Colorverse Strelka and JFK's Dog Pushinka Ink 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.)

Colorverse’s Trailblazer in Space Series pays homage to animals, insects, and rockets that were launched into space. The Strelka and JFK’s Dog Pushinka set is based on the following story: in 1960, two dogs named Strelka and Belka boarded Sputnik 2. They were accompanied by forty mice, two rats, and several plants, and they successfully orbited Earth eighteen times. Strelka later gave birth to a litter of puppies. One of them, Pushinka, was given as a gift to John F. Kennedy (Dogs in Space).

*Photo Credit:* *Cecil Stoughton. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston; Public Domain*

The Strelka/Pushinka set comes with some pretty fabulous packaging. The outer box has pictures of both dogs with their respective color inks. The inner box is decorated with stars and the solar system.

In addition to the ink, the box contains some extra goodies: two branded napkins for wiping ink off nibs, a cardboard bookmark, a cardboard pen holder, and stickers.

Strelka

The Strelka ink comes in a 65ml teardrop-shaped bottle. It is a bright, peacock blue color with little shading or sheen.

I tested the ink using a Sailor Cross Point nib on Maruman Septcouleur paper. The ink flows extremely well and is definitely an eye-catching color. It’s a wet ink and is not colorfast.

My chromatography test showed little variation in color.

The color is really quite beautiful. But writers (like me) who enjoy shading and/or sheen will be disappointed that Strelka is so flat.

JFK’s Pushinka

The Pushinka ink comes in a tiny 15ml bottle. Pushinka is a rather odd color that looks tan in swabs. But with a nib it almost looks looks greenish. The ink does not contain any sheen.

I tested this ink using my Franklin-Christoph medium SIG Flex nib on Maruman Septcouleur paper. It exhibits a tiny bit of shading when you write with it, but is a flat tan color in swabs. It is much drier than Strelka ink, and it is not waterproof.

The chromatography test indicates that this rather bland color actually contains several interesting hues: gray, yellow, orange, and blue.

In spite of the cool chromatography, I’m not at all impressed with this drab color, though it does capture the tan colors of Pushinka’s ears and tail. Although the tiny bottle is adorable, it’s not practical for pens with large or long nibs. In fact, I filled the converter straight from the bottle rather than trying to draw ink up through the nib.

This is my first experience with Colorverse inks, and I’m definitely intrigued, even though the colors I tested didn’t have shading and sheen. I love the space themes Colorverse emphasizes, and I hope to try out some different colors in the future. You can purchase this Trailblazer set from JetPens for $33.00.

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

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Susan Pigott and filed under Colorverse, Ink Reviews.

Maruman Into-One Binder 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.)

It's probably hyperbole to say that ring binders have changed the world, but is it, really? They've certainly changed the school supply world, and the basic technology is so simple and effective that they themselves have remained almost unchanged for as long as I've been around. As with any technology, if you can't improve it, make it smaller. The Maruman Into-One Mini-Sized Binder is the perfect example of a classic product made useful in whole new ways just by making it wee.

The binder has a flexible polypropylene cover with a light texture. It's very light and thin, so it keeps the binder's profile slim enough that it can fit in a back pocket. The spine is held together with rivets to the ring plate. The rings are plastic and have a pinch-to-open mechanism. They work well, though I worry about the durability of the clear plastic. The binder lies perfectly flat when open. The cover does bow a bit when lying closed.

For being so small, it holds a surprising number of sheets. The paper is available in 5 mm grid, lined, scrap paper, or drawing paper. As with other Maruman papers I've tried, it behaves very well. It's smooth, holds a crisp line of writing, and doesn't allow for feathering or bleed-through. The paper is strong enough that it doesn't tear away from the rings easily, so I've had no trouble with pages falling loose. The sheets are slightly larger than a 3 x 5 card. They'd make great flash cards or study notes.

There are also card and zipper pockets that fit into the binder, much like those for Traveler's Notebooks. And with the different papers available, these could easily be a customizable journal or planner system. I've been using mine primarily for making lists and writing down reminders--like a commonplace book where I can decide how much of each sort of paper I need. It's like an auxiliary planner. A place to dump my raw brain data before I organize it into my actual planner.

I think this is a great little product. I love being able to customize my notebook and the small size makes it easy to carry around. I can scribble down an important address, grab a stamp from the pocket, and store the post office receipt all in one place. Oh, hey, that's probably why they call it "Into-One". I love it and I'll get good use out of it until one of my kids steals it.

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

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Posted on September 13, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Maruman, Notebook Reviews.

Faber Castell Loom Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

One of my favorite pens growing up was a non-branded rollerball with a twist mechanism and rubber grip section. I don't remember what kind of refill it took, but it was smooth and dark. The internals were brass, which gave the pen a nice weight. It's one of the pens that led me down this journey so many years ago. One of my favorite things about that pen was the color: gunmetal. I was delighted to pull out this Faber Castell Loom and take in the gunmetal goodness that makes up the entire body.

The Faber Castell Loom is a premium fountain pen with a steel nib and snap cap. The particular color/finish I have is a matte gunmetal, which I absolutely love. It's not as hefty as my old pen from my childhood, but it's also not made of brass.

The pen looks a bit chunky when sitting on my desk, mostly due to the thick body and large cap. But when you pick this pen up, you're surprised by the lack of weight. It's much lighter than it looks, and that translates to comfortable writing.

The EF nib is stainless steel and has a surprising amount of flex. While this isn't a flex nib by design, it offers a pleasant amount of give which produces some nice line variation with gentle pressure. The nib writes reliably and with great flow, but it is a tad scratchy. This is something that can easily be corrected with some minor tuning, however.

The nib is also lightly decorated with the Faber Castell logo, the nib size, and some small dots that remind me of filigree.

The grip section is slightly tapered toward the end and also has a few embossed grip rings that provide a surprising amount of comfort and stability. I've used this pen for some longer writing sessions, and it's incredibly comfortable.

The cap is a snap design that feels very secure when in place. It takes moderate pressure to uncap, but not so much that I worry about losing my grip or sloshing ink. Capping the pen produces a nice click/clunk sound. You can also post the cap on the back of the pen, but I feel that the unposted length/balance is perfect for writing.

The cap also has a debossed Faber Castell name and logo. While the name/logo is fairly large, I think it's still pleasing and classy due to the lack of paint. The plain deboss doesn't draw too much attention. The top of the cap also features the Faber Castell logo in a shiny finial that is also part of the clip.

The clip is spring-loaded, but nothing like that of the Lamy 2000. It's strong, but doesn't match up to the perfection of the 2000. Even so, it does a great job of attaching the pen to other objects, and it looks great while doing it. There's a nice arch at the tip of the clip that makes it easy to guide onto a pocket or pouch.

One of my favorite parts of this pen is the end of the body. Instead of a flat surface, the butt of this pen features a beautiful concave design that adds a bit of visual interest to an otherwise boring piece of the pen.

The color of the pen body is a matte gunmetal, and I absolutely love it. It does have a bit of shine, but it's very subdued. The cap is a matte black that compliments the gunmetal perfectly.

Overall, I've really enjoyed using the Loom. I wasn't sure I would like it due to the thick body, but I was proven wrong. The cap also threw me off at first because it's so long and chunky compared to the rest of the pen. At this point, I see it as a design element that I wouldn't change. At just shy of $60, this pen falls into an awkward price point. It has to compete with the likes of Lamy Al-Stars, Kaweco AL-Sports, and TWSBIs without offering any clear advantages to justify the minor bump in price. To me, this is an affordable luxury pen, and if you like the aesthetic, the pen won't let you down.

(Vanness Pens loaned this product to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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