Special Edition Ink Alert: Two Papier Plume Inks for the Chicago Pen Show

Every year, Papier Plume releases one or two special edition inks for the Chicago Pen Show. Building on last year’s Bootlegger’s Sacrament (a wine red) and “Da Blue,” (a Chicago Bears-inspired blue-black) this year’s inks include “Lake Michigan Winter,” (a turquoise/teal) and “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” (you guessed it).

For those of you attending the Chicago Pen Show from May 2-May 5, you’ll be able to purchase these inks at Papier Plume’s table, and from their website after the show. Most of the Chicago Pen Show inks have always sold out quickly, however, and Papier Plume typically only makes a single batch, so if you want to get your hands on either of these you’ll need to find someone attending the show to hook you up or quickly place an order afterwards.

Generally speaking, Papier Plume inks are unsaturated, so they play nice in most pens and offer good ink flow and shading. I’d compare them to Callifolio, Waterman, or standard (non-shimmer) Herbin, though the colors tend to have more pop than the Herbin inks. Papier Plume inks also offer good value, with the larger 30ml bottles costing $8 for the standard lineup of colors and $10 for special editions. You can also purchase smaller 15ml bottles of the standard colors for $5. Count me a fan!

Papier Plume also specializes in wax seals, an example of which you will find on the caps of their special edition inks.

Disclaimer: Papier Plume provided me with these two bottles of ink at no charge for review purposes. Many thanks!

Sunday Reading for April 21, 2019

1. 9 Genius Pen Features (via UK Fountain Pens). Anthony continues to kill it with some great content, and I agree with every single item on his list here.

2. 600 Years of Writing (via Mountain of Ink). Kelli has created this detailed survey of various handwriting styles, complete with photos and historical details of each one. If you have even a passing interest in handwriting and calligraphy, you should give this a read.

3. Where I Buy Pens (via UK Fountain Pens). I’m always interested in where people shop, and there are several retailers on this list from whom I’ve never purchased.

4. My Pen Collection 2019 (via Macchiato Man). Yagan walks us through his pen collection, and this massive post has great photos, including nib close-ups of nibs. As expected, there are some very interesting Sailor Pro Gears!

5. IndiGraph Fountain Pen That Can Use India Ink (via SBRE Brown). For those of you intrigued by the IndiGraph Kickstarter project that’s been receiving a lot of attention on the pen interwebs, Stephen reviews a prototype. The product is real, it appears to work, and is targeted at the urban sketcher community.

6. Moleskine Basquiat Limited Edition Notebook Review (via Writing at Large). I love the aesthetics on this notebook, but Moleskine’s inconsistency with respect to their paper unfortunately keeps me away. I’m going to wait and see what I hear about how this batch performs.

7. Pelikan Edelstein Star Ruby Ink Review and Giveaway (via Pen Chalet). Since I already have a plenty of pink/red and dark pink inks, I’ll probably take a pass on this year’s Edelstein Ink of the Year. Still, Star Ruby is a nice color and Pen Chalet is giving away a bottle!

8. Lamy Crystal Agate (via Well-Appointed Desk). After hemming and hawing a bit, I decided to order a bottle of this ink, in part because I think it might end up being the “legible gray” that I’ve been looking to add to my rotation.

9. Fountain Pen Ink Cartridges: What Are Your Favorites? (via Pen Addict). I like cartridges too, but since they have a tendency to evaporate I don’t keep a huge stockpile on hand and try to replace them as I use them up. A while back I wrote about cartridges, and those pictured in the post are the ones I use the most. (I’m partial to Kaweco.)

10. Hovel Pencil Plane (via Well-Appointed Desk). A pencil sharpener that both intrigues and terrifies me at the same time, even though it shouldn’t as it looks pretty safe. I’d probably still figure out a way to plane my finger off.

Please Visit and Support My Sponsors and Affiliates!

Please take a moment to visit these fine folks who help keep this blog going! It's next to impossible to keep up a steady stream of fresh review content without some form of sponsorship or affiliate relationship. I'm grateful to everyone who's helped me out along the way.   

1. Vanness Pens. Vanness Pens carries rare and hard-to-find inks from all over the world, including Colorverse, Callifolio, Akkerman, and the full line of DeAtramentis. You can check out my recap of a visit to Vanness here.

2. Pen Chalet. Pen Chalet has a wide variety of available pens and offers unbeatable value on pens, inks, pen cases, etc. Don’t miss this week’s Easter sale, and grab an additional 10% off your order using the coupon code “EASTER” at checkout.

3. Anderson Pens. In addition to having one of the largest offerings of bottled ink in the world, Anderson Pens is an authorized retailer of a wide range of brands, including Sailor, Aurora and Faber-Castell. Check out the sponsor profile I published here, and don't miss out on their new special edition bright red Diplomat Aero.

4. Appelboom. Please check out Appelboom's extensive selection and excellent pricing on a wide range of brands, including Montblanc pens such as this Classique 145 I reviewed.

5. Goldspot Pens. Goldspot regularly offers excellent promotions and specials! Check out their "Weekly Dip" section for details.

6. The Nibsmith. Many thanks to our newest sponsor, The Nibsmith! Dan offers a vast selection of pens from Aurora, Montegrappa, TWSBI, Sailor, Pilot, and more, along with nib customization services! Dan is also now carrying Leonardo pens.

7. Pokka Pens. Pokka Pens makes high quality, portable ballpoints that make for a great EDC option, including a new pressurized “All-Weather” pen developed in partnership with Fisher and Rite-in-the-Rain. Check out my review here, and don't forget to use the code GENTSTA to get 10% off your purchase!

8. TGS Amazon Page. I run across many more items (pens, pencils, books, accessories, etc.) in my online "travels." I can't feature them all on TGS, but Amazon has an option where I can set up an affiliate page to host product recommendations and earn fees on referrals. Amazon does not sponsor or endorse this blog in any way.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I reviewed the KACO Edge fountain pen, a high-quality, inexpensive Chinese pen made from Makrolon and featuring a Schmidt nib, as well as two of the new Iroshizuku 100th Anniversary Inks, Hoteison (a dark green) and Bishamonten (a pinkish red). I also updated my “best pen” recommendations for 2019.

Finally, this week’s Deals & Drops highlights more new releases and a few non-pen items that may be of interest to the “analog-minded.”

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates.

Ink Review: Pilot Iroshizuku 100th Anniversary Inks, Bishamonten (Red) and Hoteison (Dark Green)

Pilot really puzzled me (and a lot of other people), because the company’s 100th anniversary was last year (2018), yet for some reason their “100th Anniversary Iroshizuku Inks” didn’t hit the states until March 2019. Better late than never, I guess.

The 100th Anniversary Iroshizuku inks consist of a fairly basic lineup of colors: Benzaiten (pink), Bishmonten (red), Daikokuten (yellow), Ebisu (light blue), Fukurokuju (green), Hoteison (dark green), and Jurojin (purple). As you can see, Pilot didn’t go out on too much of a limb here. Benzaiten, Bishamonten, and Hoteison are probably the most unique, whereas the others appear similar to inks already in the standard Iroshizuku lineup, though slightly different in tone. The inks are named to correspond to each of the “Seven Gods of Good Fortune” 100th Anniversary Pens, and if you have $30,000+ to drop, you can play the ultimate pen and ink matching game! (Or you can buy yourself a new BMW. Your choice.)

I like the label design - classic, yet still different, and the Iroshizuku ink bottle might be my current favorite. Bishamonten also has a slight gold sheen, which you can barely make out in this photograph. It’s subtle and will likely only appear in swabs or particularly wet writing pens.

The ink that interested me the most, and in the end, disappointed me somewhat, was Bishamonten . The standard Iroshizuku lineup doesn’t feature a “true red” - the colors that many people characterize as “red” tend to lean pink (Tsutsuji and Momiji) or purple/magenta (Yama Budo). So when I saw a new ink advertised as a “red”, I was thrilled. But while Bishamonten definitely appears less pink or purple than any of the existing inks, there’s still a pinkish hue, which is more pronounced in certain lights. I’m still holding out for Pilot to make an actual red ink, and dare I hope for a burgundy?

Hoteison is a green-black ink that has strong undertones of gray to it once it dries. The dark, muted Iroshizuku colors are some of my favorites, including Shin-Kai (blue-black), Syo-Ro (a dark teal-gray-green), Take-Sumi (a charcoal gray) and Tsuki-Yo (blue-black with teal undertones). Hoteison falls into this category, and will get a lot of use even if I already have a lot of similar shades in my collection.

Both colors are fairly saturated. They won’t appear washed-out. Like all Iroshizuku inks, Hoteison and Bishamonten are low-maintenance inks that don’t bleed or feather on most decent paper. (I’d still caution that Bishamonten, as a red ink, will have the potential to stain certain light-colored, porous, or transparent materials.)

Takeaways and Where to Buy

As always, Pilot makes a quality product, and Iroshizuku inks are among the best and most reliable out there. Bishamonten and Hoteison are no exception. I do have to admit, however, that the 100th Anniversary colors left me a touch disappointed. The two inks I reviewed here are by far the most interesting to me, and they’re a pinkish red and a dark green-black - not exactly imaginative shades. Regardless, these inks will sell well, simply because they’re special edition Iroshizukus, and if you don’t already have similar colors in your collection you can’t go wrong with any of them.

I purchased the two inks featured in this review from Vanness Pens at this year’s Atlanta Pen Show. Hoteison is currently in stock, but Bishamonten is sold out for the time being. Vanness has most of the other colors as well, and I expect they will get at least one other shipment of ink, though I have no insight into how long Pilot intends to make the 100th Anniversary colors before discontinuing them. If they interest you at all, I’d recommend that you purchase these inks now while they’re generally available.

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates. I purchased the inks featured in this review with my own funds, for my own use, though Vanness Pens did offer me a discount.

Live on the Blog: Updated 2019 "Best Pens" Recommendations!

It’s April, and you know what that means: it’s time for the annual update to my “Best Pens” Recommendations list. There may be a few surprises on here, particularly in the “beginners” category, the $100-200 price point, and my list of personal favorites. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

You can check out the updated list here. The 2018 list and the 2017 list are still live if you’d like to see how things changed.

Deals & Drops: What's a Mini-Mule?

Many of the new 2019 releases continue to trickle out, along with a few surprises like the Montegrappa “Mini-Mule,” a smaller version of their 2017 hit. I also went a little bit off-topic this week, with a few links to non-stationery items that may be of interest to readers. For the record, Cal Newport’s new book is a must-read!

UPDATED: Pen Chalet is running an Easter sale! Grab 10% off your order using the coupon code “EASTER” at checkout!

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates. Please see our Privacy and Cookie Policies for additional information.

1. 40% Off Pineider Pens (via Vanness Pens). Vanness is still running a very attractive deal on Pineider pens. The fountain pens sport Pineider’s new semi-flexible “quill” nib, which I reviewed a few weeks ago.

2. Aurora Optima 365 Coral Red (via The Nibsmith). This pen might be one of the prettiest Optimas Aurora has released yet - it’s a more muted orange-ish red than the standard red Auroloide.

3. Lamy Bronze AL-Star and Ink (via Vanness Pens). I’ve not seen the pens in person, but the ink is very nice - similar to Lamy Copper Orange from a few years ago.

4. Montegrappa Mini-Mule (via Pen Chalet). For those of you who thought the original Montegrappa Mule was maybe just a little too heavy or substantial, but still enjoy the shape and copper construction, the “Mini-Mule” may be for you.

5. Loclen Electa Fountain Pen (via Pen Chalet). This machined, industrial-looking cartridge-converter pen comes in three different finishes, and it was one of the hits of the recent Atlanta Pen Show.

6. Sailor Red Supernova and Purple Cosmos Pro Gear Slims (via The Nibsmith). Dan has the new Supernova pens in stock, along with the last batch of Purple Cosmos. Don’t miss out on the latter, because this time I think they’ll really be gone.

7. Sailor Sapporo Mini in Light Blue (via eBay). Sailor is apparently bringing back the Sapporo Mini as part of its collaborations with Japanese Pen Stores (here, Morita).

8. Pelikan M101N Grey-Blue (via Appelboom). Definitely one of the pleasant surprises from this year’s crop of limited editions. I thought this pen was going to end up a somewhat boring acrylic design, but after seeing it in person, it looks stunning.

9. Visconti Homo Sapiens Chiantishire (via Goldspot Pens). A pen for wine lovers! This pen would pair well with some burgundy ink, and Goldspot is offering a good price.

10. Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze (via Vanness Pens). Another great find from Grandpa’s basement. Grab a discount on the Homo Sapiens Bronze Age.

11. Double-Sided Fountain Pen (via PenBBS/Etsy). I’ve seen custom double-sided fountain pens, but PenBBS is now making one as part of its '“standard lineup,” now available in their Etsy store.

12. Moonman N3 “Celluloid” Fountain Pen (via Amazon). Uh, yeah, it’s not celluloid, but it is a nice-looking acrylic, and Moonman nibs are some of the most reliable inexpensive writers out there, on par with KACO.

13. Pocket Knives (via Anderson Pens). I was surprised to see that Anderson Pens is now carrying a selection of small pocket knives from Buck, Gerber, and Leatherman, as they apparently expand into other everyday carry essentials.

14. Shaving Gear (via Vanness Pens). One thing we sometimes forget is that many of our favorite stationery retailers don’t get by on stationery alone, but carry other goods. For example, Vanness stocks a wide selection of razors and wet shaving supplies.

15. Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport (via Amazon). Some of you may recall that I used to write a newsletter called Digital Divide (the back issues of which are available here). I enjoyed writing on the various topics addressed, and have contemplated bringing back the newsletter from time to time but always run into the “hours in the day" problem. Cal Newport’s latest book has me rethinking that, and Digital Divide fans should pick up a copy.