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One month on

…and I can say that I’ve mostly felt liberation and closure since formally winding things up here. Although I’ve also missed having a place to get my thoughts out into the open.

I do want to say a sincere and enormous thank you to everyone who commented, emailed or otherwise reacted to my news. I was surprised and touched!

The last month has been a bit of a closure for me. As of today, I have zero bottles of ink, notebooks or pens on my ‘incoming’ list. My pen count is at nearly 40. I’m struggling to find ones to list for sale, but I’ve found my interest in new models has evaporated — and good thing too, since I’ve decided to aim for “No Buy 2020”.

I’m concentrating on using my pens, and my new job is making that easy. I’ve never written so many pens dry.

But the recent closure comes after a month of new arrivals.

So what’s in since my last SotC post?

  • ASC Arco Bronze Gladiatore Medio F. Arco is beautiful, the nib is wet. A surprisingly competent pen.
  • Pelikan M600 White Tortoise B. Bought used. Not inspiring, but at least it’s not as small as the M400. The binde has imperfections, which makes me sad. The seller didn’t disclose them, and it’s been sat at a friend’s house in the US for months so it’s too late for me to complain.
  • Delta Stantuffo Oro with Masuyama-ground M gold nib. I was not expecting to love it, but I really do. It’s very comfortable and a stunning writer.
  • Montblanc Martele F. This was my goodbye grail pen, and the hammered silver is as gorgeous as I hoped.
  • Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2008 M. Arrived today, my final pen purchase.
  • Desiderata Precession blue delrin EF. Much better than I hoped. The EF is a hairlinee.
  • Scribo 3 EF. At real risk of becoming my favourite writer. It’s had a lot of use since my review and I’m enjoying it more every time I use it.
  • Visconti Wheatfields Under Crows M. A terrible nib, but a pretty pen and a match for my daughter’s.
  • Aurora Black Mamba EF. Not the EF it’s labelled, but actually a really good writer, and SO STEALTH.
  • Nettuno Vesuvius Stub. The iZods special edition. The threads are sharp and the stub was shit out of the box, but it feels surprisingly premium. Good value for money.

And what’s out?

  • Pilot Custom Urushi. Too big. Shame.
  • Eureka Symmetry and Asymmetry. Didn’t connect with me emotionally.
  • Ferris Wheel Press Brush in Printmaker’s Teal. Too small.
  • Lamy Studio Aquamarine. Was outclassed.
  • Onoto Magna Classic. Three-turn cap meant I didn’t use it much.
  • Montblanc 149 flex. Found a better home.

So I’m left with this as my list for the year ahead. I’m thrilled to bits. 12 Italians. 12 Germans. 5 Japanese. And the rest down from there.

ASC Gladiatore Medio Arco
Aurora 88 Nettuno
Aurora Black Mamba
Aurora Oceano Pacifico
Conid Kingsize Titanium Flattop
Delta Dolce Vita Stantuffo Oro
Desiderata Precession delrin
Desiderata Soubriquet Cocobolo Mk2
Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66 Ice
Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2008 M
Lamy 2000
Lamy 2000 Bauhaus Blue
Lamy Imporium
Leonard Slattery Pens A Haon
Montblanc 1912
Montblanc Agatha Christie
Montblanc Geometry
Montblanc Homer
Montblanc Martele
Montegrappa Extra The Sea
Nakaya Portable Cigar 17mm Toki-Tamenuri
Namiki Urushi 20
Nettuno Vesuvius
Omas Milord Ludovico Einaudi
Pelikan M1005 Stresemann
Pelikan M600 white tortoise
Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl
Pilot Murex
Pilot Silvern
Sailor Pro Gear King of Pen
Scribo 3
Visconti London Fog
Visconti Medici
Visconti Wheatfield with Crows
Waterman Carene waves

9 Comments

  1. Louise

    Great Post as always… Glad to read you are enjoying using more than acquiring! My Nettuno stub was also dire out of the box – misaligned tines you could see daylight through and the feed not touching the nib, great shame as the pen is really top notch I terms of design and build.

  2. priyasharmafiction

    Merry Christmas to you and yours! Hope you have a good 2020 x

  3. rupertarzeian

    Great to hear how you are getting on. I wish you luck with the No Buy 2020! I loved how this post ended with Waterman Carene waves. Rupert waves back.

  4. saunterandponder

    I am so glad you made the right decision. I noticed too when I no longer followed fountain pen people in Instagram I had less of a need to buy pens. Good luck in not buying any in 2020 except perhaps as gifts.

    Marie Sheel

    LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariesheel

    >

  5. Martin

    Glad you found some peace. All the best and have a merry Christmas.

  6. M.Johnson

    Good evening,

    Longtime reader, first time comment-er! First, allow me to start by thanking you. Your blog has been wonderful over the past couple years and I hope you enjoy some much deserved rest. So, again, thank you!

    Secondly, my Aurora 88 Black Mamba also seems to be labeled incorrectly. Aurora labeled the nib a Fine, but it writes like a Lamy Medium and compared to my Aurora 88 Unica Nera (F, 14k) the line variation is significant. Is your Mamba an EF that writes as a F and are you aware (or heard through the grapevine) that other Mamba owners are experiencing this same issue? I was going to let it slide and/or considered getting it ground down until I read your post. If this is a Mamba-wide issue, I was going to reach out to Aurora and/or their distributors. Any help is greatly appreciated!

    Cheers,
    MJ

    • Anthony

      Hey MJ, thanks for the kind words! Yes, mine is an EF that writes as an F. I don’t personally know anyone else who has a Black Mamba, but based on my personal experience with five modern Auroras and what I’ve read, Aurora’s nibs have a lot of variability generally.

      • Tom Alaerts

        fwiw my black mamba fine writes like a western fine.

  7. PM

    Montblanc Martele (f). Superb.

    A delight to own and use.

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