I mentioned Oldwin nearly a year ago in my roundup of small European pen makers. This small French manufacturer, the in-house brand of Paris-based store Mora Stylos, has been on my radar for a while, but in recent months it’s been all over my Instagram feed.
I gave up on getting one of its torpedo-shaped… Continue reading
Month: January 2019 (Page 1 of 2)
Next up in the ‘behind the pen’ interview series: Roy van den Brink-Budgen, the brains behind Izods Ink, Montblanc specialists, UK retailer of Leonardo and Nettuno, and dealer in Robert Oster and Krishna inks. I’m a repeat customer of Izods — along with Chatterley Luxuries in the US, I hit ‘refresh’ on the Izods ‘what’s… Continue reading
The Platinum President (PTB-20000P) is one of those pens that nobody knows about. Its value proposition is simple: it’s a slightly fancier, larger version of the 3776, with a more western-tuned nib, now in 18k gold. The only downside, on paper, is that it lacks the 3776’s wonderful sealing cap, but in all other respects… Continue reading
One of my most popular and contentious posts recently was my review of the Conid Minimalistica Monarch. It brought home to me just how fervently, zealously, people love their Conid pens. I liked it and could see sparks of genius in it, but there was enough about it that rubbed me up the wrong way… Continue reading
Part of my mission in 2019 is to write more about this wonderful community, not just pens. So I’m dusting off my interview series, “behind the pen”. And my first victim? John Hall, owner of one of the UK’s best-loved stationery shops, Write Here. Let’s see what John has to say about the issues of… Continue reading
In my last post I teased some of the new Montblanc pens being launched this year. I thought I’d fill in a little detail for you.
Disney
The great characters release is Walt Disney. All ‘tiers’ are 146 size, and frankly they’re not what I expected. The base tier is rhodium and black, with quite… Continue reading
I try to avoid using this blog as a diary for all the stationery-related goings on in my life. But it’s been a pretty big week, and I have some stuff I want to share.
Monday: start your engines
I spent the day admiring my new BMW 146, and couldn’t resist posting about what a… Continue reading
One of the questions I see most often on pen forums is whether it’s safe to take fountain pens on a plane, and how to travel with pens so they won’t leak — whether from changes in air pressure or jostling.I’m not much of a jet-setter, but in the past twelve months I’ve taken maybe… Continue reading
Consider this a follow-on from my review of the Kaweco Art Sport Alabaster, and the Skyline Sport Fox.
To recap, the Alabaster has hung on as one of my favourite pens. It’s just so smooth, so perfectly polished. The Fox, on the other hand, was a great clay-orange colour, but felt cheap and sharp.
So… Continue reading
A few years ago I had a friend who always wrote with a 146 and a Starwalker, and drove a BMW Z4. One year, for his birthday, I found the perfect gift: the newly launched Montblanc BMW Blue ink. Except he only ever wrote with black ink. Oh well, nice idea.
Roll on to more… Continue reading