Pilot Iroshizuku Inks - "Made in Japan"!

 PS. Look at the sheen on that Yama-Budo. (And it's not often I get to say something like that!).

My Bexley Jitterbugs!

Just a ropey old shot of the complete collection. Cute aren't they :-)

Pen Update...

(Ooops, that last scan was a bit rubbish - the last line reads something like "Congratulations if you actually read all this self-indulgent guff"!)

Best Regards,
Inky Mike.

A 'Flock' of Pelikans?

Is that the collective term? Yeah well, whatever. Alternative titles for this post would be;

• Pen Porn - Pictures of large members (of the Pelikan M1000 family).
• Hey, I Got My M1005 Demonstrator Back from the Menders!
• Mike Shows Off His Pelikan Collection.
• Mike Just Shows Off*.
• Etc

* This is probably the one - it's in my nature...

So ok, the story is that I recently bought an M1005 Demonstrator off eBay and the nib didn't work too well so I thought "Hey, I can adjust that. I mean, how hard can that be?". The following picture shows how hard. Although the focus was a bit out you can still easily tell the 'adjusted' nib from the new one.

Nib adjustment can be fun - NOT!

Anyway, the Demonstrator is back on my writing desk, and because while it was away I bought a regular M1000 body (in black - from Richards Pens) to hold the 3B nib I'm always banging on about, AND a 3-pen case (from The Writing Desk from whom I also bought my first M1000 - a stripy green one - originally with a Medium nib, but now with a rather scratchy but interesting OB nib, but I digress...), I thought why not do a gratuitous photo shoot of all three so anyone who's not seen them before can have a good look? Well, and just to show off of course...(actually, I really love these pens, and feel very privileged to have them, and, with all three in one case I do go a bit gooey when I get them out to use - sad, but true).

So, the photos (hope they're ok - getting the lighting, composition, and everything right is very hard with small shiny objects, especially in the UK in Winter...);

The three-pen case, above, comes in all black or black and green

- I preferred the black and green as one of the pens is so coloured.

It is made from a (very) soft leather with internal dividers so the pens fit snugly but safely without getting scratched or anything.

Pens clip over the edge of the case (or tuck inside if you want).

Oooh, look at those beautiful cap ends :-)

 And even more oooh now they're out in the open...

I can't take any more!

And a close-up of the nibs...phwoarrrr!

Ok, time to cool it down a bit... And write something...albeit a bit hastily...

Points of note;

• The OB nib shows a bit of line-width variation but not as much as I had hoped. I almost wish I'd got the OBB... Never mind, maybe if I practice with it I'll be able to put some character into writing with it. Lovely colour though! (I believe Pelikan's 'Edelstein' Tourmaline was ink of the year in 2012?).
• The Fine nib on the Demonstrator (yes, the NEW nib!) looks a bit intermittent, but, like the OB nib, it's still new and will need a bit of use before it settles down (or until I get used to it anyway - a bad workman always blames...).
• The 3B nib on the black pen with the black ink is an awesome combination in my opinion. It's like the fountain pen equivalent of a fat black marker pen, and I use it for signatures and addressing letters and parcels.

Ok, enough indulgence already. Time for tea!

Caran d'Ache Bookmark (&Pen).

Musical Ink...

Just in case people thought that I wasn't eccentric enough, I have just ordered one of Diamine's new boxed sets of inks, with colours inspired(?) by famous composers!

I heard about them on another blog (Gourmet Pens) and couldn't resist. Expect a demonstration after Christmas... :-)

Caran d'Ache Varius Carbon 3000

Well, what a mouthful that is, and I forget the meaning of the '3000' bit. Anyway, here's the review (with none of those profuse apologies I put in the last one - I resized everything to fit this time, though I still managed to lose the last line off the scanned pages - doh!), preceded by a picture, natch...

(unscanned text above reads, "I believe, with just a layer of CF weave wrapped around it,").

(unscanned text above reads, "(which is why I've decided to use it as my No.1 pen at work)").

Excuse the arrangement. It's not art, it's just what I had to do to stop the pen rolling with the nib upside down.

PS. Forgot to mention that the ink is Pelikan Edelstein Jade...

Finally! The Visconti Opera Crystal Demonstrator.

Firstly, the apologies;

1. Sorry it's taken so long.
2. Sorry for the handwriting (as ever).
3. Sorry that the words and photos aren't coordinated better.
4. Sorry for the quality of the photos.
5. Sorry for the quality of the scanned pages (I'm getting to grips with a new 'hand-held' scanner).
6. Sorry for all the 'sorry's :-)

Ok, here goes...first, some piccies (do you like the background I used?)...

Oops, forgot to take this photo before I filled it up...

The cap, showing that hefty clip (by the way - Merry Christmas!).
(You can just see the spring that makes the bayonet cap system work).

Magnetically attached cap trim.

Note tip of nib turned up - Makes writing at all angles easy.

Metal of nib goes all the way around!

Hopefully this explains some of the stuff I've been waffling on about!

 

Cap engraving.

Only 1000 have been made (I was
very lucky to get hold of one).

That 'Mosquito' filling device (that's not a device to fill mosquitos, you understand).

You just stick the nib in the filler...

...the right way up, mind! And hey, no inky fingers to fret about :-)

Pelikan M1005 Demonstrator, Take/3

This post should really be entitled "Do NOT Adjust Your Nib!!".

Having got the Demonstrator's Nib working with a change of ink I then went and spoiled everything.

I switched from the Monte Verde Purple to Caran D'Ache Amazon and found that the nib tines started 'ticking'.

This often happens with a new nib so, since I preferred the Caran ink, I decided to adjust the nib like I'd read about on the 'net.

All I had to do was ease the tines apart in small increments, testing the nib regularly as I went... So what happened? On the second 'easing' I bent one of the tines way too far and the nib stopped working.

I then spent ages trying to bend it back, but that's a lot harder thing to do, and unfortunately it bent in a different place, so I ended up with one kinked tine and one straight one.

The nib actually worked quite well, no ticking and good ink flow once started. But it needed a bit of encouragement to start flowing after a minute's pause in writing, and above all it looked horrible.

So I decided to send it back to Germany for a new nib. It's probably going to cost me in excess of £150.

So maybe nib adjustment is best left to the professionals...

Visconti Crystal Demonstrator Limited Edition Fountain Pen

Coming soon!

Update: Soon now means Friday 7th December - looking forward to that :-)

Pelikan M1005 Demonstrator, Take/2.

These fountain pen nibs are fickle blighters...

Handwriting: 4/10. Must Try Harder!!

Teacher gave me a right ticking off when I handed my homework in yesterday. But 4/10!? I'd say that that's a bit harsh.

Still, that's their job, and it's ours to rise to the occasion and do better. So, since I've now finished my chores for the day ("what chores?". "Oh, thanks very much, I'll have a pint of cider please!" - sorry, poor joke, couldn't resist), I'll submit my next effort, herewith (sorry Miss, I got a wonky scanner...);