#7 of 53: Change, Lamy Pens and Mothers

Tags

2017 special edition, from the pen cup, lamy, lamy al-star, pacific, the pen habit, wonder pens

Did you miss me?

You can thank my sister for this post. I have been feeling dramatically uninspired of late, hence the radio silence. And then my sister sent me a lovely email, which included a link to one of my blog posts from 4 years ago, about her trip to Iceland. And somehow it’s inspired me.

There’s alot of change afoot in the stationery/fountain pen world. Wonderpens have closed one shop and opened another; I so love their blog I felt I was saying goodbye too, even though I’ve never set foot in any of their stores to date. Matt Armstrong of The Pen Habit on YouTube has ended his run as fountain pen/ink reviewer extraordinaire. Believe me, I can relate. I seriously considered shutting this whole thing down. Even Mary at From the Pen Cup took a long breather between posts. I’ve set myself the challenge of 53 posts this year, which may or may not happen. And I’ve decided to be at peace with that.

So inspired by my sister I’m going to review the Lamy Al-Star Pacific 2017 Limited Edition fountain pen she gave me for my birthday last year.

It’s my third Lamy; I’ve written about the Safari and my other Al-Star previously. The Safari was one of my first purchases after starting the blog, back in 2012. And the Al-Star was a Christmas present in 2014. This Lamy Al-Star is a gorgeous turquoise blue, called the Pacific, for the colour resembles tropical seas.

I also received a bottle of Lamy Turquoise. It was released with the special edition pen but as far as I can tell it’s the same colour as the old Lamy Turquoise. Either way it’s a glorious colour.

The nib is fine and very smooth. Since last September I’ve had it inked up with the Lamy Turquoise, and it always starts writing the instant the cap comes off, with no skipping or hard starts. The cap posts securely although I would advise caution with posting, as my purple Al-Star is showing signs of wear on the barrel.

The distinctive triangular section, unique to Lamy, creates a strong grip for long writing sessions.

The Al-Star usually retails for just under $40 US. The 2017 special edition is no longer available on Goulet Pens; indeed it has been replaced by the 2018 special edition in Vibrant Pink. I’m told the Al-Star Blue Green is very close in tone to the Pacific. But I did manage to find two on offer on Amazon as used. I highly recommend the Lamy Al-Star, for beginners and pros alike. These special editions are a fun way to expand your Lamy collection – such colours!

And finally today (in North America) is the day we honour our mothers. Today marks my 18th Mother’s Day without mine. I wish I could say it gets easier. But some years are better than others. I have a wonderful mother-in-law who receives our well wishes via video call. And now that I’m back in Nova Scotia I can visit my grandmother’s grave, and honour her memory along with her daughter’s.

Happy Mother’s Day.

 

 

Journal Writing Wednesday: 20 pages

Tags

christmas, christmas journal, lamy al-star

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Executive Journal, the Seven Seas Writer, and the Franklin Christoph Notebook. And for the week between Christmas and New Year’s, I’m also using my Christmas Journal.

Total pages written since this post (Dec 24): 20

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 1443

Total pages written in 2015: 603 (Not a bad total for the year but not as good as 2014: 685)

I will be continuing the pen of the month into 2016, and the pen for January is my Lamy Al-Star.

Purchases: I treated myself to an amazing online Boxing Day deal which I will talk about when the item arrives. I did go shopping this week but didn’t buy anything pen or journal related. Last Sunday I wrote about my Christmas Journal and this Sunday I will probably write about some beautiful journals I received for Christmas. Or maybe I will talk about the books I read in 2015 and an update to my reading journal.

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• I’ve been working in my Christmas Journal, recording time spent with family and friends. I’ve been really enjoying it and I don’t want the season to end! But it’s something to look forward to for next year, just like the whole Christmas ritual itself.

Until next post, happy writing!

Monday Miscellany

Tags

all things stationery, from the pen cup, lamy al-star, three staples

Great post by Jinnie on Three Staples on discovering Field Notes and how that changed her journaling habit. Great pictures too.

I really enjoyed this post on ATS (All Things Stationery) describing how the author uses stationery at work but keeps all the good stuff at home. I tend to do this too, although lately I’ve been bringing fountain pens and ink to my work desk to liven things up a bit. I really like the idea of a decoy pen pot. 🙂

And if you love orange (who doesn’t?) this post by Mary at From the Pen Cup will have you ordering something orange before you’ve finished reading it. Mary is always entertaining and so informative. I love my purple Al-Star and this post has me considering the orange one!

 

 

Guru Pen from Fountain Pen Revolution

Tags

cadence, canadian waterman junior, fountain pen revolution, gandhi, goodwriters pens, guru, lamy al-star, monteverde artista crystal demonstrator, pilot metropolitan, piston filler, richardspens.com, serenity blue, waterman

Last Sunday I wrote about my vintage Waterman Junior that I bought from Goodwriters. I actually purchased a different pen from Goodwriters before the Waterman: a Guru from Fountain Pen Revolution. It was listed in Deb’s Bargain Corner and I couldn’t resist. You can also buy these pens direct from Fountain Pen Revolution. They are very inexpensive but you get a lot of pen for your buck.

Fountain Pen Revolution is an interesting company. An American family purchase the India-made pens and market them around the world. According to their About Us page, they want to “provide reasonably priced quality fountain pens made in India and to be a blessing to our community.” They invest a portion of their profits back into the very communities that make their product.

I enjoy the quote from Gandhi on their home page, to whom the website is dedicated:

Bad handwriting is a sign of imperfect education.

And here is my Guru pen.

The pen is 13.5 cm unposted, and 15 cm posted. It has a screw cap and is a piston filler, which is another new filling system for me.

It has a medium stainless steel nib.

The nibs are rather plain-looking. FPR is stamped under the curlicues.

One of the things that drew me to this pen was the ink window. With a piston filling system, you twist the end of the pen until you see the piston moving in the ink window. The piston will push out all the ink. You then place your pen into the ink bottle so that the nib is submerged. Then you twist the end of the pen the opposite way, to reverse the direction of the piston. And presto you have a filled pen. One of the FPGeeks turned me onto this great page at RichardsPens.com, which explains all of the different filling systems and how to operate them.

Through the ink window you can see how much ink is left in your pen, and also what color it is. I tried to capture the color of Waterman Serenity Blue but I was unsuccessful. However, you can see the color in the writing sample.

I really love this Serenity Blue ink from Waterman. It’s a beautiful color. The pen started up right away; I did not have to encourage it at all. No skipping or false starts. Just as Deb advertised, it is a good writer.

And here is a comparison with some other pens on my desk. From left to right: Waterman Junior, Monteverde Artista Crystal Demonstrator, FPR Guru, Pilot Metropolitan, Cadence and Lamy Al-Star. On a sad side note, when I was arranging these pens for the photo I noticed a scratch on the finish of my Lamy; you can just see it on the right-hand side of the barrel in the photo. I thought it was a speck of dust but it isn’t. I have no idea how that scratch happened but I have since moved the pen into a pen case all its own. I was very upset by that little scratch. Oh well hopefully in its own case there will be no more!

I have added both the Waterman and the Guru to my pen/ink journal. Many thanks to World Mail Panel for the accumulated monthly dividend which covered the cost of both of these pens. I think my little buying spree is over but I say that often, don’t I? As one of my co-workers said just the other day, “There will always be another pen.” 🙂

Vintage Canadian Waterman Junior

Tags

14 ct gold nib, absolute brown, agatha christie, cadence, canada post, canadian waterman junior, fountain pen revolution, goodwriters pens, lamy al-star, lever filler, monteverde artista crystal demonstrator, monteverde paquito, pilot metropolitan leopard, royal mail, waterman, winnable executive journal, world mail panel

I stumbled across the Goodwriter’s site recently and purchased a Fountain Pen Revolution Guru pen, which is STILL in Customs in Vancouver, as I write this. About a week after I purchased the Guru I received enough points from World Mail Panel to redeem $100. So I purchased a Canadian Waterman Junior, also featured on the Goodwriter’s site, with a 14ct nib, made around 1934. I’ve been wanting a vintage pen for awhile, and I fell in love with this one on sight.

So I anxiously watched the mail for the next two weeks. The Royal Mail tracking system told me my packages were in Vancouver.  Then this past Wednesday I received notice that I had a package in my company’s mail room. When I went down I found this waiting for me.

My heart stopped. Damaged?? Oh no. I thought the delay was a big Customs bill!

But all was not as it seemed. I opened the plastic bag and retrieved the package from Goodwriters. It looked perfect; it was a sturdy paper cylinder with strong tape on both ends. It certainly did not appear damaged.

I shook the cylinder and did not hear any loose parts rattling round. So I carefully opened one end and took out the double thickness bubble wrap that encased the pen. Inside the bubble wrap was the Waterman. In pristine condition. Cue the singing angels. No idea what Canada Post was going on about with their Apology bag.

Deb, the wonderful woman behind Goodwriter’s, sent this lovely note, along with instructions for filling the pen. It is a lever filler, which I have never used before. I followed the steps she outlined, about three times, and the pen started writing immediately. Cue those angels again!

Here she is in all her glory. I think it is in remarkably good condition for being around 80 years old! The body is smooth with no visible dents or nicks. The chrome is bright but not overly shiny, like a new pen would be. The lever lifts very smoothly and snaps back into place easily. It’s certainly a new experience, that lever filling system. It’s weird not being able to get into the “guts” of the pen. But it works and Deb told me it shouldn’t need servicing for at least 10 years. It’s impossible to tell how much ink is left but that’s ok.

I now understand what the fuss about gold nibs is all about. The nib is smooth and I am so impressed with the writing. It is a smaller pen (just under 12 mm capped; just under 15 mm posted) and very light. The nib seems delicate and I know I have to get used to it; I feel like I might snap it off at any moment. It looks like a prop from an Agatha Christie movie, which is part of my delight with it.

And here’s the reason it’s called a Canadian Waterman Junior.

The Waterman company had a factory in Montreal roughly between 1905 and 1954. The nib says Made in the USA and both the barrel and cap say Made in Canada. Being a patriotic sort this really appealed to me.

Here’s the Waterman next to some modern pens.

From left to right: Monteverde Paquito; Waterman Junior; Monteverde Artista Crystal; Pilot Metropolitan; Cadence; Lamy Al-Star.

So let’s get to a writing sample.

It is a beautiful writer, very smooth and constant. I inked it with Waterman’s Absolute Brown which I got for Christmas. The notebook is my Winnable Executive.

So that’s my Canadian Waterman Junior. My first vintage pen, first gold nib. It probably won’t be my last.

Lamy Al-Star Gift Set

Tags

goulet pens, j. herbin, lamy al-star, poussiere de lune, rhodia

When I was in Phoenix earlier this year, I placed an order with Goulet Pens which I talked about here. Inside the box were two Lamy Al-Star gift sets, in purple, for my sister and I, as presents from our father for Christmas. Tonight I inked it up and took some photos.

The super nice box it came in.

The set comes with a Lamy Al-Star in purple, with a medium nib, a Z24 converter, a package of black Lamy cartridges and a bottle of black Lamy ink. The pen itself comes with a blue cartridge. Lamy Al-Stars differ from the Lamy Safaris in that the body is made of aluminum and the section is somewhat transparent. As with other Lamy models you either enjoy the triangular section or you don’t. My sister and I actually had quite an interesting conversation about sections; she is very picky about them (as am I) and didn’t actually realize it until we tried a bunch of different ones. I would recommend trying out a Safari or an Al-Star at your local pen shop before purchasing, just to make sure you enjoy the feel of the pen.

I tend to like the ink to match the barrel colour so I chose J. Herbin’s Poussiere de Lune (Moondust Purple) for this Al-Star. And I really like the match, as seen in the above writing sample, on Rhodia paper. The pen started up almost right away, and the writing is very smooth and even. I think I enjoy writing with this one more than my Safari, but only just. Both are excellent pens.

Here’s a close-up of the beautiful body. I really love this colour. I seem to recall Brian Goulet saying this is the first time Lamy has released a purple pen but I’m not 100% sure on that. Either way this is an amazing colour and a joy to write with.

Lamy for Christmas – thank you Dad!