Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Pen Cleaning Day

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Fountain pen cleaning. It’s the part of our hobby that’s more like a chore, right? And who wants chores for a hobby? Cleaning pens is probably one of the main reasons a lot of folks don’t want to use fountain pens at all, and I get it. It’s maintenance. Some of them are high maintenance. But for a lot of us here, it’s worth it. Some of us weirdos probably even enjoy it.

I do not enjoy it. But I recognize it as a necessary evil and a small price to pay for writing with a nice pen. The trouble starts when the definition of “necessary” gets a little fuzzy.

My family jokes that I have no back burners, that I just have 50 front burners going at all times. The same goes for my priorities. I have a lot of top priorities. My priority list has at least five number one spots on a good day. And like just about everyone on the entire planet, my priorities got massively scrambled over the past few years.

In the past year, cleaning my fountain pens got bumped to a low-priority item. Because it is, turns out. And that means it hasn’t gotten done–not since about September 2020. Basically, what I’m saying is let’s pretend 2021 didn’t happen.

Anyway, I often stick my to-be-cleaned pens in a Sinclair case on my desk. A few months ago I realized I could not fit any more pens into this case, and shared a pic on Instagram of my poor Sinclair that looks like it’s drowning in pens. Trouble ensued. Brad threatened to ban me. I was compared to Myke Hurley. The horror! I vowed to clean my pens as soon as I got a chance.

That chance would not come for several months because you know what? It still wasn’t a high priority, not even under the weight of so much scorn. Not in 2021 or 2022, or as long as this panini panorama continues to usurp my priority list.

But I had some free time this week. So I did the thing.

I was pretty surprised to see that I only had 29 pens to clean. I did have a few that were regularly re-inked and reused in that time, like my Wicked Witch Sailor that has been re-inked with Bungubox Witch of the West three or four times and has stayed in rotation pretty much since I got it. Same deal for my Spoke Axle with Robert Oster Fire and Ice, and my Gravitas skulls with Diamine Writer’s Blood. Those three have dedicated inks and a permanent place in my rotation, so that helped keep the cleaning pile from getting worse than it was.

It still took me over four hours, though. Because yes, some of those pens have been sitting since September 2020, and I had a row of cups soaking stubborn nibs and feeds. Everything did come clean, though, and all the pens are now bathed and happy. I put the cats in the basement, put on an audiobook, dragged a chair over to the sink, and knocked it all out.

I left one pen inked–my Schon DSGN Ultem Peek-a-Boo. And I have since inked up two new pens for review purposes. But other than that, everything is put away. It feels good.

I can’t say it won’t happen again. 2022 is not giving me “you will regain control of your life and your priorities” vibes. I think we’re going to stick with survival mode for a bit longer, here. Which means enjoying my pens without worrying about them. Because they’re fine! Everything’s fine. Everything’s. just. fine.

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Posted on January 13, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Fountain Pens, Fountain Pen Maintenance.

Waldmann Tango Imagination Fountain Pen - A Stunning Writer

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

Not gonna lie, I was super excited to receive the Waldmann Tango Imagination for review from Luxury Brands of America (LBA), who is the North America distributor for Waldmann Pens (as well other brands like Platinum, Colorverse and Gioia Pens). I have been drooling over them since seeing LBA’s posts last year as well as seeing them first hand at the SF Pen Show.

Waldmann has been making writing instruments for over 100 years; they started in 1918 in Pforzheim, Germany, making gold and silver mechanical pencils. Many of their current offerings are created in 925 Sterling Silver and the Waldmann Tango Imagination is an example of this. Despite its long history, Waldmann isn’t well-known in the pen community. I suspect part of this is due to them not having much of an online social media presence until LBA started distributing them a couple years ago. Also, their pens have traditionally been more reserved in appearance … until this year, when they launched new models which boasted new colors, textures and styles.

The new Waldmann Tango Imagination line was announced over the summer of 2021 and became available later that fall. The Tango Imagination shows off a PVD-lacquered multi-layered new guilloche pattern on its cap and barrel and comes in Aquamarine (which is the subject of this review) as well as Lilac, Burgundy, Black and White.

The presentation of the pen is lovely - nice black, leatherette clamshell box which houses the pen, a pack of standard international cartridges in Waldmann Blue, warranty card and a nice little note reminding you that this is a screw cap pen.

But never mind that, when you open the box, you see the absolutely stunning pen. Still pictures just can’t capture how beautiful the engraved cap and barrel are. Alternating lines of turquoise and silver combined with the subtle pattern produce a look that is simultaneously elegant, flashy and classy. The color reminds me a bit of the Statue of Liberty and also of a little jewelry store in New York that’s famous for their little blue boxes. Look carefully on the cap and you will see “925” and the Waldmann logo etched on the cap. Engraved on the cap band are “Waldmann” and “Made in Germany” engraved and the logo adorns the top of the clip. Even the included converter is engraved with the brand and logo.

Waldmann Tango Imagination Fountain Pen — Comparison with other pens (L to R): Lamy 2000, TWSBI 580 ALR, Leonardo Momento Zero, Pilot Vanishing Point, Pelikan M600, Pilot 823, Waldmann Tango Imagination, Pelikan M800, Platinum 3776, Sailor Pro Gear, TWSBI Eco.

The Tango Imagination is an average length pen - about : 5.4”/137mm capped and 4.1”/104 mm uncapped. Uncapped, it is similar to many pens on the market, including the Lamy 2000, Pelikan M600, Platinum 3776. Weight-wise, it is a bit heavier than most acrylic pens. Since the Tango was inked up, I removed the converters for all of the pens that had them, so the measurements would be more on-par. Keep in mind that some pens have more metal in their converters than others (Leonardo for example), and would be heavier than regular standard international converters that have more plastic. The Tango is similar in weight to pens that have metal pistons like the M80x and 823. I don’t post my pens but I think this pen would feel really back-heavy if it was posted because a lot of the weight is in the cap.

Where the Tango differs the most from other pens is the grip. For starters, it is a metal grip section. I do like that the bottom of the grip near the nib is flared, so fingers don’t slide off the grip. But since the grip itself is smooth metal and not textured at all, folks with slippery fingers may not like the grip. It is also a fairly skinny grip for a pen of this weight. In fact, I was surprised at how skinny the grip is and how tough it was to find pens of similar girth. The Franklin-Christoph 28 is the most similar pen to the Tango that I have (that isn’t a Waldmann).

Comparison of grip sections (L to R): Pilot Stargazer/Stella, Pilot Custom Heritage 92, Platinum Preppy, Kaweco AL Sport, Waldmann Tango Imagination, Franklin-Christoph 28, Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Sailor Pro Gear.

Like the regular Tango model, the Imagination is offered as a ballpoint, rollerball, or fountain pen with either a steel or 18kt gold nib, in EF-B sizes. Their nibs are made by Jowo but are custom-tuned to Waldmann’s specifications. As such, you can expect a solid writing experience from them. I inked this one up with Bungubox Tears of Alice and it wrote smoothly right out of the box, and has done so for the past 6 weeks that it’s been inked up. The Tango nib units are also easily swappable with any Jowo 5 nib unit. In the US, MSRP is $400 for the steel nib with a street price of $320 and $525 MSRP/$420 for the 18kt gold nib option.

Likes:

Beautiful, well-crafted pen that’s available in a variety of colors and nib offerings in both steel and gold
Reliable, well-tuned nib that writes well out of the box
Flare at the end of the grip sections keeps fingers from sliding down
10 year warranty from Waldmann

Something to consider:

Weight of the pen may turn off some users, especially if they like to post their pens
Slim grip section feels a touch too slim for a pen of this weight
Metal grip section might be too slippery for some
Price is a bit on the higher side, especially for the steel option

If Tango’s weight and grip sections don’t bother you (I had no problems with either the grip nor the weight), I highly recommend picking this up. The difficult part will be figuring out which color to get.

(Luxury Brands provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on January 7, 2022 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Waldmann, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Namisu N1 Pocket Fountain Pen Review

If there's one thing that the stationery world doesn't lack, it's pocket fountain pens. There are a few go-to models, but not a ton of choice. That's why it's always exciting to try out new pocket-able fountain pens when they come out. They're a niche that not everyone is into, but for those of us that love a good fountain pen in a small size, it's just our thing.

I've had the opportunity to use the Namisu N1 for a few months now, and I've been really happy with it. The Namisu N1 is a small pocket fountain pen made from machined metal. It's sleek, simple, and durable, and the small size is just the cherry on top.

Measuring just 104mm (4.1"), it's roughly the same size as a capped Kaweco Sport. The pen body by itself is just under 100mm (3.9"). But, when posted, it can vary between 123mm (4.8") and 146mm (5.75") thanks to the triple o-ring friction fit design that keeps the cap in place. Due to the perfect amount of friction, you can easily adjust the length of the full pen without worrying about it sliding while you're writing. I've really enjoyed being able to adjust the length of the pen so easily — you can quickly change the feel of this pen by just extending or reducing the length.

The o-rings slide against the aluminum easily enough, but they also have plenty of friction to keep the cap in place when capped or posted. I don't have any worries about the cap moving around unless I want it to. The tolerance is just right. This pen would be terrible if the friction was any different.

The model I have was a limited run made from aluminum. The two-tone contrast of the bright polished aluminum body and the anodized blue cap is awesome. The matte clip is sleek and strong, and the knurling along the top of the pen body and the grip section is fantastic. It has a great texture and feels great when writing with the pen or when pulling the pen body out of the cap for use.

The grip section unscrews from the rest of the body, and this is where you can replace the cartridges. I'm using an international short cartridge right now, but you could fit something up to 68mm long. Some cartridge converters will fit, but it really depends on the length as well as the diameter. You should probably surrender to using cartridges with this pen if you decide to pick one up.

Writing with the pen is such a great experience. The weight of the pen is just right, and the knurled grip provides fantastic grip and comfort. On top of that, you can adjust the overall length of the pen by sliding the cap up or down the body to find that perfect fit for your hand.

The pen is fitted with a Bock nib unit — EF in my case. The nib is okay, but I wish it flowed a little better. I could fix this pretty quickly, but it's worth pointing out that it was perfectly tuned out of the box. It writes fine, but the line feels a little dry compared to other EF nibs I use consistently. There isn't any Namisu branding on the nib — it's a standard Bock nib.

While you can't get the two-tone aluminum version any more, you can grab a new titanium version of this pen. It is surely lighter than this aluminum version, but I don't think will detract from the writing experience at all. In fact, I think I'd like the lighter weight even more than this one.

Normally £98.50, this feels like a fair price for a custom machined pen that has been designed well and feels great in the hand and while writing. You can find them on sale or even nab some prototype units for a little cheaper (50% off) while they're available. Either way, this is a fantastic pen. If you like the aesthetic, try one out!

(This pen was purchased from Namisu via Kickstarter.)

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