Pens & the Post Celebration at the Smithsonian

The Postal Museum at the Smithsonian is having a great event on Saturday, May 29th if you happen to be in the D.C. area.  Pen Collectors of America is co-sponsoring an event called Pens and the Post from 11am - 5pm, with lots of exhibits and workshops for those in attendance - all for the price of free!  Here are some of the details, and you can find more at the Postal Museum website:

Pens, postage, and mail have long gone hand-in-hand. Join the Postal Museum and the Pen Collectors of America for a day of fun activities exploring the history of pens and mail. Learn about letter writing past and present with many fun activities:

- Create a beautiful card with young designer Sophia Breuer

- Watch calligraphy demonstrations by expert calligrapher Deborah Basel and take home your name in beautiful Copperplate calligraphy style

- Take a fancy fountain pen for a spin at the “Pen Petting Zoo” provided by Fahrney’s Pens

- Discover how ink has changed over the years and sample a rainbow of ink colors withJohn Bosley, author of Vintage Inks

- Explore the pen-to-paper relationship and try out beautiful papers from plain to posh with handwriting specialist Nan Barchowsky

- Pen a letter to U.S. military members and learn about World War II era correspondence just in time for Memorial Day

- Tell the world your correspondence, mail, or pen story at the “Pen Postings” board or give a shout out to your favorite pen

- Meet the Pen Collectors of America and find out more about the community of pen collectors who are so passionate about fountain pens, their history, and manufacture.

Special mini-workshops will encourage deeper exploration of special topics from the fun of pen collecting to improving your penmanship. Each workshop includes a hands-on activity, opportunities to ask questions, and the chance to learn from the experts! 

11:30 a.m. – Pens for Kids Workshop presented by the Pen Collectors of America

12:30 p.m. – Cursive for Kids Workshop presented by Fahrney’s Pens

1:30 p.m. – Pens for Kids Workshop presented by the Pen Collectors of America

2:30 p.m. – The Glory of Pen Collecting presented by the Pen Collectors of America

So, what am I missing?

I like to check in from time to time with Pen Addict readers to see what I can do to further improve the experience here at PenAddict.com.  I always have a rolling list of things I would like to do with this site, but my greatest enemy - time - has kept me from implementing a lot of those ideas.

One simple thing that I am going to try to do better with is to add blow up shots for each pen I review.  I actually took the photo for my recent Rotring Core Eternium review, but got so busy I forgot to add it to the post.  Here it is for posterities sake:

 

It is little things like that one extra photo that I would like to improve on.  What type of things would you like to see me add to the site?  Feel free to hit me with your ideas in the comments section, Twitter, or drop me an email using the address on the sidebar.  I will take everything under consideration and will do my best to try and add a few new twists to my reviews.

Review: Rotring Core Eternium Rollerball

I have spied the Rotring Core Eternium Rollerball for sale on several pen sites over the past year or two, and I finally bit the bullet and ordered one from Goldspot Pens when I ordered my Fisher Space Pen.  I don't think the design is for everyone (that's probably why it was marked down), but I thought it was pretty cool and interesting looking, so on its way to me it came.

While I like the design of the pen, I could tell the real issue with it pretty early on.  The barrel is made from plastic and a very lightweight aluminum, but as you can probably tell from the picture, the cap is very large, and unfortunately a little too heavy for the rest of the pen.  With the cap posted, the pen was off balance.  I even felt sometimes that is was going to flip over the back of my hand while writing if I wasn't careful.  It was a very odd feeling.  With the cap unposted, the barrel is almost too light to write with.  I don't necessarily mind a light barrel, but I prefer the pen skinnier if it is.

The ink cartridge wasn't especially impressive either, but that didn't bother me because I was planning on switching it out very soon anyway.  I may hold off for now unless I get more used to writing with it.  This is one of those pens that may require some time to break in and get comfortable with.

Click here for the XL review.