My thirteen-year-old daughter will be the first to tell you that she is not the world's hardest working student; but about a year ago, she decided that she would put some extra effort in to improve her grades before entering high school. She came home the other night with a school report that had excellent written, …
Continue reading The Pilot Prera and Diamine Lilac Satin—A Guest Post
I had high hopes for the Lamy 2000, and in the spirit of full disclosure I must tell you, they weren't met. Those of you who don't like negative reviews had better change channels, because this one goes downhill rapidly from here, ranting all the way. It seems like most people that review fountain pens …
Some while ago, on a too rare visit to the UK, my mother gave me a fountain pen she had unearthed in a fit of cleaning out a long-ignored writing desk. Well, it appears she's been ransacking other items of old furniture, because—amazing lady that she is—she has found another treasure, and it arrived in …
It's been a strange week here. Firstly, my wife had an accident at a conference in Ottawa (ice-rain + sidewalks = experience to be avoided), which aggravated an existing back problem and meant she wound up in bed for more than a week (a nightmare for Mrs. I Will Do Everything With No Help From Anyone). …
Well, you know you've hit the big time as a pen and stationery blogger when you can start your post, "[Insert big time pen retailer here] sent me this pen to review..." And a little while ago, a nice guy from the US retailer Pen Chalet reached out and asked if I would like to …
Continue reading Platinum Plaisir in Silver, from Pen Chalet
Wayyy back in the sunny days of July last year, before the Ontario winter and the snow, when I could still see the land around our house, the garden furniture, and even the lake come to think of it, I wrote a review of the TWSBI Diamond 580AL in turquoise, with a steel 1.1mm nib. …
Well, everybody seems to be doing a pens and inks I bought in 2017 post, so I thought I might do something like that, but a bit different. Because I'm contrary. I took a look in my bag, and at what I've been carrying around recently, and it struck me that of all the stuff I've bought in …
So, a few weeks ago, I wrote a review of my two new Lamy Aion fountain pens, in Olivesilver and black aluminium. They're great pens, and have been in daily use ever since I picked them up. But I was fascinated by the ease of swapping out, and availability of, different nibs for these pens. …
Continue reading Of Lamy Aions and Stub Nibs, or, How to Ruin a Great Pen
During my stay in England, aside from buying me the excellent Lamy Aion, my mother distinguished herself by rummaging around in her writing desk, and coming up with what was—for me—a real blast from the past. The first good school pen I ever owned was a Parker Harlequin ballpoint. I seem to remember pleading with …
My apologies for such a long gap between entries. No excuses are offered, suffice to say that over all that time, there has been a huge amount of work, the loss of more than one dear friend, and not a little international travel; and it's the latter which leads me to my latest post. On …
Writing 