'TIS THE SEASON...

Kaweco Arts Sport Amber, Visconti Cosmo, Omas Bologna

A FEW OF MY PENS IMMORTALISED THANKS TO THE ARTISTRY OF T.J. GARVIE - PHOTOGRAPHER

T.J. Garvie is a fabulous work colleague who has recently taken up photography in a wonderful way.

When I saw some of her photos casually saying "look at me!" on her iPad, I asked if she might be interested in taking some pen pics.  I am so grateful that she took up the challenge because what followed is a photographic, stylographic bonanza!

I gave T J a sample lot of my pens to play with:

• A Montblanc Hemingway

• 4 Omas Paragons of various vintage and type (of course)

• 1 Omas 360 (Lucens)
• 2 Edisons (a Collier and an extended Mina)
• A Visconti (Rebecca Moss) Chianti Rosso
• A Waterman Edison
• A Henry Simpole Overlay Conway Stewart

You can judge the results for yourself!

Just click Pen Pics Extraordinaire  and let me know what you think.

Leigh Reyes - and pens for aid

I recently bid and won a number of auctions on Leigh Reyes site (a link is on the right of this blog) for Pens for Aid - raising money for the Philippines Red Cross efforts following the recent devastating typhoon. Leigh's efforts have raised over $5,500 US at time of writing this - a brilliant effort!

So you can imagine my surprise on receiving (even before my auction items) an envelope chock-a-block with home-made goodies.

It began with the letter:

Leigh's penmanship is already legendary; so just the letter was more than enough. But it included this:

along with refills for my Midori (notebook), a Japanese notebook, a Fino leather single pen pencase, a much loved Parker lucky curve Lady Duofold and a Moleskine envelope filled with personal touches like this:

(it's been rotated vertically here - sorry about that!)

Such a great cause; such a talented woman; and such a generous and creative soul!

Thank you on behalf of us all. 

Lamy Safari or Hero Summer Color - a review

Hello again and welcome. It has been some time since my last blog - been busy. But I'm here again and introducing you to a comparison review between the Lamy Safari and its Chinese clone the Hero 359E or "Summer Colour" (or is that Summer Safari? - where's Elvis when you need him?). The ratings in this review are of the Hero only. There are enough Lamy Safari reviews!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I have always loved the simplicity and colours of the Safaris.

I still do.

The people at Hero clearly do too; because, different colour aside, the Hero Summer is the Lamy Safari you have when you're not having a Lamy Safari!

It comes in a cute plastic container - very sturdy. First impression? Gee, it's a purple Safari!

8/10

APPEARANCE AND DESIGN

When it comes to appearance and design there is not really a lot to separate these two pens. I have always liked the look of the Safari so naturally enough I like the look of both pens.

The key differences between the pens are small.

The top of the cap on the Safari is a cross; on the Hero it's a flower - cute.

Both have the same ink window in the same place (although the 359E seems a tiny bit wider); and the same clip.

On the body, the 359E has one flat side and the remainder is circular. The Safari has two flat sides and two circular. Not a great word picture so here is a drawing:

I know, I could have put a picture in here - but where's the fun in that!

The section under the nib (where most are likely to hold the pen) is the same shape for both pens.

For a reason I can't quite seem to fathom, the Safari seems to be more sturdy than the 359E. It might be the colour - the purple is a little .... shallow? The 359E seems a little more "plasticky" in my hands - but only when I'm unscrewing the body from the lid. When writing, this isn't noticeable at all.

6/10

WEIGHT AND DIMENSION

I don't have a scale precise enough to tell the difference. With a pen in each hand, there is no discernible weight difference.

Both are the same length. The caps are the same height and width; but there is a difference:

If you like to post your pen, both pens post; but, due to the 359E having only one flat side, it doesn't post very deeply making the 359E a longer pen posted, and a touch over balanced. The Safari wins on this front.

6/10

NIB AND PERFORMANCE

They look the same; but this is a hard comparison as I don't have a Medium Safari nib, only fines and italics.

Writing unposted with both pens they feel comfortable. The 359E nib is smooth out of the box, consistent and easy to write with. It feels great, well-balanced and simple. There is no flex in either nib; they just deliver what they promise: a clean, simple and comfortable write.

That has been my same experience with the Safaris. Once again, the posting (and I like to post) is the only point of separation as the balance is better with the deeper posting Safari.

7/10

FILLING SYSTEM

Both pens are Cartridge converter. There are minor cosmetic differences between the two converters as you can see; but both work fine and fill fine. Simple, no-nonsense filling here.

Neither pen is expensive, so my preferred piston fill is not really missed.

One other minor difference is the cut-outs in the screw section. The Lamy has both an arch shape (see pic above) and a Mosque shape and the Hero just the arch (maybe Lamy is being more ecumenical?) Just an observation.

7/10

COST AND VALUE

The cost of a Lamy Safari online (retail remains an expensive option in Australia) is around AU$18-22 (on current conversion rates, that's about US$17-21).

I bought this Hero 359E from an ebay seller for US$13.49 including postage and a bag of 6 blue "359" cartridges (that's about AU$14.32).

Both pens are good value for money.

7/10

CONCLUSION

The Hero 359E is a good value copy of a good value pen. It writes well out of the box, and delivers what it promises for very little outlay.

Only two things place it behind the Safari:

1. The shallow posting of the cap
2. The inexplicable feeling of lesser quality in the plastic (am I a pen snob? - I don't think so).

FINAL RATING:  68/100

0-50 = to be avoided at all costs
51-60 = if it’s cheap and you don’t really care….
61-70 = a nice pen with the makings of something better (just don’t spend too much)
71-80 = A better than average pen with just a few flaws that stop it from being really good
81-90 = A good pen, a keeper only a few minor places off being great
91-95 = Now THIS is a pen! If you can get it: keep it, love it, cherish it, and keep it away from the dog
96-100 = Grail

iPhone Thursday

A Little collection of iPhone snaps for the day including:

My Birthday...

My Birthday present:

                          

A random thought:

and a pen (of course!)

(Visconti, Vino Chianti)

 It arrived today. The Montblanc Heritage 1912 (medium nib) and I couldn't be happier!

I revealed it slowly on my Instagram page; so here it comes again...

Starting slowly, you see the bottom of the pen - black resin gleaming in the tape roll.

   

Now, you can better see the end of the pen, and the rotating knob.

Gently pull out the knob and it becomes a piston filler (cool!) Fills very easily.

Here, attached to my tie, you see the top just capturing the light above (love this shot).

... and here:  the top (oh dear! where did the nib go?)

a few turns of the knob and hey presto:

Out pops the nib!

and isn't this a beautiful pen?

Based on the original MB Safety pen, this simple design clearly stands the tests of tine (oops, time)

The Heritage 1912 is a heavy pen, but the weight works well with the pen all up. It doesn't post, which is a bit annoying, but feels just wonderful in the hand and on the paper.

The nib is a medium, and is butter smooth (and I'm not such an MB nib fan).

Finally, a big thanks to Appelboom pens for their great service (and the bottle of Balzac ink) - great service from so far away!!! http://www.appelboompennen.nl/

Donate to Kids with Cancer

My Daughter has  decided to die her hair pink to raise money for Kids with Cancer!

Please help me to get her hair back to normal by sponsoring her effort through this link :)

http://www.everydayhero.com.au/allegra_gold

Thankyou.

Here is her path to pink:

and many thanks to this salon who donated the colour for the cause!!!!!

Visconti Pininfarina Part 2

The pen is back from Bryant and now writing beautifully. A full review to follow. This is such an amazing looking pen!

Couple of other pens here. From top: Edison Bulb filler with Binder flex nib (review to follow); Montegrappa Symphony, Nakaya Decapod Twist, Tibaldi Modello 50; Radius Superior in Green Arco.

The Desk (xi) : nice pens (last desk shots)

The final Desk post (pen cases and cabinets to come!)

Not much to say here, just caption the pics:

The Pen box. From left - A Dunhill (I believe these were made by MB); A Mont Blanc Boheme retractable; MontBlanc Hemingway (my first 'signifcant' pen); a MontBlanc 149; A MontBlanc Writers Edition (Kafka); a Simpole Conway Stewart (great IM nib, lovely pen - Thanks Chris); 4 Waterman Edison (1 stub, 1 fine, the other two are a pencil and ballpoint).

Here it is with the top up (and an Ollo lens on my iPhone):

and here is the second drawer:

From Left: 3 Noodler Ahabs and a Noodlers flex. This is followed by a Franklin Cristof 27 (lovely pen); a Parker modern Duofold; a Bexley Mandarin; and 4 Edisons: an Extended Mira (bulb filler), an LE Piston called the Brockton, a Collier bulb filler (great colour); and an Ebonite Pearl.

The Desk (part x) ...are you seriously still reading?

Yes, this is the tenth!!!! blog of the desk. But now I'm moving back to a few pens to make it interesting:

So here, above the computer on a former fireplace ledge you can see the side of a box for a Montegrappa Cigar which looks like this:

Behind that box is the box for an Omas Gallileo Galliilei LE

which looks like this:

Next to these boxes is a Rhodia orange pad behind an Art Deco Charles Rennie Mackintosh Pewter flask, next to the box of a Delta Isaac Newton LE which looks like this:

Underneath the Isaac Newton is the box (and pen) of a Visconti Mazzi Dragon (LE) which looks like this:

This is next to a Moleskine with a Pen Quiver on the spine.

Moving to the left we see this:

A photo of my Blossom, three bottles of ink: Noodlers St Patty's Eire (a very bright green for which I have no use at all - more like a highlighter colour), Diamine Blue Sapphire (my go-to blue) and Pilot Black. 

And finally, for this page, under the inks is an Aurora red-tipped Demonstrator that I don't have a pic of (and I'm writing this too late at night to post one unless you pester me) but this is a clear pen with a celluloid piece at either extremity - very nice.

So here ends Desk blog #10 and there is still one more to come!

Until next tine....