Happy New Year 2026!

(above: Radius 1934 'Settimo' "Marmo" Limited Edition fountain pen, made exclusively for our pen club)

If you have any questions about joining our club, please contact us at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com
Best wishes to you & yours for a happy 2026! 😀
~Maja

Happy New Year 2025!

(above: my Narwhal 'Nautilus' Pelagia Noctiluca ebonite fountain pen)

Hope you can make it to one (or more) of our meetings this year! 😀 If you have any questions about our club, please contact us at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com
Best wishes to all in 2025!
~Maja

                        ~    Happy New Year 2024
                from the Vancouver Pen Club!   ~       

  ~ Wishing you & yours all the best in the New Year ~ Hope you can join us at a meeting in 2024!

Happy New Year 2022 !

(above: Maja's new Laban '325' "Flame" fountain pen ~ review in tomorrow's blog post! ~ please click image to enlarge)

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~)

Happy New Year!

                       (Maja's OMAS new-style 'Bologna' fountain pen ~ click on photo to enlarge)

For whom the bell tolls...

It's not a new pen-related acquisition, but it's the 80th anniversary of these two classics, so here are some photos of them, courtesy of longtime VPC member Stuart...

Stuart: "Here’s a couple of shots I just did for the heck of it - two classics from 1940.  The pen is a Sheaffer Balance with the military, or service, clip, in Golden Brown Striated celluloid.  It’s a marriage of a White Dot barrel and nib with a Feathertouch's cap, used in place of the damaged original of the same size and colour."

(please click on photos to enlarge)

Stuart: "The book is a first edition 1943 printing - the book appeared in 1940.  As you can see the dust-jacket is well-worn but it’s all there, and the book is a good reading copy.  The second shot shows the cover’s reproduction of Hemingway’s great signature!"

 

What is a military clip, you ask? Well, it's a type of clip that allowed its user to carry a pen or pencil in the shirt pocket of a military uniform while adhering to the following regulation:

Soldiers will ensure that articles carried in pockets do not protrude from the pocket or present a bulky appearance. — U.S. Army Regulation AR670-1, paragraph 1-9a(1) 

From RichardsPens.com:
"Sheaffer’s military clip (U.S. Patent No D123,485), used on Balance models, is an inspired piece of design. By extending the clip and wrapping it over the top of the cap so that it mounts on the back side, Sheaffer maintained the streamlined look that had characterized the Balance since its inception a little over a decade earlier. The new clip, because it is not attached to the front of the cap at all, allows the pen to sit lower in the pocket than any competing design."

The book's title was inspired by these lines by John Donne (1572-1631) from "Meditation 17" of "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions":

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

Donne is, of course, talking about the interconnectedness of humanity, something that's often forgotten as we go about our busy lives... until a global crisis like COVID-19 comes along. This year will be remembered primarily for that terrible pandemic, but 2020 is (finally!) drawing to a close tonight. Let's hope the New Year 2021 is kinder to us all.

My heartfelt thanks to my fellow Vancouver Pen Club members for their enthusiasm, support and contributions to our meetings and online "show & tell" this year--this club wouldn't be what it is without you!
Warmest wishes,
~Maja
Vancouver Pen Club President

Happy New Year!

(~ Click on image to enlarge ~)

Happy New Year 2020!

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, spent with friends & family. The fountain pen that Santa's holding in the photo above is a modern Kaweco 'Student' in the cool "70s Soul" colour combo, a Christmas gift from my in-laws :)

We're back in 2020 with a meeting on Thursday January 16 (all details in the previous blog post), so I hope you can make it! Best wishes for a happy 2020! ~Maja

Happy New Year 2019!

Wishing you & your loved ones a very happy, healthy & prosperous New Year 2019!
(Platinum '#3776 Century' in the lovely clear red "Bourgogne" colour-a gift from my father :)

Information about our January meeting will be posted on this site in the next day or two!

Christmas 2017 gifts

Lamy 'Aion' fountain pen (from my in-laws), Pelikan K600 ballpoint (from my parents), and Sheaffer 'Intensity' fountain pen (from my good friend Glenn in Australia)

What pen-related gifts did you get this holiday season? :)

Happy New Year!

Vintage Aurora '98' sterling silver cartridge-filling fountain pen & gold-plated ballpoint
(~click on image to enlarge~).
There's a nice article on this model and its cousins (the famous Aurora '88' et al.) here.

Happy New Year 2017 from the Vancouver Pen Club!

(click to enlarge photo)

Santa with the lovely ivory Delta Matte Journal fountain pen I got from Frank at Federalist Pens, with some Christmas money I received from my generous in-laws :)

Christmas present

(click on image to enlarge)

Happy New Year, everyone!! Here's a quick shot of my new Conklin 'Duragraph' fountain pen with factory stub (italic) nib, a Christmas 2014 present from my parents. I love the "cracked ice" design!

Happy New Year!

THINK fountain pen in the lovely "Giraffe" pattern, a Christmas 2013 gift from my parents' wire fox terrier, Chandler, thus the small dog figurine. Update: Sadly, Chandler passed away on January 5, 2014 at the age of 14, but this wonderful fountain pen will always be a reminder of him. He was a great little dog.
Hope to see you at our next meeting, which will be on Thursday January 16, 2014 at the usual place (Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC) from 6:30pm-8:30pm ("early birds" welcome at 6:00pm, to chat before the meeting). Our theme will be "Sumgai Finds!"(pens acquired at incredibly low prices--e.g. garage sale finds, great deals, etc )and, as usual, "Newest Acquisitions" will be our secondary topic..... No RSVPs required!

A recent acquisition (Hero 359 fountain pen)

~ Monty the Christmas Moose with my new Hero 359 fountain pen ~
Like many fountain pen users, I'm a fan of the iconic Lamy Safari fountain pen. A few weeks ago, I heard about a Chinese company that was making copies of this pen in non-Safari colour(s), so I ordered one of the purple fountain pens from eBay.
The pen arrived, safe and sound, and came with a converter and a free pack of Hero ink cartridges. A word about the cartridges---though they look like, they are not international cartridges. According to one online seller, though, you can use Parker or Aurora cartridges in this pen (note: I tried my Parker cartridges in the Hero after I posted this review, and they do fit. I don't have any Aurora cartridges to try, but I've heard many times that they are interchangeable with Parker's)
As for the pen itself, the plastic doesn't feel as sturdy as Lamy's ABS plastic, but it writes nicely, and its price point makes it the kind of pen you won't cry about losing (although I still prefer the construction & writing qualities of my Safaris :)
(review by Maja)

Christmas presents!

My lovely new Lamy Safari Al-star fountain pen in Ruby Red (a limited edition colour) and a bottle of Yard-O-Led blue-black ink---gifts I got from my parents for Christmas this year.

Many thanks to Perks (on Cambie Street) and the Vancouver Pen Shop for having these lovely items for sale! Cheers ~Maja