February meeting photos (new acquisitions)!

Despite the big hockey game going on at the exact same time 🙄 (the Canada vs. USA 4 Nations Face-Off championship game), 28 excited Vancouver Pen Club members showed up for our February meeting, held on the 20th at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public Library! We had two brand-new members in attendance---Jeff and Patrick---and a good time was seemingly had by all.

During the meeting, I snapped some photos of items our members brought in for the evening's topic/theme, Newest (Pen-Related) Acquisitions, so without further ado, here they are...

(all photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

We'll start with a stunning Graf von Faber-Castell ' Classic' platinum-plated fountain pen that Stuart actually acquired late last year. He'd brought it to a previous meeting, but I forgot to photograph it, so I asked him to bring it this meeting (isn't it beautiful?)

From the official Graf von Faber-Castell website: "The fluting - the filigree groove structure - is the defining design element of the Classic line. The writing instruments in the series are available in solid 925 sterling silver, in a completely platinum-plated finish or with a finely fluted barrel made of ebony, pernambuco, grenadilla or macassar wood."

The lovely dip pen set that Paul generously donated for our door prize draw (which was won by Jerred---congrats, Jerred!) that evening...

Dana's new Jinhao '10' fountain pen resting on my leather Sonnenleder pen case. The Jinhao is, of course, a Pilot 'Vanishing Point' clone (specifically, a "tribute" to the 2024 limited edition "Seashore" VP) and Dana's came with a very smooth steel nib.

David C's wonderful vintage Parker fountain pens--a 1928 Parker 'Duofold' "Big Red" and a Parker 'Vacumatic' "Golden Pearl" from 1946 above it... 

Not all new acquisitions we saw were new pens--Asifa's newest pen-related purchase was the "Fountain Pens" book by Peter Twydle!

The two (real) pens on Asifa's book are Stuart's newest finds --a vintage Parker '51' in "Midnight Blue" and a Faber-Castell 'Ambition' in "Italic Ice Blue" spiral precious resin (one of two special edition 'Ambition' pens that came out this year to celebrate the model's 20th anniversary).

And here's another non-pen new acquisition---Jerred's Parker-branded wristwatch!

Rene's new Montblanc 'Around the World in 80 Days' Doué Classique fountain pen (and matching ink), inspired by author Jules Verne...

Above: A lovely assortment of custom fountain pens handmade by our fellow VPC member Anson (of Springfield Pens) that he brought for folks to see and/or buy. I bought the lovely pink, blue and white pen that's second from the bottom of the photo, but if you're interested in buying any of the others, please check out his official website at SpringfieldPens.ca

Above: Rene's new Sheaffer '100'"Coffee Edition" fountain pen. The Sheaffer "Coffee Edition" (a special edition) writing instruments include: the '100' model in ballpoint, rollerball and fountain pen, and the more economically-priced Sheaffer 'VFM' line in the same three writing forms.

Above: Two more great new acquisitions that Rene showed us--a Parker '75' in the elegant "Prince de Galles" pattern (check out this comparison to it and the very similar 'Ecossais' pattern) and a vintage mottled hard rubber fountain pen (I missed the manufacturer's name).

Another one of our fellow pen club members, Vladan, just started making fountain pens of his own (bravo!). That's Vladan's first creation (a "Churchill" kit pen) above and, below it, is his new black Sailor 'ProGear" fountain pen. I asked Vladan about the wood used to make the kit pen, and he said he used cocobolo for the cap, and ash for the barrel.

Mmina brought in another pen we hadn't seen before---a Jinhao '82' with a glass nib! We'd seen Jinhao 82s with steel nibs at our meetings before (David L. brought in his newest, in red--not pictured), but we'd never seen one with a glass nib. You never know what you'll see at one of our meetings :)

Audrey's newest acquisition---a Faber-Castell 'Ambition' "Rhombus" that she bought from Stuart during our meeting...

Grant's wonderful collection of vintage fountain pens...

... and Grant's newest acquisition--- a very-hard-to-find first year Parker 'Vacumatic'! (there's good information on them here on Vacumania.com)

Tony joined our club last month, but that meeting was so busy that I forgot to snap a photo of his wonderful Hero fountain pen, so I was glad that he brought it to this month's meeting, too. The pen was a gift from his mother, who bought it in China, and it was made for the Hero Pen Company's 90th anniversary. It's a lacquer-coated fountain pen with an attractive plum blossom motif on its cap and barrel.

Of course, I forgot to photograph the two new pens I brought to show at our meeting :/ so when I got home, I quickly snapped these photos of them. That's my new red Platinum 'Curidas' (purchased from local online-only retailer Noteworthy Stationery in Burnaby) and my Natami 'Super Warship' clipless vacuum-filler fountain pen (bought on Teemu).

The Platinum 'Curidas' has a retractable nib and mine came with a Medium nib that wrote extremely smoothly right out of the box. My Natami's nib needed a tiny fingernail tweak to make it write more smoothly (the tines were a bit misaligned), but it writes beautifully now. 

Many thanks to everyone who came to our February meeting! Information on our March meeting will be posted on our website as soon I get confirmation from the venue.

(~Blog post by Maja~)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 111

From their official website:

With a rich history spanning over 50 years, Buchan’s Kerrisdale Stationery has been the go-to stationery store for generations. From collectibles, to toys, to Instagrammable party supplies, Buchan’s has everything you need when looking for that special gift. (Even if it’s for yourself. We fully support that too.)

I've been doing more online shopping than usual this year due to the global pandemic, so I was pleased to see how many new pen-related items were added to Buchan's online store when I checked it out last month. I ordered a Retro 51 rollerball from their web store for free in-store pickup, but couldn't resist buying a few other items while I was in their shop. Here's what I got.... 

 (please click on images to enlarge ~ note: filter used for photo editing due to lack of sunlight :(

(top to bottom) Dip pen holder with Speedball nib, Schneider 'Ceod Classic' fountain pen, Schneider correction pen, Schneider royal blue ink cartridges and Retro 51 'Tornado' "Ace of Spades" rollerball   (British candy "props" purchased elsewhere ;)

My Schneider 'Ceod Classic' fountain pen came with a pack of six Schneider royal blue international-sized ink cartridges and a (appropriately-named) "Corry" correction pen -- a double-ended pen with a chiseled liquid "eraser" tip on one end, and a fine blue marker on the other (more on that further down this post). All this for just $14.99, a great price for a German-made fountain pen (actually, everything in the little writing kit was made in Germany).

The 'Ceod' is made of thick, glossy plastic with subtle curves (that don't show up in my photos--sorry) and is fitted with a large, springy-but-sturdy metal clip. The barrel is long enough for the pen to be used unposted, but if you prefer posting it, it works very well that way too (and it's nicely balanced, posted or unposted). On the Schneider website, I see that it's also available in black, but I only saw the white model at the time of my store visit.

It's a very light pen and I suspect (based on the graphics on the correction pen...and the fact that the pen even comes with a correction pen) it was meant for younger students. With its clean lines and contemporary design, though, I think it would also appeal to adults, and wouldn't look out of place in a modern office.

The triangular ergonomic grip (which looks bluish in the photo above but is actually a light grey colour) is comfortable to hold and is very smooth, which makes for a highly-pleasant writing experience. Aesthetically-speaking, the stainless steel, iridium-tipped nib is a bit small for the pen, but it lays down a nice line, writes smoothly and has no startup or skipping issues. 

Back to that correction pen ....

Schneider "Corry" correction pen (which reminds me a lot of my Lamy ink-x ink eraser)

Let's see it in action now...

(Above: Writing sample using the Schneider royal blue fountain pen ink supplied with the pen)

(Same writing sample, but with Schneider "Corry" correction pen's "eraser" end used)

I think it does a pretty good job of covering up the ink...

 

(Same writing sample but with Schneider royal blue fountain pen ink used over the erased word)

I didn't expect this to actually work, given that the eraser liquid would likely obscure the fountain pen ink (as it should... lol), but I thought I'd give it a try anyway...

 

(Same writing sample with Schneider "Corry" felt-tipped marker used over the last word)

Definitely some marker "feathering"going on, but at least you can write over the part that was erased...

 

I love the cheeky litle "Ha!" word balloon above the smiling stick figure on the barrel...

 

Now for the other stuff I bought.....
The Retro 51 'Tornado' "Ace of Spades" rollerball above was the only item I ordered online from Buchan's website. It's a great rollerball that uses a Retro 51 capless rollerball refill that has a one year "cap off" drying time (ie. the refill shouldn't dry up in less than a year after it's uncapped). Keep in mind that's one year from the date the refill was installed in the pen, though -- if you buy an older model Retro 51 rollerball, the capless refill in it might be dried out already. Happily, you can also use Parker-style ballpoint refills in these pens :)

The dip pen I bought in-store at Buchan's (shown above) has an attractive swirly orange-red design and is very light in the hand. Unfortunately, I don't know the manufacturer as there is no company name/model name/model number written on it anywhere. At $7.99, though, I thought it was a good deal. The nib on it cost only $3.99 and was bought separately from the pen.

 

 

 

Currently fitted with the steel Speedball A-3 nib I bought at Buchan's, the dip pen lays down a nice, very broad italic line, and will likely be used to write Christmas/New Year's greeting cards this holiday season. I just need to find the perfect ink for the job...

Many thanks to Buchan's for their excellent customer service and to Yugo for the ink samples (not pictured). Buchan's is a great stationery store (with free customer parking in back!) but it's nice to have the option of shopping from the comfort of your home by visiting their online store at https://www.buchanst.com/

~photos and review by Maja

A stunning dip pen by Daniel Foley & Co.

A stunning dip pen by Daniel Foley & Company, a new acquisition belonging to VPC member Christopher, who brought it to our February meeting:

(photos courtesy of Christopher ~ click on images to enlarge)

I hadn't heard of this vintage pen company before we saw Christopher's dip pen, but I found some interesting information on the D. F. Foley Pen Company here .

Many thanks to Christopher for bringing this interesting antique piece to our meeting!

January 2018 meeting photos-Part 2

As promised, here are some of the shots snapped by Ricardo during our January meeting at the Oakridge VPL branch.... (click on photos to enlarge)

Stuart (in long-sleeved dark blue shirt) kicked off our presentations on "Iconic Pens" by doing a nice talk on the vintage Sheaffer 'Balance'....

(that's Glenn Marcus of GlennsPens.com on the far right of the photo below---he'll be doing a short presentation on the iconic Pelikan M800 at our March meeting)

Stuart's talk was followed by Ray's very interesting presentation on the Montblanc '149' and '146' pens:

Some of the Montblancs Ray brought in for his talk, including a Montblanc '146' in the lovely (and now-discontinued) burgundy colour (far left):

The last presentation of the evening was my little talk on the Esterbrook 'J' pens....

Christopher R. brought in several examples of his own 'J' series writing instruments, including this nice set in copper colour:

So shiny.... Who would think these pens are 70 years old?? They look like they just came off the production line!

Going around the table, counter-clockwise (L-R): Linda, Armando, Ray, Alejandra, and Justin. Armando has kindly volunteered to do a talk on the famous Parker 'Sonnet' at our March meeting.

L-R: Ray, Alejandra, Justin, Jim, Paul, new member Carmen, Mindy (hidden), Dana, and new VPC member Claire.

L-R: Justin, Jim, Paul, Carmen, Mindy (still hidden!), Dana, Claire, Maja, new member Jean-Claude, Jerred, Tony, Stuart, Joe (hidden). Jerred will be doing a presentation on the Parker '45' at our March meeting.

Sometimes you see the most unexpected things at a pen club meeting...like this wonderful collection of dip pen nibs that belonged to Eteef's grandfather...

All of the nibs were carefully labelled and included a writing sample. This must have been a labour of love :)

From the old to the new! Ruth-Erin's beautiful Aurora 88....

Many thanks to Ricardo for the great photos, and to everyone who came to our January meeting! I'll be posting shots from our February meeting this week.

Calligraphy pens

We had a pretty good turnout for the April meeting, held at Perks on April 18th (16 members in attendance on a *very* wet night) which featured calligraphy pens. Special thanks to Julienne for her calligraphy demos and to Greg for donating the door prize, a Sheaffer NoNonsense calligraphy set (won by Mike M).

Our May meeting will be held at Perks pen store (5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC) on Thursday May 16 at 6:30pm, and our theme will be Cross Fountain Pens.

Now, here are some photos I snapped last Thursday:

Julienne showing us some examples of the calligraphy she does with her Pilot Parallel fountain pen, a type of pen whose nib consists of two parallel plates. The nib widths range from very wide (1.5mm) to extremely wide (2.4mm and 3.8mm) to "paintbrush" width (a whopping 6.0mm wide!!)



Our members watch with rapt attention to Julienne's talk on calligraphy pens....



(similar photo as above, but without the annoying camera flash!)



Our affable host, Richard Clarke of Perks pen shop! If you are ever in the Vancouver area, make sure to stop by Perks (at 5844 Cambie Street) and see the nice selection of writing instruments, paper and inks for sale. Perks is open daily, except Mondays.



Some lovely handwriting done by Julienne with a modern flexible-nibbed fountain pen, the Noodler's "Ahab" (poem by Wm. Wordsworth :)



Anne brought in a wide selection of dip pen nibs along with her Speedball dip pen. These type of dip pens use India Ink, a type of drawing ink containing pigments and gum arabic that is *not* to be used in fountain pens (India Ink will clog fountain pens terribly and is a challenge to remove!)



New member Ken brought in a wide selection of writing instruments used by architects. Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph them, but I did snap a photo of his "jumbo" fountain pen made by Tombow, as well as Louise's Parker Vector with calligraphy nib. The latter came as part of a set with several different calligraphy nib widths.



Some examples of the intricate Korean calligraphy done by Julienne on a special type of paper that felt a bit like papyrus to me.



Any of these look familiar?? The ever-popular Sheaffer NoNonsense calligraphy kit--various generations of the kits sold from the 1970s to the present day.