A Retrospective: One Year of the Gentleman Stationer

June 2, 2015

For this week's “links” post, I’ve decided to look back at one year’s worth of posts on this blog in its current form. It’s been interesting to review these older posts over the past few days to get a sense of what readers find interesting, and in particular what particular posts (or categories of posts) have staying power. To those of you new to the blog, here’s an opportunity to catch up on my “greatest hits”!

One Week With . . . The Pilot Metropolitan. My review of the Pilot Metropolitan posted for Fountain Pen Day back in November, when we were giving away a silver Metro with a fine nib courtesy of Jetpens. The Metropolitan continues to be the “gateway drug” of many into the fountain pen world, and if you’re just dipping your toes in the water it’s a good place to start. I don’t own a Metropolitan anymore (hey, I had to create some space somehow) but I continue to wholeheartedly recommend them.
A Modern Classic: The Parker Sonnet. The success of this review surprises me. It’s one of my earliest reviews (written in July of last year), and consistently shows up as one of my “most read” posts. Many people knock the Sonnet as a temperamental pen that frequently has nib issues—and this may be the case—but I bought this one at a pen show, had Mike Masuyama work on the fine nib, and have used it consistently every since. I love the chiseled stainless steel pattern on this pen, and it has a permanent place in my pen chest.
Ink Review: Sailor Yama Dori. Ok, so this one isn’t much of a surprise at all. I don’t think I’ve come across anyone who has used this ink and doesn’t at least “like” it. The black-teal color is unique, and I find Sailor inks to be among the most consistently well-behaved. If you haven’t seen or tried this ink, read this review and then go order yourself a sample.
Sailor Professional Gear Imperial Black Edition. Another non-surprise, especially given that I flog this pen to anyone who will listen to me wax poetic about Sailor’s nibs, the pen’s perfect size, the matte-black finish . . . you get the point. I’ve had this pen going on two years. I’ve pretty much considered selling or trading every pen I own at some point, except this one.
Pilot G2 Limited. My most-read review of a non-fountain pen. I still love the G2, probably as much as or more than any other commonly available gel pen. I gifted this particular pen to my brother this Christmas when he asked me for an “upgrade” and he loves it. Readily available, for not much money at all. (WARNING: Impulse-buy affiliate link here.)

Thanks to all of you who visit (regularly or occasionally) my little corner of the pen blogosphere. I appreciate all of you and look forward to writing here for a long time to come.

Franklin-Christoph: Eyedropper Mania!

May 30, 2015

As I recounted here, last month I decided to shift my modern collecting focus to custom pens, and sold off a large number items in my collection to fund several purchases that would give me a head start in this direction. I ordered four fountain pens: a Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica, a Newton Shinobi, a Scriptorium Balladeer, and a Franklin-Christoph Model 65 Stabilis with a Masuyama-ground medium cursive italic nib. So far, the Model 65 is the only pen I’ve actually received, but--as you will soon be reading--I’m very pleased with the purchase. This morning I received notice that the Conid has shipped (woo-hoo!), and the other two are in production and should make their way to me by mid-summer. In the meantime, I wanted to give my first impressions of not only the Franklin-Christoph Model 65, but also the Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66 that I picked up at the Atlanta Pen Show last month.

Past Experience

Franklin-Christoph is headquartered in North Carolina and has a long an interesting history. I have owned one Franklin-Christoph pen in the past: a Model 03 Iterum that I impulse purchased at the Baltimore pen show a few years back. The pen turned out to be something that just didn't work for me, though I liked the Masuyama-ground medium stub nib that came with it. Since then, I’ve watched Franklin-Christoph closely, waiting for another opportunity to pick up a different pen that spoke to me more.

Model 66 Pocket and Model 65 Stabilis

The “Stabilis” line of pens originated as tester pens that F-C would bring to pen shows so that customers could test all of their various nib offerings. The Model 66 holds No. 6 nibs, while the Model 65 holds the slightly smaller No. 5. If you visit the F-C table at a show, they will have dozens of Stabilis pens set out on the table featuring the entire range of nibs in both High-Performance Steel and 18k Gold. Their range includes standard nib sizes (EF, F, M, B, 1.1, 1.5), the Masuyama specialty nibs (XXF Needlepoint, Medium Italic, Broad Italic, Medium Stub, Broad Stub), and the 1.9mm Christoph Music Nib. It turns out that customers really liked the tester pens and wanted to buy them, so F-C began offering them for sale.

Franklin-Christoph Nib Size Comparison:  Model 66 No. 6 nib on the left; Model 65 No. 5 nib on the right.  Note the threads at the top of the grip section. — Franklin-Christoph Nib Size Comparison: Model 66 No. 6 nib on the left; Model 65 No. 5 nib on the right. Note the threads at the top of the grip section.

The full size Model 66 Stabilis is a bit large for me (which is why I ultimately opted for the Model 65), but F-C does offer the Model 66 in a shorter “Pocket” version. Seeing this for the first time at the Atlanta Pen Show, I couldn’t resist picking one up. It’s the perfect size for a daily carry pen, and for over a month it’s been inked and riding with one of my Sailor Pro Gears in the front pocket of my Nock Co. Fodder stack. For a size comparison of the Model 65 Stabilis and the Pocket 66, see the gallery at the bottom of this post.

Build Quality

The build quality on F-C pens is outstanding. I have neither experienced nor heard of widespread problems with cracks, excessive scratching, or other manufacturing flaws. The caps thread on and post easily, and the threads are cut fairly wide and short, so that cap removal doesn’t take long while still attaching securely. As Susan Pigott points out in her excellent review of the Model 65 for the Pen Addict, the threads are placed at the front of the grip section, out of the way of your fingers, so both Stabilis pens are very comfortable to hold. The pens post well (important for me), and the Model 65 has a flat side so that the pen doesn’t roll off my desk—crucial for a “desk pen”! The Pocket 66 is completely round, but it's used for pocket carry so I haven't had an issue.

The "Ice Effect" in an eyedroppered Model 65 Stabilis.

Most F-C pens are turned from acrylic, though they have some metal options as well. Both of my pens reviewed here are from the “ice” series of demonstrators, meaning that they are turned from clear acrylic but the inside of the pen barrel is not polished in order to maintain the “rough” texture. This creates a smoky, or “ice-like", appearance. When the pen is used as an eyedropper, you can still see the ink slosh around in the barrel of the pen, but the ink also settles in the nooks and crannies of the acrylic and looks, well, like ice.

Filling System

Both of my Franklin-Christoph pens set up as eyedroppers.  On the left is the Model 65 Stabilis filled with Waterman Blue-Black (a classic workhorse!); on the right is the Pocket Model 66 filled with vintage Montblanc Bordeaux. — Both of my Franklin-Christoph pens set up as eyedroppers. On the left is the Model 65 Stabilis filled with Waterman Blue-Black (a classic workhorse!); on the right is the Pocket Model 66 filled with vintage Montblanc Bordeaux.

Most Franklin-Christoph pens are versatile. They can be set up to write as cartridge-converter models or as eyedroppers. Both of my pens have been converted to eyedroppers. “Eyedroppering” a pen is not as scary as it sounds. You apply a small bit of silicone grease to the threads in two places: where the nib unit screws into the section, and where the section screws into the barrel. The trick is to make sure the silicone grease is applied all the way around the threads to seal the ink in the pen. I’ve had no accidents so far, and I’ve not been especially gentle with my Model 66 Pocket.

Eyedropper:  the end result. — Eyedropper: the end result.

A couple notes on eyedroppering: make sure you like the ink you use, because it will be with you for a while, and make sure the ink is relatively easy to clean, especially with the F-C “ice” models. As I noted above, the inside of the ice demonstrators is not smooth. I imagine that a staining ink could get trapped in the nooks and crannies and be difficult to clean. So far, I’ve stuck with Waterman, Montblanc, and Diamine inks and haven’t had any issues with flushing ink out of these pens when cleaning and refilling. I've even changed inks once in the Pocket 66 (from blue to red), and I saw no residue from the old ink (Diamine Regency Blue) after about 10 minutes of cleaning.

Nibs and Packaging

In my mind, two things make Franklin-Christoph pens truly stand out from offerings by other companies: the nibs and the packaging. First, the nibs. F-C uses JoWo nibs, the same nibs used by the Edison Pen Company, Newton Pens, Scriptorium Pens, and many more. While I have tried the 18K gold nibs at pens shows and found them to be smooth and a bit “springy,” JoWo’s "high-performance" (??) steel nibs are quality and I don’t notice a marked difference in performance that would justify the increased price (for me at least). As I mentioned above, one of the most attractive selling points of F-C pens is that they offer specialty nibs custom ground by Mike Masuyama. Some of these nibs are not regularly offered elsewhere, such as the XXF needlepoint, medium stub, and medium cursive italic options. You can also order extra nib units for your pens, and they are easy to unscrew and swap out.

Writing Sample for the Model 65 (Masuyama Medium Cursive Italic) in Waterman Blue-Black.

Writing sample for the Model 66 Pocket (Masuyama Broad Italic) in vintage Montblanc Bordeaux.

At the Atlanta Pen Show, I purchased the “Pocket 66” in clear ice, with the Masuyama broad cursive italic nib. I wanted the medium cursive italic nib, but they had sold out of the No. 6 nib in that size. So why not step out of my comfort zone? End result: there is not a significant difference between the two nibs. When I ordered my Model 65 Stabilis the following month, I opted for the medium CI, and while I slightly prefer the narrower size, it doesn’t keep me from using the Pocket 66 on a daily basis. Even the broad nib is still “fine” enough for me to use to annotate legal briefs and other documents, and it helps that the cursive italic grind, due to its sharpness, tends to not be as wet as a stub and therefore writes better on cheaper paper.

New Franklin-Christoph packaging.  I love the useful leather pen case/carryall.  (I now have two of them.) — New Franklin-Christoph packaging. I love the useful leather pen case/carryall. (I now have two of them.)

Previously, F-C packaged it’s pens in the same faux-alligator clamshell box used by other pen companies such as Edison. While they make for great gift presentation, these boxes are of limited utility elsewhere. Franklin Christoph recently switched to packaging their pens in a brown leather zippered pen sleeve, which I find much more useful. The case easily holds one large pen or two small-to-medium pens, and I’ve also used it to carry a variety of pen-related items, from cartridges to gel pens. I have my Nock Co. gear to cart my fountain pens around, so it probably won’t get much use as an actual pen case.

Takeaway

Franklin Christoph offers high-quality, versatile pens at a reasonable cost, especially if you are looking to try out custom nibs. If you don’t want to risk sending a pen you already own to a nibmeister to grind, I would highly recommend purchasing a Franklin-Christoph pen in a standard nib size (F,M,B) and then springing for an extra Masuyama nib unit. You are guaranteed to get a high quality grind, and Jim Rouse of Franklin-Christoph does one final tuning of the nib to make sure it writes correctly. At a pen show, he will let you write with the pen before he tunes it, and will adjust smoothness, ink flow, etc. to your preferences. The end result is outstanding: these two pens are among the best writing stub/italic nibs that I own, and I don't say that lightly.

DISCLAIMER: I have not been compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for this review. Both of these pens were purchased by me with my own funds for my own use and enjoyment.

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.