Pen Poem

A fountain pen that's filled with ink
Exudes a style and feel I think
Is better than a ballpoint pen
Which has its uses but again
I much prefer the flow and flex
That celluloid and nib reflects

The Desk (Part 8) - The Last Drawer (sort of)

Here we come to the last of the "Main" drawers on my desk: the ominously titled 'Miscellaneous' drawer.

This is the drawer where I place the bits and piecey pens that don't really fit anywhere else.

From top:

• Stipula Passporto (Ebonite) (LE #99/220)
• Fine Omas nib and feed (in container)
• Stipula Passporto (Blue)
• Stipula Passporto (Black)
• Columbus Extra Mechanical pencil (part of a set) in green celluloid
• Tswibi 530
• Pelikan Twist 
• Tswibi 540 (with Pendleton fab nib)
• Noodlers Flex pens (blue and red)
• Rotering Skynn
• Another Twsibi nib

Pen Poem

Who is that woman with the fountain pen?
I can see she has style, it's a piston and when
She puts nib onto paper I can see how it flows
Should I speak or just wonder at ink, pen and prose

Who is that woman with the fountain pen?
When she writes I smell violets, so subtle and then
When she smiles I see clearly she knows how to flex
Line on line, curve on curve, she knows how to perplex.

A Short tale of contrasts: Visconti Pinifarina & Platinum Cool

Today was a very exciting day. Two pens arrived. One from Bryant at Chatterley Pens, the other from Goulet Pens (who also sent me some ink). One pen was in carbon graphite, boasting a disappearing nib; the other in plastic not boasting at all (other than in name).

The Visconti Pininfarina is one of 930 pens made (a reference to Pininfarina's founding in 1930). This one is number 196.

The colour of the pen is really hard to photograph, and this one below is the closest I can get it:

The feel of the carbon graphite in your hand is just fantastic! 

The Pininfarina  is a well weighted pen too with a great functioning retracting nib (although I can see people complaining about the placement of the clip - why don't they do what Stipula has done with its retracting nib pens and allow the clip to be rotated?)

I know the carbon graphite in these pics look a little silver, but the pen is much darker (not dissimilar to a Lamy 2000).

But enough of the looks, what about the nib? Out of the box, a real problem - this is a stub nib but it just wouldn't write! (and I was so excited filling the Cartridge converter with the mosquito filler - although i'm not sure where to put it when it's not in use). 

On advice from a friend, I gave the nib and converter a good wash with soap and water and tried again. Sort of victory. It writes, but not my Diamine Sapphire Blue looks like Omo blue!

Home again, and she writes; and I like the line (a bit bigger than my usual), but for a pen with racing heritage, it certainly doesn't come burning rubber at the starting flag! A lot of stop/start before it flows.

I'll keep you in the loop.

The Platinum Cool however, is another beast altogether.

This little plastic wonder wrote straight out of the box with ease! And for a steel nib - great performance!  Even a little flex! (and you have to love Noodler's Apache Sunset - what a fabulous ink!

This unpretentious pen, comes with both cartridge and converter, and just delivers. 

Sure the Platinum doesn't have an 18k nib; but the steel it does have seems to deliver even better. The Platinum doesn't have an interesting trash can container to hold it (I'm sure it's meant to mean something else but the Pininfarina comes with a phallic black metal cylinder with a silver lid that seems more designed to justify the price than hold the pen); but a pocket does just as well. Of course, in the end, the Platinum doesn't have the weight of the Visconti (which is perfect) or the brilliant carbon graphite feel (which is pretty fantastic), nor is it's design as cool as the Pininfarina; but the Platinum Cool light weight, writes well and makes you smile in its own "cool" way!

Until next tine...

The Desk (Part 7) The second last drawer - Omas

This is the second last drawer (excluding the draw/shelf in another pen case on the desk). So this drawer is a little eclectic (in keeping with my blog title).

From left: Omas Arte Italiana Olive Wood. This is a large pen (14.5cm closed) and has a fabulous B nib (not my usual preference but brilliant to write with). The section (under the nib) is silver (which is not something that goes well with the pen in my view), but it's not slippery and the pen remains a joy. The cap also has a strange inscription: WI - 135 - . 

Next to the Olive wood is a Special edition 'Bibliotheque Nationale' commissioned by/for the French Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris (1994). Its colour is more Ivory than the white it looks here. It appears to be made of Cassein or something similar. It's one challenge - keeping it from being ink-stained!

Next one along is the Omas T2 (Titanium) with a fine T2 titanium nib. THe size is Milord size (smaller than the Paragon). This pen is one of my favourite writers and a beautifully weighted pen. Omas produced a larger Paragon T2 but for some strange reason, put a gold 75th Anniversary nib on it - WRONG!!  My T2 is a brilliant pen - and quite different for Omas.

Next one along is the Omas Emotica with Titanium nib. This titanium nib unfortunately, is not a patch on the T2. However I love that the pocket clip is hinged so that it opens out to provide two legs that make a stand for the pen.

Mild edit to the blog here: a few have asked to see the nib of the Emotica; so here it is:

Right next to the Emotica is an Omas Extra 1996 Limited Edition Goya (#720/1746). Unfortunately, this pen looks a little lost in the red interior of my pen drawer. This pen was produced to commemorate 250 years since the birth of Goya, and includes his signature on one of the facets.

Finally, there are two Omas Tokyo. The Tokyo was designed by Ettore Sottsass, a notable designer and architect who also did work for Olivetti and Alessi. Both nibs are gold plated rather than solid. One has a fine nib, the other Medium. One is called Persimmon Orange and the other colour is Lychee Green.

This blog marks the end of my major drawers. Next drawer will be what used to be my box for a Tibaldi (another Italian pen brand) Impero; but now houses a few miscellaneous pens.

Until next tine....

The Desk - again! (part vi) - More Omas, but older

OK, you've found me out. Yes; I have a tiny bit of an Omas obsession.

Drawer 6 is another drawer of Omas. 

From left:
Omas 556/S Ogiva 1960 in silver grey marbled celluloid (the 556 is the middle size for this style). Omas Extra (facetted); Omas Extra paragon 1994 (this was a cheap buy on ebay as it had been left outside near a swimming pool (so blue celluloid fades to purple on cap and near base of barrel as well as tarnishing on clip and on gold around piston. - even so, great nib and great writer). Omas Milord (mid size pen) with F sticker still on barrel. Next a modern pen (2013): the Omas M-091 LE from Fountainpen.It (this pen has a fine, titanium nib with a little flex). Back to vintage again: a 1950s Extra 556/F (f is for facetted) in pearlised celluloid and with an Extra Lucens nib. Next one along: Omas 555/S (the smallest size) again in pearlised celluloid (although not quite as stunning as the 556). A Black Omas 556/S ogiva; and finally, one I know very little about; it's a black Omas I'm guessing is 196-+. It doesn't have the original nib but a ERC number 1. If you can help me with this one, I'd appreciate it.

Until next tine...

The Desk (part v) - Visconti

Will it ever end? I hear you ask. Today is drawer 4. There are 8 drawers of pens: 6 Omas, one Visconti and 1 miscellaneous.  So yes, it WILL end... promise!

Today, just to break things up, it's Visconti's turn.

I have had an interesting history with Visconti. One of my happiest experiences with fountain pens happened at the home of Visconti in Florence. There's a short story about that here (FPN) and here (Visconti blog).

Visconti have a range of spectacular pens.

From Left: Visconti Mazzi Dragon case (pen inside); travelling ink pot; Metropolis with Gaudian Knot design; Voyager; Opera Demonstrator; Wall Street LE, Copernicus.

Their packaging also is very often innovative, and full of style and fun.

Visconti Ragtime collection

 I find however, that the quality can vary significantly. The innovation is certainly there; and sometimes they are just wonderful works of art.

I am particularly fond of the colours of the now discontinued Van Goghs 

But I have found the nibs to vary considerably; and their filling system (especially the vacuum filling system in the LEs) can be frustrating at times. The nibs in my experience tend towards stiffness; (although my Wall Street has a fabulous wet medium nib); while my preference is a nib with more flex. Nevertheless, here I am with a not inconsiderable number of them suggesting that in the end, the innovation, presentation and variation of the Visconti brand, still sucks me in :-)


So here comes Drawer 4:

From Left: Opera Demonstrator; Millenium One; blue (#107/4000) and Green (#81/4000) Wall Street LEs; Homo Sapiens (power filler; great system for keeping cap on); Moonlight Voyager, Metropolis (Gaudian Knot); Rinascimento Stardust; Travelling ink pot (the best portable ink pot on earth!); Van Gogh (Starry Night).

Until another tine...

Pelikan Twist - Pen Review

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Cute. Colours are bright when the cap is on – and even brighter off!  Ooooooo.
8/10

APPEARANCE AND DESIGN
There is a little of the Visconti Divine Proportions in this pen (in a twisted way – pun intended!)

Closed, the twist of the Twist gives the pen a lovely, well, twist! Cap off, the twist (or lets call it swirl to avoid repetition) seamlessly continues on to the somewhat bizarre and brazen colour of the area just beneath the nib (the section). The bright silver (steel) of the nib, matches the playful brashness of the main barrel colour. I’m not sure that the contrast colours are always the best choices; but then, the Twist’s theme allows a certain twist from the expected. For a full view of colours go here.

The Twist does not come with a clip. This works for the flow of the pen; and with its swirl this is not a pen that will roll off the desk; but given that the Twist is apparently aimed at the student market, not being able to clip it into a pocket may be a negative.
7/10

WEIGHT AND DIMENSION
The Twist is pleasantly light and the plastic of the pen doesn’t seem as cheap as the price would suggest. Closed, it measures just under 14cm long. The body is quite thick; measuring at 2cm on the barrel and just over 1.5cm on the section.

While you can post the cap, it doesn’t really want to stay there; and the balance of the pen doesn’t really work that way, so I would say this is a non-poster. 
7/10

NIB AND PERFORMANCE
The Twist has a steel nib. Both of mine are medium. The performance is excellent. No problems with flow straight out of the box; and there is almost a cursive feel to the nib with lovely feedback.

There is no flex to speak of; but the Twist is not a needle either. 

The writing position however, was more of an issue for me. I hold my pens towards the top of the barrel (just under the section). This pen is uncomfortable from that angle. I found the swirls were getting in my way, and digging into my finger after a while. If I held the pen on the section (which is marginally smaller in width than the body) the pen was easier to write with. So this should be good for those who like to hold their pen closer to the nib (which is most of you); just not in my comfort zone.
6/10

FILLING SYSTEM
It’s a bit of a tight screw; but unscrew the section and insert your Pelikan cartridge and away you go! Not my preferred system, but this is a pen designed for simplicity – and it’s simple.
7/10

COST AND VALUE
At around $15 there is not a big argument about the value here. The Twist is different to look at, has great colours, throws in design surprises, has a great nib and writes well.
9/10

CONCLUSION
The Twist is a lovely starting fountain pen for the price. It’s not a Lamy Safari (but then it’s not the price of a Safari either). The design is fun and different; the colours vibrant and challenging and the nib fantastic for this level pen. Definitely worth a play.

Final Rating: 73/100

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

The Desk (part iv - the 360s +)

Drawer number 4 is heavily slanted towards my Omas 360s. This pen, for the uninitiated, is a triangular-bodied pen that was originally designed with ergonomics in mind; that is, it was designed to be held.....and held......and held.

This is the 360s outside of the drawer :)

My first, a magnum, measures 15cm closed, I bought many years ago. The 360 went through an unfortunate incarnation where it stopped being ergonomic and went for style (failed) but thankfully returned to the original shape. I don't think they make the Magnum anymore, but the standard size is still around 14.5cm. Now to drawer 4...

I DID say 360+! From left we have the Arte Italiana Art Déco Pearl Grey Cotton Resin Limited Edition Fountain Pen (#25/931); an Omas MOMA; two Omas Ogivas S2001; and then the 360s. First the Magnum; then a blue cotton resin LE with rose gold trim (#201/360); a white traveller (only 13.5cm; and a cartridge filler with a cool mechanism where you turn the base and the cartridge holder slides out (see below); a Lucens (blue - yes I know, fairly obvious); a Red LE with silver trim (#149/360) and a grey celluloid.

Still more drawers to come!...

The Desk (part iii)

Another day, another drawer:

Now we're getting a little older (mostly) and starting to vary a little. From left:

The first two are in my favourite Platinum Arco celluloid. The first comes from Letizia Jacopini, author of 'La Storia della Stilografica in Italia 1900-1950' (The history of the Italian Fountain Pen). The second is an Omas 361 facetted (these were renowned for the fact that you can write on both sides of the nib - one for a firm point, the other for more flex responses). Next is an Omas Lucens CPT (Chrome Plate Trim) from somewhere between 1943-6); then an Omas Blue Revelations (#60/88 - although I seem to see a lot of these on sale on ebay) - this one has a BB nib adjusted by Greg Minushkin. Next a ring-in: a Minerva (sub-brand of Omas) 60 that has a lovely flexy nib. This is followed by an Omas 555/S set (pen and pencil) from the 1950s in a lovely golden brown. Following on to this is an Omas Extra 361T (1950) and an Omas  361VS (1963).

Coming up: Drawer 4...

The Desk (Part ii)

Last Blog started with the mess and the shelf behind the desk, now we start to get serious!

Probably the most important part of my desk lies to the left of my computer as I look at it:

These are my pen drawers (plus a couple of pads, a set of rabbit scissors, a pen case, a pocket knife and a pen quiver). 

More specifically, these humble drawers are for my Italian pens (other cases have more pens); and, apart from the first drawer, Omas specifically. This is just a small teaser (the first pic is also on my Instagram and FPN facebook) the second is only here (so far):

(From left: Omas Arco Verde Paragon with Mottishaw cursive italic nib (love writing with this one); Saft green, blue 80th anniversary Arte Italiana #11/80 (Extra Flessible nib); grey Omas Extra; Omas Tiger eye Arco with Binder Waverley nib; another 80th anniversary #11/80 (same nib) in Saffron Blue; another 80th anniversary - this one grey, same nib but #11/40; Omas Extra in Scarlet; Omas 80th again (same nib, 11/80) and 
finally,  another 80th anniversary grey (same nib, but with silver trim and nib; #11/40).

(From left: Omas Arlechinno; Omas Ogiva Lucens (Black, unnumbered by only 30 produced for Novelli of Rome - the missing space is for the Wilde celluloid version that is currently inked and in use - fine extra flessible nibs); next are two Ogiva Autunno's (these are the originals, not the Novelli LEs) - one with gold trim, one with silver trim; next is an Omas Blue Lucens LE #421/500; then an LE from fountainpen.it M -091; followed by a vintage Omas Lucens (late 1930s/early 40s); a black Lucens LE #0572/1000 with HT trim; and finally an Omas Burlwood with Ruthenium trim and nib #11/60).

My Desk (part 1)

This is where it all starts. The desk. The point (...a point) of creation in embryo. A computer (yes, even stylophiles still use computers - although generally it should be an Apple :)), a keyboard, a mouse, paper (Rhodia as preference; but Clairefontaine is good, Field Notes - if it's small), perhaps a note book (Moleskine, Quo Vadis, Apica), maybe a ballpoint pen (just in case), definitely ink bottles (lots of those, and lots of colours - with a focus on blue, purple and green) and, of course, fountain pens - quite a few (draws of them actually)!

This is where we begin:


A portion of hallowed desk. Note mess (how can you be creative and not have mess?) scribbles, inky smudging, nib testing, colours, Rhodia grid paper pad and Kaweco at the ready.



Here we have the shelf above and behind the computer. In this little space we find an Omas Extra in Blue celluloid and Stipula Castoni on top of a cute little acrylic pen stand from Ariel Kullock. Underneath the pen stand is a Waterman 52 pen & pencil box and the box for a Montegrappa LE Cigar. These sit to the right of a framed drawing by offspring - no, not the band!- infront of a box for an Omas D-Day LE which itself is sitting on top of a box for an Omas Galileo Galilei - That's a lot squeezed into a little (wait til you see the rest!)

Next blog... more desk!

 

Pen Poem 3 - calligraphy

Hello again. While I'm on a bit of a roll, I thought I'd throw in a new pen poem. This one is particularly inspired by Leigh Reyes and her wonderful work ... thankyou Leigh (you can see her blog here).

Here it is in text:

A calligraphic line conveys

An edge and shade to thoughts. The ways

We take each word and give it form

In calligraphic context warms

The letters and the things we say

It gives them depth and substance way

beyond a printed word or phrase

Our personality ablaze with

dips and swirls and shadings tells

Our reader the pervading source

Of who we are; of how we feel.

A calligraphic heart is real.

Pen Poem 2

Hope you can read this:

Here it is in text:

Take a pen and make it yours

For in your hands it's so much more

than just a manufactured stick

Its possibilities will click

and quickly they will form in words

The feel, the thought, the flow, the verbs

will take you where you dream and think

the pen is yours, now for the ink!

Pen Poems i

Jot a thought
Watch your pen
Turn your thought to life, and then
Watch your life
Through your thoughts
Take you back to you again.