Be Kind to your pens! Waterman Fountain

I did some work on a Waterman recently and was given permission to shoot some before and afters for you. This one is obviously the before shot. Looks like have we a few years of ink leakage.

Another shot if the crust. Yes, that actually looks fuzzy. Click for bigger views. This might have been dipped in Mint Jelly at one point and then buried underground for a while. (kidding) I know everyone cleans their pens before they ink another one right? (right.)

A simple tear down, soaking, ultrasonic cleaner and some elbow grease was all it took. Here we are all cleaned up, shiny and back in the game. I still need to do some polishing on the body, but the nib looks like the day it came out of the factory. This pen came in a set with a ballpoint and I hope I added a few more years to their life.

Back in the case and back to the owner. This is sort of why I love working on fountain pens. This pen went from sitting in a drawer possibly forgotten about...to being a great writing instrument that can be appreciated. Have a great weekend everyone.

Sakura Tiara Gel Pen

If I ever need a fat bold pen that writes a silvery, glittery line that sparkles so much it could be seen from space.... this is the one I would use....no questions asked. I am not sure if I picked this one up at JetPens or somewhere else but I am not ashamed to say that I own it. (for the most part.)

I do not do scrap booking, or cute crafty stuff which is where I think this pen gets used the most. I would love to take notes or use the Tiara in meetings...its just that I think I would get called out on it. "Based on the Quarterly numbers....whoa, hey, who brought the Sparkly pen?"

So, this pen sits in my office mostly unused. I hope the day will come when I will need this pen for something. Like a suit of armor, or a Rocketship maybe. Overall, it's a great Japanese pen that has a definite purpose. (I just have not found it yet) Good Pen.

Pilot Dr. Grip (next patient please)

Sometimes I try to force my brain and my hand into liking a certain pen. My whole body tried to get me to like this pen based on looks alone. It failed. I bought this with the best intentions loving the way that it looks but was left with an overall "meh" feeling after writing a bit with it.

If my G-2 refills fit in here we would have something to talk about... unfortunately the good Dr. apparently has a micro ink supply. My biggest issue with this pen is that the grip spins around too much on the body and it just gaps a bit where I hold the pen. Sorry if I seem picky.

Is this a lot of parts or what? Yes it is... and I did not even touch the top clicky part with the clip assembly (Sorry to get all technical on you but my engineers are on vacation this week.)

If you have trained your brain to appreciate solid ink flow and consistent lines, anything else feels sub-par. I have said it before, but it would be hard to drive a 1986 Buick Lasaber when you have a 1970 Triumph TR6 sitting in the garage. (Dual carbs and British racing green please, something like this would do)

It does like the camera doesn't it? It's a pretty pen but unfortunately, it gets little use on this desk. There are plenty of Pilot pens that I love and that I rave about but this one missed the mark for me. So---what's your "meh" pen?

Have a great day everyone.

J. Herbin Vert Olive inky thoughts.

There's been quite a few reviews lately for the J. Herbin inks and this color in particular. I will not steal any thunder, but Inkophile did a very well documented follow up on the ink here last week and Biffy Beans has a great one as well. The kind people over at Exaclair sent this one over for me to try out.

Speaking of Exaclair, it is confirmed, my Target also has the Rhodia notebooks. That is sweet! Back to the ink...

This ink could be one of my favorite greens out there. My ink reviews boil down to how well it flows in my pens and if I like the color on the page at the end of the day. That's it. At this level...if I get bleeding, shading and all that (to me) they are just by-products of different pen/paper combinations. I have ink that I love in some pens, but that hate in others. I have not found one that I do not like this ink in.

I took some liberties with the olive on the bottle for a quick little drawing. (dotting actually, click for better picture.) I also have kept my Waterman 92 filled with this for the past week and they are very happy together (along with a Sheaffer Lifetime.)

Here's the color, not associated with any paper. The J. Herbin line has really been a good ink for me. I am not afraid to put it in any of my pens and it has been very consistent. Here's a link to the official color page. http://www.jherbin.com/pdf/Herbin_Fountain_Pen_Ink_Swatches.pdf Oh, by the way, J. Herbin has been making inks for over 300 years, that's alot of time to get it right and they do.

The New Stainless Steel Sharpie Review

So--- a Sharpie rep saw my Bic post last week and was kind enough to send over a new Stainless Steel Sharpie for review. I have been dying to get my hands on one of these and was not disappointed when I opened the FedEx. I stared at it for a while--- giggled and then went on a Sharpie spree like you read about.

The 3 parts, broken down for you.

These are the magic words I have been waiting for "Sharpie refill." (click to enlarge) If someone ran into the room and yelled "free beer" and then someone else ran in and yelled "Sharpie Refills" I seriously might have to take some time to work that one out in my head. This is the refill portion that unscrews from the body of the pen. Even the refill feels very substantial.

I do not pack a lunch but I wanted to get a writing sample in. You still get the great writing point that you would expect out of a regular Sharpie but in a convenient STAINLESS STEEL case! (I sort of yelled that) I wish more of my favorite pens would protect themselves better and still look this good.

And here we are sitting beside the little brother. The little brother is angry because he does not have a STAINLESS STEEL case! (sorry, last time for all caps.) Office Supply Geek did a great detailed review of these and a Sharpie tech guy left a comment saying these weigh about twice what a normal Sharpie weighs. Nice!

You can buy the new Sharpies here from Amazon now if you want to give them a try but I am keeping this one. Have a great Monday everyone.