Another Nemosine and a Free Pen!

Tags

amazon, goldspot, jinhao 599a, marketfair stationery, nemosine, singularity, waterman

Way back in January of this year I received two pens in the mail from Amazon. I had placed an order for a Nemosine Singuarity in brown, with a medium nib, and the vendor had sent along a free pen as a “Thanks for Your Business” gift. I wrote about it in this Journal Writing Wednesday post from January 13, and I’m finally getting round to the post!

The vendor was Marketfair Stationery and I had no idea that they were Goldspot pens until I opened the package. Apparently Goldspot was giving away Jinhao 599a pens during the holiday season as thank you gifts. I received a blue demonstrator model, with a fine nib I suspect (it’s not marked).

The pen looks like an homage to the Lamy Safari. The translucency is a nice touch.

Here it is uncapped. The section has flattened sides, which again brings to mind the Lamy Safari. I prefer this one, as it is not as pronounced and seems to fit my hand better. The cap has a black liner for the nib to fit into when capped.

Here’s a closeup of the nib. There is a Goldspot “g” stamped on it but no size anywhere; certainly no “F” that I could find. The barrel is also stamped “goldspot”. The pen came with a cartridge converter and it wrote very quickly after inking. No skips so far so ink flow seems fine. Pretty amazing for a free pen!

And now for the writing sample.

I wrote this in my Rhodia lined pad, and the ink I used was Waterman Serenity Blue. The nib was pretty smooth, with a bit of toothiness. I’m very pleased with this pen. I’d been wanting to order one from ebay so this was a most pleasant surprise from Goldspot.

So that was the free gift that came with my purchase: another Nemosine Singularity, but this time in brown and silver with a medium nib. This is my second Singularity; I wrote about the first in this post, the blue marble finish with a broad nib. I wanted to try the medium nib and I love brown pens, so I ordered it from Amazon on Boxing Day.

This Singularity came with the same box and cartridges as the blue marble one.

Here it is uncapped. The finish is a flat lacquered brown, a little plain as compared to its blue marble cousin.

Once again we see the Nemosine nib, with the distinctive butterfly pattern.

Here is the writing sample with the Nemosine medium, and a comparison between the medium and broad nibs. The medium nib leans more toward fine than medium, in my opinion. There isn’t a huge difference between the broad and medium nibs, at least in this writing sample. The ink in the broad is Waterman Mysterious Blue and the ink in the medium is Waterman Absolute Brown. Both pens wrote instantly after being inked, with no skips or hard starts. Nemosine continues to impress me with its quality.

All three pens are excellent writers, and I would not hesitate to recommend all three as inexpensive every day pens.

The Delta Journal

Tags

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. 🙂

Monteverde Poquito

Tags

canadian waterman junior, filofax, finsbury, goldspot, goulet pens, monteverde, poquito, reid's stationers, visconti rembrandt

I realized today I have not reviewed my Monteverde Poquito fountain pen, which I bought for my personal Finsbury Filofax from Reid’s Stationers in December 2014.

Here you can see the Poquito in the Finsbury pen loop, and it is an incredibly tight fit. So hard to find pens that fit that pen loop. But I wanted to have a fountain pen for my planner so I purchased the smallest fountain pen I have yet to see in person. It did not come with a box although the reviews on YouTube show a very nice green Monteverde box.

Poquito in Spanish means “a little bit” and this pen is super small. It measures 11 cm (4.4″) capped, and a respectable 12.6 cm (5″) posted. It is too small for a Monteverde converter, although a couple of the videos I watched mentioned smaller converters that could fit it. It comes with a standard international cartridge; mine came with black. If you want to use bottled ink you can use a syringe to fill the empty cartridge.

I found the ink was VERY slow to dry and made a mess of my fingers and my journal. And yes I realize now I spelled it “Paquito” at the beginning of the journal entry, and also in my Waterman Junior post.

I originally bought this pen to use in my Finsbury but the paper is not meant for fountain pen ink; there was tremendous showthrough and the long drying time meant messy pages. But I do use the pen; it is a good smooth writer and very comfortable in the hand despite its small size.

Here is the pen in action on a Filofax page.

Definite showthrough.

Here’s a closeup of the pen. I chose the silver, but it comes in turquoise, pink and steel grey. The turquoise and pink are metallic. I chose the silver to match the rings in my Finsbury.

The section has a bit of a step down and the nib is standard iridium, made in Germany. I think the Goulet Pens video said it was a #5. Currently this model is sold out on the Goulet Pens website.

I was given these Monteverde cartridges when I purchased my Visconti Rembrandt from Goldspot, so they will come in handy when the black cartridge that came with the Poquito runs out. But it will accept any short international cartridge.

And here is that picture I used in my Waterman Junior post, comparing pens. From left: Monteverde Poquito, Waterman Junior, Monteverde Crystal Artista, Pilot Metropolitan, Cadence, Lamy Al-Star.

Overall I would recommend the Poquito for a small everyday carry pen. It is very comfortable in the hand and writes well. I’m not a big fan of the long drying time of the ink but that could be the paper I was using for my tests as well. Let me know in the comments if anyone has had any experience with this pen, good or bad.

The Visconti is Home

Tags

calligraphy, goldspot, j. herbin, reid's stationers, visconti, visconti rembrandt

I am happy to report a package from Goldspot arrived at the office on Friday. Inside was my Visconti nib with a newly fitted section, which had been missing in the initial shipment, which I first mentioned in this post. So I can finally give a complete review of the Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy Set in Red.

The box in which the calligraphy set originally arrived.

The set came with an inkwell, blotting paper, the pen body, two converters and two nibs. In this picture the extra-fine nib is in the pen, while the italic nib with it’s new section is lying in its bed as it should be, nice and snug, instead of rolling around.

The booklet that came with the set not only gives instructions on filling the pen but also introduces the various types of calligraphy: Italic, Gothic, Uncial, Foundational, Rotunda and English Script. There are detailed pictures of how to produce each letter.

I think my favourite is Foundational, which is the third up from the bottom.

Makes it look easy! I wish.

A close-up of the blotting paper. Apparently it has a plastic coating to protect fingers.

The inkwell. This one is plastic; they also come in glass bottles. Beautiful shape to the bottle; very distinctive. And inadvertently I got a great closeup of the pen. Love the variation in the barrel colour, the decorated band and the iconic clip.

The pen body came wrapped in this plastic sleeve. No doubt about where it was made.

The finial.

Close-up of the detail on the band. So pretty. The other side says Rembrandt.

Sorry couldn’t resist the cap again – love it!

The nibs; italic on top, extra-fine on the bottom.

I filled the pen with the Visconti black ink and wrote this sample with the 1.5 mm nib. Very smooth on the Studio Oh! paper. A little too thick for everyday use I think. I will use it for my Christmas cards and special occasions. Now I have to find a red ink I don’t get a headache looking at. But until then…

I’ve had this J. Herbin Orange Indien since my Christmas visit to Reid’s Stationers. When I saw the orange undertones of the Rembrandt barrel I immediately thought of my only orange ink. I think it’s a good match.

Such a difference to the first nib. It is a very nice writer, with no skipping. It was a bit scratchy on the paper (Clairefontaine) but that’s to be expected with an extra-fine nib. I had to force some ink into the section to get it going but after that no problems. I think this will be more of an everyday writer for me.

I know this is the “budget” version of the Rembrandt, as the one I tried out at Reid’s Stationers had a metal section (not plastic) and a magnetized finial that could be customized. But that really doesn’t matter to me; this version brought it into the realm of possibility and I am thrilled with it. I am very grateful to my husband for buying it for me and also to the excellent folks at Goldspot for making it perfect. You can check it out yourself here, although it is no longer on sale. And if you really want to dream, take a look a the rest of the Visconti line here.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 10 + 8 + 8 pages

Tags

blue filigree, ebay, fairmont banff springs, goldspot, paperblanks, silver filigree, studio oh!, visconti

Journal I’m currently using: the Embossed Italian Journal – but more on that below

Total pages written since last JWW post (May 28): 26

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 366

Total pages written in 2014: 311

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze (Jan 1/14): 7

• 1 pen + 1 bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman on Feb 5
• 1 Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red = 2 items (pen and ink bottle; not going to count the extra nib!) from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis Heather Violet from Goldspot on May 15

Topics covered since last update:

• My sister’s birthday is coming up; we are going to the Banff Springs Hotel for Afternoon Tea
• Got a call from Asha at Goldspot – she clarified exactly what I needed for the Visconti and it’s in the mail!!
• Ebay packages: stamps and pen loops!
• My young friend’s cancer diagnosis
• I was unkind to a good friend and I tried to work out why
• There was a flood at work; a faulty urinal on the 8th floor has spread damage all the way to the 2nd. I’m on the 5th floor and it’s an adventure to visit the ladies’ washroom as they try to clean up the mess
• Journal fail. I really struggled with my journal this week. I want to love the Embossed Italian, I really do. It’s gorgeous and it was a gift. But I found myself avoiding it because it’s just not fun to write in. The covers are getting really banged up and some say that gives character but to me it just looks messy. And it’s so floppy! I like to write whenever the notion pops into my head, which means I write while sitting on the couch and in bed sometimes. The Embossed Italian needs a desk to write on. And I was missing using some of my favorite fountain pens because of the feathering. It was slight but it still bothered me (holy cow I’m picky!!) So mid-week I grabbed the first journal I laid my hands on: the Happiness journal by Studio Oh! The hard covers are great and the paper is surprisingly fountain pen friendly. I started writing in it and didn’t want to stop. Even though I was loving the Studio Oh! journal I couldn’t get the Blue Filigree out of my mind; writing about it on Sunday just fuelled the fire. So now I will have two everyday journals on the go at the same time. Call me crazy, I don’t mind a bit. 🙂

The source for tonight’s post! A happy jumble of journals.

This journal has been sitting on my shelf since early last year I think. I forgot about it actually until desperation made me close my eyes and grab one.

It’s interesting that the inside cover should have a quote from Maya Angelou, who past away almost a week ago today. Incredibly talented writer, mourned the world over.

 

Playing with stamps in the new Blue Filigree. I’m loving the paper and everything about it. I’m sad to leave the Embossed Italian behind but I may return to it one day.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 12 pages

Tags

de atramentis, goldspot, j. herbin, monteverde prima, saint ephraim, sbre brown, stephen brown

Journal I’m currently using: the Embossed Italian Journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (May 21): 12

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 340

Total pages written in 2014: 285

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze (Jan 1/14): 7

• 1 pen + 1 bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman on Feb 5
• 1 Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red = 2 items (pen and ink bottle; not going to count the extra nib!) from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis Heather Violet from Goldspot on May 15

Topics covered since last update:

• Bought an extremely inexpensive charm bracelet on ebay. It came with 10 charms, 2 of which are a fountain pen and book! I will show them in a future blog post
• Last week I forgot to mention I got a bottle of J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche and a bottle of De Atramentis Heather Violet in the same Goldspot order as the Visconti Rembrandt. I’ve never put anything but Bleu Pervenche in my Monteverde Prima and when the cartridges ran out I had to buy a bottle. And the Heather Violet I bought (I will admit it) because of the name. I’m really glad I did because it is a beautiful shade of pink. More future blog posts!
• I am a big fan of SBRE Brown on Youtube and I watched his video Personal Questions with SBRE Brown, Part 2. He quoted an incredibly beautiful prayer by Saint Ephraim which I promptly copied into my journal. The video is long but worth it.
• Went a bit crazy on ebay – more future blog posts ha ha!
• Had a lovely surprise at work this week; David sent me flowers for our anniversary. They are beautiful and I feel very special. He pointed out this is technically my second gift because he bought me the Visconti set. Yes I’m spoiled. I bought him an Amazon gift card which he loved. Eight years married – where has the time gone?