So I recently had a work trip to an archive, archives almost always have a no pens rule, so I decided to leave my big pen case at home and just take two pens with me. One was an easy choice, my Graf Von Faber-Castell Guilloche, it goes everywhere with me. However the number two … Continue reading Review: The New Dunn Pen
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?
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
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
So this is my first review of what you might call a vintage pen, although I'm aware that opens an unintentional can of worms as to what is and isn't a vintage pen. At any rate it's a pen that is no longer in production. Obviously reviewing a pen which may well be 50 years … Continue reading Review: The Parker 75 Sterling Cicelé
The Faber-Castell Loom is one of the more neglected entry level fountain pens, which is a bit of a shame as in the two and a half months I've had mine I've been firmly convinced it has one of the best steel nibs I've come across, and at a very reasonable price. This is a … Continue reading Review: The Faber-Castell Loom
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
A question that quite often comes up amongst people with a large number of pens is something to the affect of: 'I have all of these pens, but I don't have much call to write with them, any suggestions?' I always find this a bit of a sad situation, although I do completely get how … Continue reading Actually using pens
The Sailor 1911 is a pen I bought primarily for its nib, I had heard tale of the legendary Sailor nibs and I fancied seeing if they were just as good as everyone I had said. About two years on and the short version of this review is the nib is every bit as good … Continue reading Review: The Sailor 1911 Standard
So in my entire three reviews so far I have left off mentioning the packaging, which I'd love to claim was intentional rather than simply editorial oversight, but sadly not. However the good news is that this has prompted a degree of thought about pen boxes. There is something kind of exciting about an extravagant … Continue reading Pen Boxes: Good or Bad?
Pen Thoughts 