Introducing the Baron Fig Vanguard, Baron Fig's new line of softcover notebooks.

Baron Fig Vanguard: A New Direction, and A Good One

June 25, 2016

Since appearing on the scene two years ago with their "Confidant" notebook, Baron Fig has continued to grow, first expanding into the softcover pocket notebook space with the "Apprentice" series of standard and limited editions, then moving into the pen world with their excellent "Squire" rollerball pen. I was a Kickstarter backer for both the Confidant and the Squire, and have been more than satisfied with both products. Recently, Baron Fig announced that they were expanding their softcover notebook line to include larger-format notebooks, with the entire line to be renamed the "Vanguard". The "Apprentice" would be retired.

Impressions

The three sizes of the Baron Fig Vanguard, from the bottom:  Plus, Flagship, and Pocket. — The three sizes of the Baron Fig Vanguard, from the bottom: Plus, Flagship, and Pocket.

The Vanguard is a nice-looking set of notebooks. Available sizes include the "Pocket", which is the equivalent of the Apprentice, and a bit smaller than your average 48-page pocket notebook at 3.5 x 5 inches; the "Flagship" (5.4 x 7.7 inches, 77 pages); and the "Plus", which is a large-format softcover notebook (7 x 10 inches, 104 pages) and the one I am perhaps most excited about. In my early days of notebook/pen addiction, I was a fan of the large and mid-size Moleskine Cahier softcover notebooks, but once I moved into fountain pens for most of my writing those fell by the wayside.

Baron Fig used very simple, streamlined packaging for this notebook, which will look very attractive when it makes it to retailers' shelves.

I'm a fan of the textured cover of the Vanguard, which, like the Apprentice, has a nice, tactile quality to it. The color scheme is the same as the standard Confidant, and comes in either Flagship Gray or Charcoal. As with the Apprentice, the binding is stitched with yellow thread. It remains to be seen whether or not Baron Fig will continue with their special edition pocket notebooks, the most recent of which was the Apprentice "Explorer" Edition and apparently is still available.

Finally, the paper is the same great paper used in the Confidant and the Apprentice, with blank, ruled, and dot grid options.

Takeaways

A size comparison of the Pocket-size Vanguard vs. the Plus-size Vanguard.

In the limited time I've had to play around with these notebooks, I'm impressed. As soon as I finish up the notebook that I currently have going, I'm going to break one of these out for an extended run, though I expect it will be the same great experience that I had with both the Confidant and the Apprentice. Baron Fig uses some of my favorite all-purpose notebook paper. This isn't Tomoe River paper, however, so if you're looking for a notebook that will let you run wild with your widest and wettest fountain pen nibs, look elsewhere. If you're an avid pencil user, it doesn't get much better than writing on Baron Fig paper.

The Vanguard is available for purchase directly from Baron Fig. The pocket notebooks are priced at $9, the "flagship" at $12, and the "plus" at $15, which is reasonable. It's a touch cheaper than the Moleskine Cahiers (via Amazon, 5x8 size), which I've found to be much less versatile notebooks in terms of the type of pens and ink you can use in them.

For another perspectives on the Baron Fig Vanguard line, please check out Ana's review at the Well-Appointed desk, which looks at the Vanguard from the perspective of using it as a sketchbook.

DISCLAIMER: Thanks to James at Baron Fig for sending me these notebooks free of charge, for review purposes. This post may also contain affiliate links.

The Delta Rediscover Pompeii Limited Edition, one of my all-time favorites in my collection.

Pen Review: Delta Rediscover Pompeii Limited Edition

June 22, 2016

It came as a surprise to a lot of people that Delta made my list of Three Favorite Pen Brands. To me, this makes perfect sense. When it comes to modern pens, the three major Italian Pen Companies - Aurora, Delta, and Visconti - are the main pen companies left that do extensive work with celluloid, one of my favorite materials. (One possible exception is Platinum, which has a small line of celluloid pens, and issues some limited editions in celluloid that generally never leave Japan.)

Why do I like celluloid so much? Because it tends to have a depth to it that's hard to duplicate in other materials like acrylic. While Conway Stewart (which is no longer in business) did an excellent job duplicating vintage celluloids with its line of acrylics, they're an outlier. Today, Delta is probably the most prolific producer of celluloid pens, and, in my opinion, has some of the most unique offerings out there.

Needless to say, when I first learned of the Rediscover Pompeii limited edition (via Glenn Marcus's review here), the yellow and black banded celluloid immediately piqued my interest. As to the pen, however, I initially wrote it off. Too big, too yellow, and too heavy to use on a regular basis. I thought the combination of size and color would look, for lack of a better term, tacky. When I saw the pen in person? Not so.

Design and Build

The Delta Rediscovery Pompeii is a full-size pen in eye-catching yellow and black celluloid.

The Rediscover Pompeii limited edition is a big pen--larger than a Pelikan M800. That said, celluloid is a fairly lightweight material, so it sits quite comfortably in the hand. With the exception of one nit discussed further below, the craftsmanship is excellent. The yellow celluloid is supposed to duplicate the original color of the houses of Pompeii. The cap band is engraved sterling silver with a "greek key" pattern. I love the look, though the sterling does add some weight to the pen when it's capped or posted. It's also slightly odd to have a sterling cap band combined with slightly cheaper chrome trim elsewhere, especially on the clip, though it's consistent with what Delta has done with its other pens such as the Dolcevita. Overall, I love the look. I wouldn't call this pen understated by any stretch, but it catches your eye in a good way.

The Rediscover Pompeii features a sterling silver cap band engraved with a "Greek Key" pattern.

My pen is a piston-filler, though Delta also makes a cartridge-converter version. What's unique about Delta's piston fillers is that they use a different mechanism than most modern pen companies: the piston is covered by a blind cap, which reveals a knurled metal knob that operates the filling system. To prevent over-tightening, the knob "clicks" when it's finished turning.

Delta's Piston-Filler Knob, with blind cap removed.

The Nib and the Overall Writing Experience

Out of the box, this nib was a medium and wrote very well, though it lacked character. The fine nib on my Delta Dolcevita Soiree has an italic/stubbish quality to it, which the Pompeii did not. At this year's Atlanta pen show, I had Mark Bacas grind the medium nib to a smooth cursive italic. The nib is now perfect for my writing style.

The Rediscover Pompeii features a 14k gold nib, rhodium plated.  I've had this nib ground to a smooth cursive italic. — The Rediscover Pompeii features a 14k gold nib, rhodium plated. I've had this nib ground to a smooth cursive italic.

Again, I can't emphasize how happy I've been with Delta nibs right out of the box. I've yet to purchase a Delta pen that needed significant smoothing or tine alignment. This goes for both my higher end Deltas with 14k nibs (this pen, the Dolcevita Soiree, and the Oversize Italian Technology demonstrator), as well as my pens with the stainless steel "Fusion" nibs.

Price/Value

At full price, the Delta Rediscover Pompeii Limited Edition is not a cheap pen. The piston filler runs upwards of $950, and the cartridge-converter version is around $660. I was able to find the piston-filler version on deep discount from Marte Modena for around $300 during one of their sales a year or so ago, which was an absolute steal and a no-brainer. I do wonder sometimes why there was such a deep discount off the MSRP, and it may be because this pen shipped with a slight factory defect. There's an issue with the threads where unless you align the nib a certain way when screwing on the cap (i.e., the nib has to face down, away from the clip), the inner cap will slightly misalign the nib tines. Given how deeply discounted the pen was, however, I'm not going to complain since this is an easy enough problem to avoid.

I did cheat a bit before splurging on this purchase. Before I went and bought the "big boy," I acquired the Delta Fusion 82 in the Pompeii celluloid at the 2014 Washington D.C. Pen Show. If you think that the full -ize Rediscover Pompeii limited edition pen might be too large, but the celluloid still speaks to you, Bryant Greer still has some of the limited edition Fusion 82 pens in stock.

Finally, I want to leave with a note on the packaging and presentation for this pen, which I found top-notch. I don't typically pay much attention to packaging, boxes, and the like, except when it's really well done (which it should be for a pen at this price point). Delta delivers this pen in a lined wooden box, with a bottle of their excellent black ink. What I like about this box is that it's lined underneath the pen/ink insert, so you can realistically reuse the box for storage. I've not had the chance to do so yet, but I'm probably going to refit this box with some pen slots and make a nice storage case out of it.

Takeaways

I'm glad that I have this pen in my collection. It's an excellent writer and despite being large, is well-balanced for long writing sessions and fits my hand well. Would I have paid full MSRP for it? Heck no. That's more than I'd pay for most pens other than the rarest of rare limited edition or vintage pieces. But the good thing about Delta is that they tend to issue their special or limited editions in relatively large numbers (my pen is marked as number 268), and if you're patient you can usually find them on sale or in the secondary market for much less.

Disclaimer: I purchased the pen featured in this review with my own funds, for my own collection. This post may contain affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase an item from certain sites linked to in this article. While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase something you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so. Many thanks!

The Pelikan M800 Burnt Orange and Pilot Custom 823 both snuck into the top tier.

My "Tier One Pens" List (as of June 18, 2016)

June 18, 2016

The other day I mentioned that I hadn't had the opportunity to update the various "best of" lists on the site. Now that things have quieted down (somewhat) for the summer, at least with respect to my travel schedule, I've had the opportunity to dig in and see if anything has changed. Short answer: it has, and I think fairly significantly.

For those of you who haven't read the prior post (available here), "Tier One" and "Tier Two" pens are terms borrowed from Episode 164 of the Pen Addict Podcast. I use the terms to refer to the different categories of "best pens" in my collection, "Tier One" Pens being those that I typically keep inked up, and that I'd never consider selling. "Tier Two" refers to nice writing pens that are frequently in rotation but are easily replaceable, or vintage pens that I love but are less durable and therefore can't be carried as much.

My Tier One Pens

Out of all the pens that I own, Sailor's Pro Gear Imperial Black Edition is a favorite.

Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black Edition. No change here. The Pro Gear Imperial Black remains my "desert island" pen.
Pilot Custom 823. I hesitated for a long time before buying this pen, mainly because of the price. I shouldn't have. The medium architect's nib that Mark Bacas ground for this pen is exceptional, and he didn't make it too sharp so I can easily use it for everyday writing. It's a no-brainer for the top tier. Look for a review in the near future.
Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Demonstrator. Another pen that I was an idiot for waiting so long to purchase, especially given the price point at which you can find it. If you're a fan of the colored Custom 74 demonstrators, you can purchase Pilot's Custom Heritage 92 piston filler in the blue, orange, and smoke colors by ordering directly from Japan via Amazon. For whatever reason, Pilot has declined to make these demonstrators available in the United States in anything but the clear acrylic.
Pelikan M800 Burnt Orange. A new pen that I haven't had the chance to review yet, but I've not been able to put down since I purchased it at this year's Atlanta Pen Show. I worried that the M800 would be too big for my hand, but that's not turned out to be the case. I love the color scheme of this pen, and the Masuyama .4mm cursive italic nib is an exceptional writer on almost any paper.
Bulkfiller Minimalistica. I had just acquired this pen when I put together my last list, and unfortunately, I've not had it inked up in a while. That needs to change. I really miss having this pen in my daily carry, because it holds a huge amount of ink and the titanium nib is an excellent writer. The "bulkfiller" mechanism is essentially a syringe filler, and is extremely easy to clean out.

My Tier Two Pens

The Lamy 2000 is a reliable, excellent everyday writer.  I'd argue than any respectable pen addict should have at least one in their arsenal. — The Lamy 2000 is a reliable, excellent everyday writer. I'd argue than any respectable pen addict should have at least one in their arsenal.

Lamy 2000 (EF Nib). I love the form factor and weight of the Lamy 2000. For reasons I talk about further later on, I've swapped out my Lamy 2000 with the Minuskin Stub in favor of my Lamy 2000 with the EF Nib.
Parker Vacumatics. Hands-down my favorite vintage pen. I've found that, like most vintage pens, they tend to burp ink and sometimes leak when exposed to temperature/air pressure fluctuations, so they don't travel all that well, keeping them in the second tier for me.
Any Sailor Pro Gear. I continue to accumulate Sailor Pro Gears, and I'd call this my overall favorite pen model. I have the Pro Gear Sky limited edition, and I recently picked up the limited edition "Soleil" Realo piston filler from Bung Box (shown below).
Delta Fusion 82. No longer a "Tier One" but still a strong "Tier 2," Delta's Fusion 82 remains a favorite. (My Marmo Incrinato celluloid pen is currently on an extended vacation to the Atlanta area--look here for a review soon.) I'd argue that the Fusion 82 has one of the best out-of-the-box nibs available.
Scriptorium Pens Balladeer. I've had a hard time putting this pen down. The Conway Stewart Dartmoor Acrylic might be one of my favorite materials, and the size, weight and balance of this pen make it perfect for long stretches of writing. Once I finish up the fill of ink that I currently have in this pen, I'll probably eyedropper it, since the barrel is drilled out for maximum ink capacity.

So, uh, yeah. This happened. Random eBay score. First in a long time. @bunguboxkaoru #penaddict #fountainpen #fpgeeks #sailorpen #sailorprogear #stationery #pennerd

A photo posted by Joe C. (@gentlemanstationer) on Apr 29, 2016 at 6:44pm PDT

What's the main difference between the new list and the old list? No stub nibs. Why? I've discovered cursive italic nibs, which typically have a lower ink flow, and therefore play nice with smaller handwriting, especially on cheap paper. I'm enjoying architect's nibs for the same reason, provided they're not ground too sharp, to the point where they will dig in and either tear the paper or get clogged up with paper fiber.

That said, I'm not going to rush out and sell all of my stubs immediately. For one thing, I may explore whether it's possible to grind some of them down to cursive italics that I'd use more. I imagine it would be fairly easy to do that (though I'd defer to someone who actually knows what they're doing on that point).

I've left the old list indexed on the site, because I find it fun to see how my tastes have evolved over time.

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase an item from certain sites linked to in this article. While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase something you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so. Many thanks!

The Sakura Microperm 01 is my new pen of choice for the Field Notes Expedition edition.

Update: Sakura Microperm for Field Notes Expedition

June 17, 2016

I want to provide a quick update of last week's review of the Field Notes Expedition edition pocket notebook. Based on the recommendation of a reader (thanks Brian!), I tried the Sakura Microperm ultra fine pen. Think of a cross between a sharpie and a pigma micron. This is an excellent pen for the Yupo Synthetic Paper. It dries immediately. I've tried to get it to smear and it won't. The only drawback is that there's a bit of a "permanent marker" smell, but the point is so fine it shouldn't be too much unless you're super sensitive to that sort of thing.

I picked these up on Amazon in a pack of 3, which includes an 01, 03, and 05.

Update will be added to the original review as well.

Galen Leather Notebooks:  On the left, navy blue leather with mustard band; on the right, dark brown leather with dark blue band. — Galen Leather Notebooks: On the left, navy blue leather with mustard band; on the right, dark brown leather with dark blue band.

Galen Leather: A New Source for Custom Leather Goods

June 15, 2016

A few months ago, I was contacted by Galen Leather and asked whether I wanted to review some of their custom handmade leather goods. This apparently was part of a marketing blitz, since pictures of their notebook covers have appeared all over Instagram and Twitter as bloggers and stationery enthusiasts receive their Galen Leather packages.

The Company

Galen Leather is an online storefront run by a brother and sister in Istanbul, Turkey. According to their "About" page, they've been in operation since 2011 and selling online since 2012. Galen Leather specializes in making all sorts of leather goods, but what's attracted the most attention are their leather notebook covers, which they make to fit Midori Traveler's notebook refills, Moleskines, Field Notes, and the Hobonichi Techo. Since I've really enjoyed the Fountain Pen Day-branded notebook cover that I picked up at the Atlanta Pen Show, I decided to go for the Traveler's Notebook-style cover in the "pocket notebook" (i.e., Field Notes-compatible) size.

I left the brass charm on the blue notebook, but swapped out the charm on the brown for the "evil eye" talisman that comes with every Galen Notebook.  Here's some background on the meaning of the "evil eye". — I left the brass charm on the blue notebook, but swapped out the charm on the brown for the "evil eye" talisman that comes with every Galen Notebook. Here's some background on the meaning of the "evil eye".

The Notebook

My Galen Leather notebooks are each made from a thick piece of leather with burnished edges. The leather is a touch stiff, at least initially, but with use and wear it should soften up. The company offers at least 13 different color options (in both leather and bands), many of which are not options for the original Traveler's Notebook. What I really like is that the Galen Leather notebook comes set up to hold four notebook refills, whereas the Midori notebook comes setup for one or two before you have to purchase more bands.

Galen Leather allowed me to pick two notebooks, complete with bands of my choice and brass "charms" which can be woven onto the belly band. They even stamped my initials onto the front of the notebook, and the impression is nice and deep. I chose the dark brown and the navy blue, both of which are attractive.

Takeaways

Galen Leather products are nice looking, well-made, and reasonably priced. I really like this product. I've only had this notebook for a bit, but over the course of two weeks it's become part of my daily carry. I use it as a sort of "carry all" that fits my pocket notebooks and all the loose papers that I tend to accumulate over the course of the day. I've kitted it out with two Field Notes-brand pocket notebooks, an Expedition and a Shelterwood, and I've even been able to comfortably tuck my Write Notepads pocket ledger in the back. I found the brass charms a bit much, to be honest, and felt they got in the way of opening and closing the notebook quickly at work, so I swapped the charm on the brown notebook out for the "evil eye" talisman that Galen includes in every shipment.

My dark brown Galen Leather notebook with two Field Notes and a Write Notepads pocket ledger.

Galen Leather prices their products quite reasonably. One knock many people have had on Midori is that the Traveler's Notebook is fairly expensive for what it is ($49.99 for the large one, before any refills or accessories). On the other hand, the Galen equivalent is priced at $32 (and ships without any refill). I see no reason why Traveler's Notebook accessories, such as the paper and cardholders, would not work with the Galen Leather notebook covers. (I've not checked the compatibility myself, so proceed at your own risk.)

As you can tell from the pictures, I've been carrying the dark brown leather notebook with the navy blue band. What do I intend to do with the Navy Blue/Gold Band notebook? Father's Day present for my Dad, since we have the same initials. (No spoiler risk here, pretty sure he's not a reader of the blog!) I think my next purchase might be a leather cover for my Hobonichi.

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase something from certain sites linked to in this article. While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase an item you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so. Many thanks!