Scottsdale Pen and Knife 2015

Tags

bookmark, conklin word gauge, happy buddha, king philip purple demonstrator, maximillian emerald demonstrator, noodler's ahab, scottsdale pen and knife, visconti, waterman intense black

I had a great time during my recent trip to Phoenix, and one of the highlights was visiting Jay at Scottsdale Pen and Knife again. This was my second trip to his store. my first trip was in November of 2014 and you can read about it here and here.

Scottsdale Pen and Knife is a beautiful retail pen, ink and journal store in Scottsdale, Arizona. My 2014 blog post has lots of pictures of his store; this year I didn’t take any. It hasn’t changed at all in terms of layout; still as welcoming and enticing as ever!

I think Jay recognized us the moment we walked in. He’s an incredibly knowledgeable, warm and welcoming kind of guy and we soon fell into a great conversation about pens. My sister wanted a pretty pen and I talked about her purchase in this post, a Cross Botanica in the Green Daylily pattern.

My eye was caught by the Visconti display; you can’t help but notice those beautiful pens. Front and centre was the latest, The Crimson Tide in the Opera Masters series. Such a beautiful pen. Jay mentioned he could give me a good deal on it, like reducing the price by 20%. At $1095 US, even with that discount it still didn’t fit my budget! I didn’t ask to try it out, although later I thought I should have, because I rarely get the opportunity to test out such a beautiful pen. But then I thought do I really want to know that I love such a expensive pen? I decided I was better off not knowing.

We looked at almost every pen in the place, some of them twice! Parker Duofolds, Sonnets and Urbans, Viscontis, Monteverdes, Watermans, Cross, Platinum…. the list goes on and on. He has a really impressive collection, both new and vintage. I found out that the modern Watermans snap to post, which appeals to me. And he showed me a Conklin Word Gauge fountain pen in Blue Swirl, from the Conklin Heritage collection, and my heart just melted. I think I even said “This pen is going home with me!” I really wanted it but it just wasn’t in my budget. You can check it out for yourself here. Each pen has a large ink window that is etched with gradations of 1,000, 2,000, etc., which indicate the number of words that can be written with the remaining ink supply. Perfect for any writer isn’t it? It’s on my wish list, and of course Jay will ship internationally from his website. I was proud of myself for walking away from it this time. Maybe next year.

Here are some photos of the items I couldn’t resist.

I bought a bottle of Waterman Intense Black ink, a happy buddha pen stand, and two Noodler’s Ahab pens. Jay was very generous and gave me three copies of PenWorld magazine and a Visconti bookmark. Both my sister and I were overwhelmed by his generosity. But when we protested he simply smiled and said “It’s my store, I can do what I want!” Jay’s customer service is outstanding and his enthusiasm for writing instruments is infectious.

This happy fellow was in a display case with lots of other pen stands, some more ornate than others. This one appealed to me because of his size and the expression on his face. And pens sit perfectly in his little hands.

The Visconti bookmark caught my eye for the first time last year and when I mentioned it this year I never dreamed Jay would simply give one to each of us. The folded paper shows some of Visconti’s flagship pens.

Here’s a closeup of the bookmark. It says Visconti at the top, with 23 K Pd 950 Firenze at the bottom. So beautiful! They are for sale as well as being occasional gifts from the owner!

This is the first of two Noodler’s Ahabs I purchased. I had heard good things about them and wanted to try them. This is the Maximillian Emerald Demonstrator with a fine nib. I believe this model is the most popular of the Noodler’s line.

Here’s a closeup of the nib. Very smooth writer, not scratchy like a fine nib can be. They are advertised as flex nibs but I’m not into flex that much. I just enjoy writing with it normally.

The Ahabs have an interesting filling system called a slide piston mechanism. It’s basically a big plunger. You simply pump it while the nib is submerged in ink. Because the plunger is also hollow the pen has an enormous ink capacity. And because there is no metal it is an excellent candidate for turning into an eye dropper. I still mean to do that one of these days. Just need an o ring; I got some silicon grease when I bought my TWSBI Eco.

And here is the other Ahab I bought. This one is the King Philip Purple Demonstrator, with a medium nib. I think there may be an issue with the feed on this one; it’s sitting very low compared to the green one and I can’t seem to get very much ink to flow through it. I’ve contacted Jay to see what his advice might be. I fell in love with it’s beautiful colour. It’s a perfect match to my De Atramentis Heather Violet ink.

And finally here are two quick writing samples of the green Ahab, inked with Waterman’s Harmonious Green, and the Baoer Starwalker, inked with Waterman’s Intense Black. I didn’t buy the Baoer in the store of course, just the ink. Just like all the other Waterman inks, it is a good lubricant for the pen. And the black colour is intense indeed.

So that’s a rather quick run down of my visit to this wonderful Arizona pen store. My sister and I always have great adventures when we get together, and this day was no exception. From first-time pen buyers to seasoned collectors, Scottsdale Pen and Knife has something for everyone. Wonderful people selling beautiful pens. Be sure to drop in if you are ever in the area and tell them Heather says hello! 🙂

Cross Botanica in Green Daylily

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cross botanica, green daylily, scottsdale pen and knife, waterman inspired blue

My sister and I spent a wonderful day at Scottsdale Pen and Knife when I visited her in Phoenix earlier this month. It was our second visit to Jay’s amazing store; read about our first visit in 2014 here and here. I will write a full account of this year’s visit, but for today I want to focus on one of my sister’s purchases that day, a breathtaking Cross Botanica in the Green Daylily pattern. She graciously allowed me to photograph it and play with it for this post.

The finish on the Botanica pens is inspired by the floral patterns used in henna designs. According to the Cross website, the Daylily pattern has “a radiant green and ivory palette that sparkles with 23KT gold plate inlays and appointments.” My sister said she wanted a “pretty” pen and we both feel she chose the prettiest one in the store.

Here’s the box it came in.

And inside the box. The Cross warranty and information, as well as cartridges, are included underneath the pen bed.

Isn’t it gorgeous? So ornate and very feminine. My sister first spotted this beautiful pen at home in Calgary at Reid’s so it’s been calling to her for a while. Who could resist?

A close up of that beautiful finish.

It came with a medium nib, which was a change for her, but a happy one. My sister is very particular in her writing instruments (as am I) and really enjoys a snap cap as opposed to a screw cap. She likes her sections as smooth as possible and this model fits that criteria. The cap is what I call a “soft snap”: there is extra padding inside so that the cap gently slides into place when engaged. That padding protects the barrel when posted as well.

And here is the nib. Gold, to match the rest of the pen. Just stunning.

The section is black and slightly striated. So comfortable in the hand, although a tad thin for me. At it’s widest point the pen is only 10.9 mm wide. It is 155 mm long. The website doesn’t list the weight but it feels super light. The nib is unbelievably smooth. There’s just nothing like writing with a gold nib. We inked it up with Waterman Inspired Blue and it had great flow, with no skips or hard starts.

And here’s the writing sample. I think Inspired Blue was the perfect choice.

And here’s a shot of the pen posted. As I said before, the extra padding inside the cap would protect the barrel from posting but perhaps posting is not recommended, as you wouldn’t want anything marring that exceptional finish. My sister is not a poster and I promise I only posted it for the shot; 30 seconds tops, sis!

Beautiful and elegant, the Cross Botanica is an excellent writer and I would recommend it, especially as a gift for the pen lover in your life this Christmas. Thanks to Jay at Scottsdale Pen and Knife and to my sister, for lending it to me for this post. 🙂

Scottsdale Pen and Knife, Part 2

Tags

jetpens, magnifier, manuscript, monteverde artista clear demonstrator, monteverde ink, pilot plumix, platinum preppy, rhodia, rhodia orange leather notebook cover, scottsdale pen and knife

So here is Part 2 of my visit to Scottsdale Pen and Knife. For the first part, click here.

I had a lot of fun with these purchases at Scottsdale Pen and Knife. The Monteverde Artista was a complete impulse buy. I had seen a couple of reviews and I’ve been wanting a demonstrator model for a while now. And when I held it I had to have it.

The nib is different from my Prima pens; instead of a stylized mountain range we have curlicues. The section is smooth which looks great but I had extreme difficulty untwisting the section from the rest of the pen so I could ink it up. I had to ask David to help me.

I decided to go with Monteverde Green because it’s a beautiful colour. Here you can see the ink in the barrel.

Here’s a close up of the feed, which is normally clear.

It’s a wonderful writer and very pleasing in the hand. It started up almost instantly (not as instantly as the Metropolitan) and I didn’t mind the smooth section, although I found my fingers grasping above the section naturally, even though with other pens I grasp the section further down. Must be a reaction to the smoothness.

Moving on to the folding magnifier. I bought one of these on the advice of SBRE Brown in one of his videos. I wanted to be able to see the super small writing on some of the nibs. And it was a bargain – I think it was under $5.

The second pen I bought is the Pilot Plumix. I was intrigued by the shape of the pen. To me it looks like George Jetson would  be using this thing.

And here it is with the cap off. The cap unscrews and posts tightly. It has two fins on either side to prevent rolling off the edge of the desk.

Here’s the writing sample. You can see how it has more of a stub nib. It makes for elegant handwriting; I’ve signed all of the Christmas cards with this pen so far. It’s more palatable than my Manuscript pen; I love it and will probably get another one as they are not expensive. I believe I paid $10 but JetPens has them for $7.25. They come in black and blue as well. I put the blue cartridge in this purple one by mistake; I like my barrels to match my ink but I chose the blue cartridge instead of the purple one. The cartridges are the Pilot Mixable Colour. One of the big draws about this pen is the huge ink capacity the pen would have once it is made into an eyedropper, which is easily done as the pen is all plastic. Might have to make that conversion.

And lastly (for the pen purchases) I picked up two Plantinum Preppy pens. Everyone raves about what a great value they are (usually less than $5) so I’ve been wanting to try them for a while. I must say I was not as impressed as I wanted to be. I enjoy the colour matching going on, with the nib colour matching the clip/cap colour, but the ink seemed dry and I found the pen skipped a fair bit.

The ink colour is a great shade of green. They are also candidates for making into an eyedropper pen.

Here is the Rhodia Orange Leather Notebook Cover. I love my notebook covers and couldn’t resist this. The leather is very soft and smells wonderful. I chose the orange because it is just so striking.

The holder comes with a pad and a pen loop. The pen loop is super snug so I had to resort to clipping the pen onto it. I didn’t realize at first that the pad I chose had graph paper; I prefer lined. But no matter. It’s such beautiful paper it will get used!

So that’s it for my visit to Scottsdale Pen and Knife. I’m sure it won’t be my last!

Scottsdale Pen and Knife, Part 1

Tags

clairefontaine, conklin, mark twain, moleskine, montblanc, monteverde artista clear demonstrator, pilot plumix, platinum preppy, quo vadis, rhodia, scottsdale pen and knife, visconti, visconti declaration of independence, visconti divina, visconti traveling ink pot

When I was on holiday in Phoenix recently my sister and I visited Scottsdale Pen and Knife. We had a great visit with Jay Sadow, one of the shop owners, along with his wife Karen. Click here for their beautiful web site and here for their excellent blog. And don’t miss the video; it shows lots more of the store than my few photos.

Look at that huge pen in the window!

This is what you see as you walk in the door. It’s a small but mighty shop. Beautiful Rhodia spinner that took my eye.

Mr. Sadow had a fantastic variety of pens, accessories and notebooks, including a pricey Montblanc Writer’s Edition Imperial Dragon 3 Piece Pen Set. We saw the box, straight from the factory, unopened. He explained if one is going to invest in such an item, one wants to be sure no other hands have touched it. Imagine knowing you are the first to break the seal and expose the wonder of such beauties to the air, for the very first time. It’s that kind of sensitivity to pen collecting that makes Scottsdale Pen and Knife a very special place to shop.

This beautiful Visconti display case is to the immediate left when you enter. I couldn’t take my eyes off the Jacques de Molay pen advertised in the poster; I’ve never seen it before. So beautiful. And the Viscontis in the case weren’t bad to look at either! In the foreground you can see the beautiful blue and brown Divinas.

Oh the famous Declaration of Independence Fountain Pen. Such a breathtaking set. And on the top shelf you can see the Visconti Traveling Ink Pot – very tempting!

Here’s a better picture of the ink pot. And in behind you can see the excellent display of notebooks, from Moleskine to Quo Vadis to Clairefontaine.

And this is the view from the other side of the shop.

For a while we had the shop to ourselves and enjoyed a lively discussion with Mr. Sadow. I am so grateful that he let me take a few photos. (Any mistakes there might be as to the pens I describe in the cases or indeed in the text of this post are mine alone.) I also learned from him that Mark Twain used a Conklin and was in fact a spokesperson for the brand in 1898. I felt my resolve falter when I saw the Conklin Crescent Filler Chased Rose Gold fountain pen.

I prefer it to ten other fountain pens, because it carries its filler in its own stomach, and I can not mislay even by art or intention. Also, I prefer it because it is a profanity saver; it cannot roll off the desk.

I told him what I was looking for and how much I wanted to spend and he showed me a few beautiful examples. In the end I chose the Monteverde Artista Clear Demonstrator with a medium nib; a folding 10x magnifier (on the advice of SBRE Brown); a Pilot Plumix in purple; two Platinum Preppy pens, in blue and green; another box of Pilot Mixable Colour cartridges; and an orange leather Rhodia notebook holder with notebook included, graph style.

I will elaborate on each of these items in Part 2.

I loved all of the displays, especially the Visconti. A wonderful morning spent in the company of pens, ink, and paper, and wonderful people to share it with. If you are in Phoenix and in the Scottsdale area do drop in and say hello. You’ll be glad you did.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 12 pages

Tags

acupuncture, goulet pens, jetpens, sciatica, scottsdale pen and knife

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 26): 12

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 714

Total pages written in 2014: 659

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): 55

• 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 (see the blog post here, and I still cannot find that pesky Jotbook)
• 1 Monteverde Prima in green from Goulet Pens on Nov 22
• 13 (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

Some topics covered this week:

• I had my second acupuncture treatment this week, which introduced B12 shots, which are key to nerve regeneration, useful in the treatment of sciatica. The acupuncture needles and the B12 shot are inserted in my posterior, making this one of the more painful treatments I’ve tried. But the results are solid and I will continue them.
• Loads of notes about my trip to Phoenix, which, like my trip to Vancouver Island earlier this year, is essentially private and will not be shared on here. But I will share lots of photos of my Goulet Pens and JetPens orders, as well as the glorious morning my sister and I spent at Scottsdale Pen and Knife. Watch for future blog posts.

Until next week, happy writing!

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!