Winners of the 2014 FPD Giveaway!

This is always so much fun for me! This year we had 99 entries representing 15 countries and 31 states and territories (yay PR!) in the United States - and an APO address as well! Thanks to all for your interest!

Each entry was assigned a number in order of receipt; I used the integer generator at random.org to select five. And those five winners are:

• Tim S. from North Brunswick, NJ
• Joshua K. from Dayton, OH
• Michael C. from Chicago, IL
• Angela W. from Carlsbad, CA
• Damian B. from Fort Bragg, NC

Congratulations to all! I will be contacting the winners privately in the next 24 hours to confirm details.

Thanks for playing!

2014 FP Day Giveaway!

Welcome to Fountain Pen Day 2014! And, as I did last year, I am hosting a little giveaway to celebrate!

Five pens, five winners! Yeah, I'm just kinda nuts that way.

Here's the scoop:

Once again, I have five trusty Jinhao X750 pens to give away, one to each of five winners. Each of these pens was purchased new by me for this giveaway, and I have flushed, write-tested and cleaned each one to make sure it's good to go when it gets to you. These are medium nib pens.

(Click on photos to embiggen)

This year's colors are: gold, cream, brushed steel, black, and gold and black check. 

And just to make things more fun, I will throw in a random assortment of ink samples for you as well - so you'll have something to ink up your new acquisition! I'll draw a sample each from my Highly Scientific Sample Storage System (HSSSS...sounds ominous, doesn't it?), which consists of five Ziploc bags with inks vaguely sorted by color: Pink/Purple/Orange, Blues, Greens, Browns, and Reds. So, five samples to go with each pen.

As an added bonus, I have some super nice bookmarks donated by Cary from the Fountain Pen Day website  - the place where it all started. Each winner will also get a bookmark in a random color chosen by me. 'Cuz I know if you're not writing, you're reading, aren't you? 

Sounds like a deal, doesn't it? 

Some of you may wonder why I do this. I'm not a retailer, so I don't have any financial interest in this. As of this writing at least, I don't have any sponsors, and I don't host ads on the blog. I have a bit of a following, but I don't think I'm really one of the major bloggers. This is just one small way I can share the fun with others, and hopefully pay it forward a bit. 

I have found the Jinhao X750 to be a sturdy, well-made, respectable writer. This is the third time I've done a giveaway with Jinhaos, and they have been well-received. Here is a link to a Terrible Video Review (you'll note it's the only video review I've ever done!) made at the time I first gave one away. In combination with the ink samples, this could be a nice little gift for someone - the holidays are coming up, after all. Or just keep it for yourself! 

And I finally got smart and bought an extra one for myself! (Hope you didn't want red, 'cuz it's staying here!)

Contest details:

One entry per person please.

PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM - COMMENTS on this blog post WILL NOT COUNT AS AN ENTRY! Sorry to shout, but I'm hoping it'll make that more visible!

Please indicate whether you have a pen color preference - I will do my best to accommodate preferences for the winners, but no guarantees - I only have one of each color.

Entries will be accepted through November 17, 2014 at 9 pm Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8). Each entry will be given a number in order of entry, and a random selection will be made for the five winners - numbers in a hat if there are a few, random number generator if I get a bunch. Winners will be notified promptly by email, and a list of first names published on the blog as well.

Good luck, and thanks for playing!

Ink Review: First Impressions with J. Herbin Stormy Grey 1670 Anniversary Ink

I was one of the lucky people who got their order in at Goulet Pens during the (reported) three hours they had it in stock, and the new J. Herbin Anniversary ink, Stormy Grey, arrived today.

First impression, in a word: Wow.

The grey tint is much darker than I had been led to expect. This isn't a bad thing, just an observation. For this ink, it's actually a good thing, because it allows the gold flecking to show off even more distinctly.

And show off it does. It is almost holographic in nature, in fact, on the Rhodia paper I tested it on.

Note the stern warning on the shrink wrap.

(Click on photos to embiggen.)

A few quick shots of the bottle. Note the gold flecks sedimented on the bottom. I shook the bottle briskly before opening and inking.

For my initial test, I grabbed my trusty TWSBI with the Pendleton Point and loaded it up. I chose this pen for a couple of reasons: firstly, it disassembles pretty completely, so if I had clogging issues given the gold flecking, I could field strip the pen and clean it well. Secondly, that Pendleton Point regrind shows off inks just beautifully. 

And make no mistake - this is a beautiful ink. I was surprised at just how sparkly it could appear. It's not in your face with it, but it is very definitely noticeable. 

What do I think? LOVE it. I would exercise caution and, for example, not put it in a vintage or antique pen due to the saturation factor, but it definitely will have a place in the rotation for me. 

Here are a couple of quick closeup shots to give you an idea of the sheen. 

And lastly, two photos, one in strong light to pick up the sheen, and one in a more ambient room light, to show you how it might look in use.

I am going to be brave (or is that foolhardy?) and leave the ink in the pen for a few days and put it in normal rotation, to see how it behaves, and I'll report back with an update. For now, I have a new favorite ink, but we'll see how long that lasts!

Update October 22, 2014:

The TWSBI ended up sitting, unused and largely undisturbed, for about a week. This morning I picked it up, shook it slightly to distribute the lovely sparkles, and tried to write with it. It started up after the fourth attempt at a downstroke to make a capital T, and wrote flawlessly thereafter. Needless to say, I am very pleased! YMMV of course, and this TWSBI has always been a great writer for me, but I am really encouraged with how well it took to sitting around. I will update again if something more occurs to me!

Wow!

Just a quick note to say WOO HOO, I BROKE 100,000 PAGEVIEWS!!!

Thanks so much for following along at home with the fountain pen game! More fun coming up soon! I appreciate each and every one of you!

Sheila

I Didn't Need It - But Then I Did

Ed. note: Joe was so excited about his new journal, he hijacked the blog!

I didn't  have a use for it, but when I saw this journal offered for sale by GatzBcn on the Fountain Pen Network (note: must be a FPN member and logged in to view) I couldn't resist. After all, a handmade journal with Oxford blue leather, 90 gram French art paper, hand-tied signatures and a hubbed spine for $38? Really! Even the postage from Europe struck me as ridiculously reasonable.

MB 146 for scale

(click on photos to embiggen)

I’m a reader and a writer. I've been a lover of leather-bound books with gilt titles for over 50 years. I've been a journaler for as many. I've never had such a beautiful object to write my thoughts in.

When I received the exceedingly-well-packed parcel from Spain I also received 3 cards, a hand-written note, and a business card from Anna. 

I contacted Anna by PM and asked if she’d mind if I reviewed her product since I hadn't seen any other customers’ feedback on the forum. She said, “by all means, I’d like to know what you think of it.” (No commercial considerations, etc. though I thought that I’d let her know privately if I didn't like the journal and post a review if I did.)

This journal is very nice. I like everything about it. Oxford blue is a favorite color for me. I love hubbed spines. I like marbled paper (hand-done by Anna). The paper is French Chanson of 90 gram weight and does not bleed or show through and barely feathers (only to the extent that a cotton content “laid” paper would normally do so).

Lastly, possession led to purpose for me. I've had a private writing project in mind for several weeks. Owning this journal, I now have a place befitting the work I intend to do and the impetus to proceed – and isn't that what buying nifty paper is all about?

Search and Rescue: Sheaffer Desk Pen

The other day I was over at my parents' home, helping my mother with computer stuff. She was making a few notes, using the ballpoint from a service-award desk set she'd gotten from her employer some 20 years ago (she's now retired). I happened to glance at it while she was writing, and saw a telltale White Dot on a black pen. Hmm.

When I said something profound like,"Hey! That's a Sheaffer White Dot pen!" she pulled out the matching fountain pen and handed it to me. It was the typical 90's Sheaffer inlaid steel nib, encrusted with ink - very much so in fact. There was so much dried ink and schmutz I was afraid I'd find corrosion on the nib when I got it cleaned off. There was an empty black Skrip cartridge in the pen, which I presume was the one and only cartridge that came with the desk set, and it was put in to check it out and then left.

This is after cleaning...

I don't blame my mother for this - most people do things like that. Otherwise, how could you account for all the vintage and antique pens we all find that are full of dried ink? They get put in a drawer and forgotten about. Such is life.

I told her I'd take the pen home and clean it up a bit for her.

We put the nib and section to soak in plain water when I got home, and between Joe and me we changed the water out about six times by mid-morning the next day - a lot of ink came out! Half a dozen passes through with an ear syringe, and then I grabbed a Sheaffer squeeze converter and we washed it with Goulet's pen flush, then a lot more water, and then let it dry out. No residual issues that I can see; whew! I did a quick polish with a Sunshine cloth for microscratches, and then filled it with Waterman Blue, my standard test ink.

Frankly, I'm a bit impressed. The nib is smooth, firm but springy; it's labeled M but is finer than most contemporary Western medium nibs. On reflection, this is true of most Sheaffers of the time; I recall thinking the school pen I picked up for nostalgia's sake that's roughly the same vintage (probably a bit older) was also finer than I anticipated it would be. And the fine Sheaffer Balance Aspen I have (again, about the same vintage) is really fine.

It's interesting to compare nib feel between this and the 1996 Sheaffer Christmas pen I have, which has a very similar nib, only gold-plated; the Christmas pen is a much firmer one. Both pens' feeds bear style similarities to the feed in my No Nonsense pen as well, also a Sheaffer product of roughly the same vintage.

It's interesting to note I had a bit of a time finding any new desk pen sets available; Cross offers a set with the only option being a ballpoint and matching pencil, most others I found were designed to match a suite of desk accessories to give the desk that "executive" look - black leather desk blotter, etc. Of the few sets I found available, none offered a fountain pen any more.

Suddenly I'm feeling a bit outdated.

At least I got my Mom's pen cleaned, up and running before I got so old so fast.

The Well-Travelled Pen

The Saga of a Pen as It - but Not Its Owner - Travels the World

So here's the deal.

In 2011, the Fountain Pen Network put together a group buy for various limited-edition Stipula pens. There were three different models offered, in different configurations (materials, nib sizes, trim material, etc.).

As is so typical of me, I saw the Photoshop mockup of the Most Expensive One and said (everyone repeat after me), "Ooooh....Shiiiiiiny....." I then convinced myself I could afford it, had to have it, and ordered it. With an extra nib in a different size, in fact - Stipula pens have nibs that swap! Look! It's really an economical move - two pens for the price of - well, two or three - or four. Or even more, depending on price point.

So I shipped my money off and waited.