Pen Addict Members Are 400 Strong!

I didn’t know what to expect when launching Pen Addict Memberships this past January. It was uncharted territory, although I was certain at least a few of you would come along for the ride. Hitting 400 members by November of the first year has exceeded my expectations - by a long shot!

This post is a big THANK YOU to everyone who has put their faith in me over these past 11 months. It is also a chance to share with those who are considering joining what Pen Addict Membership is all about.

The most common question I see is “What do I get for my money?” First and foremost, your money goes to supporting me, this site, and everything that goes into running it. Stationery is my life, and my job, and your direct support allows me to do this. I always want to be upfront about that.

Members get something tangible in return, too. Each week I publish Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter. This newsletter contains extra content not found on PenAddict.com. I usually start off with my commentary on a pertinent topic, a bit of editorializing, or a unique product review that I haven’t covered before. I follow with a big batch of Ink Links, where I share articles and images, and provide commentary on each. I also provide pen show trip reports, answer member questions, give sneak previews of products, offer discount codes to the shop, and much more.

I put hours and hours of work into Refill each week, and I think it shows. Members seem to think so too. It is the core of being a Pen Addict member.

Are you interested yet? I hope so! Membership comes in two flavors: $5 per month, or $48 per year (save $12!). It would make a great gift this holiday season as well for your favorite pen addict, or even yourself.

You can find the full details - including a sample of Refill - and join on the Pen Addict Memberships page. I’m happy to answer any questions you have in the Comments section below, or via the Contact Page.

Thank you for an amazing year, and watch out 2017!

Oldwin Art Deco Fountain Pen in Bleu Automne: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

When I went to France last March, one of my objectives was to visit the Mora Stylos shop in Paris. Unfortunately, the only day we were near the shop was a Sunday, and they were closed. I would have loved to buy a pen directly from Monsieur Mora, but it was not to be.

So, this fall, I began shopping for a pen on the Mora Stylos website. I decided on a beautiful celluloid called Bleu Automne in the Art Deco Oldwin style. The only nib choices were fine and medium. I chose a fine nib.

The pen took a little over a week to arrive from Paris. A letter from Monsieur Mora was enclosed and the pen was in a simple black hinged box.

Talk about “oh la la!” I audibly gasped when I opened the box. Inside was an enormous pen in the most gorgeous celluloid I’ve ever seen. Bleu Automne is a combination of deep blue with golden and white swirls. The gold swirls sparkle in the sun. It is simply stunning.

The pen is large at 150mm capped and 135mm uncapped.

It’s really too large to post, though I suppose one could. Even though the pen is big, it isn’t heavy because the celluloid is light material. That said, the celluloid feels much more substantive than acrylic, and it warms to the hand.

The body details on this pen are exquisite. The cap and the bottom of the barrel are each encircled with a thin gold band. Then there are graduated steps leading to the slightly rounded finial and barrel bottom.

The bronze-plated clip inserts directly into the cap (there’s no clip ring). It’s a simple, rectangular clip inscribed with “Oldwin.”

The pen is a cartridge/converter and comes equipped with a Waterman converter. It holds a decent amount of ink.

The 18k nib on this pen is gigantic (German size 7) and glorious. It is decorated simply with the words “Oldwin” and “Paris” along with the gold content near the base.

Measured in millimeters

This shiny piece of solid gold sits atop an enormous feed.

The pen writes smoothly with a tiny bit of feedback. It has a softness to it, but it certainly doesn’t flex, and I wouldn’t call it “springy.” It’s a very responsive nib and is a delight to write with.

When I first received the pen, I discovered four parallel scratches on the nib. I’m still not sure what caused them, though I suspect they came from the clip screw inside the cap.

I notified Monsieur Mora about the problem, and he accepted the pen back for repair. He replaced the nib and fixed whatever caused the scratches. He shipped the pen back to me free of charge and even reimbursed me for the postage I paid to send him the pen. I call that excellent customer service.

The pen is now perfect and, I have to say, it is one of the most beautiful pens I own. Of course, handmade pens like this come at a price. My pen cost over $500, but I am very happy with my purchase.

If you ever visit Paris, I encourage you to visit Mora Stylos at 7 Rue de Tournon. It’s not too far from Shakespeare and Company.

Otherwise, you can view pens for sale on the Mora Stylos website. Just be careful! You’ll want to buy them all. Ils sont magnifiques!

Pros

• The Oldwin is a hand-crafted, gorgeous oversized pen from Paris.
• Bleu Automne celluloid is unique and incredibly beautiful.
• The pen is well balanced even though it large.
• The solid 18k gold nib is enormous and beautiful in its simplicity. It is a smooth, responsive nib.
• Mora Stylos offers excellent customer service.

Cons

• The pen is a cartridge/converter. For this size of a pen, it would be nice to have a piston or eyedropper option.
• Mora Stylos pens are quite expensive, as you would expect.
• Because the shop is in Paris, if you need repairs, you have to send it there. That is time consuming, but André Mora stands behind his product.

I purchased this pen from Mora Stylos with my own funds.

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, which I am very grateful for.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Staedtler Textsurfer Gel Highlighter Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

Where were these when I was in school?

The Textsurfer gel highlighters from Staedtler come in packs of five (yellow, orange, pink, green, blue), or three (pink, orange, yellow), or as individual units. The bodies are plastic, cylindrical, with a snap cap and sturdy clips. The bottom portion is a wide, textured twist mechanism that raises or lowers the gel stick.

The gel is super smooth, like a soft crayon. It glides over the paper like warm butter. It is semi-transparent and almost seems to glow, as if it possesses some neon school supply magic. It even smells good. It's formulated to perform well on thin paper without bleeding through--so it's excellent for use in novels, planners, bibles, or textbooks. They would have been perfect for my Complete Works of Shakespeare with onionskin paper.

The gel works well over a variety of inks and is inkjet safe. The only ink type that smudged under the application was gel pen ink. Even fountain pen and rollerball ink stayed put.

On the down side, the wide rounded tips wear unevenly--so they do not produce a precise line, and the line width can vary quite a bit. They also leave a waxy residue on the paper that adds weight to the page and feels slightly sticky to the touch for a little while. But the lines do go down dry, so there isn't the slow dry time that standard highlighters have, even on coated textbook paper.

Because the gel is so soft, it wears down very quickly. Even coloring a small area leaves a noticeable flat edge on the tip. If your textbook pages look anything like mine did--with nearly everything highlighted but the pronouns and adverbs--you're going to go through these pretty fast. The gel stick is a good length, so I do think they are useful and fairly priced--but I would have needed quite a stockpile of these to complete my coursework. Like Smaug on a hoard of highlighters.

I'll use these for the occasional research project, for marking knit and crochet patterns, and for highlighting interesting quotes in the books I read. All the while homesick for my student days. I think these would be a great gift for any scholar, and I personally prefer them to the standard highlighter marker.

I remember the days of smudged highlighter lines, lines that bled through the page, or wet lines that transferred to the facing page, making it look like I'd marked something I hadn't. Exam weeks might mean the sides of my hands were permanently stained in a neon rainbow. I tried colored pencil highlighters, but they required too much pressure on the page and were rough on thin paper. These smooth gel sticks are a fantastic solution to these common student ailments that went unchecked for decades. I'll file these under "brilliant solutions you didn't know you needed for problems you hadn't thought too much about".

Sometimes it's the little things.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, which I am very grateful for.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!