Ink Links

-- Red Pens! The Montegrappa Alfa Romeo (these beautiful pens)

-- Coming this Halloween - Montegrappa Skull Pens (Goldspot Pens Fine Writing Blog)

-- Pilot Filling Systems in the 1960s (Crónicas Estilográficas)

-- Diamine – Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue (Informal Scribble)

-- Review: Levenger True Writer Silver Anniversary Fountain Pen - Medium (Gourmet Pens)

-- Uni-ball Signo 207 Battle – Blue Ink (No Pen Intended)

-- Sailor Kiwa Guro Nano Black – Ink Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Fisher Space Pen Shuttle Series (CH4) Review (The Clicky Post)

-- Lamy Red ink review (Peninkcillin)

-- BEHIND-THE-SCENES: A look into my process (ZEN PENCILS)

-- Review of KUM Tip-Top Pop Pencil Cap & Sharpener (Pencil Revolution)

-- Color Burst: Pilot Petit Pens (From the Pen Cup)

-- Ink Notes: Noodler’s X-Feather (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- The Showdown: Day Per Page Diary Vs. Undated Notebook (Plannerisms)

-- Cross Journal Review (Write to Me Often)

-- Bullet pencils: Pocket-friendly utensils from a bygone era (Woodclinched)

-- Uni Jetstream 4&1 ( and cupcakes!) (Good Pens)

-- A Double-Ended Pen? Why Not? (Edison Pen Company)

-- Platignum Studio (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Pencil Review: Faber-Castell Castell 9000 4H (A Penchant for Paper)

-- Desk Accessories for Cubicle Hell (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- Three New Mechanical Pencils (Dave's Mechanical Pencils)

Ohto Minimo Ballpoint Pen Review

Take any idea of what you think is a tiny pen and throw it out the window. The Ohto Minimo Ballpoint trumps them all, even claiming it is the world's thinnest ballpoint. After using it I have no disagreement with that statement.

This is the first mini pen I have used where I couldn't use my normal tripod-style grip (index finger and thumb on front, backed by my middle finger). It has been close with other pens like the Zebra T3 but I could always get there. With the Ohto Minimo I could only grip it between my thumb and index finger to write with. This was a problem at first but I adjusted quickly and got decent writing performance.

With a pen this small comfort isn't necessarily the priority - vanishing into any notebook, pocket, or purse is. In fact, Ohto packaged this pen with its own credit card sized holder so you can keep tabs on it. That's a hint folks.

The Minimo is too small for me to get any regular use out of. My choices in the mini pen arena are downright gargantuan comparitively, but I'll stick with the Monteverde Poquito or the Pentel Slicci Techo for my mini needs.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Raymay Davinci System Tomoe River Paper Refill Review

The recently released Raymay Davinici System piqued my interest for one reason, and one reason only: The use of Tomoe River paper.

Tomoe River paper is something special. When I reviewed it earlier this summer I was taken aback. How could a paper this thin be this receptive to ink? I put it through the fountain pen ringer and it performed so well I started seeking out other products that use it. That was, and still is, a challenge.

The tide is changing though, and Tomoe River is starting to become more available. One of the new sources is the aforementioned Raymay Davinci planner system. I opted to pass on the full Davinci planner since I have a Hobonichi Techo on the way for 2014 (which also uses Tomoe River), but I wanted to give the paper a test run so I ordered the plain, pocket size refill pack.

As expected, the paper performed like a champ. It is very smooth with all inks, with only wider-tipped liquid ink pens like the Lamy Tipo and Pilot brush pen bleeding through to the back - barely. That is an amazing accomplishment for a paper this thin. The lone tradeoff is that inkier pens do take some time to dry. It's not as immediate as more porous paper.

I wanted to see if my first experience with Tomoe River paper held true when used in other products and it did with flying colors. This is not a paper for everyone, but if you want to try something unique - and quite frankly, amazing - search it out and give it a shot.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)