Legacy Manufacturers

I think we probably all know what is meant by legacy manufacturers in the fountain pen world, brands like Parker, Waterman and Sheaffer whose vintage pens are remarkable, but who have stagnated a bit with regards to their current production line. Although it feels a little harsh to say it I'd say these are brands … Continue reading Legacy Manufacturers →

Waxing, Waning and Keeping The Hobby Interesting

So you may have noticed a bit of a lack of posts round here lately, for which I'd like to offer an apology. On the plus side it has prompted me to write what I hope should be an interesting post. So part of the reason for my absence on the blog has been that … Continue reading Waxing, Waning and Keeping The Hobby Interesting →

Flex Nibs Part 3: Modern Flex

So I've had quite a busy week and these flex nibs posts have taken quite a lot of work to compile, so there's no review this Sunday, instead sit back for the last of the flex nib primers. So here we are at the third and final part of the series on flex nibs, and … Continue reading Flex Nibs Part 3: Modern Flex →

Flex Nibs Part 2: Vintage Flex Nibs

So in the first part of this series we looked at defining the various qualities that go together to make a flex nib. In part two of this series we'll be looking at what the fabled vintage flex nibs have to offer. Any post claiming to deal with vintage flex nibs as a single … Continue reading Flex Nibs Part 2: Vintage Flex Nibs →

Flex Nibs Part 1: Defining Flex

So welcome to what will be a two part series on that most talked about of questions, flex nibs. These three posts will be the product of a not insignificant amount of research, as well as the experience gained over a number of years of buying and using flex nibs. The plan is to create … Continue reading Flex Nibs Part 1: Defining Flex →

Ink Permanence: Or is everything just going to fade away?

I have no data for this, but I imagine most fountain pen users have more bottles of ink than pens, and quite a lot of us can probably say they have more ink than they are ever likely to use. With that being the case it seemed remiss that I haven't yet done a … Continue reading Ink Permanence: Or is everything just going to fade away? →

Is Your Disassembly Really Necessary?

So two slightly unexpected occurrences happened last week, 1. I bought a TWSBI Eco t and 2. I needed to remove the piston from a Pelikan M800. All of this got me thinking about pen disassembly, and attitudes towards it. Fully taking apart your pen seems to be quite a popular thing at the … Continue reading Is Your Disassembly Really Necessary? →

Review: The Noodler’s Nib Creaper

So at some point most pen people have been curious to try out the fabled 'flex nib' whatever that actually means in practice. Confronted by a bewildering array of often expensive choices many people end up settling on a Noodler's steel flex nib pen, it's cheap and it offers a good entry point for those … Continue reading Review: The Noodler’s Nib Creaper →

Lending Pens

So we've all been there, you're in a situation where it's reasonably obvious that you have a pen/pens on you and someone asks the feted question: 'Can I borrow a pen?' The palms go slightly sweaty as you try to think of a way of explaining that whilst you do in fact appear to have … Continue reading Lending Pens →

Montblanc Servicing

So as mentioned in a previous post I have a Montblanc 146 that has been languishing with a faulty piston seal for several months now. As I said in the post the pen never really got a huge amount of use and I had slightly mixed feelings about actually using the pen. However I had … Continue reading Montblanc Servicing →