Friday, October 31, 2008

Not a scary Pen


Instead of the Parker 51, (Sorry Fountain Pen Network People) I went searching through for a Frankenpen or something theme-like for Halloween. An Orangish Brown Brush pen was all I could come up with. (I blame the sudden spike in sugar consumption yesterday in a pre Halloween day candy raid, It was ugly.)



This brush pen is called the "Splash!!" Made in Japan, I have a green one also, but cannot find a lot about it on the net, so again, I might be screwed when looking for more of these. Good pens! I don't use them a ton, I love the concept of a brush pen, but do always have the need to use them. Have a good Holiday and weekend everyone. Thanks again for the great comments and emails, I appreciate it.
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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Jetpens Arrived Today!



Jetpens was nice enough to send me some pens to review and they arrived about 5 minutes ago! Expect a full review coming soon. Uni-ball Signo 0.28 Sky blue and a 0.38 Mandarin Orange. Have to love it!
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Don't look at me, I am just like all the other G-2's



I may look exactly like all the other .7 G2's out there in the world, those fat pens that leave thick smeary gel all over every ones papers. To me, a .7 pen is the devil. Too gloppy, unrefined, like taking a 2 by 4 to a street fight. It's just not cool anymore. Back in the day, you could get away with it. Not anymore.

BUT... looking carefully at the clip, you will see a little 0.38 emblem. Kinda like pulling up beside a Mustang and revving your engine to race it and then seeing a Cobra logo on the side of the car. Uh Oh. (last analogy for the day I promise.) I bought these in a 5 pack at Staples for about 6 Dollars and am confident it was the best purchase I have made in a while. These pens just flat out write well and as much as I mentioned I was sick of the .5's, these make up for it.

Apparently, someone has TOO many pens because he is giving them away now. Here's the link the giveaway. Pen Addict He also recently fired off a box to Pen for Kids which is incredible stuff. Go check out their site if you have not been there yet. Great program and I am glad the Pen Addict turned me on to them.

I shot another Parker 51 last night, I think I may go over that one tomorrow. Cheers.
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

"Swan Self Filling Pen"


Click for better views. The Mabie Todd. Of all the pens I own, this one seems the most interesting. I know it's not the most expensive, or the sexiest, but it has the feel and look of a classic fountain pen. Black, with gold accompaniments, not too flashy, and a broad nib that begs to be written with. I should get this one restored. I know the filling system has long since given up the ghost and I would love to fill this thing up and go to town, but a part of me wants to keep it exactly how it is.


Every now and then I will give this one a dip and write a check, or sign an important paper, but for the most part it just sits in my pen box and looks classy. I don't want to be the guy with the car in the garage that he never uses, but sometimes a little mystery is better that having everything explained to you.
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The cheeseburger of pens.


Sorry for the later post today. I really did not want to buy into the hype around the Sharpie Pens. I thought it was a great idea that Sharpie made these, but I always loved Sharpies for being Sharpies! Sharpies equal- Permanent, thick and 10,000 of them in my drawer when I need them, but not as a writing pen. I caved though and picked up two at Staples or somewhere and I have to admit, I sort of am a fan.


It's not the first pen I will always grab when I need one, but if I happen pick it up when when I am writing, I don't throw it back. I have not found the niche for it yet. It's not for 3x5's... and I do not love it on moleskins...and writes a little thick for my to do list... I am not sure what it does well, but it seems to sort of just...well, it just goes. It's kind of like a cheeseburger from a fast food place, you don't really think you NEED it, but you still get one every now and then, because, really, what's the harm?
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Monday, October 27, 2008

I really wanted to like it.


Click for a better view. This is the first of my purchases from my shopping spree at Maido. I bought this mostly because I have seen a few reviews and hacks (ink cartridge refills on Instructables), and I felt the need to try it. The Pilot Petit 1. Petit is the French work for small. So just to get the record straight, It's a Japanese pen, with a French name, sold in the US. Okay...

The good and the bad, It lays down some serious black ink. I love the darkness and ink quality. Unfortunately, I am not a huge fan of the pen overall. The nib is pretty scratchy even on good paper and the cap keeps unposting when I write. Which can be bad when the pen alone is only 3.5 inches long and suddenly the pen you were writing with is now rolling across the paper towards you. I guess I like the idea of this pen. Small, fountain, easy to drag around, but my Preppy was less expensive and a much better writer. I will keep using it for a bit to see if anything changes, but for now it's just "meh."
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Moonman AKA The Camry

OK,  Camry MIGHT be a little bit of a stretch comparison.   Low cost and will run forever.  The Moonman M2 is a super fun Chines...