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! 🙂

One Night in Portland

Tags

aurora, cartier, cross, edelberg, filofax, harmonious green, j. herbin, leuchtturm, lierre sauvage, montblanc, oberon, online switch, paradise blue, paradise pen company, portland, rhodia, schmidt converter, scully, vineyard burgundy, vintage trouble, visconti, waterman, wonder ballroom

As a birthday present to ourselves David and I flew to Portland, Oregon to catch Vintage Trouble at the Wonder Ballroom last week. It was a magical 24 hours which included staying at a fabulous hotel (the Crowne Plaza Portland), grooving with the band (we got to meet them!), eating amazing food and shopping. We crammed three days into 24 hours and just one of the many highlights was visiting the Paradise Pen Company, a retailer of “high-end writing instruments offering fountain pens, leather goods and accessories.” And when they say high-end they aren’t kidding.

The Paradise Pen Company is located in Pioneer Place, alongside Kate Spade, J Crew, Louis Vuitton and Michael Kors, just to name a few. Very swish. According to their website they have 15 locations across the US. We had great fun looking at the Montblanc, Aurora and Visconti offerings, as well as Cartier and Edelberg. I had never seen a Cartier and their fountain pens do not disappoint. But like their jewelry they have a considerable price tag ($1,000+). Lovely to dream and drool over though.

They had an impressive selection of notebooks and planners, such as Filofax and Rhodia. I got to fondle an Oberon journal for the first time and I’m so glad I did, because I have been considering purchasing one. Although the leather craftsmanship is breathtaking I am not a fan of the paper in their notebooks. And they don’t lie flat, which is disappointing. But at least now I know.

I was introduced to Scully notebooks and promptly fell in love. This beautiful “Old Atlas” journal has wonderful paper and lies flat as a pancake. But the price ($113) was just a little beyond my budget (especially when you consider the exchange rate these days). At least I am familiar with the product and can order one from their online site if I save my pennies.

Stephanie was very friendly and interested in our very quick trip and the reason for it. She was very touched that we took some time to visit their store in our whirlwind tour of her city. I had done some research on their site before arriving so I had an idea of what I wanted.

The pen is from ONLINE and is the Switch model. Designed for students, it has a medium fountain pen nib at one end and a stylus at the other. I thought it a wonderful metaphor for modern but elegant note-taking: casually surfing the net, finding something interesting, flipping your stylus round and writing it in your notebook with a fountain pen. And it was on sale! So I picked a green one. And amazingly Stephanie offered me a converter to go in it, a Schmidt. I did not know that brand of converter fit the ONLINE pens so that was a real bonus. I also found a Cross notebook in a size I have never seen before, so I chose one to match the pen. And finally I chose two bottles of ink: Vineyard Burgundy and Paradise Blue, made exclusively for the Paradise Pen Company.

It occurs to me now I should have purchased a bottle of green ink to match the pen but I thought two bottles were enough. I really love these two colours. I also enjoyed the label although Stephanie told me they had a new label, with some new colours just released (Vineyard Burgundy being one of them). I like the old label, shown below on the blue bottle; what do you think?

I haven’t inked up any pens with these inks yet. As for the new green ONLINE Switch I inked it up with Waterman Harmonious Green. I was thinking J. Herbin’s Lierre Sauvage would be nice too.

Here’s a writing sample on Leuchtturm paper. The slight shading in the ink comes through. The nib is a little hooked, much like my Waterman Junior, and is very smooth. The Switch is part of the Youth line and indeed, it feels very sturdy and puts down a solid line. It wrote right out of the sleeve with no skips or hard starts. It’s a fun pen to use.

I’m very happy with my purchases and will write more about the trip in my Journal Writing Wednesday post. Thank you so much Stephanie and the Paradise Pen Company for a wonderful experience. Check out their online shop and if you are in Portland include this little shop in your travels; you won’t be disappointed.

 

Monday Miscellany

Tags

bestfountainpen.com, business insider, fountain pen geeks, inkluminati, montblanc, montblanc boheme bleu, visconti, yard-o-led

Hector Padilla has created a wonderful site called inkluminati, where he showcases his photography and beautiful handwriting. He is a fellow Fountain Pen Geek. He has some amazing stationery that I’m sure will be for sale, once it’s in stock again!

This is a fascinating article from Business Insider on how to become a better writer. I totally agree with writing conversationally and having someone else (an editor like me!) read it to see if it makes sense. And I must admit I was thrilled when the author used the word “orient” correctly, instead of the oft-used “orientate” {shudder}. Worth reading, which coincidentally is one of the ways to become a better writer.

And finally, I fell in love today. I’ve never been much of a fan of Montblanc pens. I’ve never actually used one but I’ve always been put off by the price and the appearance. If I’m going to spend $500+, Visconti or Yard-o-Led appeal to me more than the Montblanc. Well until today that is. Jennifer over at bestfountainpen.com reviewed the Montblanc Boheme Bleu and it’s just the neatest thing ever. It’s gorgeous looking, it’s made for a smaller hand and it has the coolest filling mechanism ever. It does not have an attractive price; I figured I would have to work for 3.5 years for World Mail Panel to make the current purchase price on Amazon.com: $695.00. And that doesn’t take into account the exchange rate. Sigh. And it only takes cartridges; I would miss my beloved bottled ink. But take a look and end your day gazing at something beautiful. 🙂

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.

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: 11 + 5 pages

Tags

ebay, john green, the fault in our stars, visconti

Journal I’m currently using: finished the Navy Blue Cross Journal and moved into the Embossed Italian Journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (May 14): 16 (11 in the Cross and 5 in the Italian)

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 328

Total pages written in 2014: 273

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze (Jan 1/14): 5

• 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!)

Topics covered since last update:

• David’s job is going really well; happy happy!
• Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red – got an email from Goldspot.com advertising their weekly special: the Visconti set previously mentioned. I fell in love as I’ve wanted a Rembrandt since I tried one out last November. I never thought it was a possibility because of the price ($200 for just the pen; converter is extra). So when I saw this set with a pen, two italic nibs, a bottle of ink, and blotting paper for $120 I had to get it. And then David decided it was my anniversary present so sheer loveliness all round! (Note: this arrived today and I have to send parts of it back – wonderful customer service people will send me the correct stuff – full disclosure next week because I haven’t had a chance to write it all up in my journal yet!)
• Got an absolute surprise in the mail from my amazing pen pal Mel in Australia – a book! And a letter enclosed too! I was very touched because I happened to mention I wanted to read John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars in my last letter. Mel bought it, read it and sent it to me! So wonderful and totally unexpected.
• Experiencing planner fail again, I’m ashamed to admit. Can’t pinpoint why. Further updates in a future blog post.
• Spent a fun morning with David at Long and McQuade watching him try out guitars. He wants to buy a new one but he wants to fall in love – and he just didn’t that morning. So the search continues.
• Barbecue at our friends. Had a great time playing an 80s trivia game.
• Considering another pen wrap for those times I take my new Visconti out for a walk. Ebay has a lot to choose from.

Until next week, happy writing!

Italian Journal Ink Test and a Surprise!

Tags

embossed italian journal, ink test, visconti

Last night I published a post about my new Embossed Italian Journal, and I mentioned doing an Ink Test. And here it is.

Most of the inks performed just fine, with the exception of the wetter inks: J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage and Akkerman Koninginne-Nach Blauw showed some feathering.

You can see it especially in Manuscript Calligraphy and ONLINE.

Actually in this picture you can see a little bit of feathering in the Quink and the Lamy ink.

Some ghosting but no bleedthrough, which is great.

And now for the surprise. I have broken my self-imposed spending freeze once again and ordered this: a Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red. I ordered it last week. Well to be fair it is an anniversary present from my husband. I received an email from Goldspot about this offer and couldn’t believe the price. It shipped on Friday past so I will post about it as soon as it arrives! Check them out on Goldspot and watch Dr. Brown’s excellent video here.