Monday, December 31, 2018

A few more from our October meeting

Here are a few shots I took during our October meeting. Apologies for the picture quality! (click on images to enlarge)

Ray's stunning sterling silver Montblanc fountain pen with matching sterling silver desk base.
My photo truly doesn't do it justice:


A quick shot of the pens Christopher brought to the meeting -- (top to bottom):
Montblanc 'Generation' ballpoint, Sheaffer Snorkel fountain pen, Montblanc 'Noblesse Oblige" fountain pen and one of his trusty Parker Vacumatic fountain pens:
Stuart's Stratford 'Regency' fountain pen in bright orange, which he purchased from Christopher at the October meeting. For a fairly modest writing instrument, this model featured a lot of famous people in its advertising---e.g. Bing Crosby, Roy Rogers, and the Marx Brothers (among others):
I forgot to take a photo of Stuart's handsome Sheaffer 'Triumph' desk set so Stuart sent me these two shots that he took of it at home (thanks, Stuart!):



Sheaffer made a ton of desk sets over the years, and there are plenty of them still around (at fairly affordable prices on places such as eBay), so if you want a classy-looking desk pen, why not consider a vintage Sheaffer? :)



I'll be posting photos from our last meeting of 2018 (the one held in November) this week. Apologies in advance for the delay!

At long last.....October meeting photos!

We had an excellent turnout for our October meeting, held at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public Library. A grand total of 29 members were in attendance, including six newcomers (Daryl, Gabriel, Greg, Jenny Z, Liz, and Michael P).

Ricardo was kind enough to snap photos during the meeting, so without further ado, here are some he sent me to post on our club's blog. My apologies for the extreme lateness of this blog post!
(~click on images to enlarge~)...

One of our newest (and youngest) members (Michael) talking to Armando.
Michael brought in a stunning Pelikan M600 in the striped Turquoise-White pattern (not pictured). Ray (far left, who gave a great presentation on Porsche Design at our November meeting) and Glenn Marcus are in the background.
Our topic for October's meeting was "Open Format" (ie. bring in whatever pen-related stuff you want to show that you haven't brought to a previous meeting and shown to the club) and we saw some very interesting items, such as this desk pen base brought in by Armando. And yes---those are mechanical watch components embedded in it!
Another interesting item that Armando brought for our meeting---a dip pen attached to a quill!
Glenn Marcus always has some lovely Italian fountain pens to show, and this 'Momento Zero' model in Vintage Brown made by Leonardo Officina Italiana was no exception. There's a nice writeup on the pen and the pen company here on Glenn's website.


Another gorgeous Italian pen brought in by Glenn--a Montegrappa 'Extra' Otto Limited Edition in Lapis, made of celluloid with sterling silver trim and an ebonite feed:
That's Jerred in the foreground with me (Maja)---above Jerred's shoulder in the pic---listening intently to our members talk about the items they brought in for the topic, as well as their newest acquisitions (which is always our secondary topic):
That's René (center of photo, in blue shirt) talking about his newest pen-related purchase, and a couple of our newest VPC members--Jenny (to René's immediate left) and Greg (in brown cap)---listening in:
René's newest acquisition--a Pelikan M120N in "Iconic Blue", a special edition that came out this year:
The M120N is a modern version of the Pelikan 120, a famous school pen that came out in 1955. There's some good info on these models on this excellent Pelikan website .
Jenny's beautiful Pilot 'Vanishing Point' (VP, for short) in Raden Stripe made of abalone shells in a glossy hand-lacquered urushi finish. The abalone shell pieces are hand-cut and laid into the pen to create this lovely iridescent effect:
I can't remember whose Pilot VP this is, but the Blue Carbonesque pattern is very beautiful:
Longtime VPC member Julienne talking about the pens she brought in for our topic, while newcomer Liz (far left) and Joie (center) look on:
Julienne's cool Visconti 'Metropolis', a modern Italian safety pen (a pen with a retractable mechanism). Turning the end of the barrel enables the user to extract and retract the nib from the barrel:
Mindy (in cap) always has some interesting writing instruments and accessories to show us...
...such as her Kaweco 'Art Sport' fountain pen:
This upscale version of the beloved 'Sport' pocket fountain pen is made from a solid block of Italian resin and comes in many colours and patterns.
Ray's beautiful Montblanc Carlo Collodi Limited Edition (part of their Writers Edition of LEs) was created as a tribute to the Italian author and creator of Pinocchio. The cap depicts Pinocchio and his friends, and the conical barrel end is a representation of his famous nose.
You probably can't see it in this photo, but the nib is engraved with a drawing of a cricket, the representation of Pinocchio's conscience in this classic children's story.
Michael (center) listening to one of our members. Bob W (far left) is in the background:
I can't remember who brought in this Sailor Pro Gear but it looks even more beautiful in person! (Update: it's Melodie's!)
Photographer Ricardo's drawings of some of the wonderful writing instruments we saw that evening:
Many thanks to Ricardo for taking the time to snap such great photos during a very busy meeting! Thanks to all who attended, even if you couldn't stay for the entire meeting :)

Friday, November 2, 2018

November meeting info (note: NEW DATE!)

Due to venue availability, I've had to move our November meeting to the third FRIDAY of November. The good news is that it's being held at the Oakridge branch of the Vancouver Public Library, a very convenient venue in terms of accessibility to transit and free parking.
Here are the details:

When: FRIDAY November 16, 2018 from 6:00pm - 8:30pm (Don't worry if you're late---we usually start at around 6:30 pm)

Where: the OAKRIDGE branch of the Vancouver Public Library, 650 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC (ie. the "Oakridge-41st Avenue" stop on the Skytrain's "Canada" line).

The entrance to the library is on the outside of Oakridge Mall (on the west side of the Mall, near the fish market). Parking at the mall is free for 3-4 hours. The meeting will take place in the community room---you can't miss it, as it's the only public meeting room at that library branch. No food (except covered drinks) allowed in the library, but there's a nice food fair at Oakridge Mall where you can grab a bite to eat before the meeting.

Theme : A PRESENTATION ON PORSCHE DESIGN (writing instruments & others) by VPCer Ray (who did a nice talk on Montblanc 149/146 writing instruments at our January meeting) + our twice-annual INK SWAP! (full/partial ink bottles, ink cartridges are all fine for trade or for sale). If you don't have any ink to trade/sell, no worries--it's all completely voluntary!

Our secondary topic is always NEWEST ACQUISITIONS (pen-related)---eg. new pens/inks/paper/pen cases/other accessories/etc, so if you have any you wish to show, please bring them with you.

Please note: this is the last meeting of 2018 as we do not meet in December. Meetings will resume in January 2019, at a venue to be announced!

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Fountain Pen Day 2018 (November 2nd) !

From the official website: "Taking place on the first Friday in November each year, Fountain Pen Day is celebrated by enthusiasts worldwide as a time to embrace, promote, and share the use of fountain pens."
Discount codes and promos here!

Thursday, October 18, 2018

September meeting photos

Ten VPC members braved the rainy weather and came to the Terry Salman branch of the VPL for our pen club meeting on September 20th. The miserable weather didn't dampen their enthusiasm, however, and everyone brought some interesting things for our "Open Format" topic.

Without further ado, here are some photos from that meeting, starting with these group shots courtesy of Christopher's phone camera:
Going around the table (clockwise, from lower left): Stuart, Mindy, Alejandra's daughter, Christopher, René, Alejandra, Dana, Maja (me), Justin and Jerred
René brought in an interesting assortment of pens, both modern and vintage
That's Tony in the upper-left corner...
All in all, an entertaining meeting with a small-but-enthusiastic bunch of VPCers! Thanks to all who attended the meeting :)

Now some pen photos I snapped with my cel camera (apologies for the picture quality)
~Click on images to enlarge~
Christopher's vintage Parker 'Duofold Jr.' fountain pen in the desirable "Mandarin Yellow" colour, and a vintage Waterman fountain pen in highly collectible "Olive Ripple" pattern

A Sheaffer 'Imperial Sovereign', a lovely fountain pen that Christopher found for a bargain price

(L-R) Pelikan M200, four Kaweco 'Sport' pens (including a hard-to-find black and white marbled 'Sport Art' pen) and a Delike 'Alpha Resin' (a 'Sport' look-alike) in the "Maple Leaf" pattern--all owned by Mindy

A nice selection of black vintage fountain pens by an assortment of makers, including Conway Stewart, Salz, Swan, Summit and Whitney, brought in by René

René's Winkpens pen (a demonstrator pen with a glass nib that utilizes a ink converter that can be filled with a variety of liquids---e.g. coffee, wine, ink et al.) and a Pilot 'Kakuno' in the special "Kumamon" edition

René's beautiful Platinum 'Century 3776' "Yamanaka" Demonstrator Limited Edition fountain pen (only 3776 numbered pieces made)

Two vintage Wahl-Eversharp 'Skyline' fountain pens brought in by René. After consultation with an expert, it was determined that the bottom pen has a replacement cap and is not a 'Streamliner' (a less-common, lower-tier Eversharp model)

Vintage and modern ~ René's bright blue TWSBI 'Eco' and vintage Wyvern fountain pen in a woodgrain pattern. Below that is a Wahl-Eversharp 'Skyline', brought in by Christopher

A closeup of the engraving on the cap of Christopher's 'Skyline'. You can't see all of it, but the inscription says "Mother, Love Bob & Jim ~ Sept.19 '46"

A fine mini-collection of Sheaffer fountain pens belonging to Stuart. Among the pens are the 'Crest', 'Touchdown' and 'Balance' models (all vintage) and an all-black 'Taranis' (modern pen). Stuart also brought in his newest acquisition---a TWSBI 'Go' (not pictured)

Our topic was "Open Format" so we saw some unusual items, such as this Montblanc piston-removal tool created by VPC's own Tony using a piece of metal and a Dremel

Tony also brought in his TWSBI collection! (including some brand-new acquisitions)
The red, white and blue demonstrator is the special edition '580 Taiwan' that uses the colours of the Taiwanese flag (TWSBI being a Taiwanese manufacturer)


Alejandra' red Pilot 'Decimo', a slimmed-down version of the classic Pilot 'Vanishing Point' fountain pen, and a cute new Hobonichi Techo Weeks planner with a wild boar piglet motif

Part of my (Maja's) Retro 51 writing instrument collection (photo courtesy of Justin) displayed in a new acquisition, a bamboo 16-pen display case made by Retro 51

Dana brought in some really nice inks in some really nice pens---(top to bottom) Sailor 'Sapporo' (aka 'Professional Gear Slim') Orange demonstrator, vintage striped Pelikan 400NN, Lamy 'Al-Star' and a mystery pen I will endeavour to ID after I post this! (photo by Justin)

Christopher's 'Skyline' by Wahl-Eversharp (photo taken by its owner)

My apologies to Justin and Jerred for not snapping pics of the items they brought :(
Justin brought in some very cool handmade pens---a Osprey ebonite fountain pen, a Hinze (American made) fountain pen and a pen handmade by the Birmingham Pen Company in the "Eye of Sauron" resin---as well as a Montegrappa 'Game of Thrones' fountain pen, a new Pilot 823 (one of the pens on my own Wish List---Santa, are you listening??), a PenBBS pen and one by Delike. Jerred brought in some pens I'd never seen at any of our meetings before---a Delta 'Monza', a Bexley 'Imperial' and a Hero 'Century 5' (a discontinued model with an integrated fountain pen nib).

Many thanks to everyone who brought in stuff for our topic. We will being continuing this topic ("Open Format") at our meeting on October 18---all details about that meeting are here in this post.