When you want to buy the newest fountain pen releases before anyone else, your choice should be Fontoplumo.
Not only do they have the extremely limited 2017 Aurora Optima 365 Limited Edition available for pre-order, they have the newest Lamy releases such as the Lamy Studio in Racing Green and Lamy Aion ready to ship.
Based in The Netherlands, Fontoplumo has all of the pens and ink you need to get writing. My thanks to Fontoplumo for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.
(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
A few weeks ago I reviewed Kaweco Smokey Grey ink. Unfortunately, I was unimpressed with that ink, but I needed a matchy ink to go with my lovely Montblance Alexandre Dumas fountain pen. So, I bought some grey ink samples from Vanness Pens and decided to compare them.
The six inks I compared are Kaweco Smokey Grey, Robert Oster Graphite, Kobe #10 Mikage Grey, Papier Plume Oyster Grey, Akkerman #29 Hofvijver Grijs, and Kobe #46 Nagisa Museum Grey.
In the comparison above, you can see that I wound up with quite a variety of greys, ranging from the very light Kaweco to the almost black Nagisa Museum Grey.
The chromatography on each ink reveals some interesting characteristics.
L to R: Kaweco Smokey Grey, Robert Oster Graphite, Kobe Mikage Grey, Papier Plume Oyster Grey, Akkerman Hofvijver Grijs, and Kobe Nagisa Museum Grey
Kaweco Smokey Grey has virtually no color range, varying slightly from grey to light lavender. Robert Oster Graphite is the most spectacular of the bunch at least in terms of chromatography, with lots of magenta and blue. Kobe Mikage contains mostly lavender and a little bit of blue. Papier Plume Oyster Grey contains blue and magenta tones. Akkerman Grijs is, perhaps, the truest grey, revealing no other colors. Kobe Nagisa Museum Grey is the darkest of all, and like the Akkerman, it demonstrates virtually no color variation.
Close ups of the ink swatches show what each ink looks like using a Brause 361 Steno Blue Pumpkin Calligraphy Pen Nib along with splotches and swabs.
Kaweco Smokey Grey is quite light in the swab, but with the wet dip nib, it writes more like a dark grey.
Robert Oster Graphite, despite its colorful chromatography, is a dark grey both in the swab and with the pen. The ink splats show a tiny bit of sheen, but unfortunately it’s been raining in Abilene all week, and I couldn’t get pictures with sunlight displaying the sheen in all its glory.
Kobe Mikage Grey, in my opinion, is the most intriguing shade of grey. In the swab, the writing, and the splats its purple hue is quite striking.
Papier Plume is a really nice blue-grey as revealed in the swab. With the pen, it appears as a dark grey with some blue sheen.
Akkerman Grijs is definitely the truest grey. The swab shows that it’s a flat color with little variation.
Kobe Nagisa Museum Grey is very close to black with some nice sheen.
I was really pleased with the wide variety of grey shades in these samples. I’ve pretty much written off Kaweco Smokey Grey as being too light and uninteresting for my use. If I wanted a true grey, I would choose the Akkerman. I found Kobe Nagisa to be too close to Iroshizuku Take-Sumi which I already own. Although Robert Oster inks are usually among my top picks, I didn’t much like Graphite, even though the chromatography made the ink look really interesting. So, of the six shades of grey, my two favorites are Papier Plume Oyster with its beautiful blue-grey tones and nice shading and Kobe #10 Mikage Grey with its deep purple-grey hue. It also shades quite well and has some sheen.
Currently my Montblanc Alexandre Dumas is inked with Kobe Mikage. When I run out of that, I’ll put the Papier Plume in the pen and make my final decision about which ink I’ll buy.
You can purchase a 30ml bottle of Kaweco Smokey Grey from JetPens for $13.50. All the other inks are available from Vanness Pens. Robert Oster Graphite is $17.00 for 50ml. Kobe #10 Mikage Grey and Kobe #46 Nagisa Museum Grey are $30.00 for 50ml. Papier Plume Oyster Grey is $7.00 for 30ml. And Akkerman Hofjijver Grijs is $28.00 for 60ml.
(I purchased the ink samples above with my own funds from Vanness Pens.)
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(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.)
The scented Zebra Sarasa pens are back with new limited editions, this time celebrating Mister Donut in some scrumptious sweet scents. If you missed the last scented gel pen release, definitely grab these. If you already have the last scented set, you can probably skip these, because the colors and scents are mostly repeated. The previous editions had lemon yellow instead of caramel brown. Of course, these versions are decorated with adorable donuts and the Mister Donut characters: French Wooler (set A) and Pon de Lion (set B)--so they're still great fun. I was just disappointed that it wasn't a whole new product. I'm also disappointed, now, that I don't have a real-life matcha donut. But that's one of those problems that stationery can't solve.
These pens have all the fantastic features of the Zebra Sarasa Clip—a lovely, sturdy alligator clip that secures reliably to even fat stacks of paper; fast-drying ink that is water and fade-resistant; a satisfying click mechanism; and a soft rubberized grip. The clips make them a little bulky, but they're functional enough that I think they earn that extra space in the pen case.
They write smoothly and the colors are bright and saturated. I didn't experience any skipping or smudging. The .5 mm tip is great for fine lines while still being easily readable in lighter colors. They're good pens for those who like practical reliability, and the special editions add whimsy that makes writing with them extra delightful. The scents are fun, but not overpowering. I can't say that they smell like what they claim to be--they all have a general "sweet" smell and some are easier to discern than others. But if you had me take a sniff test to determine the scent, I'd fail. The orange and the strawberry are the easiest to identify by smell alone.
Like the previous edition, this one is broken up into two sets of four. Set A has chocolate black, matcha green, peach pink, and vanilla light blue. Set B has caramel brown, milk blue, orange, and strawberry red. Both sets together make a nice array of colors. Individually, the sets seem oddly grouped. It would make more sense, to me, to put the red, blue, and black together--the office-appropriate colors--and then the more wild colors in the other set. Or just make it one set of eight--because who just buys half of the limited edition?
At $10.75 per set, they're a little on the pricy side. But the pens are refillable (just not with the limited scented ink). They're also well-made enough to withstand many repeated uses, so I don't think the price is unreasonable.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
I hope the next limited series will include some more new colors and scents, but in the meantime, I'll enjoy these very much.
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.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
