Whoa! De Atramentis Ink By A Different Name

Just saw this at XFountainPens.com, they are offering Architekt Ink made by "De Atremis" of Germany--it's De Atramentis ink, at an amazingly low price. 

I know the Kermesin Red is one of the Historic Persons inks, Mark Twain, while the Oriental Red is Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle.  I don't see Sherlock Holmes (Night Blue), but there are others you can try to match up.

They also have Archival, Document, and Registrar's inks, what a great line up!

Nemosine Fission Fountain Pen

Got an email from XFountainPens.com announcing the new Nemosine Fission fountain pen, which looks really cool and is available at a great price.  There's a coupon as well for a pack of ink cartridges, if you order a Fission by this Friday.  I'm sooooo tempted!

PACK OF INK CARTRIDGES FREE

With Every Single Fission Buy a Nemosine Fission on or before this Friday the 19th, and we'll ship a free 10 pack of ink cartridges with every single unit (a $6.99 value)!  Click to see the Nemosine Fission Pens

Offer Expires Friday 10/19/2012. Offer may be modified or revoked at any time without notice. Please contact us with any questions.

Daycraft 2013 Executive Diary (A5 English Version)

Many thanks to Daycraft and Mr. Foreal Lee for sending me this 2013 Executive Diary to try out.  I do like Daycraft products, some of which are very clever, like these Retro Arcade notebooks, and all of which are useful and well-made.

The 2013 Executive Diary I received is an A5 size, about 5.8 by 8.3 or roughly the same size as a Rhodia No. 16 notepad (my favorite).  It's made of a very sturdy yet soft Italian PU leather, and I really like the clasp and elastic closure that keeps it secure.  The paper is 70gsm, not especially fountain pen friendly but I've learned to live with a bit of bleed through or shadowing.

Conversion tables

What I also enjoy in Daycraft diaries is the enormous amount of information that comes along with these page-a-day calendars.  There's an International holiday guide, a basic international guide (with information on tourist information, currency, electricity supply, and driving information), IDD codes for phoning home, a Vintage Chart showing the best year for things like German Mosel and Loire White, conversion tables, size tables, and a new favorite of mine--nutrition and health guides.

Size conversions next to a calorie table--accident?

My favorite--Nutriton & Health, with a cool food pyramid

January 2013

Each month starts off with a gray page on the left with a quote ("Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend"--Theosphstus, 372 BC - 287 BC), while the right page has a lined section for notes as well as a quick month-at-a-glance calendar.  The gray ink makes a nice contrast with the ivory paper, as well as with this particular pink Executive Diary.  All in all, great design.

The paper is, as I mentioned above, 70gsm and therefore a bit on the thin side.  I had some shadowing with a gel ink pen I used, as well as with one of my Pilot fountain pens.

Some shadow effect from the gel ink pen

What did surprise me what when I switched to a Noodler's Ahab Flex and used a gentler store with the nib--no shadow at all.  So I will have to try not to press so hard and see how that works as I use this more in the new year.

Finally ,there's a very nice pocket in the back of the Diary for papers, receipts, whatever you need to carry.

If you're looking for some great stationery products besides a 2013 Diary, take a look at their website.  I like these Astrology notebooks with a landscape view, as well as their Signature notebook.  You may want to take the plunge and place an order for some really well-made notebooks and journals.  And check out their Facebook page, there are some great photos of their products in action.

OHTO Dude Ceramic (Roller) Ball Pen

Just saw this comment from TJ at OHTO Americas, and many thanks.  If you like the look of the Dude but aren't a fountain pen user (or just want to vary your daily arsenal), there is an OHTO Dude ceramic (roller) ball pen for you.  It's not available from JetPens, but you can get one from Amazon.

Another pen I really liked the look of is this OHTO Words Metallic Bordeaux .  Beautiful, but not at JetPens or Amazon.  Hmm, will have to start looking around for this.

Uni-ball Style Fit Single Color Slim Gel Ink Pen

Saw these Uni-ball Style Fit Single Color Slim gel ink pens with a 0.38 mm tip and a 0.5mm tip and decided to try them both out so I could see how they compared to each other. I got a 0.5mm  in blue and and a 0.38 in blue-black, and have given them a pretty good writing workout over the past few days doing some research projects that require a lot of note-taking.

The Style Fit Single Color Slim is a little strange looking, but it's a very cool pen:  definitely slim (about half the size of a G2 or B2P), but standard-length so it doesn't get lost in your pencil cup.  The long, clear plastic section gives you a good view of how much ink you have remaining while also making about a third of the pen seem to disappear.

It's a simple pen, just three parts to it.  The ink refill fits into a slot inside the pen where the plunger, so no spring to get lost.  You have a choice of refills, as well: gel ink, ballpoint, and pencil. I like that I can change not only the colors and tip size but the format as well, and may check out the ballpoint options.

I have to say that I really preferred the 0.5mm over the 0.38mm tip.  The latter seemed more like I was writing with a nail, and I found myself really grinding into the paper. The 0.5mm was smoother in my hand, and writing felt easier and more natural. But I do love the blue-black color of the 0.38mm refill, and will have to look for some in 0.5mm at JetPens.

If you are looking for a new pen to add to your collection, check this out. I've really enjoyed writing with it, even the 0.38mm.

Pilot B2P Recycled Ballpoint Pen Review

Thanks again to Pilot Pen and Shoplet.com for sending some pens to review. Along with the other pens was this Pilot B2P Recylcled Ballpoint Pen, which I was really looking forward to trying out.

L-R: Ballpoint, Gel Ink

One of my favorite pens is the Pilot B2P Recycled Gel Ink pen, a sturdy roller ball that takes a G2 gel ink refill. I love the clear blue color, it does remind me of a water bottle and it's easy to spot on my desk or in my pen tray.

The B2P Ballpoint has a bright blue semi-soft grip, and a different style of clip that identifies the width, which is a nice feature if you're looking for a certain tip for writing. All in all, lots of points for styel and design.

Writing with the B2P ballpoint surprised me. It writes well, with very good ink flow and almost no ink blobbing on the paper. So little there's to no staining, which I really appreciate. The tip glides smoothly, didn't catch or skip on the paper, and this medium size is not too wide. Comparing the gel ink with the ballpoint above, the gel ink took a lot longer to dry and the 0.7mm tip seemed a bit too wide.

Definitely a good ballpoint, which I find I'm using more regularly now. If you're looking for a cute ballpoint that gets high marks on the Green scale (86% post consumer recycled material) then check out the Pilot B2P Ballpoint.

Over at Desert Island Blogs...

My response to Millie, the proprietor of Ms. Logica, regarding the three things I'd take to a desert island is up. Go take a look, and I'm curious:  what would you take?