Sunday, May 28, 2017

Pilot Sterling Silver Fountain Pen - Dragon

I treated myself. This pen has caught my eye and has been in my radar for quite some time now. I finally pulled the trigger and I knew I had to review it because there are hardly any reviews on this pen, that I could find. I wonder why that is?


This pen is Sterling Silver and has an engraved Dragon motif in both the barrel and cap. I will admit, this pen is a tad hard to photograph due to all of the shiny.


I love a heavier pen and this one is up there at 19g uncapped and 31g capped. When I opened it, I almost didn't want to touch it and get fingerprints all over it. The pen does come with a jewelers cloth and a polish cloth for the silver, which can tarnish over time.


As beautiful as this pen is, the nib is what steals the show here. It is a 18kt Rhodium plated gold nib and is surprisingly springy. Just a teensy tiny bi of pressure and this nib opens up to lie some ink on the page and I really enjoy it.


Placing a shading ink in this pen with this nib is an absolute must. I filled it with J. Herbin Bleu Ocean without shaking the bottle, as I prefer the ink without the sparkly particulate. The blue seemed to really match the shiny of the silver. I am in love with this nib. It may have more spring than the 14kt Pilot Custom 74. That is surprising.



My only complaint with this pen is the converter. Unfortunately, it takes the Pilot Con-50 which has a tiny ink capacity. It would be wonderful if it could hold the Con-70 converter but I guess it is fine. For this being my only complaint, that is pretty minor. I am super happy with the purchase and absolutely love writing with this pen.



This pen is a tad expensive at $478 (Goulet Pens) but for the Sterling Silver finish with the engraving and the gold nib, I find it to be a value. Especially for the writing experience.

This review is based off of my experience and opinion. I do not represent Pilot in any way nor am I being compensated.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Lamy 2000 Gift Set

Guess what? I had a birthday recently and I was very surprised to have received this Lamy 2000 gift set. As a fountain pen enthusiast, the Lamy 2000 is well known and is a must have staple for any collection. I know the Lamy 2000 has been reviewed to death but what is one more?


Here it is.


The gift set comes in this rather large box, which is quite nice, and includes a 50mL bottle of Lamy Blue Black.

I have considered buying this pen for quite some time but there was just something about how plain it looks when capped. It just looks like a plain ol' felt tip marker pen on the outside. 

But, when you uncap this baby, it becomes much more. 


The pen is made from a fiberglass based resin called Makrolon and it has a very aesthetically pleasing tactile quality. The section is round, slick and the nib is the star. This semi-hooded nib is 18kt gold with Rhodium plating and is so butter smooth. Writing with this pen is so effortless. 



Germany is known for being an engineering powerhouse. The Lamy 2000 is a great example of this as this pen is a piston style filler and the blind cap is super hard to see the seam on. The tolerance is that high. I find that to be amazing and it really is the little things that make me smile.


See it?


There it is, it just needs a turn.

I have fallen for this pen and now I understand why this pen has been adored for so many years. The ink, however, I am not so fond of.



This is my first Lamy ink and I must say I am not overly impressed. Yes, it behaves well on paper and the flow is fine. A Blue Black, in my mind, should be a nice dark ink with some dark blue undertones. This ink will flow onto the paper nice and dark but dries to a pale bluish color that I do not find appealing.



This is not a blue black color, in my opinion. I really cannot complain as the ink was free with the gift set and I was happy to have it included so I could write with this pen immediately upon receipt. 

All in all, this is a lovely gift set and if you have not tried a Lamy 2000, please do. Yeah, it has some negative press about a narrow "sweet spot" when writing and blah blah blah...I have had no issues with the performance of this pen just oodles of writing with a big smile on my face. Bob the cat likes it too!



This review is based off of my experience and opinion. I do not represent Lamy in any fashion nor am I being compensated in any way.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Inkjournal Ink Flight #4

Huzzah! I always love coming home from work and finding some pen related inky goodness to be on my doorstep. I am really enjoying the Inkjournal Ink Flights so far and it is a great idea. So what do we have for May?


The physical box this month was dramatically smaller than the other three before but it still held a lovely surprise for me. First off, the ink samples. J. Herbin is the company featured this month for inks and I am alright with that as I have some of their inks and I do like them. Featured this month are the following:



  • J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir
  • J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche
  • J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune
  • J. Herbin Rouge Caroubier
  • J. Herbin Stormy Grey 1670 Anniversary 
  • J. Herbin Cacao Brown (scented)
  • J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor 1670 Anniversary
That is a lot of French and it is a good thing this is not a video as I would murder these pronunciations.


The surprise here was the Col-O-Ring book from Ana at The Well Appointed Desk. I have been considering ordering one of these books and test it out with my ever growing ink collection and I greatly appreciate it.


I must admit, I really enjoy this ink testing book. It is handy, conveniently sized and the paper is quite lovely for fountain pen ink. I figured, what better time to use it than right now for the new ink samples to show them off.












This paper shows the shading and sheen when applicable. I am so thankful that this was in the Ink Flight this month.

Another surprise is this:

Yup, a paint brush but more specifically a watercolor paint brush. Why? Well, Ana, with The Well Appointed Desk, made a YouTube video showing everyone how to use, or how she uses,  the Col-O-Ring book for ink swabs. Ana uses a #4 Princeton Neptune brush for the swabs but a cotton swab works fine as well. This brush is a #2 size but big deal. I used it to make the swabs above and I greatly enjoyed it. I may not swab with Q-Tips again.

$28.00 for Ink Flight #4 and it was money well spent. I loved this month's package and I look forward to June's offering.

This review is based off of my opinion and experience. I do not represent Inkjournal or The Well Appointed Desk in any way nor am I being compensated.