There's a series of posts on the watch blog Worn & Wound called the three watch collection for $5,000. Here's one recent example. The premise is simple but I find it fascinating. Give writers and readers a fixed budget and ask them to build a capsule collection of watches. Do they eat up the budget … Continue reading The three-pen collection for £1,000
Snippets: Newcastle, onion-skin, machined pens and pen meets
Newcastle ho This should really have been a 'travels with pens' post, but honestly my holiday last week had very little pen content in it, and precious little holiday, for that matter. 300 miles in the car each way with two young children, various illnesses and injuries, and days out to the beach, aquarium and … Continue reading Snippets: Newcastle, onion-skin, machined pens and pen meets
Esterbrook JR Paradise with Scribe architect nib: the feelgood hit of the summer?
Almost exactly a year ago I reviewed the Esterbrook JR, a plucky little pen that impressed me much more than I expected it would. On paper the JR is nothing much: a small plastic pen with a converter and a generic steel nib, that sells for about £40 more than rivals like the piston-equipped Pelikan … Continue reading Esterbrook JR Paradise with Scribe architect nib: the feelgood hit of the summer?
Drillog reinvents the glass dip pen
If you've been in the pen game for a few years, you've probably bought at least one glass dip pen, lured in by the artistry, the pretty colours... and the functional advantage of having an easy-clean tool for playing with 'specialist' inks, doing swatches, and so on. I must have bought half a dozen over … Continue reading Drillog reinvents the glass dip pen
Atoms to Astronauts: UK-made, fountain-pen friendly notebooks
I used to review a lot of notebooks. Like, a lot. Then gradually I settled on (mostly) Tomoe River paper from a select roster of makers: Pebble, Elia Note, Musubi, Galen, GLP. And now I have a stockpile of more than 25 notebooks, enough to last me years. So you could say I'm not actively … Continue reading Atoms to Astronauts: UK-made, fountain-pen friendly notebooks
For sale: Nakaya, Lamy, Cross and more
A few new pens from my personal collection up for sale. As always, consider these to be in inked but very good condition, and boxed. Prices include UK shipping and are based on PayPal friends and family or bank transfer. All of these are exceptional pens, many of them are uncommon. Selling only to keep … Continue reading For sale: Nakaya, Lamy, Cross and more
Flex for the masses? The Good Blue R615 flex fountain pen
Isn't it great when a new pen maker appears on the scene, with a design you've never seen before? The Good Blue is a young venture by a chap called Sunil, who I met at the London Pen Show. He has plunged into the world of pens with a combination of infectious enthusiasm and engineering … Continue reading Flex for the masses? The Good Blue R615 flex fountain pen
Looking back at old flames, with ever-widening eyes…
Someone approached me on Instagram today asking if I had a Conid for sale. I didn't, of course… but I have owned four of them. A special edition Minimalistica, a Regular and TWO Kingsize. I've seen a few comparisons this week between the new Scribo model and the Pelikan Ocean Swirl… well, I've owned that … Continue reading Looking back at old flames, with ever-widening eyes…
Pen shows are back, and better than ever
It's been a long time since my last London Pen Show, back in October 2019. So when I parked up at the venue yesterday, I was a little apprehensive. The world had changed, of course, but so have I — gone are my days of splashing cash on lots of pens. Would I still find … Continue reading Pen shows are back, and better than ever
Summer and I’m not dead yet
Here in the UK it's a heatwave and frankly I've spent less time thinking about pens than I normally would. My pen-buying has trickled to a halt (although these gorgeous designs are tempting me), my pen selling nearly so, and I'm satisfied with how my Toyooka tray is looking. I've been using and reinking my … Continue reading Summer and I’m not dead yet
