Posts filed under Wearingeul

Wearingeul Macbeth & The Phantom of the Opera - A Review, Part 3

(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!.)

Yes, Part 3!! I know I originally said it would be a 2-parter but I bought more Wearingeul accessories and thought it would be fun to share using the Wearingeul Macbeth & The Phantom of the Opera inks from part 1 and part 2!

The Wearingeul Four Photos Color Swatch cards are available in white and black (which is being reviewed here). Like the Instant Film cards from part 2’s review, the Four Photos cards also have a shiny, textured border around the swatching area. They measure roughly 2” x 5.75” (50 mm x 150 mm).

*Shading, sheen and shimmer all show up well on the card.*

*I wrote the ink names on the back and there was no feathering or bleeding.*

Comparison of the Four Photos cards with the Col-O-Ring; once again, the swatches matched (the Phantom swatch was a thicker/wetter swatch so the color is a bit off on this Col-O-Ring swatch compared to the others.)

Like the Four Photos Color Swatch cards, the Impression Color Swatch Book and loose leaf sheets are made with 200gsm paper, so they have a nice thickness to them without feeling like cardstock. Both have the same bottle design on them but the Swatch Book pages have 9 slightly larger bottles with two lines beneath (3 rows of 3 bottles), while the loose leaf pages have 10 bottles with two lines to the right (5 rows of 2 bottles). In addition to the bottle design, Wearingeul also makes the loose leaf sheets with Rounds, Rectangles or Ink Vials. The paper is a nice bright white, showing colors that matched what I saw on my Col-O-Ring.

*Swatches of Wearingeul Macbeth and The Phantom of the Opera on both the Swatch Book (top) and loose leaf, alongside Col-O-Ring Swatches (right.)*

A few thoughts/observations:

The pages on the Swatch Book are NOT perforated, so if you prefer the 9 bottle layout but want loose leaf sheets, you’d have to cut them out yourself. Note: the paper on both are the same size, so if you cut out the Swatch Book pages, they will be narrower than the loose leaf sheets.
I liked having the lines so I could write straight but 2 fairly short lines isn’t enough for many ink names. It was barely long enough for “Wearingeul Macbeth”. I’m not sure if I would have preferred no lines (but then my writing would be crooked) or more lines and with slightly narrower spacing between them. The loose leaf layout, where the lines are to the right of the bottle, definitely would have a lot more room for another line.
I don’t know what to do with my loose leaf swatch page. The left margin isn’t very wide so I hesitate to use a hole punch. I wonder if Wearingeul has a binder for storing these sheets?

Wearingeul Four Photos Color Swatch Cards are available in black or white and are sold in packs of 30 sheets (4 swatches each) for $5. The 40-page Impression Color Swatch Book sells for $10.50. And lastly, the loose leaf Impression Color Swatch sheets are available in several designs and sells for $5 for a pack of 20 sheets. I like that all of these items are so reasonably priced that you can try a few different swatching items without breaking the bank.

Ok, I swear, I’m really done with this series! I hope you enjoyed the ink reviews and the various Wearingeul swatching products!

(Disclaimer: The Wearingeul Four Photos Color Swatch cards were purchased from Dromgoole’s for a discount at the 2023 Atlanta Pen Show. The Swatch Book was purchased from Vanness Pens and the Loose Leaf sheets from Pen Chalet - both of these are my purchases at regular price.)

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Ink Reviews, Wearingeul.

Wearingeul Macbeth & The Phantom of the Opera - A Review, Part 2

Last time, I did a review of Wearingeul Macbeth & The Phantom of the Opera but you may recall that I wasn’t done! Sure, I finished the ink review portion but there was more that I wanted to share, so here we are!

In addition to the inks he picked up at the Atlanta show, Brad also got some other fun swatching items from Dromgoole’s. They include the Wearingeul Color Chart Cards, Instant Film Color Swatch cards, and Clear Chart book/binder.

*Clockwise from upper left: Instant Film Color Swatch cards, Clear Chart Book, and Color Chart Cards.*

100 Color Chart Cards cards come in a plastic card case and measure approximately 3.5” x 2” (90mm x 50 mm). They have a bottle printed on the front as well as two dots on the right, one on top of the other. I’m not sure what the dots are for, so I just wrote next to them. On the back of each card is the word ‘Jaquere’, which is Wearingeul’s sister stationery brand that “aims to provide a better writing experience through Quality Writing”. The Color Chart Cards are available in a Horizontal and Vertical orientation; this is the Horizontal version.

The Instant Film cards come in a pack of 50 and are approximately 3.75” x 2.25” (87mm x 53mm). They have this shiny, slightly textured border around the swatch (not the entire card) and feels similar to the edge of a Polaroid picture.

*Shiny but unobtrusive border around the Instant Film cards.*

I compared the swatches on the Color Chart Cards and Instant Film cards to swatches made on Col-O-Ring swatch cards using both the Wearingeul inks from the last review as well as non-Wearingeul inks - Jacques Herbin Violet Imperial (shimmer) and Robert Oster Napa (non-shimmer). The colors were true to the swatches I had made on the Col-O-Ring.

*Comparison with Wearingeul Macbeth & The Phantom of the Opera.*

*Comparison with Jacques Herbin Violet Imperial and Robert Oster Napa.*

Now that I had these swatches done, I wanted to see if they would fit in the binder! I’m calling it a binder even though the pages aren’t removable and it doesn’t have rings. It measures approximately 7.5”L x 4.5”W x 0.75”D (195mm x 110mm x 20mm) and has a pliable but firm plastic cover with a button closure. There are 40 sheets (80 pages) of sleeves, each containing 6 slots (3 on the front and 3 on the back), so you can put 240 swatch cards in here!.

*The binder, also made by Jaquere, was designed to hold the horizontal or vertical Ink Color Chart Cards.*

*It can also fit the Instant Film swatch cards, but the Col-O-Rings are a bit too long. They do fit, but I think the ends would start to curl as you put more cards in the sleeves.*

This is gonna get nice and thick once it’s filled!

*These stickers are “DIY” (Do-It-Yourself) because they aren’t pre-cut. You can cut them to any shape/size you’d like and decorate your binder!*

The Color Chart Cards are available for $6, the Instant Film Swatch cards for $5, and the Binder for $6. They can be found in the Wearingeul paper section on the Dromgoole’s website. I’m still going to stick with my tried-and-true Col-O-Rings for all my swatching, but I might use this for all of my Wearingeul swatches!

(Disclaimer: The Wearingeul products were purchased from Dromgoole’s for a discount at the 2023 Atlanta Pen Show. The Jacques Herbin and Robert Oster inks as well as the Col-O-Rings are my own purchases.)

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Posted on July 14, 2023 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Ink Reviews, Wearingeul.

Parings Party: Waldmann Titan Fountain Pen, Wearingeul 7 Colored Ocean

The tactile feel of the Waldmann Titan Fountain Pen is something to behold.

I didn’t know what to expect when requesting this pen from Luxury Brands to review, and that is exactly why I choose it. The Titan is not a pen I would have picked out blindly for myself, but after using it for the past month, I’ve come away impressed.

If you aren’t familiar with Waldmann, we have reviewed a couple of this German manufacturers pens previously, with very positive results. Given that, it should come as no surprise that I feel similarly about the Titan. What does surprise me is that Waldmann decided to make this pen in the first place.

I shouldn’t be surprised, as they are a metal pen manufacturer at their core, but the Titan is a visual outlier compared to the rest of their lineup. And, like the rest of their lineup, they nailed the execution.

Back to my first comment: I can’t get the feel of the Titan out of my head, or my hands. Metal barrel pens ride a fine line between showing off materials and manufacturing, and making a blunt force object far too heavy to write with comfortably.

Titanium is lighter than many other metals used in pen manufacturing, but the manufacturer still has control over the final weight. How thick are the barrel walls, for example? Too thick, and you throw off the balance. Too thin, and you compromise the structure. Waldmann landed on a nice balance and weight with the Titan, allowing for long writing sessions without fatigue, while making a sturdy pen that is built to last.

The sandblasted finish is an added bonus. I like a bit of texture on metal pens, especially in the grip area, and they did a great job with the overall feel. It is a tip-to-tail finish, too, as this pen is all titanium outside the nib, nib housing and feed, and converter.

The only question I have is the use of Bock’s #5 steel nib, instead of the larger #6 model. This is a full-sized pen, and could handle a #6 easily. Luckily, Bock’s #5 is sized like a 5-1/2, so visually it works fine. I simply have to ask the question of why not the bigger nib?

My review unit sports an Extra Fine (hooray Bock nib markings!) and writes perfectly for me. My usage has run the gamut from planning, journaling, scratching notes, and, inked with the brilliant Wearingeul 7 Colored Ocean, has worked flawlessly every time I uncapped the pen thanks to the internal plastic liner that seals it upon closure.

How did I decide on 7 Colored Ocean for this pen? Well, what color ink would you have chosen? Literally anything would have matched the titanium barrel, so when you can choose everything, how do you choose anything? I ended up going with this Blue Steel vibe, despite running bright green, hot pink, orange, and purple shades through my mind before settling on this one.

I think I made the perfect choice. 7 Colored Ocean isn’t breaking new ground on bright blues with darker shading and a hint of red sheen, but dang if it isn’t perfect for this pen. I lean towards this color a lot with my finer nibs, and the results usually pay off. This could be an all day, every day writing combination.

The Waldmann Titan is a limited edition of 200 worldwide, and is currently priced at $385 at site sponsor Pen Chalet. It’s expensive, but every part of this pen feels worth it to me. It’s hard to imagine a better built pen that what Waldmann has done here. Add in a $22 bottle of Wearingeul 7 Colored Ocean, and you too may end up with a pairing party of your own.

(Luxury Brands USA loaned the Waldmann Titan to The Pen Addict for review purposes. The Wearingeul Ink was purchased from Vanness Pens at a discount.)

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