Ink Links

-- A4 in America (Rhodia Drive)

-- Ink of the Season: Herbin Rouge Hematite (these beautiful pens)

-- Review: Leuchtturm1917 Planner (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- Mini Review: INK SAMPLE – J. Herbin Rouge Hematite (1670 Anniversary Ink) (No Pen Intended)

-- Houston, We are in the Pocket (The Pen and The Paper)

-- Kaweco Student Blue Fountain Pen - F Nib (The Clicky Post)

-- Pilot Iroshizuku: Fuyu-gaki Ink Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Pilot Acroball (Inkdependence!)

-- Ink Indexing (Write to Me Often)

-- Cereal Wars – Collectible Star Wars Pens In Specially Marked Boxes of General Mills Cereal (Fire Wire Blog)

-- Winner of 2013 Pen of the Year. We Have a Three-Peat! (Goldspot Pens Fine Writing Blog)

-- Family Portrait (VI) (Crónicas Estilográficas)

-- life-deconstructed: No. 2 Ticonderoga Pencil (Things Organized Neatly)

-- The Kickstarter Visionnaire Pen (Dante Bertana)

-- Diamine Blaze Orange (Informal Scribble)

-- Review: Kaweco AL Sport Raw Aluminum (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- A. G. Spalding Maple Wood Orange Fountain Pen (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Sheaffer ViewPoint (penfan.ru)

-- Noodler’s Blue Eel Fountain Pen Ink Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- Review of Staedtler Noris HB (Pencil Revolution)

-- Public Supply | Noble Notebooks (A Continuous Lean.)

Kaweco Elite Review

Another sample recieved from the fine people at Kaweco, the Kaweco Elite is different than any Kaweco pen I have previously reviewed. Most people know Kaweco as the premier pocketable fountain pen manufacturer - the AL Sport and ART Sport are two of my favorites - and they also do a fine job with full sized pens like the Kaweco Allrounder.

The pocketable pens and most of the full sized pens share one thing in common: the nib. It is smaller, somewhere around what many would consider a #5 sized nib. They are also interchangable, meaning an AL Sport nib can be unscrewed and put into an Allrounder. The Kaweco Elite is a loner in the main Kaweco production line, using a larger steel nib they call the 250, which is along the lines of a #6 sized nib.

The larger nib works wonderfully for the Elite since it is a bigger, heavier pen. The barrel is turned from a single block of piano lacquer acrylic with a high-gloss finish that looks spectacular on the octagonal barrel. The metal cap has quite a bit of weight too - you aren't going to want to write with it posted.

Weight isn't an issue at all when writing - any concerns vanished once the nib hit the page. The medium steel nib is smooth and consistent. It is firm as well, which is a feature I personally enjoy a lot in my fountain pen nibs.

This is a great pen, made only better by using a bottle of Kaweco Aubergine in the provided converter, which is the color you see in the written review below. I'll be sad to send this one back to Kaweco, but it has earned a solid spot near the top of my wish list.

You can currently purchase the Kaweco Elite from JetPens for $150 in F, M, and B nib sizes.

Thank you to Kaweco for providing this product for review! You should also check out Azizah's review at Gourmet Pens for more information on the Kaweco Elite.

Tomoe River Paper now at JetPens

I heard about the mythical properties of Tomoe River Paper on various message boards and blogs earlier this year. Reading others thoughts and looking at sample pictures online I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The paper is so thin it is practically transparent, but over and over again people were touting how well it handled fountain pen inks.

A kind reader sent me a sample to try for myself, and I came away very impressed. It is the most unique paper I have ever used, handling the widest nibs and inkiest inks with ease. I even mailed a few sheets to friends telling them they HAD to try it.

Since then, Tomoe's following has grown in the US, but there hasn't always been a reliable source to order from. Now that JetPens is stocking it I hope it will be easier to acquire.

Tomoe River Paper is packaged as loose sheets in packs of 100 for $10. If you are looking for an amazing and unique writing experience I highly recommend you check it out.