Vanness Pens

Did you grab your Lamy Petrol yet? This year’s Safari special edition is a hot one, and it won’t be around forever. You can choose your nib size for the fountain pen model, or select the rollerball or ballpoint model if they suit your writing style better.

If you are looking to try a new fountain pen ink, both Monteverde and Montegrappa have beautiful new shades available. Gemstone colors dot the Monteverde lineup, featuring standouts such as Charoite, Garnet, and Topaz, while Montegrappa features classics such as Coffee Brown, Turquoise, and Violet.

My thanks to Vanness Pens for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.

Aurora Nebulosa Limited Edition Fountain Pen: 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.)

I don’t swoon often, if ever, but when I saw a photograph of the Aurora Nebulosa, I swooned . . . well, at least I gasped audibly. And I placed a pre-order immediately. Not many pens elicit such a strong reaction in me, but this one did. First, the deep purple auroloide was unlike any material I’d seen from Aurora. Second, the rose gold nib and trim had my mouth watering. I love rose gold, and it complements the purple auroloide perfectly.

I ordered my Nebulosa from Dan Smith who includes a free nib grind with any pen you buy from him. I requested a stubbish italic medium nib.

The pen comes in glorious packaging that almost makes you feel like your money was well spent. I mean, the pen is what matters. But there’s something wonderful about opening a pen that is presented so elegantly. The outer cardboard box protects a heavy black hinged box. When you open that, the pen is presented in all its glory on black satin-like material. There’s a red Aurora seal attached to the clip with a string.

Underneath you’ll fine a bottle of Aurora ink and paperwork.

The Aurora Nebulosa is the 88 model which is a cigar-shaped piston filler. It has a narrow ink window. The top of the cap, piston knob, and pen grip are all black resin.

The clip is Aurora’s elegant ball-tipped clip. The cap ring is engraved with the Aurora name but no other branding.

Because this is a limited edition pen, the cap itself is engraved with the limited edition number (out of 888 models) in pink gold.

The auroloide is absolutely gorgeous. It has flecks of lighter purple mixed with deep, dark purple. It literally glows in sunlight.

I love Aurora nibs, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It’s rose gold with beautiful Aurora scrollwork.

You can see how a medium Aurora nib looks ground into an italic with this juicy close up:

The Aurora 88 holds a good amount of ink (1.10 ml) and you can use the ink window to see when you’re getting low. Plus, Aurora boasts an ink reserve, so if you run out of ink, you can unscrew the piston knob and get about one page more. The piston mechanism is smooth as silk.

The Nebulosa is 5.4 inches in length closed, 6.20 inches posted, and 5.19 inches unposted. It weighs 21.6 grams. This is not a heavy pen. It feels great in the hand.

Aurora nibs are stiff and don’t have much give or bounce. But they are smooth and wet. My italic definitely has a sweet spot, and as long as I keep it there, the nib writes smoothly and offers a bit of line variation. I inked my Nebulosa with Lamy Dark Lilac. It’s a wonderful combination.

The Aurora Nebulosa is definitely a gasp-worthy fountain pen. You can purchase one from Vanness Pens with a stock nib. The models with EF, F, M, and B cost $805. If you want a BB or factory italic, you’ll pay $895. If you’d like a special grind, you can go to Dan Smith’s site and choose from a variety of nib sizes. The nib grind is included with the cost of the pen.

Pros

• If you want a gorgeous purple fountain pen that is a piston filler and writes great, the Nebulosa fits the bill. This color is simply outstanding.
• The rose gold trim and nib complement the auroloide perfectly.
• Aurora makes their own nibs in house and they are top quality.
• The piston on this pen is smooth and holds a good amount of ink.
• If packaging matters at all to you, you’ll love how Aurora presents this limited edition.

Cons

• Limited edition pens are more expensive than regular offerings, and this one is no exception.
• Folks with larger hands may find the Aurora 88 to be too small and light for their taste.

Maruai - The Basic Notebook, Pocket and Mini Size 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.)

I think we can all agree that you should have a pen or pencil and paper on you at all times. Pocket tech can't replicate all of analog's necessary functions--people need paper. Especially paper that fits in your pocket. It's what makes pocket notebooks so wonderful--except pocket notebooks don't fit well in my pockets. It's not the notebook's fault--it's a known issue with women's jeans: skimpy pockets. It makes me thankful for handy pocket notebook cases, but I still need paper in my pocket. Sometimes it just needs to be that handy.

My solution has been to use mini notebooks. I've been using the Moleskine minis for years, but I don't love their paper, so I was excited to try these new Mini Notebooks from Maruai.

They come in two sizes, the mini and the pocket size. The mini is 3.2" by 2.2" with 48 blank pages, bound with a side staple. The pocket size is tall and narrow at 4.1" by 2.4", with a sewn and glued top binding and 64 5mm grid pages. Both are small enough to fit in a pocket, and the mini can even fit in a wallet card slot. The pocket size works well as a memo pad with its back cover slid into a planner pocket or wallet slot.

They have nicely textured, flexible cardstock covers. They're very durable. I've carried one for weeks, and apart from some blue dye transfer from my darker jeans and a slight gluteus curvature, it looks brand new.

The ivory paper is very smooth and pleasant to use. It stands up to a variety of inks. Broad or wet fountain pens had significant bleed-through, but fine fountain pens with dry inks worked well, and rollerball, gel, ballpoint, and pencils were all great. These notebooks pair naturally with a pocket pen like the Fisher Space Pen or the Midori Brass Bullet Ballpoint pen.

One downside to the notebooks is that the pages are not perforated. My pocket notebook is often my "have you got a piece of paper" go-to, for handing out contact info or book/recipe/website/pen recommendations to friends. I'm still going to tear pages out of these books--I'm just going to have to mangle the notebook a bit to do it. It should work okay for the top-bound book, but tearing a sheet from the staple-bound book could cause the other half of the leaf to loosen and fall out. Still, pocket notebooks were made to be mangled. I look forward to mangling a whole stack of these.

They do cost nearly twice as much as the Moleskine minis (which have perforated pages), which is a bit of a bummer. The paper and covers are definitely nicer on the Maruai, but I can't say they're twice as nice. They feel good in my hand, though, and they'll be the perfect thing to drop in my cart to bump it up over that free shipping threshold. I'm glad to see more mini notebooks out in the world, and these are lovely, useful things.

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

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