I kicked Myke to the curb for the podcast this week and brought on everyone's favorite guest host - Ana Reinert from The Well-Appointed Desk. Ana and I pretty much covered the entire world of pens and paper in one episode, and we could have kept recording for hours. It was great fun as usual. Thanks Ana !!!
Organics Studio Edgar Allen Poe Ink Review
Say hello to one of my new favorite inks. Edgar Allen Poe is part of the Masters of Writing Series from Organics Studios. This is my first time trying any inks from Organics, and I'll definitely be trying more after this. In short, this is a dark red, bloody ink that can be used in most occasions, behaves well, and just looks awesome.
I was given a sample of this ink by Joe Lebo, a gentleman extraordinaire (Thanks, Joe!). He sent a couple of other samples as well, but the E.A. Poe sample was a surprise. Joe has great taste.
So, how does this ink perform? It's been fantastic in the few pens I've tried and I've had no complaints so far about how it behaves on paper. Let's get into the details.
The color is subtle, but deep. At first glance, you know it's a deep red with some brown hints, but then you start to notice the character. It's similar in color to a lot of the oxblood inks out there. If you like dark reds, you'll probably like this.
In the pens I tried, this ink had very good flow. It's a tad wet, but it doesn't create pools of ink when writing slowly. It's right in the middle of the scale for me. I haven't seen any bleeding with this ink, and show through is minimal. There's no sheen to the ink once it dries, which is a shame because it looks better when it's wet. This ink dries with a nice color though, unlike some inks that dry lighter or less saturated than when they are wet.
A favorite quality of the ink for me is the shading. There isn't a ton of shading -- it's subtle, but I love it. Dark red to lighter red and brown, and sometimes just a hint of pink in some situations. It's a lovely characteristic, and it does well in special nibs (stubs, italics).
Overall, this is a great ink. It's well-behaved and has great characteristics. It's a new favorite for sure!
If you're interested in trying this ink yourself, Goulet and Anderson both stock full bottles as well as samples. At somewhere around $14 for a 55 ml bottle, that's a pretty good value. It's not cheap, but it's also not expensive. Definitely worth it.
I'll be purchasing a bottle of E.A. Poe as well as a few more samples from Organics very soon.
Kaweco Dia2 Fountain Pen Review
You do know Kaweco makes full-size fountain pens alongside thier already awesome pocket-size fountain pens, right? The Kaweco Dia2 is another of the big batch of products Kaweco sent me for review and it might be my favorite.
The Kaweco Allrounder is a decent enough looking pen, but not really my style. The Kaweco Elite is my style, but is a big, chunky pen that may be too much for others. The Kaweco Dia2 is just right in all the right places.
Simple. Classic. Understated. These are the words that describe the Dia2. Sounds boring, right? It is far from that in my mind. There are so many things that makes this a great pen. From a design standpoint, little touches like the knurling on the cap and end of the pen harken back to the original Dia2 which was released in the 1930's. The clip and Kaweco badge on the top of the cap are not unique to the Dia2 but the style of each fits this pen perfectly.
What I enjoy the most about the Dia2 is the grip section. Kaweco has done an excellent job unifying the barrel between the section and the body. The transition is smooth outside of the threading, which you hardly notice because there is no step to speak of. Sometimes a deep step in that area causes grip uncomfort but that isn't a problem here.
This nib, of course, is excellent. The Dia2 uses the same nibs found in the Kaweco AL Sport line and are easily swapable with a quick twist. I used an F nib with Kaweco Ruby Red bottled ink that Kaweco also provided. My lines were tight and clean and I liked the red ink better than I imagined.
While I find no downside to the Dia2, if I were King of Kaweco I would love to have this pen as a piston filler. It is cartridge/converter fill which doesn't bother me one bit, but this pen is screaming for a piston mechanism. At around $100 it is competing with the Pelikan M205 and the piston filler is the lone, and large, differentiator. Regardless, I'm happy with the Dia2 as-is and it works its way into my daily carry frequently.
Huge thanks to Kaweco for sending me this pen and ink to review. I think I have a few more goodies in the box to get to so stay tuned!
