Let's just say I had a productive trip this past weekend.

Top Five Stationery Stores in New York City

May 20, 2015

In no particular order, here are my top five stationery stores in New York City, which you shouldn't miss the next time you visit.

CW Pencil Enterprise is located on Forsyth Street on the Lower East Side.

C.W. Pencil Enterprise. The newcomer to the New York stationery scene opened this spring, after previously operating online-only, and already has been written up in the New York Times and New York Magazine, among others. The shop is tiny, in a good way, meaning that it is carefully curated and every product featured in the store was personally chose by the owner, Caroline Weaver. I am primarily interested in writing with pencils, but there is much to interest the artist as well. The selection of Caran d'Ache (high-end Swiss pencils) is second-to-none, including my personal favorite, the Caran d'Ache Swiss Wood. The store also carries a wide variety of notebooks, sharpeners, and books about pencils. I could spend hours here (which unfortunately was impossible this past weekend).
Kinokuniya Bookstore. A Japanese book and stationery retailer located on the western edge of Bryant Park. While the majority of Kinokuniya is devoted to books and magazines (both English and Japanese), the store also has a phenomenal stationery department, including an entire wall of Japanese notebooks and paper, an aisle devoted to fine-tipped ballpoint, gel, fiber-tipped, and brush pens, mechanical and wooden pencils, erasers, and a few novelties. Even if I don't buy much, or simply browse for an hour, I visit every time I am in town, without fail. Since Art Brown Pen Shop closed down a couple years ago, Kinokuniya is also one of the few options for fountain pens in New York City.
McNally Jackson. A popular, if pricey, independent bookstore in SoHo which also has an office supply branch around the corner. If you can afford them, the office supply store carries some beautiful items. The bookstore has a "stationery nook" that stocks various high-end journals and pocket notebooks, including the limited edition Baron Fig Maker Edition, which I immediately grabbed. In the past, I've had decent luck finding rarer "colors" editions of Field Notes stocked here, but couldn't find the elusive "yellow" version of the Field Notes Two Rivers Edition.
Blick Art Materials. I always visit the Nolita and SoHo outposts of Blick when I'm in town. They carry a great selection of pencils, colored pencils, pastels, paints, and other art supplies. They also have a huge selection of sketchbooks and notebooks from Moleskine, Rhodia, Semicolon, etc. Prices are competitive, and they will order anything for you if they don't have it in stock. DaVinci Artist Supply is another great one, but I don't find myself there as often.
Fountain Pen Hospital. When I am in the City during the week, I try to make the trek down to the Financial District to visit FPH. The last dedicated fountain pen store in New York City, it has occupied the same space since 1946. The store is fairly large, carries both modern and vintage pens, and offers pen restoration and repair services. The selection of ink is also very good. Closed on the weekends, which is a bummer.

A shot of Kinokuniya's "Gel Pen Aisle".  Never seen anything like this in the states, have you? — A shot of Kinokuniya's "Gel Pen Aisle". Never seen anything like this in the states, have you?

From the CW Pencil Enterprises vintage pencil vending machine.  I'm still not sure what exactly this refers to, but I assume (hope) it has something to do with horse racing. — From the CW Pencil Enterprises vintage pencil vending machine. I'm still not sure what exactly this refers to, but I assume (hope) it has something to do with horse racing.

Pen Review: Sailor Pro Gear Sky

May 14, 2015

Initially, my Atlanta Pen Show experience was tinged with disappointment because I didn’t have the chance to get this pen worked on by Mike Masuyama, who previously had tuned my Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black Edition to perfection. I had ordered this pen, the Sailor Pro Gear Sky Demonstrator, nearly three weeks prior to the show, but unfortunately (and due to no fault on the part of the good folks at PenChalet) the pen was backordered and didn’t reach me until after I returned. On a side note, during a conversation at the Atlanta Pen Show, I learned that Sailor actually doesn’t keep large numbers of pens in stock, but rather makes small numbers to order. So, if you order an in-demand, limited edition pen (like the Sky) or special order a hard-to-find nib, Sailor has to make an entirely new pen to fill your order. Explains a lot, and actually is kinda cool.

The two prize pieces in my collection.  I love my vintage Vacumatics, but these two regularly find their way into my daily carry — The two prize pieces in my collection. I love my vintage Vacumatics, but these two regularly find their way into my daily carry

The delay was worth it. The Pro Gear Sky is an exceptional pen. The color is exactly what I was looking for, and Sailor once again lives up to its reputation for nibs that write impeccably out of the box. Lately, there has been a lot of focus on Nakaya in the pen blogosphere as the Japanese company that makes “the pen" for a lot of people. I must confess: Nakaya’s offerings, while nice, do not speak to me in the same way as my Sailor pens, particularly the Pro Gear series. There is something about the specific size, weight and balance of this pen, and the fact that it posts well, that fits my hand and style of writing perfectly.

The Background

Sailor’s Pro Gear Sky series is offered in three sizes: the Pro Gear Slim/Sapporo (the smallest); the Pro Gear standard (the pen featured in this review); and the Pro Gear King of Pen (the largest). All feature rhodium plated trim, including a rhodium-plated 21k nib, which nicely complements the clear blue acrylic body of the pens. The blue color is supposed to approximate the color of the summer sky. (It also matches up quite nicely with Sailor’s “sky blue” inks, such as Bung Box Sapphire, which was the first ink I used.) While this pen has been out since late 2014, it is a limited edition, so it won’t be around forever.

The Build

Like all Sailor pens, the Pro Gear Sky is sturdy and well constructed. Some clear plastic demonstrators feel, well, “plasticky”, and you often get the sense that they won’t survive a drop or hold up well over the long term. I don’t get that feeling about the Pro Gear. The acrylic feels substantial and the pen has some heft to it. There are no scratches, dings, or chips in the acrylic that are visible to my naked eye. The cap is snug and the clip fits well to my shirt pocket. Part of me wishes that Sailor offered a “Realo” piston filler model in the Sky series, but that’s a small complaint. The majority of Japanese pens feature a cartridge-converter filling system, and Sailor is no exception.

The Nib

Sailor pens are known for their understated, classic designs and their high quality nibs. Every Sailor pen I have owned has written well out of the box, and this one is no exception. I opted for the fine nib (designated as Hard Fine, or H-F, on the side of the nib). As a Japanese fine nib, it approximates a Western extra-fine, so if you are looking for a pen that lays down more ink, start with the medium and go from there. My pen is not at all scratchy, however, and is relatively wet for a fine/extra-fine. I mentioned earlier that I originally intended to have this pen worked on by Mike Masuyama, and that hasn’t changed. This pen is an excellent writer out of the box, but as many of you know, Mike worked for Sailor for many years, and is especially adept at making Sailor nibs write perfectly. My Pro Gear Imperial Black wrote well out of the box, but after Mike was through with it, the pen became my favorite piece in my collection, and I consider it my “desert island” pen. This one will be no different.

The size of Sailor nibs is etched onto the side.  This one is a "Hard Fine", designated "HF".  The "Soft Fine" has a bit more spring to it, but is not quite flexible. — The size of Sailor nibs is etched onto the side. This one is a "Hard Fine", designated "HF". The "Soft Fine" has a bit more spring to it, but is not quite flexible.

Overall Experience and Takeaways

The experience of writing with a pen you really, really enjoy can’t always easily be reduced to words and accurately expressed on a blog. My Sailor pens provide enjoyment that I don’t get with other pens that I like and use regularly. I always have one inked up; and for the most part, it’s a Pro Gear.

One note on this pen: it feels ever so slightly larger than my Pro Gear Imperial Black, and I suspect that it’s due to the material being used (thick acrylic). The Imperial Black, while the same length, has an almost imperceptibly slimmer barrel than the Pro Gear Sky. To me the Imperial Black feels more comfortable, but that’s possibly due to the heavy use the pen has seen and the fact that its adjusted to my hand.

I purchased this pen from PenChalet, our sponsor, who carries a wide array of Sailor pens in stock and can special order most models. Their prices are competitive, and there is always a discount code or coupon floating around.

Ink Mixing: Putting Unused Colors to Work

May 7, 2015

We’ve all done it: Gone and splurged on a bottle of ink (or five) from Goulet or Jetpens, only to get it home and think, “mehhh?” Often the color’s not necessarily bad, but it’s not not exactly what you were looking for, so the bottle of ink sits unused and neglected in a drawer somewhere.

What to do? There’s always eBay, the FPN or FPGeeks classifieds section, or you could work out a trade in the Pen Addict Slack Channel (or at a pen show!), but what if there are no takers? Consider mixing the ink! With a touch of creativity, a syringe, a steady hand, and a slight tolerance for making a mess, you could have a completely new ink in minutes.

Warning: while you are engaged in ink mixing, avoid carpets, pets with light-colored fur, and your non-pen obsessed significant other. With regard to the latter, it’s probably best that they don’t come home to find you hunched over the sink with a syringe in one hand and an “ink vial” in the other. Trust me.

I recommend leaving your "kit" at home and not mixing inks at work.  Unless you are really tight with H.R. and have enough credibility to explain this one. — I recommend leaving your "kit" at home and not mixing inks at work. Unless you are really tight with H.R. and have enough credibility to explain this one.

Full disclosure: I’m an ink mixing novice. I present to you the product of my first effort: a mix of 4 parts Sheaffer Skrip Red and one part Aurora Black. I like the result, though next time I might try to go with a bit less black. I was going for a deep maroon (sort of like Diamine Oxblood), but it ended up just a shade too dark.

I was pleased enough with the result of this mixing effort to use the whole ink vial.  There were no adverse effects from mixing these two inks:  It dried quickly and didn't bleed. — I was pleased enough with the result of this mixing effort to use the whole ink vial. There were no adverse effects from mixing these two inks: It dried quickly and didn't bleed.

Tips for mixing ink:

If possible, only mix inks of the same brand. You can break this rule, as I obviously have here, but it involves a certain degree of risk since different ink companies might use different dyes, etc., that could react adversely to one another.
If you must break this rule and mix between inks (hey, I didn’t have any black Skrip), stick to “basic” or “safe” inks. (i.e., mix Waterman and Skrip, Aurora and Skrip, etc.) Don’t mix “boutique” inks (such as Noodler’s, Organics, Private Reserve, or Levenger) with anything other than their own brands. Even then, only mix within their “families”. For example, don’t for the love of God mix any of the Noodler’s Baystate inks with anything other than another Baystate Ink. Nathan Tardiff himself has stated that you shouldn’t do this, because it will cause an adverse chemical reaction and clog pens. Also, mixing a Noodler’s bulletproof ink with another non-bulletproof ink may cause the resulting mixture to be “not-bulletproof”.
Most importantly, go slowly, and mix in small batches. I like to mix using an ink syringe and a small ink sample vial. The vials are marked with measurements up to 5ml on the side (enough approximately 5 fills in a cartridge converter pen). The grading helps you to determine the appropriate proportions. Once you find a mix/color that you like, then you can make a larger batch.

All you really need to mix inks are a syringe or a pipette (I find the syringe to be easier and more precise), ink, and a container to hold the result of your experiment. I repurposed an old ink sample vial during the "experimental" phase, but when I go to mix a big batch of my red-black I am probably going to use one of the smaller Nalgene containers for storage. A lot of people also use the Nalgenes for travel when they don't want to carry a full bottle of ink with them. A wide variety of sizes are available.

Disclaimer: Mix inks at your own risk! Assume that the result of your concoctions might harm a pen, and test them in less valuable writers before inking up that prized vintage Vac.

Spring Cleaning!

May 2, 2015

You may have noticed a pause in new review content (pens, ink, etc.) around here, and it's because I've been doing some Spring cleaning this week. In short, I have too many pens and inks that I never use, and my general rule is if I don't use something for 6 months to a year, it needs to go to a new home with the proceeds put towards savings or investing in something that I will use. Here's what I'm cleaning out this week:

From Left:  Vintage Conklin Endura in Bronze & Black Marble, standard size.  Restored with new sac, good condition, spots of brassing on the clip ($215); Pilot Metropolitan in Black (Medium) ($8); Pilot Metropolitan in Silver (Fin… — From Left: Vintage Conklin Endura in Bronze & Black Marble, standard size. Restored with new sac, good condition, spots of brassing on the clip ($215); Pilot Metropolitan in Black (Medium) ($8); Pilot Metropolitan in Silver (Fine) ($8); Noodler's Konrad in Methuselah's Pinecone Ebonite (Flex Nib) ($20); Karas Customs G2 Bolt ($35); Sheaffer Snorkel (14K Medium Admiral (non tubular) nib, restored) ($55); Vintage Viceroy Pen/Pencil Set (Fine Gold Plated Nib, Restored) ($10).

Domestic Shipping will be $5-10, depending on how many pens you order. Prices are relatively firm but I will consider discounts if you take multiple pens off my hands.

I also have some vintage Parker Quink Permanent Blue-Black (Art Deco bottle, full), and a smaller bottle of Carter's Midnight Blue that I will consider letting go for $12 per bottle.

Contact me through the blog or tweet at me @vintagegntlmn if interested. I'm also active in the PenAddict Slack room.

This week's carry, including some of my Atlanta Pen Show Haul!  Check out the Nock Co. Fodderstack XL with the new dot-dash pocket notebook (fountain pen-friendly version). — This week's carry, including some of my Atlanta Pen Show Haul! Check out the Nock Co. Fodderstack XL with the new dot-dash pocket notebook (fountain pen-friendly version).

Monday Bag Dump!

April 27, 2015

I spent some time yesterday afternoon pulling together my stationery carry for the week. I'm traveling for at least two days (flying), so this is on the "light side." Clockwise from bottom left:

Nock Co. Lookout three pen holster with Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66 (Masuyama broad Cursive Italic, inked with Diamine Regency Blue); Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black Edition (F nib, inked with Callifolio Bourgogne); Waterman Hemisphere (F nib, inked with Sailor Grenade). I'm really liking the color combination on the Lookout (Mandarin/Blue Jay), which I won in the raffle at the Sassafras Spring Fling following Day One of the Atlanta Pen Show. The Blue Jay really pops.
Nock Co. Black Dot-Dash 48-page pocket notebook, with Nock's new fountain pen friendly paper. This paper absolutely kills it, especially where pocket notebooks are concerned. Not only are feathering and bleed-through minimized (you should only have problems with extremely wet stubs or flex nibs), but the dry time on this paper is unreal. I'm also finding that a top-bound, reporter-style notebook is very useful to me at work for to-do lists, daily capture, etc.
Midori Traveler's Notebook (large size). I'm working very hard to incorporate this into my EDC, as I love the form factor, the materials, and the paper. It's getting more use, especially when I'm on the road. This notebook contains my long-term task lists, trip planning, plane tickets, etc. I've also added some card slots to hold business cards, insurance cards, and anything else I hopefully won't need on the road but don't want to regret not having in case I do.
Levenger Circa Notebook. This one's a bit of a throwback, as I purchased this many years ago and have gone through sporadic periods of heavy use, as well as other times when I'm not using this product at all. After purchasing the Staples Arc paper punch (which at the time was much cheaper than the Circa punch and fully compatible with Levenger products), I've been using the Circa notebook to hold notes that I've taken on sheets from my Doane paper Writing Pad.
Doane Paper Writing Pad, which is one of my favorite papers for everyday use, because the grid+lines layout allows me to write large or very small, and the paper itself works well with pencils, gel pens, ballpoints, and even some fountain pens unless they are very wet writers. The Doane Writing Pad is only ruled on one side of the page, so bleed-through doesn't matter.
Baron Fig Confidant. My personal everyday journal. I love this paper.
Nock Co. Fodderstack XL. Another excellent Nock Co. product that I'm looking forward to taking with me on the road. The case is a sheath that holds up to two pocket notebooks (or one pocket notebook, plus some index cards, a checkbook, etc.) It also has a pen slot that holds one large or two smallish-size pens. I currently have my Sailor Pro Gear Sky (F nib, inked with Bung Box Sapphire) and a Lamy 2000 ballpoint (blue fine refill) stuck in the front. This color combination is the Steel/Mandarin.

Another shot of the pens I'm carrying this week.  From left: (1) Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66; (2) Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black; (3) Waterman Hemisphere; (4) Sailor Pro Gear Sky; and (5) Lamy 2000 Ballpoint. — Another shot of the pens I'm carrying this week. From left: (1) Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66; (2) Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black; (3) Waterman Hemisphere; (4) Sailor Pro Gear Sky; and (5) Lamy 2000 Ballpoint.

None of these links are affiliate links, and all of these products were purchased with my own funds (or won fair and square in the Sassafling Raffle).