A penchant for pens and inks
I am shocked to note that it’s been quite a while since I wrote a post here, Life has been rather busy of late and, as I’m sure you know, things tend to fall by the wayside as a result. Anyway, I’m back and I am reviewing the widely acclaimed Platinum #3776 Century. which has been in production since 1978. The #3776, as you probably know, refers to the height of Mount Fuji in Japan.
The Kaweco Original is the subject of today’s review, well, two of them, in fact. The 060 and the 250, which whilst they look almost identical, they are subtly different. The Kaweco Original 060 has a dainty Bock #5 EF nib and the 250 came with a heftier Bock #6 B. Finished in a stealthy matte black and supplied in a black and grey tin box, these do look like a class act.
The Stipula Etruria is made from a rather beautiful golden brown resin, which has a pleasing quality of depth and variety of tone. This review model is fitted with a 1.1mm Italic nib. Continue reading “Honeyed Words”
The Scribo Tropea is a gorgeous object to behold and an exclusive edition made for Write Here of Shrewsbury. Named after the Tropea region of Calabria, home of the best red onions in Italy, the name is a fitting description of colour. The pearlescent material positively glows with shades of deep red. One could be forgiven for just gazing at this pen and completely forgetting to write anything with it.
I was delighted to receive a set of Scribo ink review samples via United Inkdom, and even more delighted when I’d swatched them.
The colours are vibrant, saturated and really beg for a much broader nib than I normally use. Nonetheless, they perform beautifully, exhibiting some. Nice shading, even with a fine nib. In the image below, I swatched them with water to see the potential range of tones. I was quite impressed. Continue reading “Scribo-ling in Colour”
Narwhal Key West is the latest pretty pen offering from the California-based pen company. Made from sparkly, semi-transparent resin and a traditional cigar shape, the Narwhal Key West series are priced mid way between the Narwhal Original and the Schuylkill*. At £40-£45, this makes them budget priced, by pen enthusiast standards.
The Pineider Arco Blue Bee flew through my door this week for review, courtesy of United Inkdom. This is a Limited Edition of 888 units. The Arco Blue Bee was designed by Dante Del Vecchio, a renowned Italian pen designer and founder of Visconti, with whom he parted company a few years ago to join Pineider.
Back in February, I purchased the Gravitas Skittles pen, in the brushed finish with a Fine nib, and was rather smitten. I’ll confess that now, so you are under no illusions as to how this review is going to go. You may want to read on to know more about the pen and its maker though.
The Schon DSGN Pocket 6 is named for the full-sized #6 nib it uses, rather than the smaller nibs found in most pocket pens. I’m a bit of a sucker for gadgets and, for me, pocket pens definitely fall into that category. This is a high quality turned metal pen. It may be small, but it is mighty. At approximately 90mm closed, this is one of the shortest pens I have used, though not the lightest. This solid brass model weighs in at 43g.
Continue reading “Small But Mighty – Schon DSGN Pocket 6 Review”
It’s been a surprisingly busy time here for the last few months, despite Covid. As usual, I am spreading myself thinner than a bungee rope at full stretch, albeit with considerably less bounce. Consequently, I have rather neglected this blog and the posts I had been planning to write. However, as part of the United Inkdom revival, I have found myself with a Kaweco Supra to play with and so here is my review.
