Friday, March 29, 2013
more on mechanical pencils
Thanks Maja for the write up on pencils seen at our last meeting. It was surprising - or perhaps it shouldn't be - how much we enjoy mechanical pencils nearly as much as we do pens. I attempted to lower the tone of the meeting by producing my favourite el-cheapo Paper Mate Clearpoint, a rather ugly plastic thing I found walking across the school grounds near me, only to discover that other members also agree a good mechanical pencil doesn't have to be an expensive, high end one. This one takes a sturdy 0.7 lead which is advanced by the handy purple button in the middle, has a good grip, a generous eraser supply, and works like a charm. There Maja, you dared me to post this, so I did! Bill K.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
March meeting photos
Just posting some photos from our meeting last Thursday taken by Bill K (first six photos) and Richard (last three pics). I didn't think we'd get as many members as we did, but 20 members showed up! Our March topic was mechanical pencils, and it was well-represented with pencils which ran the gamut from classic vintage examples & lovely but lesser-known vintage brands, to modern mechanical pencils used for drawing, drafting and carpentry. Many thanks to all who attended!
The next VPC meeting will be held on Thursday April 18 at Perks (usual time & place) and the topic will be "Calligraphy Pens"!
(click on photos to enlarge)
Photo above: Derek (in denim shirt) talking about the amazing vintage pencils he brought in while Ken (far left), Dexter, and Mindy look on.
Photo above: Brian brought in his wonderful vintage Waterman pencil collection, as well as some classic mechanical pencils made by Wahl-Eversharp, Parker and others.
Photo above: Graham, Mindy and Glenn Collins listen while Maja shows her collection of vintage pencils from the "Big Four" vintage pen companies (Sheaffer, Wahl-Eversharp, Parker and Waterman) as well as some nice Eclipse pencils.
Photos above: A close-up look at the above pencils.
Photo above: Part of Derek's great collection of vintage pencils (yes, he has more!)
(click on photos to enlarge)
Photo above: Derek (in denim shirt) talking about the amazing vintage pencils he brought in while Ken (far left), Dexter, and Mindy look on.
Photo above: Brian brought in his wonderful vintage Waterman pencil collection, as well as some classic mechanical pencils made by Wahl-Eversharp, Parker and others.
Photo above: Graham, Mindy and Glenn Collins listen while Maja shows her collection of vintage pencils from the "Big Four" vintage pen companies (Sheaffer, Wahl-Eversharp, Parker and Waterman) as well as some nice Eclipse pencils.
Photos above: A close-up look at the above pencils.
Photo above: Part of Derek's great collection of vintage pencils (yes, he has more!)
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
March of the pencils!
We're doing something a little different this month, and will be featuring mechanical pencils as our March meeting topic/theme. Mechanical pencils were often sold with fountain pens in sets (before ballpoints became popular), so we're going to shine our spotlight on them this month. Without further ado, here are the details about our upcoming meeting:
Date: Thursday March 21, 2013
Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC (ie. the usual place)
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm ("early birds" welcome at 6:00pm to chat before the meeting).
Theme: "Get the lead out!" (Mechanical Pencils - Vintage & Modern)
"Newest Acquisitions" is always our secondary topic, so if you have some cool new pen, ink, paper or pen-related accessory to show, please bring it along, too.
No RSVPs necessary for any meetings held at Perks pen store. We're a very friendly, casual club with no membership dues or duties, and new members are always welcome! And please don't worry if you don't have any pencils to show---I'm sure we'll have plenty of examples to see. Hope to see you there :)
Date: Thursday March 21, 2013
Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC (ie. the usual place)
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm ("early birds" welcome at 6:00pm to chat before the meeting).
Theme: "Get the lead out!" (Mechanical Pencils - Vintage & Modern)
"Newest Acquisitions" is always our secondary topic, so if you have some cool new pen, ink, paper or pen-related accessory to show, please bring it along, too.
No RSVPs necessary for any meetings held at Perks pen store. We're a very friendly, casual club with no membership dues or duties, and new members are always welcome! And please don't worry if you don't have any pencils to show---I'm sure we'll have plenty of examples to see. Hope to see you there :)
Monday, February 25, 2013
Lamy night at Perks!
February's meeting topic was Lamy Writing Instruments and drew 14 members plus a special guest---Michael Pons, a representative for the Canadian distributor for Lamy, Visconti, Faber-Castell & Diplomat. Michael gave an enlightening and entertaining talk on Lamy writing instruments & accessories and was kind enough to show us some examples of the brand-new Lamy Al-Star for 2013 in the Pearl finish, an attractive champagne colour:
(pen photo by Mike M)
(Michael Pons--center, between Anne F. and Glenn M. in photos above)
Many examples of Lamy writing instruments were brought in by our members and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to Michael for coming to our meeting to talk about Lamy products. Grateful thanks also to Louise & Norm for the door prize, a pen-related book they acquired at the Melbourne Pen Show last year while in Australia.
Our next meeting will be on Thursday March 21 at Perks, and the topic will be "Get the Lead Out! (mechanical pencils-modern & vintage)".
(rest of photos by Richard Clarke)
(pen photo by Mike M)
(Michael Pons--center, between Anne F. and Glenn M. in photos above)
Many examples of Lamy writing instruments were brought in by our members and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to Michael for coming to our meeting to talk about Lamy products. Grateful thanks also to Louise & Norm for the door prize, a pen-related book they acquired at the Melbourne Pen Show last year while in Australia.
Our next meeting will be on Thursday March 21 at Perks, and the topic will be "Get the Lead Out! (mechanical pencils-modern & vintage)".
(rest of photos by Richard Clarke)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Two vintage demonstrators
Longtime VPC member Derek L. kindly provided us with photos of the two vintage demonstrators he brought in for our January meeting. The top image is Derek's Parker '51' Special demonstrator and the bottom photo is his über-cool Sheaffer Snorkel demonstrator. Many thanks, Derek!
(click on images to enlarge)
Sunday, January 20, 2013
January 2013 meeting at Perks pen store
We had another meeting with excellent turnout---24 members were in attendance, including two newcomers! (Rustem and Wallace). The topic of "Demonstrator Fountain Pens" was well-represented, with both old (Sheaffer Snorkel & Parker 51 Special aerometric) and new examples (Noodler's 'Ahab', Pilot 'Crystal', Reform 'Skywalker', TWSBI 530s, 540s, a Vac 700 & two 'Minis', Pilot 'Petit1' pens, as well as some really nice demonstrators by Visconti, OMAS, CONID & Sailor).
The evening also saw two (unexpected) door prize draws! The vintage desk set (lever-filler fountain pen and base), generously donated by Dave M, was won by Graham, and the bottle of modern Sheaffer ink (courtesy of Perks) was won by Mark H. Many thanks to Dave and Richard for their donations, and congratulations to the winners!
The meeting was also notable because one of our long-time members (Michael A.) is moving away this month. We will all miss his knowledge and enthusiasm a great deal; Michael did two wonderful talks on famous industrial designers who also designed writing instruments, and always had something interesting to contribute to our meeting themes/topics. His talks on pen designers were very educational, well-researched, and gave us a much greater appreciation of writing instrument designs (you can see the list of pens Michael talked about here ).Thank you, Michael, for entertaining and enlightening us with this interesting pen-related topic! We wish you all the best in Toronto, and hope that you will enjoy being part of the Toronto-area pen club :)
The next Vancouver Pen Club meeting will be held on Thursday February 21, 2013 at Perks pen store (the usual place---5844 Cambie Street in Vancouver, B.C) from 6:30pm to about 8:30pm or so. Our topic will be "Lamy Writing Instruments", and will include the full range----fountain pens, rollerballs, ballpoints, propelling pencils and multisystem pens. Hope to see you there!
Now, here are some photos taken by Richard at the January 17th meeting...
From L-R: Graham, Dexter, Michael, Rustem, Glenn C, Bruce (with his back to the camera), Christopher, Joe and David S.
Michael sharing a laugh with (from L-R) Maja, David S and Brian P, while Dave M looks on in the right foreground....
That's Ian peeking out from the left foreground, along with Derek, Greg (partially hidden), Graham, Dexter, Michael, Rustem, Glenn C and Bruce.
The Perks store also carries a wide variety of (non-pen related :) gift items, and our club is fortunate to have such a nice space for our meetings...
My apologies for forgetting to take close-ups of the demonstrator pens, but it was a bit of a whirlwind of an evening!
The evening also saw two (unexpected) door prize draws! The vintage desk set (lever-filler fountain pen and base), generously donated by Dave M, was won by Graham, and the bottle of modern Sheaffer ink (courtesy of Perks) was won by Mark H. Many thanks to Dave and Richard for their donations, and congratulations to the winners!
The meeting was also notable because one of our long-time members (Michael A.) is moving away this month. We will all miss his knowledge and enthusiasm a great deal; Michael did two wonderful talks on famous industrial designers who also designed writing instruments, and always had something interesting to contribute to our meeting themes/topics. His talks on pen designers were very educational, well-researched, and gave us a much greater appreciation of writing instrument designs (you can see the list of pens Michael talked about here ).Thank you, Michael, for entertaining and enlightening us with this interesting pen-related topic! We wish you all the best in Toronto, and hope that you will enjoy being part of the Toronto-area pen club :)
The next Vancouver Pen Club meeting will be held on Thursday February 21, 2013 at Perks pen store (the usual place---5844 Cambie Street in Vancouver, B.C) from 6:30pm to about 8:30pm or so. Our topic will be "Lamy Writing Instruments", and will include the full range----fountain pens, rollerballs, ballpoints, propelling pencils and multisystem pens. Hope to see you there!
Now, here are some photos taken by Richard at the January 17th meeting...
Monday, December 17, 2012
Season's Greetings!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our next meeting will be held on Thursday January 17, 2013 at Perks pen store (5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC). The meeting will start at 6:30pm, and the theme will be "Demonstrator Fountain Pens" (e.g. the lovely new TWSBI Mini fountain pen I got from the Alexander Pen Co. in Ontario, shown in the photo with Santa above). As usual, our secondary theme will be New Acquisitions. Hope to see you there!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Record-breaking attendance at our November meeting!
We had excellent attendance for our meeting on November 15th at Perks pen store! Twenty-five VPC members showed up to see some exciting new Sheaffer writing instruments that are on the near horizon, as well as some older Sheaffer fountain pens brought in for our monthly theme. Thanks to all members who attended, as well as special guests Patrick Clarke and Nathaniel Clarke of Morton-Clarke & Co. Ltd, the Sheaffer distributors for Canada, who took time out of their busy schedules to come to our meeting and tell us about the new Sheaffer pens that will be launched very soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reminder---we have no meetings in December, so the next VPC meeting will be on Thursday January 17, 2013, usual place & time (unless we need to change it, so please check our website) Theme: to be announced "Demonstrator Fountain Pens"!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(~all photos courtesy of Bill K ~ click on images to enlarge ~)
(above: Patrick (just right of center, holding pen) and Nathaniel (far right, with cap), representatives of Morton-Clarke & Co. Also in the photo are (L-R) David S. (partially hidden), Sam, Dexter and Christopher R.)
(above: Patrick and Nathaniel talking to VPC members about the Sagaris model (coming out in late 2012) and the Taranis (due: early 2013).
(above: a close-up of the pens Patrick brought---(from left to right) seven Sagaris pens and five Taranis pens, all very attractive and classy-looking additions to the Sheaffer lineup)
(above: (from L to R): Bill K, new member Peter, Michael, Glenn C--in the background--and Glenn Marcus, in the foreground)
(above: It was a busy meeting, but I had enough time to resack Bill's Esterbrook desk pen, which I had traded to him a couple of years ago)
(above: Ralph looking on as I attempt to remove the old sac remnants. For some odd reason, the sac detached itself from the section, and simply disappeared. The mysteries of vintage pen repair!!)
(above: new member Al Brunelle, Sam and Dexter looking at some pens in Sam's orange Delta Markiaro pen case, while my vintage Sheaffers look on in the foreground)
(above: VPC member Mark Harcourt doing some in-store pen repair at Perks during our meeting. Mark has set up a workbench inside the Perks store on Cambie Street and has opened up shop for local pen repairs)
(above: It was great to get a hands-on demonstration of the Sagaris and Taranis lines of Sheaffer pens coming out---photos don't do them justice!)
Sheaffer night at Perks!
Many thanks to Patrick Clarke and Nathaniel Clarke of Morton-Clarke & Co. for coming to our pen club meeting on Thursday (November 15) to talk about the new offerings from the Sheaffer Pen Company. Patrick brought some prototypes and samples of the not-released-yet "Sigaris" and "Taranis" models for us to see (you can see the trays of pens that he brought in the videos below).
Both the Sigaris and Taranis are handsome writing instruments, and it's great to see that Sheaffer is still coming up with innovative designs. Patrick's talk was well-received and we had record attendance that night (25 members!), so it was a fun evening. Many thanks to Christopher R. for taking the videos!
Both the Sigaris and Taranis are handsome writing instruments, and it's great to see that Sheaffer is still coming up with innovative designs. Patrick's talk was well-received and we had record attendance that night (25 members!), so it was a fun evening. Many thanks to Christopher R. for taking the videos!
Visconti Divina Medium Size Black Fountain Pen
Posting this great photo of a Visconti Divina fountain pen on behalf of one of our pen club members who has a keen interest in pens and digital photography. Many thanks to Al for the photograph & text below! (~click on photo to enlarge~)
Al writes: I have been doing photography since I retired from the workforce nine years ago and have now expanded to studio photography. I started collecting pens this year and this fall I decided that I would attempt to take photos of my pen collection. Photographing pens is a real challenge with the biggest challenge being the lighting due to the shape of pens and reflective materials used in the manufacturing of pens.
The Visconti Divina Medium Size Black Fountain Pen is modeled after Visconti’s Divine Proportion limited edition. This new collection represents a simplification in style and construction with the result being an attractive and original design. The Divina is more suitable for daily use and a pleasure to write with. The Divina Proportion is inspired by the Nautilus, or “Golden Spiral”, built according to the sequence of Fibonacci and the Golden proportion of 1618, comparing the length of the cap with the length of the pen, both opened and closed. The pen comes with Visconti’s unique Push and Pull Touch down filling system with a 14K nib.
The photo was taken with a Canon 5D Mark II using a Canon EF 24-105mm 1:4 L IS USM lens. Edited in Photoshop CS6. The photo background is the January 2008 issue of Pen World.
More photos can be viewed at: http://alsmcphotos.smugmug.com/Other/My-Pens/26359471_XVQddh#!i=2197293852&k=Pbd4BHq These photos are available for downloading.
Feedback is always welcomed, email me at: alfo2010@gmail.com
Cheers Al Brunelle
Al writes: I have been doing photography since I retired from the workforce nine years ago and have now expanded to studio photography. I started collecting pens this year and this fall I decided that I would attempt to take photos of my pen collection. Photographing pens is a real challenge with the biggest challenge being the lighting due to the shape of pens and reflective materials used in the manufacturing of pens.
The Visconti Divina Medium Size Black Fountain Pen is modeled after Visconti’s Divine Proportion limited edition. This new collection represents a simplification in style and construction with the result being an attractive and original design. The Divina is more suitable for daily use and a pleasure to write with. The Divina Proportion is inspired by the Nautilus, or “Golden Spiral”, built according to the sequence of Fibonacci and the Golden proportion of 1618, comparing the length of the cap with the length of the pen, both opened and closed. The pen comes with Visconti’s unique Push and Pull Touch down filling system with a 14K nib.
The photo was taken with a Canon 5D Mark II using a Canon EF 24-105mm 1:4 L IS USM lens. Edited in Photoshop CS6. The photo background is the January 2008 issue of Pen World.
More photos can be viewed at: http://alsmcphotos.smugmug.com/Other/My-Pens/26359471_XVQddh#!i=2197293852&k=Pbd4BHq These photos are available for downloading.
Feedback is always welcomed, email me at: alfo2010@gmail.com
Cheers Al Brunelle
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