Blackwing Volumes: All Three Together, Now

December 13, 2015

I haven't written much about the Palomino Blackwing, mostly because I don't feel as though I have anything to say that hasn't already been said. I don't burn through as many woodcase pencils as some people, but when I do reach for one, it's often the Palomino Blackwing 602 or the Blackwing Pearl. Recently, however, I've been accumulating a stash of these:

These, of course, are the Blacking "Volumes" Limited Edition pencils.  From left, the Blackwing 725, the Blackwing 211, and the Blackwing 1138. — These, of course, are the Blacking "Volumes" Limited Edition pencils. From left, the Blackwing 725, the Blackwing 211, and the Blackwing 1138.

I fully acknowledge that I've more or less crossed the line into hoarding with yet another limited-edition-subscription line of products, but I like having these pencils within reach. I'll probably break up the packs and give a few to family members in their Christmas stocking, along with some 3-packs of Field Notes I have lying around. (See, that "hoarding" is really just "planning ahead" for the holidays!)

My impressions: Aesthetically, I prefer the Volumes 211 (John Muir Trail theme). I love natural wood pencils, and the brown eraser is the kicker. Second place is a virtual tie. I play guitar, so I like the Volumes 725 (Newport Folk Festival / Sunburst theme), but the new Volumes 1138 (Sci-Fi theme) is cool-looking as well, though I'm not much of a film buff. I'm using them both fairly regularly, so no need to make a decision. Curiously, I've found the graphite core of the 211 to be identical to the core in the Blackwing 602, but the cores on the 725 and the 1138 to be just slightly harder than their supposed equivalents, the Pearl and the Original. It could just be a batch variation unique to the packs of pencils in my stash, but there you go.

DISCLAIMER: I purchased all of the products featured in this review with my own funds, for my own collection. I have not been compensated in any way for this review.

Ink Review: J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor

December 3, 2015

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, I know, but regardless, this ink is so awesome that I couldn't stand to not review it. J. Herbin, the French ink manufacturer known for being one of the oldest in the world still operating, has released the latest entry in its "1670" series of "anniversary" inks that contain gold flakes. The fourth time must indeed be the charm, because after some earlier misses, they've nailed this one.

The first 1670 ink, Rouge Hematite, has its devotees, but I didn't care for the bottle I tried. The gold flakes weren't the problem--they didn't clog my pen and they weren't too pronounced, as I'd initially feared. Rather, I found the red too pinkish and the ink smeared so badly (on even the cheapest, most absorbent paper) that it ended up being unusable. I'd literally rest my hand on a sheet of paper I'd written on hours ago, only to pick it up and have pinkish ink transfer all over my palm. While Rouge Hematite supposedly has been reformulated multiple times, I had such a bad experience that I never picked it up again, and was never tempted by the next two inks in the series, Blue Ocean and Stormy Grey.

The hallmark of the Herbin 1670 inks:  Gold on the bottom!  Shake the bottle before filling. — The hallmark of the Herbin 1670 inks: Gold on the bottom! Shake the bottle before filling.

And so I initially ignored the fourth entry in the series, Emerald of Chivor. And then I read this review. And this review. And ESPECIALLY this one (Susan's photos of the sheen and gold flakes are far beyond anything I can do with my levels of photographic incompetence). So I decided to give it a shot.

Short answer: I'm glad I did. I'm liking this ink a lot, and I can see this making it into the rotation for personal writing, but maybe not for work. (My office culture has a ways to go before glitter ink becomes a thing. And yes, try to avoid it all you want, but at the end of the day, it's basically glitter ink. Only slightly more acceptable in a professional setting than this.)

The ink itself is a teal-green, similar to Sailor Yama-Dori, but darker. I've included a writing sample in the gallery below: with a wet nib, from a few steps away, the ink will dry very dark. As it dries, a nice red sheen emerges, and unlike the Rouge Hematite, the ink dries quickly, even on super slick Clairefontaine paper. I will note that I did experience some minor bleedthrough and feathering on cheaper paper. Surprisingly, it was Staples sugarcane paper, which typically handles fountain pen ink fairly well, but since I'm probably not going to be using this ink at the office (where cheap paper is everywhere) it's not that big of a deal. I'd also mention that this ink is not waterproof (picture in gallery), but it doesn't fare as poorly with a splash of water as other Herbin inks I've used.

My experience with the Herbin 1670 inks is a great example of why you should be careful when generalizing about ink brands. Inks can, and sometimes do, vary significantly even though they are made by the same manufacturer, or come from the same line. If you are looking for a dark blue-green ink with a lot of character, I can easily recommend Emerald of Chivor.

I would agree that you should heed the warning on the box.  (It has everything but the skull and crossbones.)  A cartridge-converter pen might give you more leeway, but I'd flush pens filled with this ink at least every couple of week… — I would agree that you should heed the warning on the box. (It has everything but the skull and crossbones.) A cartridge-converter pen might give you more leeway, but I'd flush pens filled with this ink at least every couple of weeks or so.

I would like to take a moment to thank Pen Boutique for providing me with this bottle of ink for review. Pen Boutique is an excellent source for pens and ink, especially limited edition inks. (Confession: they are my primary source for limited edition Montblanc inks when I need to stock up on ones that I like.) You can purchase Emerald of Chivor directly from them.

DISCLAIMER: I was provided the product reviewed in this post, free of charge, for review purposes.

Done.

November 30, 2015

It ended up being just over 53,000 words, once I ran the NaNoWriMo word count verification widget: about 43,000 typed, plus another 10,000 handwritten. That was quite an adventure, and fittingly, I closed out the month by handwriting my final 1,000 words. While the book is far from finished (as in, not even halfway there), this was a great way to get started, and I'd definitely consider participating again next year. Now, to get back to some pen-and-ink blogging, here's a shot of my last set of tools.

Staples sugarcane paper composition book and a Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66 eyedroppered with Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo.

I really enjoyed taking a break from the blog to write some fiction, but now I'll probably take a short break from further work on the book to let the ideas percolate for a while and get caught up on other projects. This was definitely one of the harder things I've ever done, in terms of daily commitment and discipline. I'm not sure 1500-2000 words of anything on a daily basis is sustainable for me, especially if I want to maintain the standard of quality I shoot for in my writing. While NaNoWriMo is a great vehicle for getting as much down on paper as you possibly can, I often felt that I was pushing quantity over quality, and that I had to keep going past the point where "the well was dry" for the day.

Anyway, thanks to all of you who reached out with words of encouragement. It made a real difference. I thought about hanging up on this challenge at least twice, but always managed to wake up the next day and get back on the horse.

Happy writing, and to those of you still finishing up NaNoWriMo today, write on!

I really needed this tonight:  A Terrapin Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout made with Nashville's own Olive and Sinclair Chocolate — I really needed this tonight: A Terrapin Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout made with Nashville's own Olive and Sinclair Chocolate

This Pretty Much Sums It Up

November 22, 2015

Sorry, folks. I know it's been sparse around here lately. I've turned the corner on NaNoWriMo, crossing the 35000 word threshold today. Unfortunately, some family health issues and work travel conspired to steal three or four of my writing days, so I've had to play catch up. While I'm going to do my best to finish this thing, priorities do exist.

Since I had to spend a bit of time in a place where it wasn't easy to write on the computer, I switched over to handwriting my novel. I discovered that I'm not that much slower writing by hand than I am typing. Bonus: I was able to empty half-a-dozen fountain pens in three days. Some of those had been filled since the DC Pen Show (yikes). Now I actually have the capacity to load up some new inks, and review some pens I've had in the queue. PenBoutique was kind enough to send me a bottle of Emerald of Chivor to review, so at least a portion of my remaining NaNoWriMo challenge will be spent with that ink loaded into my Newton Shinobi. Thomas Hall was also kind enough to loan me his Zebra Sharbo X multi pen to try out, and I've got a review in progress there. Lots of good stuff to come (including woodcase pencil goodness). But for tonight, I'm inclined to enjoy this beer and wait for my hand to stop cramping. (Seriously people, this brings me back to college finals...)

Anyone else making the final NaNoWriMo push? Anyone else finding that they are having to take an "internet holiday" to get the writing in?

Pen Review: The Scriptorium Balladeer

November 14, 2015

After the Atlanta Pen Show, all the way back in April, I made the tough (for me) decision to liquidate a large number of pens in my collection and invest in a smaller number of more expensive custom pieces. I ended up ordering a Newton Shinobi, a Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica, and a Scriptorium Balladeer. The most difficult part of ordering a custom pen is that you have to wait for the pen to actually be made, which in some instances can create a lag of three to six months between the time you pay for the pen in full and when you actually have the pen in your hands. It’s worth the wait, though. All three have exceeded my expectations.

While I don’t have a personal favorite—all three pens are well made, and very different—the Balladeer has surprised me the most. While I knew that I wanted to order a pen from Renee at Scriptorium Pens (you can read up on her and her story here), I was torn between several models.

Size

The Balladeer was my favorite from the beginning, but I hesitated because I thought it would be too big. I don't mind a large-diameter pen--I have several--but because I like to post my pens, weight becomes an issue if the cap is too heavy or if the pen posts too high. After some discussion with Renee, she suggested drilling out the barrel to decrease weight (which also has the benefit of increasing the pen's ink capacity when filled as an eyedropper), and tapering the barrel ever-so-slightly to allow the cap to post deeper than it normally would.

Renee conveniently offers pens in a variety of sizes (small, medium, large, and oversize), but keep in mind that even the medium is relatively large. I settled on a medium, after scrutinizing the measurements on the Scriptorium website and comparing them against what I considered the most comfortable pens in my collection. (The site is a pen geek's dream.) The exact degree of variation between sizes will differ depending on the model you order. To give some sense of the scale of the Balladeer, I would compare my *medium* to a slightly slimmer Montblanc 149.

Dartmoor Acrylic

I'm a sucker for celluloids and other materials that *look* like celluloid, such as these Conway Stewart acrylics that Renee and other pen turners scooped up after Conway folded last year. My Balladeer features the "Dartmoor" acrylic, which I'd describe as a dark brown/green/black with veins and flecks of white, gold, and caramel. From what I've seen around the interwebs, Dartmoor and Amber are the two Conway Stewart acrylics that have received the most attention, and photos don't do the Dartmoor justice. To set off the Dartmoor, I opted for end caps made out of Urushi Red acrylic. The end result is a hand turned acrylic pen, made to my specifications, that, at least to me, is practically indistinguishable from a celluloid pen with urushi trim. To purchase the latter--or even to find someone who knows how to make it--would be prohibitively expensive.

Build and Trim

Scriptorium Pens Silver Clip.  I love the minimalist engraving. — Scriptorium Pens Silver Clip. I love the minimalist engraving.

Renee knows her stuff. This pen is hand-turned, and if there are any manufacturing flaws or artifacts, I haven't found them yet. I chose the sterling silver clip and the stainless steel medium JoWo nib, which is the same steel nib used by Edison Pen Co. and Franklin-Christoph. JoWo nibs aren't my favorite, but they are more than serviceable, and the beauty of this pen is what makes it a pleasure to write with.

Value

All models of Scriptorium Pens start at $225, which includes a steel nib with a converter. Some materials, such as ebonite and the Conway acrylics, have an additional charge associated with them. Renee's pricing process is transparent and plainly set out on her site. Between the Dartmoor, the Urushi Red caps, and the sterling silver clip, this pen set me back approximately $275. Value is always a matter of opinion/preference, but I consider that a good deal for a work of art. To the extent any issues ever occur with the pen, I couldn't imagine that Renee's customer service would be anything less than impeccable.

Normal cartridge/converter filling system, but the pen also can be used as an eyedropper.  I just haven't gotten around to testing this out ye! — Normal cartridge/converter filling system, but the pen also can be used as an eyedropper. I just haven't gotten around to testing this out ye!

Overall, I'm extremely happy with my Balladeer, and consider it a great purchase. I've been using it fairly exclusively for the past month or so, given that I find it so comfortable to write with. Renee will work with you to customize your pen to your needs, and I cannot recommend her services enough.

DISCLAIMER: I purchased this pen with my own funds, for my own collection. I have not been compensated in any way for this review. All thoughts expressed here are my own.