Sunday Reading for July 15, 2018

1. Baron Fig Card Sleeve (via Comfortable Shoes Studio). Les reviews Baron Fig's new leather card sleeve. Baron Fig has been branching out into "lifestyle"/carry goods more recently, and overall these products have received good reviews. 
2. Colorverse Season 4: Trailblazers in Space (via Pen Chalet). Season 4 of Colorverse ink is out, once again continuing the "space" theme, with this season's inks named after the various spacefaring animals. 
3. Caran d'Ache 849 Nespresso Ballpoint Pen (via Pen Addict). I like this pen too, but I also find it slim for long-form or extended writing sessions. A great jotter pen though, and I've been carrying this in my briefcase for quick notes. 
4. Karas Kustoms Starliner (via Pen Addict). Jeff at the Pen Addict reviews the Karas Kustoms Starliner, and these pens continue to get great reviews.
5. Reaktor Series - Galaxie and Starliner (via Clicky Post). Mike also offers his initial impressions of the "Reaktor" pens, and he's also impressed.  
6. HeyMatthew x Rickshaw Bagworks Space Cat Pen Sleeve (via Nib & Ink). Matthew is releasing the Space Cat Pen sleeve with Rickshaw; looks awesome!
7. Inventery Bolt Action Pen (via Clicky Post). Mike reviews another recent release from Inventery, their bolt-action pen. I have a set of these in for review myself and have been enjoying them. 
8. Blackwing Volume 10001 (via Wonder Pens). Wonder Pens has some great photos of the new Blackwing Volumes limited edition, with the five-sided Gogaku shape and adzuki stain finish. 
9. Rohrer & Klingner Sketch Thea (via Mountain of Ink). I've seen the R&K "Sketch" inks with their "quirky" label artwork at pen shows, but I've never tried the inks themselves. If you're looking for permanence, the line has some interesting colors. 
10. An Interview with Ian Schon (via Pens! Paper! Pencils!). Ian talks with the creator of Schon DSGN, with some hints of possible things to come. 

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. I'm grateful to everyone who's helped me out along the way.    

1. Pen Chalet. Pen Chalet has a wide variety of available pens and offers unbeatable value on pens, inks, pen cases, etc. 
2. 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 Sailor Pro Gear in Slate Blue.   
3. 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.  
4. Vanness Pens. Vanness Pens carries rare and hard-to-find inks from all over the world, including Callifolio, Akkerman, and the full line of DeAtramentis. Also, Vanness carries a wide array of pens, including now the full range of BENU pens. You can check out my recap of a visit to Vanness here. 
5. Goldspot Pens. Goldspot regularly offers excellent promotions and specials! Check out their "Weekly Dip" section for details.
6. Paul's Paper & Pens. Paul features a well-curated selection of fountain pens, multi pens, notebooks, and more, including some very uncommon Pilot Vanishing Points and Decimos that we don't see here in the States.  
7. Pokka Pens. Pokka Pens makes high quality, portable ballpoints that make for a great EDC option. 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, etc. This also provides a way for me to earn a referral fees to help support the site. Thanks everyone!

In Case You Missed It...

This week on the blog I reviewed two relatively recent releases from Lamy: their Vibrant Pink Special Edition Ink, and the Lamy LX fountain pen in ruthenium. Don't miss this week's Deals and Drops, featuring the Platinum 3776 Kumpoo as well as my recent obsession with rollerballs.  

Happy Sunday, and as always, thanks for reading!

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

Pen Review: What's with the Lamy LX?

Lamy caused a lot of shoulders to shrug a couple years ago when they released the Lamy "LX," which to many people looked just like a pricier Lamy AL-Star in three new color options and a new nib. And honestly, that's really what it is, though I do like both the redesigned nib and the new color schemes. 

The Lamy LX features a redesigned black-plated steel nib. Sharp looking! 

There's not too much new here to review. The Lamy LX is very much an "upgraded" version of the AL-Star, and the functionality is the same. Let's be clear: you're paying a premium for looks, from the "iPhone-style" anodizing, to the redesigned nib, to the premium packaging. All of this boosts the price of the LX to $50+ at most retailers, compared to $38 for a standard AL-Star. Whether or not the upgrade is worth it to you depends on your own aesthetic preference, and I will say that the redesigned nib looks stellar. It also feels slightly stiffer than the standard Lamy Safari/AL-Star stainless steel nib, so if you prefer a true "nail," you might want to consider this pen. If you missed my earlier review of the Lamy AL-Star, you can check it out here. It's a great pen, but I think over time I've come to prefer the Safari since it's lighter and better balanced, IMHO. 

The Lamy LX nib (left) compared against the AL-Star nib (right). 

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Again, don't buy a Lamy LX thinking that you're going to get something other than an AL-Star, at least as far as the core writing experience is concerned. That said, I'm not sorry that I have this "ruthenium" pen in my collection - it looks great, and the nib writes smoothly with no hiccups. 

You can purchase the Lamy LX from our sponsor Pen Chalet, which currently has them on sale at $49, before any applicable coupon codes or further discounts. The LX is available in four colors: Gold, Palladium, Rose Gold, and Ruthenium, which will match up well with whatever color iPhone you carry (assuming you're an Apple fan).

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink from Pen Chalet using affiliate credit. I was not compensated monetarily for this review, though this post does contain affiliate links.

Deals & Drops: Platinum Kumpoo and Wait, Rollerballs?

So this week the Platinum 3776 Kumpoo has arrived, and I've gone a bit crazy on the rollerball front. Look for more of that content, following up on my recent comparison piece between the Baron Fig Squire and the Retro 51 Tornado. Huckberry is running their Summer Sale, and Vanness is clearing out their Delta stock. Happy shopping! 

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

1. Platinum 3776 Kumpoo (via Pen Chalet). The latest in the Platinum 3776 Fuji Shunkei series is in stock, and selling pretty quickly. 
2. Aurora Optima Rollerball (via Pen Chalet). I've felt the need recently to branch out into a couple of "nice" rollerballs for work, and picked up this Aurora from Pen Chalet. The Optima is a great-sized pen, and it is just as nice in rollerball form as it is in fountain pen form. 
3. Caran d'Ache 849 Classic Ballpoint (via Pen Chalet). An excellent general ballpoint refill, though I'm sorry to see that the "recycled Nespresso capsule" version doesn't seem to be available anymore. 
4. Schneider Topball 850 Rollerball Refill (via Amazon). The Aurora rollerball refill is nice, but if you're looking for something slightly finer, consider the Topball, which comes in a .5mm tip size. I've found that this refill fits most pens that take a Pilot G2 gel refill, as well, though I don't believe it's intended for use in capless pens. 
5. Baron Fig Stainless Steel Squire (via Baron Fig). I've been loving this "heavy metal" rollerball lately. Sure, it has some weight, but the balance is so good you don't notice it as much as you typically would. (You can use my Baron Fig referral link for $10 off.) 
6. Retro 51 Tornado Smithsonian (via Pen Chalet). This gorgeous new design commemorates the National Museum of African History and Culture building in Washington, D.C. This is on my list of pens to check out at this year's D.C. Pen Show.  
7. Retro 51 Tornado Terabyte 2.0 (via Anderson Pens). The newest exclusive from Anderson Pens and Retro 51, this updated Terabyte pen comes in all black with black trim. 
8. Final Clearance Pricing on Delta Pens (via Vanness Pens). Vanness is clearing out their stock of Delta fountain pens, rollerballs, and ballpoints. Since Delta is out of business, this is your last chance if you've had your eye on any of these models.
9. Sailor Pro Gear Ocean (via Goldspot Pens). Goldspot has the full selection of Pro Gear Oceans in stock, including slim, standard, and King of Pen. 
10. Montblanc Meisterstuck Classic 164 Ballpoint (via Appelboom). These pens often get overlooked as great everyday writers. The size for me is perfect, and if you don't want to write with a ballpoint cartridge, you can always swap in... 
11. Monteverde Capless Gel Refill for Montblanc (via Amazon). These come in a wide range of colors, but the blue-black refill with a fine tip is my favorite. 
12. Diplomat Pens in Stock (via Pen Chalet). Pen Chalet is now stocking Diplomat, including the Aero and the Excellence.  
13. Huckberry Summer Sale (via Huckberry). Huckberry has a ton of stuff marked 50% off in their annual Summer Sale, including EDC gear and bags from brands such as Topo Designs. 
14. Bellroy A5 Work Folio (via Huckberry). Bellroy has brought their A5 zippered leather notebook cover to Huckberry. Check out my review here.
15. Bellroy Classic Canvas Pouch (via Huckberry). This little pouch has been one of my key carry items for the past several months. Bellroy had sent me an early prototype for review, but I've held off talking about it until it's general release.  

Ink Review: Lamy Vibrant Pink Special Edition Ink

Around this time every year I review Lamy's special edition inks that they release to complement their special edition Safari and AL-Star fountain pens. If you recall, last year Lamy released their "Petrol" fountain pen ink, which ended up gaining more attention for its scarcity than the actual color. This year they have another winner with Vibrant Pink, though it seems to fall a bit outside of the typical Lamy "safety zone," as I'll discuss more below. 

Wait, Sheen AND "Glistening"? 

What is this madness? 

Yep. In a Lamy ink. Until now, the craziest thing about Lamy ink was the bottle, with its incorporated roll of blotter paper. The inks themselves were fairly staid inks that didn't venture into outlandish colors or properties. So when I inked this one up and wrote with it, I was surprised to see a fair bit of gold (or sometimes greenish?) sheen, as well as a subtle glistening/glitter effect. 

This photo came out better than I thought it would! You can see a lot of the sheen in the wetter areas of this swab, as well as some of the glistening effect. In normal writing both are fairly subtle. 

Some sheeny and glistening inks suffer from slow dry times and smearing, but this one not so much. I've been using this ink to mark up documents at work, and it even works fairly well on cheap paper, so in that respect Vibrant Pink is similar to your standard Lamy ink. You may get a bit of precipitation on the nib (i.e., "gunk"), which is not uncommon with sheeny inks, but it didn't affect the ink flow or writing experience in any way. 

Comparison swabs with the other two pinks in my collection: Callifolio Andrinople (top) and Kyoto TAG Imayou-Iro (bottom). 

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Lamy makes great inks, and IMHO they don't get enough attention. The limited edition Vibrant Pink is a bit of an outlier, with the gold sheen and shimmer, but I haven't had any issues in the two or three fills of this ink that I've used. Since I have so much ink right now, including several different pinks, I won't be stockpiling extra bottles, but if you're looking to add a pink to your rotation, this is a good one. 

You can purchase Lamy Vibrant Pink Special Edition Ink from our site sponsor Pen Chalet. One nice thing about Lamy Ink is the price point - you get excellent ink for $12 per bottle, and that's before any applicable coupon codes or discounts. 

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink from Pen Chalet using affiliate credit. I was not compensated monetarily for this review, though this post does contain affiliate links.   

Sponsor Post: Stifflexible Notebooks from Anderson Pens

Looking for an A5 notebook that not only features good paper but also a unique cover design? Head on over to Anderson Pens to check out the new Stifflexible Notebooks. These hardback notebooks actually do flex, and you can't miss the cover art! Each notebook features 192 pages of 80g paper, 144 of which are lined, 32 blank, and 16 perforated graph. I have one of these in the queue, so look for my own review soon. 

Many thanks to Anderson Pens for sponsoring the blog this week!

Disclaimer: This post contains sponsored content. Image is the property of Anderson Pens.