Ink Shot Review: Franklin-Christoph Urushi Red @1901FC

Thanks to Franklin-Christoph for sending this gorgeous ink for a review!

ABOUT

Color: Red
Bottle: 60 ml
Price: $12.50 USD
Where to buy: Franklin-Christoph

PROS

• Large, easy to fill from bottle - easily accommodates larger nibs/sections.
• Gorgeous deep red. 
• Work appropriate.
• Not just work appropriate, also very fun! Lovely color.
• Shades well.
• Pretty easy to clean.
• Has a dark sheen!
• Also available in eyedropper bottle.

CONS

• Only available at Franklin-Christoph! I guess that's not a huge deal...
• Low water resistance.
• If the traditional bottle gets sloshed around, ink can get into the threads of the cap, and then transfer to the threads on the mouth of the bottle, and it can cause very minor ink leakage. Try to keep the bottle steady. I occasionally clean out the threads (I also have to do this for other ink bottles, so it's not exclusive to these, but it is something to be aware of). 

OVERALL

Another hit from Franklin-Christoph! Great red that makes me think of Urushi fountain pens. Delicious. Again, I don't see this one often enough so I'm happy to share it with you here. $12.50 for 60 ml of this, in a glass bottle (if you opt for the traditional bottle) is a great price for a well-behaved, good looking ink.


I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Review: @GoodMadeBetter Walnut Pen Desk Stand

Thanks to Good Made Better for sending this pretty pen well for me to test out and review! The Penwell was designed in, and are manufactured and assembled in, South Dakota, USA. The idea of the pen well is to have an attractive unit that can convert your fountain pen (or ballpoint) into a desk pen. That is, a pen that you pluck from a stand and it is ready to write! Desk pens and desk pen stands have of course been around for a long time. Now even your favorite pen can be used as a desk pen!

Note: at the time of this review, Good Made Better was called Penwell Co. It has since been renamed.

ABOUT

Material: Walnut
Size: 2" x 2.75"
Body insertion diameter: 1"
Weight: 1.5 oz
Price: $49.00 USD
Where to buy: Good Made Better

PACKAGING

The Penwell is presented in a round tin with a removable lid. There is a Penwell logo sticker on the side along with a wax seal for an added finishing touch. Inside, there is a Penwell coaster and the pen well itself securely held in place in a snug foam cutout. I like the tin. It's nice, tidy, and cute. Presentable, reusable, and ideal for storing little items that get lost otherwise - paper clips, hair ties, peanuts.

APPEARANCE

The Walnut Penwell is small and cute. It sits flat and the mouth opens at an angle. "Penwell" is subtly engraved on the lip of the opening. The bottom has a micro-suction ring and the inside has a foam liner with a metal structure for holding the cap. It's a simple unit but looks quite nice. I prefer the Walnut over the metal options but the ceramic limited edition was the best! The Walnut has a smooth finish and it has dark streaks that highlight the beauty of the wood. It has a hand rubbed oil finish that gives the wood depth and a hint of sheen. It's finished well and doesn't have any rough bits. It looks so cute on my desk!

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

There are installation instructions on the Good Made Better website. It's very easy - find a place and stick it on a clean surface. I had no issues placing various fountain pens into the foam mouth. I simply inserted the pen until it felt snug. I did try lacquered pens and there were no visible scratches upon removal. I took the risk to test my pens for you but just in general, I think I would not recommend putting very delicate finishes in a snug foam mouth, especially if you like your pens pristine.

It performed exactly as described. It allowed me to leave a pen cap in place and when I needed my pen, I either unscrewed the barrel or popped it out (for snap caps) from the base, wrote, and replace the barrel.

Pens with really snug slip caps were tricky. I had to wiggle the pen and rotate it slightly. Some pens have a looser slip cap, others are really tight so it depends on your own. Ultimately, it is ideal to use with threaded caps because no yanking is required. The main issue I had with a snug slip cap was in the case of an eyedropper pen - every time I managed to yank the pen out of the stand, ink splattered in the cap and sometimes on the desk.

Removing/moving the Penwell is simple. Grip the base and lift, wriggling as you go. I placed and removed my Penwell three times and it continues to work, but I am always careful to clean the surface before I place it.

I did notice some indentation in the foam from larger pens. It restored almost to its original shape, save the little dent. I did not really notice any effect on gripping caps. Wider pens do not need to go in very deeply and slimmer pens fit deeper in the mouth. I did not try really, really wide pens - like Jumbo-sized pens because they're not really the kinds of pens I wanted as a desk pen.

PROS

• Affordable accessory to turn your fountain pen into a desk pen!
• Great gift idea for a new and budding fountain pen lover, or an existing pen lover.
• Simple, attractive presentation with minimal waste.
• Easy to use.
• Can be moved around - not a one-time use item.
• Variety of materials available.
• Designed, manufactured, and assembled in the USA. 
• Support small business!
• Works well for turning your pen into a desk pen!
• I did not experience any ink leaks into the cap under normal circumstances of use. (I did have splatter when I yanked my eyedroppered barrel from a super snug cap.)

CONS

• Can be tricky with pens with snug slip caps - easier to use with screw caps.
• Foam can be compacted by wide pens.

OVERALL

I actually have few complaints about the Penwell. It's easy to use and worked well with the pens I wanted to have always at the ready. It's a cute accessory, a great gift idea for the pen lover in your life. I feel like the price - although not inexpensive - is not unfair, in my humble opinion. The Walnut is beautiful but the one that really appealed to me was the ceramic small batch that has since sold out.









I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Review: Lamy Aion Fountain Pen - Black & Olive Silver @AppelboomLaren

Thanks to Appelboom for sending these Lamy Aions for a review! I was really interested in spending some time with them as it's been quite some time since I have used a new Lamy model.

ABOUT

Body material: Aluminum
Trim: Aluminum
Cap: Slip cap
Posts: Yes, friction
Nib material: Steel (14kt gold optional)
Filling system: Lamy proprietary cartridge/converter
Length (capped): 142.92 mm/5.63"
Length (uncapped): 136.72 mm/5.38"
Length (posted): 162.46 mm/6.40"
Length (section): 37.51 mm/1.47"
Diameter (barrel): 11.17 - 12.93 mm/0.44" - 0.51"
Diameter (section): 9.88 - 13.08 mm/0.39" - 0.52"
Weight (all): 35 g
Weight (cap): 12 g
Weight (body): 23 g
Price: $ 50.00 USD
Where to buy: Appelboom

Discount code for 10% off: friend

PACKAGING

The Aion is presented in a solid grey box. There is a matte grey Lamy plaque on the top. The lid lifts open to reveal a felted grey slotted bed. The pen is wrapped in a plastic sleeve and is accompanied by a Lamy pamphlet. It is a simple box that can be used to house two pens in the slotted tray and it doesn't take up too much space. Not bad.

APPEARANCE

The Aion is an intriguing pen. It is actually quite large compared to other Lamy pens I have used (Safari, AL-Star, 2000, Studio, Logo). The Aion is round with a blunt, slightly tapered back end and a blocky flat top. The finial is unmarked. The end of the cap on both colors has a shiny metal band. Otherwise, the cap and barrel are somewhat matte - both colors look brushed. The clip is attached through a clean cut out in the cap. It is plain, shiny, and is shaped like a plain, long rectangle. LAMY is engraved on the side of the clip. It is a rather featureless clip that I don't care for. I don't dislike it... but I don't really like it either.

The long cap covers the long section. Uncapped, there is still a lot of barrel behind the section. The barrel connects to the section smoothly - except it unscrews to ink right at the joint. The section is smooth, matte silver or black, and tapers towards the nib. The pens have a modern look and design that I'm still confused about. It looks like a cross between the Lamy 2000 and the Lamy Dialog. Even after several months, I haven't decided if I truly like it or not. I know a lot of others love it, but maybe it's just not for me.

The Olive Silver is a nice silver with a slightly olive-green-yellow tint. It's hard to describe but it brings the brightness down a notch and I really like that. The black is just a regular blasted-finish black. It's nice but doesn't excite me like the Olive Silver. 

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib is Lamy's steel but gold nibs are also an available upgrade. The nibs here are medium and broad. They have a single slit, a round breather hole, and they are laser engraved with the nib size and LAMY. Why on earth are Lamy's nibs laser engraved? Anyway. The nibs are similar to the Safari/AL-Star/Studio nibs but they have a rounded tine shape.

The regular Lamy steel and gold nibs do fit on the Aion. The nibs perform well - fairly smooth, medium ink flow, no skips or hard starts. They are pleasant writers that offer a firm writing experience, but a reliable one as well. I've always had a positive experience with Lamy nibs - they may be slightly inconsistent in their grading (i.e some fines are mediums and some fines are extra-fine), but I find them overall to be pretty solid writers.

The Aion did not come with a converter, which I think is unfortunate, but I have plenty of supply here in my stash. No issues with the cartridge/converter function.

IN HAND

This is the part I'm stuck on. There is so much to think about that I just cannot decide if I like these pens or not. The clip is spring-loaded and super easy to operate, and it's quite pleasant.  It isn't a super snug clip and for such a large pen, I find it a bit wobbly when it is clipped to things. It does not slide on things easily - lifting the clip makes it better.

The section feels too girthy for me, and slightly slippery because it is so smooth and featureless. Combined with the length of the pen, I find it a bit uncomfortable to hold for long writing sessions. Short notes are ok.

Unposted, the pen fills my grip so it feels too large somehow. It is not too heavy or unbalanced, just full. The cap posts deeply, snugly, and securely by friction. The barrel is so long and the cap posts so far down on the barrel that it isn't as long as I expected when posted. It is too heavy, however, and I find it a bit unbalanced. I prefer to use the Aion unposted but either way, I only found it comfortable for shorter writing sessions.

Top to bottom: Lamy Safari, Montblanc Muses Marilyn Monroe, Pelikan M200 Smoky Quartz, Montblanc M Ultra Black, Lamy Aion Olive Silver, Lamy Aion Black, Lamy Studio Racing Green, Lamy Studio Piano Black, Sailor 1911 Fude.

Another thing I don't care for is there are so many threads to unscrew the section from the barrel. Not a deal breaker but just another thing I am not crazy about.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

I was really torn about writing this review. I just don't know how I feel about this one. At $50 or so, it wouldn't be the worst thing to take a chance on it and if you really don't like it, pass it on or sell it, but you may just love it like many others do. There's nothing really terribly wrong with the pen. It works well, it's robust and solid, it's fairly affordable, and it's decent all around. It just doesn't do much for me. My favorite thing between both pens and all their features is the Olive Silver color. It's bright but not too shiny and I think it's more unique than the black, which I usually prefer. It doesn't come with a converter, it's too large for me to really use comfortably, I find it slippery... I don't know. I don't hate it but I don't really care for it either. I like the Lamy Safari better so I'll stick to those.






I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Sponsor Highlight: Casa della Stilografica and Discount Code! @stilografica_fi

I am happy and honoured to welcome Casa della Stilografica back for another year of sponsorship! I am grateful for Marco's support, as well as for your readership. Casa della Stilografica has graciously offered Gourmet Pens readers a 10% off discount code: FLORENCE. 

DISCOUNT CODE: 

FLORENCE for  10% off

Apply code by clicking ''Promotion'' at the top of the homepage

(No commission, just a referral!)

Casa della Stilografica has a pretty big selection of goods: inks, pen cases, accessories, from brands like Aurora, Cross, Delta, S.T. Dupont, Faber-Castell, Graf Von Faber-Castell, Visconti, Caran d'Ache, Lamy, Montblanc, Montegrappa, Monteverde, OMAS, Parker, Sailor, Pelikan, Pilot/Namiki, TWSBI, and more. Prepare your wallets. Visit the Special Offers section for all the sales!

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@ScriptusToronto 2017 Pen Show

This year, Stephen and I were able to attend the Toronto's Pen & Writing Show: Scriptus! It took place at the Toronto Reference Library on Yonge Street. How cool is it to have a pen show in a library? Très cool!! I have attended other one day pen shows before, so pens and goodies were packed in from 10 am - 4 pm. The show itself was fantastic, well-organized, spacious enough to browse and relax, and full of spirit. If you have a chance to attend, I'd recommend it.

This post is very late. The reason is, as with the DC show this year, I didn't take many pictures. I hung out with old friends, new friends, crazy pen friends, and more. I ate cookies, talked about pens, talked about life, and I shopped very reasonably. I picked up a boatload of items to review from Knights Writing Co. The thing with pen shows when I first started attending is they used to be about looking at pens I couldn't find elsewhere or trying different pens I'd dreamed of trying... it's still a bit of that, but it's more so about finding friends and bonding. If I met you at the show and have not yet contacted you, it's because I am a horrible procrastinator, not because I don't love you. I was so caught up in chatting and hanging out that I didn't even make it to every table to say hi to everyone! ACK! Next time...

I was fortunate to chat with Emmanuel from ASC Pens, and he gifted me this adorable Omas Divine ballpoint. Although there aren't many out there, I just wanted to show it to you because it's so cute.

 

The whole shebang. 

Acquired at the table of Claudia of BauerInks!

Review goodies (some on loan) from Knights Writing Co.!