Wander through the pendemonium of pens, papers, and inks unleashed by the opening of the Pendora's Box.
Pendora's Box went live on February 1, 2016. The blog is still in infancy but I thought I would reflect a little on the past month. I don't foresee that I would do this every month but I think it would be interesting to look back on how the blog came to be, is doing and what else I want to do with it....
Read MoreThere's lots of Internet chatter these days about the demise of Omas. I, for one, am sad to see this venerable pen maker go under. I was introduced to Omas thanks to Brian Goulet's wonderfully in-depth videos when the Goulet Pen Company started carrying Omas. I was also extremely curious about the 'Extra Flessibile' nib so that's what I got...
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Pen: TWSBI 580 EF
Ink: Noodlers Plains of Abraham
Brush: Platinum Natural Weasel Hair Brush Pen
Ink: Noodlers Ravens Black
The first Franklin-Christoph I got was the Model 66. I got it with the ice body expressly to eye-dropper. However, the one pen I had my eye on was the Model 20 Marietta which was just being pre-released at the time that I discovered it and was only available in black. Still, I admired the Model 20 for its simple clean lines and the convenient slip cap. I liked the idea of a slip cap for quick access. But I really wanted to eye-dropper a pen with a translucent body so that's how I opted for an ice Model 66.
My second and third Franklin-Christoph pens were purchased at the same time from MassDrop: Pocket 40s in ice-blue violet and blue violet-ice. I love the portability of the Pocket 40. I gifted the ice-blue violet to my sister-in-law who is also a fountain pen aficionado. And so, I was left with 2 Franklin-Christophs.
A couple weeks ago Wonderpens dropped hints that they were bringing in an exclusive Franklin-Christoph pen. I was so stoked that my favourite family-run Canadian pen shop was bringing Franklin-Christoph pens to Canada.
When the Franklin-Christoph Model 20 in a dark, smokey Translucent Bronze was revealed I knew that I had to get it. I knew this one would be spectacular as an eye-dropper pen....
Read MoreAround the time that I discovered fountain pens, I also came across Midori Traveler's Notebooks. I was fascinated by the many ways that MTN users used their notebooks and the multitude of ways in which the user experience could be customized. I absorbed many blog posts on the subject including Brian Goulet's series of Midori videos. My little guy, then 6 years old watched quite a few of these videos with me so he got to know Brian and Midori quite well...
Read MoreEver since I got my first Edison Pen, the Goulet exclusive Edison Nouveau Premiere Lilac Spring 2015 LE, I've been looking to add to my collection with something from Edison's Signature Line. I'd love to get one with one of Edison's unique filling systems such as the Menlo Pump Filler Or Beaumont Pneumatic Filler.
I also knew that Edison does a group buy LE pen once a year. When I saw the LE Mina group buy for 2015 I knew it was time to pick up another Edison pen. The hard part for me was choosing between the Denim Ebonite or the Silver Amber Acrylic. I think both pen bodies look great. After some deliberation I settled on the Denim Ebonite because I prefer the silver-coloured nib over the gold-coloured one that's on the Silver Amber...
Read MoreThe review I wrote on the Vanishing Point Raden Galaxy was featured on the Penman Post. Thanks for having me Chris! Check out all the the great posts on his blog while you are there. I always find some interesting posts from his Weekly Inkage and his recent review of the Visconti Venus has me pining for a Visconti of my own.
Read MorePen: Platinum Natural Weasel Hair Brush Pen
Ink: Platinum Black
Paper: Rhodia No. 16 Grid
I've posted a fair number of "Chinese Cacography" posts now. They all feature the Platinum brush pen. I was fascinated that they made brush pens that used ink cartridges. I picked one up as I thought it would be a fun way to extend the use of fountain pen ink.
Read MoreOver the past couple months I've found that I have a hard time keeping track of what ink I have in each of my inked pens. It probably doesn't help that I could have up to 15 pens inked at any point in time. (Addiction, what addiction? Seriously, though, paring down the number of inked pens I have is a post for another day and is not something I'm ready to tackle yet).
Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to track my pen and ink combinations each month in a central place. This central place will now be a Tomoe River Notebook bound by Coach House Press for Wonderpens in Toronto. It was easy to select this notebook because I love using Tomoe River paper, and, Wonderpens did a good job making notebooks from this paper. The notebook is A5 sized and contains 64 pages covered in light card stock, staple bound and is very light and easy to carry around...
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