Record-smashing attendance for December 2024 meeting!

We had a grand total of 32 VPC members at our December 2024 meeting -- a new attendance record for a regular meeting! 😮 Five newcomers (Alex, Emily, Michelle, Sharon & Stefan) were among those at the meeting, which was held at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public Library on December 19th. Andrii, Bernie and Joy had attended a get-together at a pen store, but this was their first "regular" meeting.

Our December meeting topics were: Fountain Pens That Remind You of Winter/the Holiday Season (our primary meeting theme) and Newest Pen-Related Acquisitions (which is always our secondary theme). Both Sherman and I snapped some photos during the meeting, so without further ado, here they are!

(~The first three & last seven photos are courtesy of Sherman; the rest are Maja's ~please click on images to enlarge~)

Sherman snapped a quick selfie, but then realized not everyone was in the pic, so he took a couple more....

(Counter-clockwise around the table, from the bottom left): Sherman, Villoo, Paul, Stuart, me (Maja), Lisa, Bernie, (Grant and Jerred are hidden), Esther, Emily, Rebecca, Amy, Sharon, Oliver, Alex, Nathan, Joy, Lyndon, Andrii, David L, Dana, David C. (waving), Anson, Michelle, Yang, Asifa, Phil, Stefan and Vladan. Daryl is seated off to the right side. Christina (not pictured) had to leave early.

Jerred's newest acquisition is this impressive addition to his wonderful Delta fountain pen collection--a bright red Delta 'Gaius Julius Caesar" limited edition fountain pen with sterling silver accents.The pen was made in limited numbers and came with a replica Roman coin. This limited edition fountain pen by Delta was available in three different forms---piston-filler, cartridge/converter-filler, and lever-filler (shown above).

Paul always brings interesting new acquisitions for us to see, like this calligraphy fountain pen made in the U.K...

...and this cool magnetic 'Polar' ballpoint, one of several he bought as Christmas gifts! Paul was kind enough to bring a door prize for our draw -- a nice leather portfolio. I forgot to photograph it, but it was won by Lisa (congratulations, Lisa!)

Above: Stuart's blue Diplomat 'Viper', Sheaffer '100' in the "Friends of Winter" (Pine motif) special edition, and stainless steel Diplomat 'Traveler' fountain pens. The Sheaffer was Stuart's primary meeting theme/topic example, and the two Diplomats are recent acquisitions, both purchased from the Vancouver Pen Shop downtown. Stuart also recently bought a new Graf von Faber-Castell fountain pen (not shown) from the Pen Shop.

Above: Classic modern German fountain pens belonging to two brand-new members--Alex's black Lamy '2000' fountain pen, and Sharon's Faber-Castell "Ambition" below it. The Faber-Castell, along with a Pilot 'Decimo' fountain pen (not in the photo) are among Sharon's favourite daily users, I believe.

That's Nathan's new Nahvalur '365' Plongeur Titanium fountain pen and his clear yellow demonstrator Jinhao '82' fountain pen. Below that is another Jinhao '82' --a rose-coloured example belonging to David L. that he recently acquired.

Nathan has an excellent YouTube channel called 'Doodlebud' in which he reviews pens, nibs, stationery, inks, accessories and things related to pens (laser engravers, ultrasonic cleaners, et al). In one recent video, he used a laser to etch the tipping on the steel nib of a Jinhao '82' to recreate the pencil-like feedback (the tactile and sonic "feel") that you get when using a Sailor gold nib. Nathan repeated the same process with the clear yellow Jinhao '82' shown above ... and he really nailed it, so it was nice to be able to try the pen in person at our meeting :)

Phil came back from Europe with some very nice fountain pens, including the glossy black Monte Rosa (a vintage sub-brand of Montblanc) above. The bottom pen is Nathan's brushed steel Pilot 'MYU", a very cool fountain pen with an integrated nib (the nib and grip section are all one solid piece of metal).

Here's another great pen that Phil recently acquired--a blue Maiora 'Impronte' Capri fountain pen handmade made in Naples, Italy.

The gorgeous swirly purple fountain pen above belongs to lucky owner Joy, and it was recently made for her by our fellow VPC member Anson of Springfield Pens in his workshop. The three fountain pens above it are all Lamys (in holiday colours!) belonging to Asifa--a bright green Lamy 'Safari', and two Lamy 'Studio' fountain pens (in dark green and red).

Asifa likes to ink her pens with matching inks, and the ink she had in her red Lamy 'Studio' above was one she mixed herself and named "Asifa Red". What a lovely shade!

Vladan acquired several beautiful new fountain pens recently, including the multi-coloured Springfield Pens model above. The pen above it is his new Esterbrook 'Estie' in the "Incredible Rock" colour. That colourway is one of three available in the Esterbrook 'Estie' "Back to the Land" lineup; all three colourways were inspired by colours popular in the 1970s.

Above: Vladan's new Montblanc '146', a fountain pen model we've seen numerous times over the years at our meetings, but one that never fails to impress...

Vladan's father gave him the ringed fountain pen and rollerball set above, but Vladan mentioned that he wasn't sure of the manufacturer's name. After the meeting, I did a bit of detective work, and I think it might be the Minka "Saturn" model. I'm sorry I didn't photograph the fountain pen that Vladan gave his son Stefan (who was also at our December meeting)--a red-striped Pelikan M600---as a graduation present. It's such a great-looking fountain pen (and a wonderful gift!)...

Above: Two fountain pens that definitely remind me of winter--a red & white Lamy 'Joy' calligraphy fountain pen belonging to Asifa, and Sherman's PenBBS '352' in "Snow" acrylic...

Above: My stuff (left to right): Two fountain pens I brought in for our primary theme (Winter/Winter holidays fountain pens) ---a red and white Laban '325' (reviewed here) and a clear Wing Sung '3013' vacuum-filler with Santa's sleigh and reindeer on it, my new Asvine V200 fountain pen with Bock nib (one of my best buys of 2024 --a great writer that feels good in the hand & looks cool), a swirly orange, black and white fountain pen handmade by Anson of Springfield Pens using a polyurethane resin called "Tiger Tail" (I love that pen!). a Retro 51 'Tornado' "Jack" rollerball I bought from Buchan's at our November meeting, and, lastly, Nathan's Jinhao '82', which he generously gave to me after the meeting (thanks, Nathan!).

Above my pen case is another gift from Nathan--a white, 3D-printed nib block he made himself--and beside that is another gift I got that night (I'm so fortunate!) -- an adorable purple "ghost cat" 3D-printed by Amy. Many thanks to Amy and Nathan for their generosity!

Sherman with his PenBBS '352' a very pretty, winter-y looking fountain pen

(it even has beautiful snowflakes engraved on its steel nib!)

Above: Sherman's group photo of all the pens he had with him at our meeting (left to right):

élysée Jewelry (90 Line) Laque Intarsia Bleu BP
élysée Jewelry Classique (70 Line) Laque élysée Schwan Stabilo FP
élysée Design (80 Line) Laque Jade FP
élysée En Vogue Design (80 Line) Laque Jade 14K Nib
élysée Parthenon (10 Line) Laque Classique Red 18K Nib
élysée mini Pen Satiné BP
élysée Classique (70 Line) Satiné GT BP, FP, BP, FP Chrome Nib, Letter Opener
Unknown Brand Gold Electroplated Slim BP (Gift)
Reform Slim Pearl FP (Gift)
PenBBS 492 Year of The Rat Rose Gold FP
PenBBS 352 Acrylic Resin Snow FP Snowflake Pattern Nib
A.T. Cross Sauvage 2020 Year of The Rat Special Edition FP
Pilot Vanishing Point Matte Black FP
Leonardo • Officina Italiana Furore Vancouver Pen Club L.E. Blue Mosaico FP
Leonardo • Officina Italiana Momento Zero Pen Chalet L.E. Blue Hawaii FP
Leonardo • Officina Italiana Momento Zero Pen Chalet L.E. Turquoise-Green FP Stub Nib
S.T. Dupont Classique Laque de Chine FP
Montegrappa Parola Red Resin FP

Above: an elegant Reform "Slim Pearl" fountain pen Sherman got from a generous fellow VPC member...

...along with this slim electroplated rollerball...

We had a voluntary ink swap during the meeting, and these bottled sheen/shimmer inks are what Sherman brought to trade....

...and here are some ink samples that he left with!


Many thanks to everyone who came to our meeting last month, whether you brought anything for our meeting topics or not; you brought yourself and your enthusiasm -- those are the most important things! Special thanks to Sherman for his photos, Paul for his donation of the leather portfolio door prize, and Asifa & Joy for the tasty treats they brought to share with us :)

Thank you also to everyone who came to our meetings and/or get-togethers at pen stores in 2024, and to the Vancouver Pen Shop and Buchan's Kerrisdale Stationery for hosting our August and November meetings last year! Information about our January 2025 meeting will be posted next week, after I confirm the venue booking with the VPL (**UPDATE** January meeting information posted here!)

Until then, wishing you all good things in the New Year! 😊

(~blog post by Maja~)

January meeting report (w/lots of photos)!

We had excellent attendance at our January meeting, held on the 12th at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public library -- 25 members (including five brand-new members  - Anna, Gaelen,  Marissa, Nurzhan and Renz) showed up, making it one of our top 3 best-attended meetings! 

Our topic was newest acquisitions, but it was also the night that members who pre-ordered the pens made for our club (Leonardo "Furore" limited edition fountain pens in the stunning "Mosaico Hawaii" stacked resin) picked them up. There was a lot of excitement when fellow VPCer Glenn showed up with the long-awaited pens (which I will review here tomorrow). Big thanks to Glenn for his efforts to get this beautiful limited edition Vancover Pen Club pen made, and to Salvatore Matrone of Leonardo Officina Italiana for allowing us to use this beautiful resin for our pen!

Now, onto the meeting photos.....

(~all photos by Maja, except where noted - please click on images to enlarge~)

(~photo courtesy of Sherman~)

Above: (L-R): Phil, Gaelen, April, Glenn, Nurzhan and Liz (who has her brand-new Leonardo 'Furore' Vancouver Pen Club pen in front of her)

(~photo courtesy of Sherman~)

Above: (L-R) Stuart, Chris (who joined a while ago but attended his first in-person meeting in January), me --Maja-- welcoming everyone to the meeting (lol), Renz and Anna. 

Anna's lovely snow-white marbled PenBBS '489', which uses a touchdown-filling mechanism

Chuck brought along several pens he'd acquired since we last saw him, including these two eye-catching dragon-themed fountain pens by Jinhao.

It was great to see another member we hadn't seen in ages, too - longtime VPCer Bruce, who showed me a wonderful faceted OMAS 'Dama' fountain pen he acquired. I wish I'd photographed it, but I did get to try it out (and yes, it's a really nice writer!).

Phil's handsome Parker '61' set (in original box) with the coveted "rainbow" caps.....

April brought along several Hongdian fountain pens, including the hard-to-find 'Mount Everest (pen furthest from camera) which has a 14K gold nib, a Hongdian 'Blue Wave' (second from the front) and a Hongdian 1845 all-metal fountain pen. The ivory-coloured fountain pen is a Jinhao '80'.

Jerred's Delta Markiaro 'Posillipo' fountain pen and a brushed stainless steel Parker 'Jotter' fountain pen that was part of a set (gift-boxed, with matching ballpoint) that Jerred bought at Staples.

Sophia attended her first regular meeting (her first was our November get-together hosted by the Vancouver Pen Shop) and brought along this gorgeous blue Caran d'Ache "LeMan' "Grand Bleu" rollerball which features a guilloché design, lacquered finish and rhodium-plated accents. I always tell prospective members that our club isn't just about fountain pens, so it was great to see this rollerball at the meeting because online photos don't do it justice.

Sherman's Montblanc knockoff ballpoint--yes, it's a knockoff, but it's adorable! You can see just how small it is in Sherman's pen group photo near the end of this blog post.

Yen brought along a lot of fountain pen eye candy for us to see, including a Leonardo 'Supernova' in "Starlight Blue", a Gioia 'Partenope Avorio", and a Laban '325' Sakura. Yen's husband Alvin brought some pen eye candy of his own (not pictured) --- a Nahvalur (formerly Narwhal) 'Nautilus' Mariana Trench fountain pen and a Nahvalur 'Original' made exclusively for UK pen deaier Cult Pens!

Amy's cute pen case and her cute Hongdian N7 'Moon Rabbit' piston-filling fountain pen

This colourful  Conklin 'All American' Rainbow Limited Edition fountain pen belongs to Kelley. It's made of solid brass, so it has some heft to it, but it felt comfortable in my hand when I held it.

Its section, clip *and* nib have the same finish as the rest of the pen (yay, Conklin!!). The pen's Rainbow PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) finish is very durable and scratch-resistant, according to the manufacturer.

Stuart acquired several new pens in the last few weeks, many of them from the Vancouver Pen Shop! The handsome Faber-Castell Ondoro "Smoked Oak" and Kaweco 'Sport' in "Mellow Blue" in the photo above were among his recent Van Pen purchases.

More of Stuart's new acquisitions! The two Platinum 'Preppy WA' fountain pens at the top of the photo are limited editions (the blue one is the Seigaiha LE and the yellow one is the Urokomon LE) purchased from the Vancouver Pen Shop.

The Sheaffers below them are both vintage pens---a beautiful carmine-striped Sheaffer 'Balance' (which sports an unusual W.A.S.P -style clip, often seen on Canadian-made Balances) and a Sheaffer 'Snorkel' Sovereign in Buckskin Tan colour that Stuart purchased from fellow pen club member Jerred that night. Stuart also brought along a "space age" vintage Parker desk set that we'll be featuring here later this week.

Chris was sitting next to me but I only remembered to snap a quick group shot of all the great pens he brought to the meeting.  I distinctly remember one fountain pen that he praised very much--the multicoloured "Pocket Six" fountain pen in anodized aluminum made by Schon DSGN (the pen closest to the camera). I think I need to add one to my own collection...

I snapped the photo above when I got home, because I forgot to do it during the meeting. That's my new(ish) Pelikan Pura on the far left, a handmade fountain pen by RJ Custom Pens (in Australia) in the middle and my Hongdian N8 'Maple Leaf" fountain pen on the far right. 

The pens are in a Galen Leather 6-pen zippered case in "Crazy Horse Brown" leather that I bought from the Vancouver Pen Shop the day before they closed their store's old location (they're now at 555 Howe Street in downtown Vancouver)

(photo courtesy of Sherman)

Sherman had the same idea as I did---to photograph the stuff he brought to the meeting at home! I'm glad he did, because there were a lot of élysée fountain pens amongst them, and it's a brand you don't see in person very often nowadays. The two elegant pens in the photo above are an élysée Classique (70 Line) Laque Cobra fountain pen with a 14K-585 Gold Flat Nib (Rare) and an élysée Classique (70 Line) Laque Cobra ballpoint pen (with a Parker refill in it--Sherman's comment about the refill brand not matching the pen's brand was "sorry, wohahaha…").

(photo courtesy of Sherman)

Above: Sherman's group photo of the other pens he brought to our meeting, along with his captions below (many thanks to Sherman for all the photos he provided for this blog post!)

(From left to right)

1) Leonardo Furore Blue Mosaico Vancouver Pen Club L.E. #26/30 Steel Broad Nib

2) Leonardo Momento Zero Pen Chalet L.E. Blue Hawaii Fountain Pen Steel EF Nib (Not for presentation, just to compare the newly acquired Mosaico)

3) élysée Design (80 Line) Rolled Gold Fountain Pen Gold Plated EF Flat Nib

4) Ferris Wheel Press Sandcastle Clay Brush Fountain Pen Steel M Nib

5) Pelikan Souverän® K400 Black-Green Ballpoint Pen (Sheaffer K Refill Black)

6) Pelikan Souverän® M400 Black-Green Fountain Pen 18K-750 Gold 2-Tone M Nib (rare nowadays)

7) élysée Jewelry (90 Line) Laque Intarsia Antique Greek Black Ballpoint Pen (Set)

8) élysée Jewelry (90 Line) Laque Intarsia Antique Greek Black Fountain Pen Gold Plated Flat F Nib (Set)

9) élysée En Vogue (30 Line) Laque Lapis Fountain Pen Gold Plated M Nib

10) Toy « Montblanc » like Ballpoint Pen which was gifted by a friend in late 90’s

11) Monteverde Ballpoint Refill for Sheaffer K series - Poorly made:

i) Longer than Sheaffer,

ii) Very sharp tip,

iii) Not just scratchy, but can cut through paper!

12) Esterbrook Estie Honeycomb Oversize GT F Nib

13) Esterbrook J Blue Pearl & Chrome 1555 Nib


I meant to take a photo of the wonderful pens brand-new VPCer Renz --who was sitting right next to me!--- brought, but in all the excitement, I forgot (sorry, Renz ---I do remember a couple of good-looking vintage Parker '51' sets you showed us--Update! Renz later sent me his own photos of the sets ---see the very end of this blog post!). Renz, however, has an active Instagram account and a YouTube channel -- both under the profile name pen.traveller -- where he posts pen-related photos & videos, so check them out if you like beautiful calligraphy and amazing journal entries that look like works of art!  Brand-new VPC members Gaelen and Nurzhan also both brought some cool pens for us to see, but I didn't get around to snapping photos of them --my apologies, guys. I know Gaelen brought a stylish Lamy 'Studio" fountain pen in Imperial Blue, and Nurzhan brought another Lamy (the '2000') and a very nice vintage Parker Vacumatic in the Debutante size. Thanks to the three of you plus brand-new members Anna and Marissa for joining our club and coming to our meeting last Thursday! 😊

Many thanks to everyone who showed up for our January meeting, whether you had anything for the topic/theme or not; our meetings are about seeing and learning about pens and inks and stationery ... and having fun!

Hope you can make it to our February meeting --- details will be posted on this blog in late Jan/early Febeuary. Please check the top of our homepage for future meeting info (which will be in big red letters :)

(~Blog post by Maja~)


Update! 

Renz was kind enough to send me his own photos of the two vintage Parker '51' sets I mentioned above!

I asked Renz about their filling systems and he said: "They are both aero metric yes and the green and gold is a fine nib and the black is an extra fine nib!"

Thanks, Renz!
~Maja

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 306

Hope your new year is off to a good start! Yesterday's blog post had a little sneak peek of my new Laban '325' fountain pen in the "Flame" colour.  Here are some close up photos of it...

(please click on photos to enlarge)

I purchased the pen from my fellow pen club member Andy with Christmas gift money from my father. I already owned an orange '325' "Sun" fountain pen and loved the design, so I decided to buy the red version from Andy via Craigslist. 

I reviewed (at some length *ahem*) the orange version of this pen in this blog post last summer, so I won't go into details about the features of the pen again. Suffice to say, this new '325' is as beautiful as its cousin...

I love how the off-white/cream colour of the section, cap and barrel end complements the marbled red colour so well....

This '325' has an XF (extra-fine) gold-plated steel nib and it writes as smoothly as the Medium nib on my orange '325'. When I first started collecting fountain pens (over 20 years ago), I was wary about XF nibs as I thought they would all be scratchy compared to their wider-nibbed counterparts. A Sailor 'Sapporo' with an XF nib changed all that. Now, I have several XF-nibbed fountain pens in my collection.

The Mozartkugel candy in my photos is a throwback to a Christmas I spent with my cousins in Vienna in 1992. While there, I purchased the second fountain pen I ever owned--a Pelikan 'P10' school pen--which I still own.

I hope the 2021 holiday season was a happy one for you, and that you were able to spend some time with family (or close friends who are like family) despite this global pandemic. Many thanks to Andy for selling me this gorgeous fountain pen, and to my dear Dad for this lovely Christmas present.

(Photos & review by Maja)