Friday, December 31, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 305

Happy New Year's Eve!

As 2021 draws to a close, I'd like to, once again, thank everyone in our pen club who sent in photos and reviews for our virtual "show & tell" this year - all were very much appreciated :) We'll keep the online show & tell going until we can safely meet again in person, so please keep those reviews & photos coming!
Now, onto today's featured newest acquisition...

(~please click on images to enlarge~)

I'd purchased a Pelikan 'Jazz Pastel' ballpoint (model K36) in apricot a few months ago and really liked it (so much that I reviewed it here). I'd seen the fountain pen version of the 'Jazz' --the Pelikan 'Jazz Elegance' (model P36) -- sold as a set with a matching ballpoint on Amazon.ca, but I only wanted the fountain pen, so I didn't purchase it. While browsing Stylo.ca, I noticed that they sold the fountain pen separately, so I added it to my Stylo.ca order.

The 'Jazz Elegance' fountain pen came out in 2015 and was only made in black and white (the white is actually pearl-like in colour). Unlike my 'Jazz Pastel' ballpoint, which has a matte, textured finish, my 'Jazz Elegance' fountain pen's is glossy-looking and smooth. Both the ballpoint and the fountain pen are lacquered, all-metal writing instruments (with some heft to them) that feel good in the hand.

The fountain pen uses a cartridge/converter filling system and only comes in one nib width--Medium. The steel nib has the Pelikan bird logo on it, but no indication of its nib width (the Pelikan sticker on the pen, however, indicates that it is a Medium). My pen's nib lays down a very smooth line somewhere between a Fine and a Medium, and is a nice, reliable writer with no start-up issues.

The shiny metal section is narrow and rather slippery, but its hourglass shape prevents my fingers from sliding off the pen. I know that sounds really bad, but the section is actually quite comfortable to hold, although I wind up holding the pen lower than I normally do. I use the pen posted - it has a nice balance to it and, at 6 inches posted, it's not overly long. You could use it unposted, but I find it a bit too short for my hand.

The friction-fit cap snaps onto the section with an audible 'click' and stays on well. The chrome-plated spring-loaded clip (which shares the same beak-shaped design as the ballpoint's) clips onto both paper and clothing easily and securely. According to a Drop.com description for the pen, the clip can flex out by nearly an inch due to the spring inside!

Now, here's some more data about the fountain pen, courtesy of Pelikan-collectibles.com:


For $20 CAD (not including shipping), I think the Pelikan 'Jazz Elegance' fountain pen is worth the price if you're looking for an affordable, everyday fountain pen that has a classy look to it.

A word about the price:
You can find the pen for a much lower price at some European online pen stores, but you have to factor in shipping costs, possible duties and brokerage and/or processing fees; Stylo.ca offers free shipping within Canada for orders of $49 CAD or higher, which is a very low threshold for free domestic shipping.

(~photos & review by Maja~)

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 304

The little star of today's show & tell is my new fountain pen made by Analog Notes, a small American penmaker located in Bloomington, Indiana.

The pen was first advertised for sale on their Facebook page at the end of July, and the post said: "Indiana, we're all for you! Check out this amazing Cream and Crimson material special request from @turntpenco . I couldn't be more pleased with how this pen turned out. This is for all you Hoosiers out there!"

I didn't see that Facebook post, but I'd recently heard about Analog Notes from my fellow pen club members Louise and Natasha, so I took a look at the company's Instagram account (note: you might have to log into Instagram to see it) I really liked the fountain pens I saw there, so I went to their Etsy store (they have no official website yet) and immediately spotted a beautiful fountain pen I knew I had to have. I couldn't believe someone else hadn't snatched it up already, so I bought it right away. The price was $92 USD plus $13 shipping, which I thought was a good price for a handmade fountain pen.

I waited patiently for the pen to arrive (knowing it might take a bit longer to get here during the busy Christmas season) and it finally showed up, safe and sound...


(please click on images to enlarge)

The pen came gift-wrapped in green tissue paper, along with a a cool holographic sticker and a very nice handwritten note from the pen maker (Ronnie) thanking me for my business.


The packaging consisted of a very simple, but pretty, cardboard box with a little cutout window...

....and peeking behind that window was my new Analog Notes 'Faraday' fountain pen in the gorgeous "Hoosiers" resin (made by the Turnt Pen Co)!

Isn't it gorgeous? (In his note to me, Ronnie said it was "one of (his) favorites", and I can see why!) When I first saw Ronnie's photos of it on etsy, the swirling white and red colours reminded me of an Eton mess, a decadent British dessert made of strawberries, merangue and whipped cream (I first tried one at the Irish Heather restaurant during a Pelikan Hub event).

(I didn't have an Eton mess handy for the photo above, but I had some leftover cranberry sauce, so I made a granola parfait for breakfast)

Back to the pen... Its section matches the rest of the pen (a design feature I love) and flares slightly at the end closest to the nib. The pen's cap doesn't post, but at 5.1 inches/ 13 cm from nib tip to barrel end, the pen is long enough for me to use unposted. It's not a heavy pen (capped weight = 21 grams; barrel & section weight = 14 grams ) so it's good for long writing sessions.

The pen comes with an ink converter, but also takes international ink cartridges. I was surprised to discover that the section takes nearly 13 turns (!!) to unscrew from the barrel. Wow. The good news is that since the barrel has no metal parts, the pen makes a good candidate for conversion to an eyedropper filler :) The cap takes three turns to unscrew. which might annoy some users who are in a hurry to cap and uncap their pen, but it doesn't bother me at all.

It's a bit tricky to spot in my photos (it's not difficult if you're looking at the pen in person), but there are lots of sparkly bits in the resin....



...and some clear parts to it, as well... which creates a beautiful effect. I love the resin because of its colours, and because it has such depth to it. And it looks, well, yummy....


The pen came with a plain JoWo steel nib, which is a #6 size nib. I ordered a Medium nib for my particular pen, and it writes very smoothly. The nib is wet & juicy and has no start-up issues.

All in all, I love the pen and am very happy with my impulse buy. Thank you very much, Ronnie, for this wonderful handmade fountain pen!

Since this isn't my first handmade fountain pen made by a smaller pen maker, I thought I'd share a few shots of it next to another great handmade pen--my lovely Rockster "TroubleShooter 1313" fountain pen in "Doolittle" resin (reviewed previously here):



As you can see, the Analog Notes fountain pen is a bit wider and longer than the Rockster, although their caps are the same length.



 Their sections are also the same length, but the threads on the Analog Notes pen are longer; this may or may not matter to you, depending on where you grip your pens (ie. higher or lower on the section). The Rockster takes one-and-a-half turns to unscrew its cap vs. three turns for the Analog Notes pen.


 The key difference in design is that the Rockster can be posted, whereas the Analog Notes pen cannot (although, as I mentioned earlier, it's long enough for me to use unposted).

Finally, here are some specs for the Analog Notes 'Faraday' model fountain pen, courtesy of the official product brochure:






(note: the "Body Length" referred to above is the length of the barrel without the section attached)

( ~ photos and review by Maja ~ )

Monday, December 27, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 303

From Stuart's modern classic to a vintage classic recently acquired by Christopher...

Christopher writes:

"The Parker 61 was just such an advanced pen when it came on the market in 1956. It was Parker’s next big kick at the can regarding the pen market. There had been the 21, which was targeted at the student and the more conservatively price-conscious buyer, and the 41, which was released around the same time as the 61 but also aimed at the more price-wise shopper but the 61 was definitely a model which stood on its own, mainly because of its very advanced filling system. Parker had invested considerable research time and development money to design this no fuss space age 61 filler and its ease of use made everything else at the time seem dated. Still, and at the same time, as easy as the inking was, getting the old ink out to clean the 61 was seemly another mater. So, in spite of Parker’s ongoing advertising blitz in publications like Life Magazine and Saturday Evening Post, in the end, Parker had to dump the amazing ‘Capillary action 61 filler’ and replace it with their old standby, the Parker aerometric filler. Although deemed probably necessary by the manufacturer, personally I think that it was a step backwards and with it, in the later years Parker did not apply the same earlier quality to the 61. So sadly with a bad rap and customer confusion, the Parker 61 passed on into pen history.

Personally, over the years I have acquired a number of lovely Parker 61s and thoroughly enjoyed using them. Fortunately, I have stuck with the earlier capillary filler model and, granted, it took a wee bit of getting use to, but nothing that would stump an avid vintage pen enthusiast. Still, and more currently, I was blessed with one superb mid 1960s Parker 61 Deluxe set. This set can be easily dated to the mid 60s because it contained not the typical back up matching pencil but a first year, cap-activated matching 61 Jotter ball point."


 (photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)


Christopher continues:

"The set is finished in the Parker rage red, a colour that is deep, but definitely not burgundy. The fixtures are 14K Gold filled but the Parker cap arrow clip is 14K rolled Gold. The fountain pen has a hooded 14K gold, plathenium tipped nib similar to the Parker 51 and also matches both the Lucite feed and collector, but unlike the 51 (which dropped its second barrel end jewel), the Parker 61 maintained its second jewel throughout its entire history. The tassie to complement this second jewel is also 14K gold filled. And I think more as a mark of excellence, Parker applied a tiny thin metal arrow just shy of the nib on the hooded grip section. In the case of this particular set, this tiny embellishment is 14K gold filled but if the fittings are steel, so is this tiny arrow to match. This pen has a smooth fit posting with an overall length of 5 ¾ inches, but caps back to a reasonable 5 ¼ inches. Just a tad longer then the accompanying matching 61 ballpoint pen.

The cap-activated first year matching 61 Jotter ballpoint is also a feature of this set, with the same fittings and cap clip, but as with all Jotters, a single jewel pen. Still, I have definitely saved the best for last, because the so-called jewels in the crown regarding this set are the caps. In 1956, Parker introduced the ‘Rainbow’ cap with their 61 as the Heirloom cap with different layers of pink and green gold. This combination produced a beautiful and stunning effect on both pen caps of my set. There were a number of different Parker 61 Rainbow caps, but in the years that followed, only the Heritage Rainbow cap survived. Parker had its fair share of troubles and challenges with the production of these brilliant caps and eventually they were dropped.

If you are in the market, as a vintage pen collector, for a pen that to my mind ticks all the boxes, the 61 has to be a contender. I am welcoming this fine set into my collection where it will see a lot of good use."


Above: 1957 Doris Day Parker '61' ad from 'Life' magazine


Above: “She Gave Me a Parker 61 (Happy Birthday to Dad)” by Norman Rockwell (1959), which was used in a Parker '61' ad campaign

Our thanks to Christopher for his photo and review of this great vintage Parker set!

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 302

Hope you're having a peaceful and relaxing holiday season :) Today's featured newest pen-related acquisition is a Lamy fountain pen belonging to Stuart, who bought it from the Vancouver Pen Shop a few weeks ago...

(all photos courtesy of Stuart ~ please click on images to enlarge)



Stuart: "Here’s shots of my white and red Safari, with the coloured water Montblanc ink bottles included for extra Christmas cheer! The Monteverde Hope Green ink is perfect for the holiday, too."


Thank you, Stuart, for the photos of your handsome new Lamy 'Safari'! (love the idea of filling the empty Montblanc ink bottles with coloured water :)

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 301

We're back with our online "show & tell"! Today we're featuring a gorgeous fountain pen made by Gioia, an Italian pen company founded in 2014. VPCer Jessica is the lucky new owner of the pen, and without further ado... here's her review! (hey, that rhymes ;)

(all text below by Jessica)

"First and foremost, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Maja. She is the reason this pen is even in my collection. So thank you Maja!!

Some of you have had the misfortune of hearing me go on about pretty pens and this one is no exception:


(all photos courtesy of Jessica ~ please click on images to enlarge)

 It sure is gorgeous from the colours to the engraving of the gulf of Naples on the cap:




This is the Gioia Partenope in Avorio:


The colour scheme apparently was inspired by a Naples cloudy day. This is my second Gioia and I adore both of them.

This exact pen was actually the first Partenope Avorio produced by Gioia as the serial number reads 001:


It was sent to Stephen Brown for the purpose of a review which you can find here: https://youtu.be/11EioWCXp5Q His gives much more insight about it than I ever could 😆 (Though I do disagree about the comment regarding the gray section and blind cap, now that I know what had inspired the colour scheme!) I had no idea the pen was even available for purchase on Stephen Brown’s website until Maja told me about it, at which point I harassed him until he responded and agreed to sell me the pen.😅

A few differences I would like to point out though, between this first pen and the newer ones produced today, after having seen other, more recent, reviews. The pen now comes in a sturdy cardboard box instead of the book shaped wooden box. Probably because it’s cheaper to produce. The enameled logo at the end of the cap now matches the gray at the other end of the pen, whereas this pen has a dark blue background. Lastly, the standard Jowo nib is now engraved with the Gioia logo and this pen has only the classic Jowo scroll work:

Also, the “rollerball” section Stephen mentioned is actually a “ballpoint” section.  I am unfortunately not familiar with the distinction between the two. Also, who uses a rollerball/ballpoint anymore?! 😜

This pen is now in my “to be buried with” collection and I do not foresee that changing anytime soon. 😆 "



You're welcome, Jessica--the pen definitely went to the right home 😀---and thank you so much for sharing your wonderful new fountain pen with us!

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Happy First Day of Winter!

Since we just hit post #300 in our pen club's online/virtual "show & tell", I thought we'd take a short break and post these whimsical pen-related ads (courtesy of Goldspot Pens) today, to add a bit of cheer to this cold and gloomy weather...








We'll be back to our virtual "show & tell" blog posts on Thursday. Until then, stay safe, stay warm & stay healthy!

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 300

I won a fountain pen!
Well, part of a fountain pen.
Sort of.

Back in October, I entered a contest (a sort of virtual "scratch-and-win") promoting "Library Month" that the Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) was running through their website. I really didn't expect to win anything, but this is what I saw when I "scratched" and won a $25 gift certificate to Chapters/Indigo:



😁😁😁

When I went to pick up my prize, the folks at my local FVRL branch were kind enough to include a lovely FVRL-branded glass water bottle with the gift card I'd won:

(please click on photos to enlarge)

 As soon as I got home, I immediately ordered a Lamy Safari "Candy" fountain pen in Violet (seen in these photos) from the Chapters/Indigo webstore. I already owned the other two "Candy" Safaris ("Mango" and "Aquamarine"), but I was missing the "Violet" version, so I used the gift card to pay for a large chunk of it.


The 'Safari' was only available with a Medium nib from the Chapters/Indigo website, but it's my preferred nib width for these Lamy fountain pens, so that wasn't a problem. The colour is a beautiful shade of purple, and I love the matching clip (and what a nice coincidence that the water bottle cap matches the pen!)

I could write a lot more about my new pen, but I've reviewed quite a few Safaris on this blog (and did a presentation on them at our February 2018 meeting) and I'm sure you know how they're smooth-writing, very reliable, very well-made fountain pens that come in a multitude of colours.

 Many thanks to the Fraser Valley Regional Library for the gifts....and also for their service during this global pandemic; I've been doing a lot more reading these days and it's wonderful to still be able to browse, select and borrow books from a library in person :)

(~photos and review by Maja~)

Friday, December 17, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 299

Today's newest acquisition belongs to honourary VPCer Glenn from Australia, who has been actively collecting modern Pelikans for the last few years. His collection includes the latest Pelikan M2xx (ie. M200/M205) model demonstrator fountain pen matching the Pelikan 'Edelstein' "Ink of the Year" (which, for 2021, was "Golden Beryl"). Meet Glenn's new Pelikan M200 "Golden Beryl" fountain pen!

(all text below by Glenn)

Pelikan M200 Golden Beryl.

"I got my pen & ink set today, and I'm a bit underwhelmed with the glitter effect of the pen material, which seems minimal compared to that of its Moonstone & Star Ruby predecessors, which are both lovely. It’s even harder to capture in a photograph than it is to see when holding the pen itself.

The matching ink apparently has a shimmer effect which is expected to improve the appearance of the pen. I've not filled mine yet, so I can’t comment on the result, but my basic premise was that the pen should be attractive in its own right, and not as dependent on the ink it contains as seems likely."


(all photos courtesy of Glenn ~ please click on images to enlarge)


"The GP nib & furniture are classic M200, as you’d expect, so there are no surprises or complaints there. Indeed, the matching cap top is a nice touch that I’d like to see maintained in future, and it is good to see the return of the GT clip nut that was dropped from the M205 Petrol Marbled pre-release; it looks so much smarter than black."


"The paradox is that the Moonstone and Star Ruby looked better in the hand than they did in the photos, which led me to expect something similar with this edition. Sadly, the relatively muted appearance of this pen is a little disappointing.

That said, I would not like to have missed adding this pen to its siblings in the flock; it’s pretty enough in its own way, but I recommend seeing an actual pen before buying, rather than trusting the photos.

Glenn Garside."

Many thanks to Glenn for his review and photos! VPC members--please keep those wonderful reviews and photos of your newest acquisitions coming :)
Thanks in advance,
~Maja 

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 298

 As promised, here's Lawrence's other recent acquisition--a Platinum 'Procyon' Maki-e "Bush Warbler on Plum Tree" Limited Edition fountain pen!

Lawrence writes:

"My sister gave me this pen on my birthday; she took a chance and got it not really knowing what I have and what style I like. It turned out well. The pen is a limited edition Maki-e. It has a plum blossom design with a warbler. She got it at Buchan's.


(all photos courtesy of Lawrence ~ please click on images to enlarge)



It has a fine point nib, a very simple one:


The pen looks heavier than it is. I thought it was some sort of enamel just by looking at it. It is made of polymer, but very nice just the same. I noticed that the section is semi-translucent:

I have not written with this pen yet, as it does not have a converter (I have heard you all mention that Japanese pens don't ship with it), so I will maybe do a part 2 mini review of it when I get the converter. I have heard a lot of good things with Platinum but I will hold my judgment until I really tried it out myself.

Apologies if this is like a shortish kind of review, but it is basically only a visual commentary. I will come back to it again once I write with it."

Wow, what beautiful birthday gift! Lawrence - many thanks for your review and photos (and belated birthday greetings too :)

Monday, December 13, 2021

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 297

Last November, we featured Lawrence's lovely Montblanc 'Heritage Rouge et Noir' black fountain pen here on our blog (link). Well, a little while ago, Lawrence acquired a fountain pen made by Moonman that very closely resembles his Montblanc, and was kind enough to share it with us. Here is his review:

(all text below by Lawrence)

 Moonman F9.

"This actually has a few different names depending on the seller. I got this from Amazon at a whopping "prohibitive" price of $35.00 plus tax (hahahah). It actually makes me very happy that there are now more and more reasonably priced pens that not only look nice but write well.

This is basically a stainless steel version of my MB Rouge et Noir. I know that the Rouge et Noir does have a silver variant (the solitaire? version) with snake etchings on the body. This one is just plain silver.

It came in a wooden box:

(all photos courtesy of Lawrence ~ please click on images to enlarge)



It's very nicely packaged. Very sturdy and a very nice way to present the pen. The unboxing is very satisfying this way.


Here is the pen side by side to my Rouge et Noir and yes it is a captive converter. The mechanism is a bit wobbly compared to the MB, but it works fine. I don't think I will be rough with this pen (nor any other pen for that matter).


They even got the details of the nib with the snake head:


The only thing that I'm not too sure of is the orange logo on the cap (I know that MB has it orange), since this is not really a counterfeit but a clone -- a tribute pen as I like to call it. There is no reason for this orange color at all, since the Moonman corporate image has nothing to do with this color scheme (I understand that the MB has a reason for the vintage orange logo they used for Rouge et Noir).
This is a very well behaved pen that writes smoothly. It only comes in fine at least that I know of. It has other color variants, brown, black, orange/red (just like MB). I'm very happy that they have managed to get a piston pen in this form factor (the main reason why I got the MB in the first place). I am looking forward to see what manufacturers come up with using this format, with more original designs of course.

While using this pen, I kept on thinking "Where were you when I bought my Rouge et Noir" and then I realized that the Rouge et Noir is what led to this pen's existence in the first place....

Okay that's it for me for this pen. Onto the next one."


("The next one" Lawrence is referring to above is another new acquisition of his that we'll be featuring on Wednesday of this week, so keep your eyes peeled! Many thanks to Lawrence for sharing this interesting new Moonman fountain pen with us :)