I'm a big fan of TWSBI's inexpensive range of fountain and ballpoint pens. In my opinion, they beat the competition from brands like Lamy (who seem to be unable to get even their flagship pen to write reliably) hands down. So when I heard about the new TWSBI Swipe on episode #471 of the Pen …
No, I didn't forget how to spell original, the Origional is what Narwhal calls their pen. I know, because it was on the box so kindly sent to me by Goldspot Pens. Up until now, I have to admit that Narwhal had always meant Monodon monoceros to me. That is, a small to medium-sized arctic whale, …
Anybody who knows me, knows that I am a pretty lousy correspondent. I'm lousy at returning personal e-mails, lousy at returning actual, real, paper mail. I don't send Christmas cards and rarely remember my own birthday, let alone anyone else's. And a couple of years ago I killed my Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and almost …
A brace of sonnets? A pair of Parkers? A tale of two nibs? Cascade Gold and the Firedance Kid? How much more desperate can I get at reaching for titles that'll just make everybody cringe? This time round, I'm looking at a pair of vintage Parker Sonnets from about the mid' 1990s. I'm also trying …
A few weeks ago, I was severely tempted by the Pelikan Souverän M600 Vibrant Orange Special Edition. So I went shopping, and discovered that I was less keen on the Vibrant Orange, than I was on the standard red and black striped model. So, after a bit of hunting around, I picked up the truly …
Continue reading How Many Versions of the Same Pen Does Anybody Need?
I have had a few Pilot pens in my collection over the years, including a much loved Custom 823. Tragically, the 823 was stolen during the after-hours of an academic conference some years ago, whilst I was attempting to prove the hypothesis that a yard of Young's Winter Warmer could indeed be consumed in less …
A little while ago, I was lucky enough to add a Pelikan M200, with a fine M400 14K gold nib, to my pen case... and it has seen pretty much constant use ever since. At the time, I said it was a narrow decision between that, and the larger, but considerably more expensive M600. Also, …
On the whole, my handwriting (such as it is), is not flattered by a fine nib. I mean, it's pretty poor with almost any nib, but better with some than others, and fine, needle-like nibs, which can catch on paper fibers, make my handwriting look, to be blunt, bloody awful. Which can be a bit …
For a long while now, I've been reading reviews, and watching so many videos, of some truly beautiful Pelikan pens. In particular, I've been sorely tempted by the M600 Vibrant Orange, and a while back, by the Classic M200 Brown Marbled. I've written with a few very nice, and very expensive, Pelikan pens over the …
Continue reading Pelikan Classic M200 Brown Marbled… What-the-Pelikan-Fuss?
The last pen post I made, mentioned something about understated style and elegance, well, let's, er, forget about that today shall we? Last year, I took a stroll (about six hours worth, but still a stroll), through Scriptus the Toronto Pen Show. Amongst the highlights of the day was bumping into the lovely Ana Reinert …
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