bring a Go-Pro for some underwater stills and video. When we transferred flights at Abu Dhabi, I found several electronic shops in the airport selling these. But to buy one then seemed like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. But, with thanks to a German couple whom we met on our trip, I can share a few photos of what we all saw.

Manta Ray



A Whale Shark, feeding.
Another gratuitous Whale Shark shot!
The rested spouse.

One Week 100 People 2025: Days 1 to 3.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 4 Comments

I learned of this challenge from Writing at Large. The idea is to complete 100 sketches of people in a week,  from 3 to 7 March inclusive. The challenge runs every year in the first week of March.

Although I am not usually one for these online challenges, I was intrigued enough by this one, to have a go. I thought the practice would be beneficial, which it has been.

I gathered that there were few rules on how to go about this. You can use any sketching media. Then post your work using the hashtag #OneWeek100People.

Even the target of completing 100 pictures in 5 days is not essential. That is just as well, as I find myself woefully behind with just 12 pictures in three days.

Also my pictures have all been copied from photos, rather than drawn from life, as an urban sketcher would.

Having since looked at other people’s work, I now see that  my sketches are far too fussy, when I should have worked loosely and quickly.

But here are my attempts so far. All were drawn with a vintage Parker 17 Lady fountain pen with Parker Quink black ink in a Rymans A5 sketch book, with no prior pencil work. Going straight to ink builds confidence! I quickly learned that trying to produce pictures that are recognisably human is challenge enough: to get a likeness is a whole lot harder.

In blogs which promote fountain pens, I think it is good to inspire the use of these wonderful instruments, and not only their acquisition.

A new month, a new plan.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 9 Comments

One of the joys of the fountain pen hobby is finding combinations of pen, ink and paper that work together really well. You find yourself writing with a pen that is supremely comfortable, with a nib that glides along the paper smoothly but with just the right amount of feedback, laying down an attractive line of ink that is neither too wet nor too dry.

In recent years, it has been my practice to pick a different pen and ink combination to use each month, for my daily A5 journal entry. I am using a Ryman A5 page a day diary. For January, I enjoyed writing with a Wing Sung 699, vacuum filling fountain pen with a fine nib. The ink was my own “Slops Blend blue black 2024” representing a mix of inks that I had flushed out of pens cleaned over the course of last year.

Wing Sung 699 vacuum fill fountain pen.

The slops blend experiment is somewhat reckless and goes against the usual advice not to mix inks. The risk is that different inks may clash to form a gunge that clogs pens. When mixing ink it is not only the colour that changes but also other features such as the viscosity, drying time and water resistance. But I have enjoyed recycling ink in this way and have been fortunate not to have any problems. It is a gamble, adding a few drops of ink to the bottle, shaking it up and testing the colour. I was lucky to find that my left-overs had produced a pleasing blue-black, that kept its tone and did not fade to a teal colour, as some do. The trick then is to avoid going too far and spoiling the mix.

My unique blue black recycled dregs.

My Wing Sung 699 seemed to like my slops blend ink. It produced a nice dark blue-black with attractive shading and a nice lubricating quality and did not suffer from the fading and colour changes.

As well as my Ryman diary, this combination was particularly nice on my Stalogy notebook paper. I found myself thinking that I would continue with the same pen and ink for the month of February too. It also crossed my mind that the combination was so enjoyable that perhaps I did not need any other fountain pens and could use this one for everything.

Such thoughts have often arisen but this time, I decided to act upon it and put my money where my mouth is. No, I have not sold or given away all my other pens! But I thought it may be an interesting exercise to simulate having only one fountain pen. I flushed out about a dozen inked pens, keeping out just the Wing Sung. (I have cheated slightly as I did not throw out half used cartridges or syringe out the remaining ink. Instead I have just put aside my inked cartridge pens, in a separate pen cup, for the time being).

The aftermath of a pen cleaning session.

I thought that this might give me an opportunity to spend a longer time using the Wing Sung vac filler pen, for diary, journaling, letter-writing, notetaking and EDC. It may be interesting to see whether there are any other fountain pens that I particularly miss, over the month. For example, I recall a holiday abroad some years ago when I badly missed my Parker Sonnet. Then there was an occasion when I was absent from work for a few months due to ill-health. The pen that I missed most was the Cross Bailey Light, in royal blue with Cross Blue ink, that I kept in the office.

Other potential benefits of this little scheme, are that I was able to bring down the number of currently inked pens considerably, when this had been hovering well over 30 a few weeks ago. Also, I have already started to compile a new batch of Slops Blend ink, that I shall call my 2025 crop.

Perhaps this exercise is indicative of a wish to simplify life a bit. I bought around 50 fountain pens last year (mostly not expensive, with about half that number being vintage pens from eBay or pen shows). I, (or more accurately, my wife) decided that this pen buying needs to stop. I am therefore having a 2025 No Buy. The same goes for notebooks and ink, as well as other writing instruments such as ball points, roller balls, gel pens, mechanical and wood case pencils.

The very pleasing nib of my Wing Sung 699

I bought no fountain pens in January! Admittedly that is only one month. I will be very surprised if I can keep this up for long but thought I would make public my intentions as a contemporaneous record not only for myself but for readers to witness as well.

Again, I have already cheated slightly, in the impulse purchase of a rather lovely black and gold Cross Coventry ball pen. I have also added a few notebooks to my stash, just in case there is a siege in London. You can’t be too careful.

The irresistible Cross Coventry ball pen.

Ryman Medium Soft Cover Notebook review.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 14 Comments

I am a sucker for a new notebook. I love buying a new one, removing the cellophane, sampling pens and inks on the back page and then paginating it in pencil. The next pleasure is choosing what to use it for. Never mind that I have about 20 new ones already (a conservative estimate: I daren’t get them all out to count them: and that is just the A5’s).

There is a crowded market for A5 journals, perhaps typified and made famous by the Moleskine books with their expandable pocket in the back cover and the elastic closure. I learned only recently that the Moleskine enterprise began partly in response to a mention by the late author Bruce Chatwin, in his book The Songlines (published in 1987). He recounts a conversation when he is about to take notes and pulls from his pocket, “a black, oilcloth-covered notebook, its pages held in place with an elastic band.” The interviewee comments “Nice notebook” to which he responds “I used to get them in Paris, but now they don’t make them anymore.” The origin story of Moleskine can be found on its official website.

Presumably to fit into a pocket, the Moleskine notebook is narrower than A5. Rymans, the stationery store chain, sell their own brand notebooks, for the budget-conscious. When I bought one a couple of years ago, it followed the same, narrower, Moleskine format and also had lines ruled at 7mm row height. I wished that they were A5 width and with a line spacing of 8mm.

Rymans’ new A5 notebook with the narrower old style version for comparison.

Well, on a recent visit to my local Rymans, I was very pleased to see that their 2024 range of own brand notebooks now have both of these two changes. They also come in a new variety of attractive colours, whether your preference is for a traditional navy blue, dark green, Burgundy or tan – or a more playful pastel shade.

Such was my excitement that I bought two, one in Burgundy and the other in a pretty pastel colour described as Wisteria. Interestingly, Rymans do not include the term “A5” in the description, instead simply describing it as “Medium.” However, the belly-band indicates the paper size as 210mm x 148mm.

Burgundy and Wisteria – two of the many colours available.

They have a hardback cover (although described as “soft cover” by reason of its soft-to-the-touch, leather-like texture). Other features include 192 pages, stitched, open-flat binding, 70gsm cream paper, an expandable pocket, and elastic closure and pen loop and rounded corners. At £7.99 these are well below half the price of a Leuchtturm or Moleskine notebook. All good so far.

Unfortunately, for those wishing to use fountain pens, I found the paper a bit hit and miss. The surface is pleasant to write on but pen and ink combinations need to be chosen with care. On the back page, I tried a selection of fountain pens from my pen cups, hoping that none would bleed through the paper. Most did bleed through, with a few surprising exceptions.

Fountain pen ink bleedthrough test combinations with results on the facing page. Those that bled through are marked with a red cross. Those that this did not, marked with a green tick.

For example, my broadest and wettest fountain pen, my Scribo Write Here Africa with its 18k gold broad nib, currently filled with Montegrappa blue black, was one that did not bleed through. This led me to conclude that it is not so much the amount of ink laid down, but its type. I was pleased that at least I could use my Scribo in this book. I immediately filled a Parker Vector XL (fine nib) with the same, Montegrappa ink. [Unfortunately, this ink seems no longer available].

Juicy broad Scribo with Montegrappa Blue Black.

Another ink to avoid bleed through, was Noodler’s bulletproof black – even when applied with a 4mm long fude nib.

I felt that some more extensive pen and ink sampling was required for this book and set about filling up some pages. Starting at the last page of the book, I had tried 11 different pens. I copied this out again two pages back, leaving the facing page blank to view the bleed through. I then repeated this exercise with some Pentel Energel rollerballs, my Pilot Frixion stick rollerballs, a few other rollerballs from Cross, Cerruti and Lamy and finally a page full of Uniball rollerballs of differing colours and widths, from Uniball’s Air, Eye, Impact, Signo and Vision Elite. I had 43 samples.

Pentel Energels – mostly avoid bleedthrough.

My bleedthrough test results on the new Ryman notebook, surprised me. For example, the Pentel Energel 0.7 rollerballs were all ok, (with the possible exception of the red, which was a bit borderline). Likewise the Cross Bailey Light rollerball (a favourite) with its Cross 0.5 refill, and the Pilot Frixion stick pens were all ok to use. But the Lamy tipo with a blue, Lamy M66 B refill – a lovely smooth writer – did bleed through and had a high degree of show-through, rendering it unsuitable for double-sided writing in this book.

More rollerballs, with bleedthrough on facing page.

Finally, the Uniball rollerballs mostly failed my test with the notable exception of the Signo 307 retractable 0.7mm, in blue. But perhaps the biggest surprise of all was the Uniball Gel Impact 1.0mm, in blue. This is a lovely smooth, broad, wet, vibrant writer with a snap on cap, metal nose cone and comfortable rubber grip section. I very much doubted that this would go well on the Rymans book yet it showed no trace of bleedthrough and very little show through.

Uniball family. The Gel Impact was best at avoiding bleedthrough

I concluded my sampling with a Winners page, the pen and ink equivalent of a victory parade. As can be seen, this handy summary shows that I am left with plenty of usable pen and ink combinations for this book.

Summary of the winning pen and ink combinations for the Ryman notebook.

To summarise, I find this new version Ryman Medium notebook good for its full width A5 pages, 8mm row height and value for money. As for the fountain pen and rollerball user, my results were mixed and some experimentation is required. However I believe that most stationery hoarders will find at least a few suitable combinations in their stash and, if like me, will have fun trying. What I need next, is not another notebook but a writing project.

Uniball Gel Impact ink handled well by the Rymans’ paper.

The Writech Retractable Fountain Pen: early thoughts.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 20 Comments

Last Sunday I enjoyed a day at the Birmingham Pen Show, held in the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre, “the BCEC” in Hill Street, a short walk from the main train stations. It was good to see so many of the familiar vendors whom I know from the London Pen Shows.

Before entering the main hall, I visited Michael Owen’s table, representing Writech. He asked me whether I had seen his retractable fountain pens. I had not! He had one on the table to try as well as a stand with examples of the pen in a range of pastel colours.

Retractable Fountain Pen and ink set, from Writech.

I picked up the pen and clicked open the nib. Actually, the clicking mechanism is almost silent, whether extending or retracting the nib, a boon for anyone using the pen in a meeting or quiet public environment, or sitting next to one!

When the knock is pressed, a little round plastic hatch door opens and out comes the nib, just like a ball pen. But unlike a ball pen, a door seals off the nib to stop the ink from drying out or evaporating away, whilst not in use.

In writing mode.

This is not new of course, Pilot having brought out the Capless in 1963, for the Tokyo Olympics of 1964. These have been followed by the Lamy Dialogue and, more recently, the Platinum Curidas.

Designing a fountain pen without a cap does present a challenge, to keep the nib from drying out between uses. The Curidas did this by means of a hatch door which opened onto the underside of the pen protected by two plastic protrusions, supposedly out of the way, but many found that the protrusions interfered with their grip. My own issue as a lefty, using the Curidas was that the pocket clip was at the nib-end of the pen and restricted my grip, since I wished to rotate the pen inwards. The clip could be detached, but this left a large protruding plastic “keel” which still got in the way, leading me to file mine off.

In the case of the Pilot Capless, or Vanishing Point, the pocket clip is also at the nib end as you write. If I held it in my natural, lefty-overwriter style, the nib would be turned inwards, and my thumb would be resting on the pocket clip, rather than the barrel.

The Writech avoids these problems completely. The pocket clip is at the back, or “knock” end of the pen, so the pen looks a lot more normal when in use, as the clip is where it would be on a ball pen, or a fountain pen with cap posted.

Nib and hatch door

However, the hatch door stowage is not quite so elegant. In a brave move, the hatch has been designed to stay open beside the nib in full view whilst the nib is out. This does look strange and is rather jarring at first and will, I expect, be the divisive, Marmite (love it or hate it) issue.

The steel nib is available as a Fine only. Initial impressions are very favourable. The tiny unmarked nib, with a slit but no breather hole, writes very smoothly and with an excellent steady flow.

Fair warning.

Filling the pen is a breeze. Simply unscrew the barrel, place a Writech cartridge in the section and push until it clicks being careful to keep your fingers out of the way as the nib will pop out at the other end. I found that the easiest way to insert a cartridge was to stand the cartridge upright on a table, and then push the section down on top of it.

Unscrewed and ready to fill.

I was sufficiently impressed with the pen, to buy two of them. Michael was selling these at £12.99 each, or £15.00 to include an extra box of cartridges which is remarkably good value compared to any other retractable nib fountain pen.

Two pen sets and two extra packs of cartridges.

One pack of 5 cartridges is supplied in the clear plastic clam-shell box with the pen. Unscrewing the pen for the first time, an empty cartridge is attached to show where it goes, but can also be kept to syringe-fill with the ink of your choice.

The packs of cartridges were available only in black or “Erasable Blue”. I have tried only the black ink. I am not sure whether the blue ink can be rubbed out (as with a Pilot Frixion) or whether the ink is washable. I will experiment with this on my next fill.

In conclusion, I have been using the pen for a week now. It is convenient and fun to use and I rather like seeing the hatch door flip open as the nib pops out, like a cuckoo clock. Above all the pen is comfortable to hold, writes very well and costs less than a Lamy Safari.

Likes:

  • Comfortable to use; cylindrical barrel and no protrusions in the grip area; (there are two very slight indentations, too small to call facets and barely there, for an ergonomic grip);
  • Nib extending and retracting mechanism works well;
  • Smooth, fine nib:
  • The airtight seal also works well, in keeping the nib ready to write; (Michael had tested this over several weeks);
  • The nib does not grip the feed, and so there should be less danger of the feeds cracking, as happened with some early Curidas pens;
  • Simple design and ease of filling;
  • At £12.99, these are great value, a lot of fun and write well.

Dislikes:

  • Not everyone will like the round hatch door open on the right, beside the nib;
  • The pen uses only Writech proprietary cartridges, a more expensive and limited option than standard international cartridges, (which might be how the company hopes to make money) but to be fair, the Pilot Capless, Lamy Dialogue and Platinum Curidas all used proprietary cartridges; Michael mentioned that an adaptor may be available later.
  • Although I love having the pocket clip at the back, mine does not quite align with the nib. It would be unpleasant to hold if the barrel threads stopped with the clip on the underside of the pen as you write;
  • The pocket clip requires that the pen be carried nib downward, contrary to conventional wisdom; I have not yet dared try carrying it upside down, preferring to carry it in a pen case, nib up, or stand it in a pen cup, nib up;
  • Although the black ink cartridge ink flows well, I found that it feathers on the paper of my Stalogy notebook, which is usually fountain pen friendly. However, on the laid paper of a Semi-Kolon A5 journal, there was no noticeable feathering;
  • I have not yet tried cleaning the pen but it might be best to use an open-backed cartridge to push open the nib hatch and flush the section, nib and feed;
  • As yet the pen does not have a distinctive name, (unlike the Capless/Vanishing Point, Dialogue or Curidas). Its model number “W-784” does not yet look as though it is intended for customer use.

I have had the pen for only one week and need more time to test for hard starts after a period of non use and also to simulate carrying the pen nib down in a shirt or jacket pocket on a warm day whilst running for a bus. Subject to my remaining on good terms with the pen, I will also try out its erasable blue ink cartridges.

A joy to use.

Inky pursuits: January 2024 round-up.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 3 Comments

Inky pursuits is my series of occasional posts, gathering together some of my recent pen-related shenanigans which might not otherwise be blog-worthy stories on their own.

Duke 551 Confucius update.

This was my only new fountain pen acquisition in an otherwise dry January. I am enjoying it immensely although it takes a bit of getting used to. The size and weight are like nothing else in my pen cup. I love the look and feel of the natural bamboo wood of its barrel. I read in the Amazon description that this is Golden Silk Bamboo, whereas the Duke 552 is said to use Golden Stripe Bamboo which looks darker and more exotic.

I need to correct one statement made in my recent early thoughts post on the 551, where I said “It is not a zoom nib and there is not an easy way to get a medium width line between these two extremes.” With a little experimenting, I found that by lowering the angle at which I hold the pen it is actually very simple to get progressively broader lines, until you end up with the entire flat part of the nib on the paper, giving a line about 4mm thick. It can fill a row, in my Stalogy 4mm grid paper journal. Also, the twin slits/three tines nib ensures that the flow keeps up with demand: even when repeatedly laying down lines of the maximum width.

A sample of line widths from this fude nib.

Montegrappa Blue Black ink.

The pen drew much interest when I brought it along to our January pen club meet. I was asked about the ink in it, Montegrappa Blue Black. I had bought a bottle in Selfridges in 2018, when buying my Montegrappa Fortuna:(that was a good day!). I had not used the ink much, feeling that the colour was a bit light, and preferring my Diamine Tavy blue black. Now, six years on, I find myself liking the Montegrappa ink more and am glad to have kept it. Unfortunately, it appears no longer available as I have not been able to find any online. However there will no doubt be many close equivalents from other brands.

Montegrappa Blue Black ink.

The London Fountaineers pen club.

As mentioned, we had a monthly meet up recently. As always, I got to try lots of different pens and inks. Looking back at my notebook, one of the stand-out pens for me was a Pilot Custom 743 with a number 15 size “SU” (stub) nib, in 14k gold. It was Bryan’s pen and was inked with Yama-budo (I think: I didn’t write that down) and felt absolutely lovely, being very narrow for a stub, and highly enjoyable for ordinary writing.

Having said that, I am still very pleased with my new Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with its number 10 size Waverly nib. As a reliable pen, with a fine nib, loaded with a blue black ink (Pilot) with some water-resistance and a nib that copes with all types of paper and writing styles, it is a very useful tool.

One of my pen club friends, a former calligrapher, gave me a huge stash of William Mitchell dip nibs, all left-foot obliques but in a variety of widths. There must have been over a hundred of them. She also gave me a couple of mapping pens – very fine dip pens, with the nib fixed in a plastic housing which can be removed from the holder and put back the opposite way around, for ease of carrying. I had never seen one before. They will be great to include with a travel kit. I am most grateful!

A hoard of oblique nibs comes my way!

One of the ladies, Kim, brought along an old Parker 45 that she had been given, that was hard-starting and blobbing. I disassembled the nib and feed and was able to replace them in better alignment, which I hope was all it needed. The pen filled ok, with her Waterman Mysterious blue. I was able to give her the good news that her nib, which she had thought was steel, was actually 14k gold and that the “X” on the underside of the housing signified “extra fine”.

Inkcoming.

Whilst in Central London to accompany my wife on some errands recently, we made a short detour to the lovely Choosing Keeping, where I bought two bottles of Pilot Iroshizuku ink, in syo-ro and asa-gao, both of which had been on my radar for some time. I also picked up a couple of boxes of Kaweco cartridges (Ruby Red and Smokey Grey), this being one of the few places in know of in London where you can buy such things. Ruby Red lives permanently in my Online Campus Fluffy Cat pen.

Two inks from Choosing Keeping.

Mark Twain goes Titanium.

In March 2023 at the London spring pen show, I bought a Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Filler, in black with rose gold fittings and a black-coated nib. Unfortunately the nib proved rather too wet for my liking and I did not succeed in adjusting it much. At a recent pen show, I had bought a Titanium nib set in an ebonite housing and feed. The housing was not compatible with the Conklin unfortunately and I could not find any other pen that it would fit and so it sat idle.

That is, until last week. I decided (just around midnight when I should be going to bed) that I could extract the Titanium nib from its housing and swap it into the Conklin. Removing the two nibs to carry out the transplant, proved harder than I had expected as they were both VERY tight in their housings. I had to resort to gripping the housings with pliers (copiously wrapped in kitchen towel) and at last they came out.

I was able to use this Titanium nib, but not the feed and housing.

I was rewarded with a much improved writing experience with the Conklin. I filled it with Parker Quink Black. I am using it as my journaling pen for February. The only slight issue is that the shoulders of the nib just touch the sides when I screw the cap on. However this is only slight and the nib seems un-affected. I could try bending the shoulders in but fear that it would risk distorting the tines or ruining the nib’s symmetry and so I will leave it alone.

I am much happier with the Conklin now.

All in all, the year finds me with a deep sense of gratitude, for the joy of this hobby and the friendships that it brings. Recently, I cleaned two large batches of pens and reduced my currently inked number to twelve. Right now, I want for nothing more in my pen collection and so a dry February looks on the cards. I cannot make any promises when the pen show comes to town in March, but it is good to keep an open mind.

Early thoughts on the Hongdian N23 Year of the Rabbit fountain pen.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 8 Comments

I am lucky to belong to a fountain pen club that meets once a month in the convivial surroundings of a pub in London’s Spitalfields market. This is where I can spend three hours thinking and talking about pens in the company of equally enthusiastic pen people.

At our latest meet, as my notebook reminds me, I had enjoyed trying out a variety of fountain pens, including Bryan’s Pilot Custom Urushi, a Hakase ebony, and a special Platinum 3776 in briarwood and then a few of Peter’s vintage Kingswood pens with Swan nibs. I then picked up one of Baran’s pens in what appeared to my untrained eye to be an urushi lacquer with intricate gold maki-e artwork on the cap and barrel. The large gold-coloured nib featured a rabbit imprint and a rather long tip, rather like photos of a custom architect grind, that I had seen on Instagram, on Marc Bacus’ @nibgrinder site.

When I put pen to paper, the sensation was of a deliciously smooth nib, producing a bold line with some subtle line variation. I asked him whether this was a custom grind. “No” he replied and went on to confirm that this was a factory nib and that he had not done anything to it, other than perhaps a little smoothing. To my surprise, the pen in my hands that I had thought cost hundreds of pounds, was a Chinese Hongdian model N23, or “Year of the Rabbit” edition, costing around £40.00 on Amazon. I made a mental note to look into this!

Hongdian N23 “Year of the Rabbit” pen.

As the afternoon progressed, I was able to try many more interesting pens that were circulating the tables. I reciprocated, handing around my recently acquired Tibaldi Infrangible Black Gold, and a Parker 61 Heirloom, capillary filler with one of the smoothest hooded nibs I have ever known.

Back home that evening I looked for the Hongdian N23 rabbit pen. I found that it was available in four colours, red, black, blue and white. The red and the black versions featured gold coloured engraving, whilst on the blue and the white versions, it was in silver colour. Also there was a choice of an extra fine nib or the nib that Baran’s pen had, which they called a “long knife” nib. I opted for the red version with long knife nib. As luck would have it, there was a 20% discount on for Amazon Prime members and the pen would arrive the next day.

Unboxing.

The pen comes in a grey cardboard outer box, inside which is a metal box, with the pen nestling in a foam surround and in a polythene sleeve. Having more time to inspect it closely, the quality of finish looked and felt good. The pen is of metal construction, but coated in a rich Burgundy piano lacquer and the artwork, which appears to be engraved or applied in gold, includes a rabbit on both barrel and cap, plus trees and foliage and distant hills in the style of a Chinese brush and ink painting.

Joy and anticipation.

Construction.

The pen has rounded ends and a screw cap. There is a gold coloured pocket clip which looked as if it might be sprung but is not, and is extremely stiff, functioning better as a roll-stop. The cap unscrews in one and a half rotations. There is a comfortable grip section, ending at the nib with a flat-fronted ring. The nib and the ring are, I think, gold plated although the nib is not marked as such, at least not on the part of the nib which is exposed. Whilst the ring looks nice I suspect that it may reflect sunlight into a halo around my writing, which is a first world problem I have sometimes with my Pelikan M800.

The “long knife” nib option, with rabbit motif and a gold plated ring.

The nib has another rabbit motif and a plastic feed. The tipping is rather special. It is not a flat, architect type grind but rather, presents a curved edge to the paper so that the pen may write smoothly however steeply you hold it to the paper. This is similar to the principle of Pilot’s Waverley nib, except that the curved writing surface is formed by the shape of the Iridium tipping material, rather than by having Pilot’s gentle upward curve to the tines.

A surprisingly fun nib for a £40 pen.

The pleasing quality continues with the metal collar to support a cartridge or converter (the latter being included in the pen) and a rubber O-ring to help seal the pen against leaks and to give the barrel a more secure hold, when screwed in place. The threads inside the barrel are also metal.

Plastic threads for the cap, metal threads for the barrel. Converter includes an ink agitator ball.

The writing experience.

Very smooth. I inked the pen initially with Montblanc Corn Poppy Red, which was quite pleasing but changed it the following day for Diamine’s Pelham Blue. The ink flow was just right, giving a nicely lubricated writing surface. On my Stalogy notebook paper, it writes very well although on Basildon Bond’s writing paper, the nib struggled with the smooth paper and skipped a lot.

Trying a few different writing styles on Stalogy 4mm grid paper.

The line width, although I do not have an accurate means of measuring it, appears to be around 0.6 mm on the cross stroke, at my usual writing angle. This is not a nib designed to write lines of different thickness according to how steeply you hold the pen (as with Sailor’s Zoom nib for example) but rather, seems intended to write smoothly to accommodate different ways the pen might be held.

Weights and measures.

The pen, capped is around 141mm long. Uncapped it is 122mm. I do not like to post this cap, for fear of damaging either the cap threads or the barrel engraving. It does not post very deeply or securely and I have not pushed it. It weighs a decent 35g, being 21g uncapped and 14g for the cap alone. That is a good optimum weight for a pen in my opinion.

Gratuitous Porn Copy Red

Conclusions.

I am glad to have found this pen, with its attractive appearance and unusual tipping. I enjoy writing with it. It serves as a lovely smooth broad nib and at a modest price. The rabbit is a symbol of good luck, prosperity, happiness and serenity in Chinese culture. Certainly, I feel lucky right now. I am lucky to have so much pleasure from the fountain pen hobby. I am lucky to have this blog and today’s post is the 250th.

The lucky rabbit.

This is my first Hongdian pen. I wonder whether they may bring out a new edition for each Chinese New Year. This could be a slippery slope.

The Benu Euphoria Bourbon fountain pen: early thoughts 7th blogiversary post.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 8 Comments

In my recent post about my pen show haul, I mentioned my Benu Euphoria Bourbon and the fact that it deserved a post of its own. Well, here it is.

I first laid eyes on this pen at the London Pen Show in October 2023, on Derek Bambrough’s Stonecott Fine Writing table. The pen just calls to be picked up and looked at. Also on the same table were inks from Diamine’s Shimmering Fountain Pen Inks range, including Caramel Sparkle and it did not take me long to imagine them together.

The Benu Euphoria, Bourbon edition.

All of this surprised me, because I was not previously drawn to fountain pens that are sparkly, nor had I any urge to use glittering inks. I thought that I would have no use for them and that they would clog my pens. As recently as 31 July 2023 in my post on the 21 plus 5 pen questions, I had been dismissive of sparkly pens and inks, although mentioning that if I were to buy a sparkly pen, it would be a Benu Euphoria. This name-dropping suggested a knowledge of sparkly pens which was a little disingenuous, as I had been shown a Benu only the day before, at a pen club meet.

I later read on Cult Pens’ site, that Benu was created in 2016 and that the Euphoria range celebrates life and things that bring us joy. This particular model celebrates Bourbon, a whisky (or whiskey in the USA) distilled from maize and rye and named, according to The Concise Oxford Dictionary, after Bourbon County in Kentucky where it was first made. I have not found any suggestion that the pen celebrates the Bourbon chocolate biscuit, named after the French or Spanish House of Bourbon. Details of this pen range as well as some special editions and the other lines can be seen at http://www.benupen.com.

Ten facets on the cap and barrel.

Handling this pen at the pen show, the material did not suggest whiskey to me, but rather a woodland carpeted with sun-lit autumn leaves. As you turn the pen in the hand, areas of red appear, like pools of blood at a crime scene. Not exactly a joyful image I agree, and I do not mean to spoil the pen for anyone, but I thought of Armenia and its troubled history. Benu pens are hand-made in Yerevan, Armenia. I found the pen both poignant and beautiful and, having some Armenian ancestry myself, of course I had to buy it. And a bottle of Caramel Sparkle.

Diamine’s Caramel Sparkle, shimmering ink.

The pen appears to be made of a transparent acrylic, generously infused with fragments of glitter which catch the light and give the pen its richly golden-brown depth, with areas of red in the cap and the barrel. It was really the patches of red that sold it for me. The grip section and cap threads are black, as is the broad cap band, on which the name BENU appears. The pen is faceted (although not the grip section) with ten polished sides. The facets of the cap align perfectly with those of the barrel, which is both impressive and very pleasing.

There is no separate finial at either end, just slightly convex or domed acrylic ends which, like the rest of the pen, are beautifully smooth and polished.

The nib is a number 6 sized Schmidt, in stainless steel. Mine is a Broad, marked with an ornate “B” in the centre of the imprint. It writes beautifully smooth and wet but not too wet. The pocket clip is also stainless steel and sprung, to lift when the top end is squeezed, to enable the clip to slide easily over a pocket.

Faceted barrel. Broad nib writing sample.

Uncapped, the pen is a very good length, around 137mm, being well above my preferred minimum of 130mm. The grip area is also of a good length offering plenty of space for different grips. If, like me, you grip the pen quite high up, then you may find your thumb resting on the cap threads but these are heavy duty and not sharp. Further up the section, there is a step where the coloured material begins which allows the cap to be more flush with the barrel, although not completely. The cap takes about two and half rotations to remove although I had not even noticed this before now. The cap can also be posted although the pen becomes ridiculously long and back-weighted.

The pen came with a Schmidt converter but can also take standard international cartridges and could be eye-droppered, although I have not tried.

Schmidt nib and converter too.

Naturally, I was eager to try out the pen and also the Caramel Sparkle ink. I was delighted with both! The ink makes for an excellent combination with the Bourbon. The ink is a joy in itself. Gold glitter settles at the bottom of the bottle like sediment in a wine and the bottle needs shaking before filling the pen. Then it is entertaining just to watch the glittery ink swirling in the bottle. At our recent pen club meet, the ink drew much interest and I gave samples to five of our group.

I have not had any trouble with ink clogging the pen or causing hard starts. I give the pen a little shake before writing to wake up the glitter although I am not sure that this is necessary. The ink is a lovely golden brown and dries with a gold sheen. It is marvellous to watch fresh ink on paper via an illuminated loupe, as the tiny glitter particles swim around like pond life, until the ink dries and the sheen appears.

Woooh, sheeny!

I am very glad to have found this pen and to have made the purchase. Coincidentally, like Benu, this blog also started in 2016. As I write this, on 5 November, it is the seventh blogiversary. I take this opportunity to thank everyone for reading, liking and commenting over the years. I love the interaction that the blog brings, in this wonderful, global community. Special thanks also to those who have been kind enough often to include my blog in their own weekly lists of links, notably The Gentleman Stationer in his Sunday Reading posts, the Pen Addict in Sunday’s Misfill posts and The Well-Appointed Desk in their Link-Love posts. Recognition from these far larger blogs across the pond, is very gratifying.

Today’s post is my 248th of this blog. The blog has drawn 546,000 views to date and the number of new subscribers has roughly kept pace with the number of posts. Am I losing interest in the pen hobby, after seven years? Not at all. As my latest venture into sparkling pens and inks shows, I am still discovering new things.

When pen, ink – and facets – are perfectly aligned.

Travelling with ink: Audley, near Stoke-on-Trent.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 7 Comments

We recently enjoyed a relaxing long weekend break, on a farm. Our accommodation was annexed to the impressive Georgian farmhouse, facing a delightful courtyard. This is a working dairy farm, with 240 acres of land and 400 cows.

Our cottage was annexed to this farmhouse.

During July, I had an outbreak of Parker Pen Purchasing on eBay. The first of these was a Parker 17, in black with a medium nib, which I wrote about earlier. This was followed by a Parker 51 also black, but with an oblique nib which I was very keen to buy. Next, there were two more Parker 17 fountain pens, each for sale by auction. There were no competing bids and I got both 17’s at their opening prices of £16.99 each, plus p&p.

The final purchase was rather more dramatic. I had seen a Parker 17, burgundy red fountain pen, with the open, “beak” nib, made only from 1962 to 1964 and harder to come by. I read that these command a higher price than the later, hooded nib models but had heard good reports of the nibs.

The auction was still several days away. For most of this time, mine was the highest bid but I made a maximum bid, of £59.90. In the tense final few seconds, I watched my screen helplessly as a flurry of increased bids were placed. I was successful! Afterwards, I found that another bidder had offered £58.00 with just four seconds remaining: eBay then bid one pound higher for me automatically, so it was a close shave.

Three more Parker 17 fountain pens. I am hooked on these.

These last three Parker 17s arrived just as we were setting off for our break, so I was able to bring them with me to clean and try out, with a bottle of Parker Quink Royal Blue.

Pen Time on the farm.

It was wonderful to get away and have a change of scene. We were in a rural area with views of fields and trees. Our comfortable cottage had vintage furniture, a large kitchen with an electric AGA and a lounge/dining room which included a grand piano, which I enjoyed playing.

Having a full sized, concert grand was a bonus!

There was time to inspect my three new Parker 17’s. The blue one was a basic, standard model with a medium nib and wrote very nicely, with a pleasing bit of feedback. The green one was the Parker 17 Super Duofold, which featured a wider gold coloured cap-band and a ring on the end of the barrel. However this one had a few issues. The cap-band appeared to have been glued but with glue residue around the edge, on the cap. Also the cap was unusually tight. The grip section was misshapen, as if it had been forced into a cap that was too small. The pen filled normally and the nib was glassy smooth and felt like a broad.

The four colour options of the Parker 17.
The nibs turned out to be Fine, Medium and Broad.

However, the pen would write only for a paragraph or so before drying up and suffering “ink starvation.” A check inside showed that the ink had not got stuck at the back of the sac and so it was not obvious why ink flow had stopped. I suspect that it may be an issue with the air replacement to the sac, rather like trying to pour from a carton of milk with only one opening.

Talking of milk, we were invited to watch the cows being milked in the afternoon. This was a highly informative and memorable experience. The owner had farmed here for 53 years, taking over from his father who came in 1930. These days, the milking process is highly computerised with the milk piped to a large holding tank. The milkman comes to collect, every day including Christmas Day. The milk from this farm, goes to make cheese. Whilst being milked, the cows eat from a hopper of grain, which is automatically piped into the milking sheds from a big silo outside. Each cow is identified on the computer system, which monitors how much milk they yield and how much grain to give them. We were shown the harvester, which cuts grass for silage, the cows’ winter feed. It was quite an education for us city dwellers.

The view from our bedroom window.

We explored the nearby city of Stoke-on-Trent. We browsed the shops and bought some clothes and shoes and enjoyed a meal. There was little in the way of fountain pen action, aside from a WHSmiths with Lamy and Parker pens for the “back to school” season. Looking at these, I felt that my vintage Parker 17s with their 14k gold nibs were a better buy.

Returning home, I found that my Quink bottle had leaked. It was only around the cap and had not done any harm except that I got it all over my fingers. Fortunately it was Washable blue, but I might not chose Quink bottles for travel next time.

The Parker 17 with beak nib (1962-1964 only).