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.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 3 pages

Tags

goulet pens, j. herbin, jay sadow, jetpens, monteverde, monteverde prima, scottsdale pen and knife, world mail panel

What 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 19): 3

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 702

Total pages written in 2014: 647

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): 58

• 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) 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
• 5 pens, 4 notebooks, 3 tins of ink cartridges from Reid’s on June 14
• 1 Jinhao X450 from ebay; received on June 19
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis William Shakespeare ink from Goulet Pens; received on June 25
• 1 Winnable Leather Notebook on July 10
• 1 Wreck This Journal on Aug 2
• 2 ink samples from Private Reserve: Avacado (sic) and DC Supershow Blue from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 2 Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks, grid and lined from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 1 Kaweco Sport Ink Roller Demonstrator from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 1 Leaf Binder from eBay
• 1 Alphabet Journal from Suzi Q
• 1 Dragonfly Journal, 1 Wooden Fountain Pen, and 1 Zebra V-301 Fountain pen in September
• 1 Pilot Metropolitan pen from Amazon on Nov 7 to celebrate Fountain Pen Day
• 1 limited edition purple Pilot Metropolitan in Leopard and 1 Leuchtturm 17 purple Jotbook on Nov 15 at Reid’s Stationers
• 1 Monteverde Prima in green from Goulet Pens on Nov 22
• 16 (gasp!) 10 ml bottles of J. Herbin ink in assorted colours from JetPens on Nov 22
• 1 Monteverde Artista Clear Demonstrator, 1 Pilot Plumix in purple, 2 Platinum Preppies in blue and green and 1 Rhodia leather notebook from Scottsdale Pen and Knife on Nov 25

Being on holiday I’ve written only 3 pages in my journal. So I haven’t had a chance to write about my purchases of late. But I wanted to share them so I’ve included them above. The bold is a reminder to me that I need to photograph and write blog posts about those items.

Yes I’ve taken advantage of my sister’s goodwill and used her US address for two orders to Goulet Pens and JetPens. I used the proceeds from my World Mail Panel efforts to finance the Monteverde Prima in green, and I also purchased two Christmas gifts for my sister and I, from our father. So more on that after Christmas. And I’ve wanted to complete my J. Herbin collection for some time now and with free shipping and a great sale I couldn’t resist getting 16 of the mini bottles of J. Herbin ink. Now there is only one colour I don’t have: Diabolo Menthe. Exciting stuff!

And yesterday my sister and I went to Scottsdale Pen and Knife and boy did we have fun! I bought 4 fountain pens and a notebook. The owner, Jay Sadow, spent a lot of time with us, answering questions and showing us beautiful pens and pencils, and just being wonderful.

All of these new purchases will get full blog posts once I’m home. Until then happy writing!

Goodies from Wonderpens

Tags

1.1 stub nib, avacado, dc supershow blue, de atramentis, heather violet, kaweco, kaweco sport ink roller demonstrator, leuchtturm, monteverde, monteverde prima, private reserve, rhodia, wonderpens, world mail panel

I’ve been involved with World Mail Panel surveys since March of this year, and the money I earn from them (about $15 a month) has gone into the stuff I write about and love – notebooks, pens, ink, stationery, etc. Recently I spent my earnings on a special order through Wonderpens: the Monteverde Prima fountain pen with a 1.1 stub nib, in Purple Swirl. And on Thursday last the pen arrived, along with a few other goodies.

Amazing packaging – it was like breaking into a safe to remove all the paper and tape. Nothing moved on the trip from Toronto to Calgary that’s for sure.

The great folks at Wonderpens always include a note saying thank you for the order, and a Fortune Teller fish which intrigued my co-workers! They also wrote thank you on the bottom of my invoice.

The first tantalizing glimpse!

Monteverde Prima, Kaweco Sport Ink Roller – Demonstrator, two Leuchtturm notebooks, Rhodia notepad and two ink samples.

So I ordered ink samples of DC Supershow Blue and Avacado (sic) from Private Reserve. Both colours are really bright. I haven’t inked up any pens with either of these inks but I was still able to do an ink swab.

On to the notebooks: two Leuchtturm large softcovers, one lined, one grid. And one black Rhodia notepad in Black, lined, as my present one is getting low.

Next up is the Kaweco Sport Ink Roller – Demonstrator. Yes it’s true: this is not a fountain pen. It is a rollerball. I wanted another rollerball that took fountain pen ink cartridges; the Kaweco is much finer than the Online rollerball I purchased earlier this year.

I find the Kaweco packaging very appealing; it has a vintage feel. Kaweco is a German company; I always thought they were Japanese for some reason.

It’s quite a small pen but when posted it’s comfortable in the hand. The pen came with one ink cartridge whose ink I love; I will have to ask John and Liz (Wonderpens) the name of it. The cartridge snapped in very easily and the pen started up right away, with no skipping so far. Great writer; very smooth. I understand why people rave about Kaweco products; if their rollerballs are this amazing I’m sure their fountain pens will not disappoint. Below is a writing sample on my Rhodia pad (my old one).

Another thing I love about this rollerball is the Demonstrator quality; I really enjoy being able to see the ink cartridge. You can see the colour and how much ink is left.

And now for the star of the show….

Here she is, the Prima in Purple Swirl. The picture makes the pen look more purple than pink, which is misleading, because the pen definitely looks pink in real life, albeit a deep, dark pink. It’s more of a fuscia than a purple but that’s my opinion. Whatever colour she is, she’s beautiful and I love her.

I’m a fan of matching the ink to the barrel colour so I thought the De Atramentis Heather Violet would do the trick.

The pen comes with a glass converter.

Here’s a closeup of that incredible nib. It has 1.1 stamped on the side turned away from the camera. I ordered a special nib for this one – 1.1 stub – which is a first for me, and I LOVE it. I love how it makes my handwriting appear more elegant somehow. Very smooth writer. The ink didn’t start up right away but it only took a few shakes. I really enjoy how this nib shows the shading of the ink.

Trust me: in real life the ink is the EXACT same colour as the barrel but this photo doesn’t illustrate that. Very happy with this pen.

This is a bit blurry but I wanted a photo of my two Primas together. You can really see the detail on the barrel. There are five Primas in the collection: Turquoise, Purple, Green, Tiger Eye (Brown) and Black. I have the Green and the Tiger Eye in my sights next; I don’t think I will buy the Black because it is really different than the other two and I don’t find the design appealing. It’s essentially black with a green line running through it. You can see them here.

So that’s it from Wonderpens this time around. Many thanks to Liz and John for their excellent customer service. Can’t wait to have a big payday from World Mail Panel again….should be around November.

 

Journal Writing Wednesday: 12 pages

Tags

bleu pervenche, divergent, hero 6021, incowrimo, inkcyclopedia, j. herbin, kijiji, leo babauta, monteverde, parker blue-black quink, prima, stephen brown, zen habits

Journal I’m currently using: Navy Blue Cross Journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Mar 19): 12

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 216

Total pages written in 2014: 161

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze (Jan 1/14): 3

• 1 pen + one bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman on Feb 5

Topics covered since last update:

• I’m running out of Bleu Pervenche ink, my preferred ink for my Monteverde Prima. I just might have to purchase a bottle! It’s funny how I’m loathe to put any other colour in it.
• I’m selling some purses on kijiji. It’s slow but I have had one offer
• Budget woes
• Still having a ball writing to InCoWriMo folks, even though technically it is over. I still have a stack of letters to reply to!
• Inked up my black Hero 6021 with Parker Quink in Blue-black. Love!
• Enjoyed Stephen Brown’s latest entry for Inkcyclopedia: Montblanc Salzburger Festspiele
• Figuring out where to store my ink (cartridges and bottles) so they are all together (future blog post)
• Went to Bookclub this week and we saw Divergent
• Discovered Zen Habits by Leo Babauta – thank you Randall!
• Learned a lot (more than I wanted to) about Landlord/Tenant disputes; my friend is having a rough time and it’s frightening what Landlords are legally allowed to do

That’s enough for now. Until next week, happy writing.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 20 pages

Tags

akkerman, incowrimo, j. herbin, monteverde, parker blue quink, parker urban, perle noire, philip seymour hoffman, vanness pens

Journal I’m currently using: Navy Blue Cross Journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Feb 5): 20

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 171

Total pages written in 2014: 116

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze (Jan 1/14): 3

• 1 pen + one bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman, via Vanness Pens (see Feb 5 post for why it was impossible to resist) on Feb 5

Topics covered since last update:

• The death of Philip Seymour Hoffman 😦
• How to Begin quote (see below)
• I changed ink in my Manuscript pen; filled it with J. Herbin Perle Noire
• My husband’s new haircut (he did it himself to save money, bless him)
• InCoWriMo: To date I have sent 23 letters and received 15
• Family stuff
• Lovely Tea with my Sister
• I changed ink in my Parker pen; filled it with Blue Quink
• Fell in love with new Monteverde Prima in Purple

This quote was posted by a friend on facebook and I had to write it in my journal. Beautiful.

Most of my InCoWriMo letters received to date. Got some more today.

I just thought this was funny. It appears my ink shipment left Arkansas and went on a mini vacation. First it went to Miami (who could blame it?) and then all the way to somewhere in northern Saskatchewan. It’s been there for a whole 24 hours. I keep checking but it’s not moving. Sigh. I hope it’s not freezing, but it probably is. 😦

Until next week, happy writing.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 16 pages

Tags

bookclub, goulet pens, incowrimo, jools holland, monteverde, parker urban, prima, stereophonics, writing

Journal I’m currently using: Navy Blue Cross Journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Jan 22): 16

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 137

Total pages written in 2014: 82

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze: 2 on Jan 14    

Topics covered:

• Still waiting for ebay items ordered at the beginning of December [sigh]
• Beautiful letter from one of my penpals
• Countdown to InCoWriMo
• Temptation in March: Goulet Pens will have a new Monteverde Prima available, in purple and black!
• Hosting my bookclub meeting for January
• Pizza dough recipe I saw on Youtube
• My Parker fountain pen set arrived from Amazon (future blog post)
• Caught Stereophonics on Jools Holland
• Stressful situation brewing at work 😦

I’ve been writing in my journal with my new Parker Urban GT which arrived in my fountain pen set. Really nice pen. Took me a few tries to get the ink flowing but now it’s a consistent starter. A new box of stationery from Peter Pauper Press arrived with it so I will probably use some of that for InCoWriMo. And, wonder of wonders, I resisted for another 7 days the temptations of ebay and the rest of the internet to buy a notebook/pen/ink. But watch out in March with the new Monteverde Prima offered by Goulet Pens in purple and black!

Until next week, happy writing.

MonteVerde Prima and More Ink!

Tags

fountain pen, graf von faber-castell, j. herbin, lamy, monteverde, pens, private reserve, reid's stationers

I received a gift certificate for my favorite local stationers, Reid’s Stationers. I had a wonderful two hours looking at everything, weighing my options. The staff is outstanding; Maureen inked up quite a few pens for me to try before deciding on a final one. And we had a great discussion about inks. I would love a part time job there but I fear bankruptcy would be the inevitable result.

I’ve read and seen so much about the beautiful Visconti line of fountain pens; and Maureen let me try a Visconti Rembrandt in blue with a medium nib. Beautiful pen and exquisite writing experience. Very smooth, no stops, great flow. But it was a little more than I wanted to spend, even though this particular line is the entrance point for the brand. The Visconti I fell in love with, the limited edition pen created for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, was definitely more than I would ever be able to spend on a pen. But what a beautiful pen it is. Even better when you are holding it in your hand. I didn’t have it inked up for me as I didn’t want my heart broken entirely.

I wanted to introduce some colour to my fountain pen collection, but not use up my entire gift certificate as I wanted to buy some ink as well. So Maureen introduced me to the MonteVerde Prima. And I fell in love with the Turquoise Swirl. Nice chrome touches, lightweight, super smooth writer with great flow.

I felt very swank walking out of the store with this bag!

The box.

It’s hard to tell from the pictures but the pen is translucent so when you hold it up to the light it glows. I’m totally in love with this pen; I think it’s beautiful, writes like a dream and retails in Canada for around $60. I do realize that is still quite a bit to spend on a pen but as it was a gift I indulged myself. The Visconti Rembrandt cost almost 3 times as much. The MonteVerde pens come with cartridges and a converter; the Viscontis do not come with any cartridges and you can purchase a converter for about $10. Both pens take standard international cartridges.

The base of the box can be removed to reveal a compartment for storing cartridges and the converter (when I took the picture the converter was still in the pen). I did not use the cartridges that came with the pen; I put in a Bleu Pervenche cartridge from J. Herbin as the turquoise colour is an exact match to the barrel.

All of my goodies: Rose Cyclamen and Orange Indien J. Herbin cartridges sitting on the MonteVerde box; Hazelnut Brown and Stone Grey cartridges from Graf von Faber-Castell in the cream boxes; Violet and Turquoise cartridges from Lamy; and Plum cartridges from Private Reserve.

Wonderful day and I didn’t feel one bit guilty because I was spending someone else’s money. And I still have a balance on the gift certificate!! I will be sure to keep you posted as to where that goes, in the new year.

Happy writing.