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Happy Fountain Pen Day!
04 Friday Nov 2016
Posted messages
in15 Sunday Nov 2015
Posted my pen collection
inTags
delta journal, fountain pen day, freedom of speech, giardino, goldspot, journalists, martemodena, matt armstrong, pearl red, pen chalet, stilografica, the pen habit
Happy Fountain Pen Day to me. 🙂
About a week before Fountain Pen Day I was watching The Pen Habit, Matt Armstrong’s YouTube channel, and he mentioned the Delta Journal. It was a super quick reference as he was reviewing a different pen, but my ears perked up. I had never, ever heard of a fountain pen called The Journal, and as the author of this blog I had to investigate. So yes the initial motivation was purely the name but ultimately the pen has proved to be so much more than that.
I started my research on YouTube and I couldn’t find any video reviews of this pen. (If you find one please let me know!) I couldn’t believe it. There are lots of Delta pen reviews, but none of The Journal specifically. So then I went to online retailers. Goldspot carries them, and so does Stilografica. I also found them at Giardino and Pen Chalet. All of them were around $320 US ($426 Cdn). [Note: when I was researching this pen earlier this month they were closer to the $500 Cdn mark.] I thought I would check ebay as well and the prices were considerably better. One of the sellers, Martemodena, had a lot of product and great reviews. So I decided to go straight to the source. Martemodena has their own website so I decided to order from them directly. They were offering this pen for $120 Cdn, which is quite a savings. And as I write this they are offering the pen for $102! I don’t mind, I couldn’t wait to get it so I paid the going price. But at that price maybe I need a second one……..!
The more reviews I read and the more pictures I saw of the pen the more I wanted it. The Journal was made to honour journalists and freedom of speech, which appeals to me as I took my undergraduate degree in Journalism.
I placed an order on Thursday and received the pen the following Wednesday.
Shipping was extremely reasonable: $15 US. Excellent packaging.
The Delta box. Fine Writing Instruments since 1982.
The Journal cardboard sleeve.
The faux leather box. Almost there!
A stunning presentation. The box is lined in cream suede. Along with the pen there is a bottle of Delta ink (blue) and information cards, including the serial number (this pen collection has numbered editions), the date of inspection and the initials of the inspector, along with guarantee information (lifetime, with conditions) and filling instructions. This model is a cartridge converter-filled pen.
I chose the Pearl Red finish, which is red resin with green and grey flecks. Each pen is hand-made from Italian resin. The trimmings are rhodium plated, as is the nib. Delta offers a “fusion” nib which is gold and steel but I chose the rhodium plated steel. I don’t think the extra cost for the gold nib is warranted in these pens, as the gold doesn’t actually touch the paper, so the benefit is negligible, in my opinion.
Even though it came with ink I chose Harmonious Green by Waterman. Waterman is always safe and I wanted to match the barrel somewhat.
I forgot to take a picture but as I said previously this pen takes international cartridges but also comes with a cartridge converter. The converter actually has a steel top that is accessible from the bottom of the barrel. So it can be filled without unscrewing the barrel. It saves a few seconds but I usually unscrew the whole thing so I can see how much ink has flowed into the reservoir.
Here’s a closeup of the nib and that beautiful resin. I chose a medium, even though European mediums tend more toward broad than medium. But I didn’t want to risk a fine nib being too fine. This nib is perfect. Smooth with just a touch of toothiness. The nibs are available in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad and Stub.
This numbered edition is number 4768. I like how the name of the pen is inscribed on the cap.
And at the very top of the cap we see Delta Italy.
I did the writing sample above in my Executive Journal. No bleedthrough. Some ghosting. You can see how the line leans more broad than medium but I like that. It performed well on the Tomoe River paper in my Seven Seas writer as well. The pen arrived super quickly from Italy. They used DHL and what an informative website they have! I watched it go from Bologna, Italy to Leipzig, Germany, and then to Luton, UK and then to Heathrow, where it was put on a plane to Canada. Four business days from start to finish. Impressive.
The clip has a ball at the end, which turns, for ease of placing in a pocket, apparently. The section is just about 1 cm wide, which I love. The concave shape fits my hand perfectly. The pen is 13.5 cm long unposted. Even though I love to post I try not to do it with this pen, for fear of marking the resin on the barrel.
There is another version of this model, called The Journal Grande, which is much thicker, and the clip is different.
I am really pleased with this pen. I would recommend this pen or any Delta pen, as they are true artisans who are dedicated to perfection in their products. No complaints about Martemodena either; they packaged my pen perfectly and had it to me really fast. It’s very special to me, not just because of the name, but of what it represents as a tribute to free speech and journalists. 🙂
06 Friday Nov 2015
Posted events
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Hope all of you have a wonderful day using and loving your fountain pens! Be sure to check out http://www.fountainpenday.org/ for ideas on how to celebrate and don’t forget the sponsor page; lots of great deals and giveaways. Have fun!
01 Sunday Nov 2015
Posted events
inToday marks the beginning of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. I am doing it this year and hope to achieve the 50,000 words but I’m not putting immense pressure on myself to do so. Some writerly friends of mine and I are attending a few writing workshops next weekend and I’m really looking forward to that. We’ll see how it goes. Anyone else doing it this year?
I mentioned in this post that World Mail Panel have asked me to send envelopes as well as log envelopes received. My first batch arrived last week and I spent a couple of hours today getting myself organized.
I record the letters I receive in the purple Leuchtturm Jottbook and now I’m going to record the letters I send in a black Leuchtturm Notebook.
Each envelope should be sent on a set date and I wrote the first batch in my notebook. If I don’t manage to send the envelope on the specific day I need to tell them what day the envelope actually went out. It’s fun to see the destinations.
Every two weeks I will receive the envelopes for the next week. Currently I have envelopes ready for Week 46. I thought separate plastic pouches for each batch of envelopes would help me keep track. We’ll see how it works as I get through them. Should be fun! If you would like to join the team, go to this page and fill in your details. If they need someone in your area they will contact you. I get paid about $16 per month to receive envelopes and now with sending envelopes as well that amount will rise to $21. It adds up over time, believe me. Each month I am awarded a set amount of points and once I reach a certain amount I can redeem them for Amazon giftcards or Paypal deposits. I can also donate them to Doctors Without Borders. It’s a great program.
Don’t forget Fountain Pen Day is coming up soon: November 6. Anything special planned? Whatever you do enjoy your pens, whether you are a long time fountain pen lover or just discovering the hobby. More on that from me on the day. 🙂
19 Monday Oct 2015
Posted monday miscellany
inTags
bespoke british pens, conway stewart, fountain pen day, jack row, knight's writing company, pen chalet
Fountain Pen Day is coming up on Nov 6 and to celebrate Pen Chalet is offering some goodies. Check out all of their fantastic giveaways here. And don’t forget to order something on the actual day; Pen Chalet will have a special coupon available for use on all of their items. The countdown is on!
If you want to spend a few minutes gazing at beautiful pens, check out Bespoke British Pens, a fairly new company who bought out Conway Stewart last year. Expensive but absolutely wonderful to look at and dream about. Of course I was drooling over the (very) limited edition Conway Stewart William Shakespeare pen! Wow. Hand-painted Romeo and Juliet. Amazing. And check out the Jack Row pens – mind-boggling, in appearance and price.
And I’ve mentioned them before but Knight’s Writing Company has graciously included this blog as a Friend of Knight’s Writing Company. I am in esteemed company indeed and very proud to be a friend of this great Canadian pen, paper and ink retailer. I’m touched Graeme, thank you so much!!
Until next post, happy writing!
12 Wednesday Nov 2014
Posted journal writing wednesday
inWhat I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Leather Journal and the Believe In Yourself journal
Total pages written since last JWW post (Nov 5): 15
Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 691
Total pages written in 2014: 636
Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze observation experiment (it’s not much of a freeze these days!) (Jan 1/14): 34
Some topics covered this week:
Happy writing everyone!
10 Monday Nov 2014
Posted monday miscellany
inI LOVE this post on Sharing Our Notebooks by Penny Kittle: My Writing Notebook is Always With Me. The picture she shares of her notebook shelves remind me of my own, although I am still in the multi-coloured phase of my notebook accumulating. And don’t miss the charming video; it’s a must see for journallers and wannabe journallers. Fantastic stuff.
Another inspiring post on Scription called Everyday Inspirations Through Putting Yourself in Hardship, is it Necessary? Thought-provoking post on our “treasures” and the difficulty of letting them go. I love this quote especially:
If your body carries a soul, your notebook should carry your mind.
And finally if you haven’t seen SBRE Brown’s Fountain Pen Day video, head over to his blog right now and watch it. The herald and champion of our deep-rooted love of fountain pens has done it again. And enter the giveaway while you are there!
Happy writing everyone!
07 Friday Nov 2014
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Check out all the fun on fountainpenday.org and be sure to click on the Sponsors link for a list of goodies being offered around the web!
01 Friday Nov 2013
Posted websites
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