The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 391 - This Sounds Great – I Have No Interest

Myke and I kick the new year off in a very Pen Addict way by discussing the tools we use for planning, journaling, tasks, projects, and more. We’ve been teasing these notebooks for months, and we finally break them all down in this episode.

Show Notes & Download Links

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Posted on January 2, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Podcast.

Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen 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. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Platinum offers quite a few entry-level pens that lead you all the way from the minimal investment of the Platinum Preppy on up into the stratosphere. You could have a full-spectrum pen collecting career just within the one brand. Perhaps the folks at Platinum noticed a gap between those who love the Preppy and those who took the step up to the Procyon. The Prefounte addresses a lot of the wishes expressed by Preppy fans while still keeping it at a great intro price.

The feed, grip, section, and cap are the same shape and design as the Preppy and Plaisir. The shape, size, and polycarbonate material are the same between the Preppy and Prefounte. The Prefounte also has the special feature of Platinum's spring-loaded inner cap seal that supposedly allows it to be left for over a year without drying out. Obviously I couldn't test that. The nib is also the same. The clip is upgraded to a metal one. The busy branding and info has been removed from the body, with only a minimal bit of text around the edge of the cap. The Prefounte is also available in a variety of fun colors, all demonstrators, and generally has a more elevated look. Where the Preppy looks like a disposable pen, the Prefounte looks like something a little more special.

Are these changes worth the jump from $4 to $10? I think that will depend on the user. For me, yes, because I'm a magpie and I think the Preppy looks awful and I hate the plastic clip. For me, they've taken what didn't work on the Preppy and fixed it, and still kept it at a price point where it makes a great gift.

Maybe it's not fair to only rate this pen in terms of how it compares to its predecessors. It does stand on its own very well. If the Preppy didn't already exist, the Prefounte would be a revelation in the pen world.

The pen takes a proprietary cartridge or converter, but the converter costs $8, or almost as much as the pen itself. The cartridge is hardy, though, and I bet it would last a few refills, if you have a blunt syringe to clean and fill it with. This pen can also, in theory (I have not tested this), be eye-droppered for a massive ink capacity and cool ink-sloshy effect. Personally, I think this plastic feels a bit too brittle to risk filling it entirely with ink. It's more substantial than a throw-away pen for sure, but I could see a drop onto a hard surface ending in an inksplosion.

The Prefounte writes much better than I'd expect for a pen of this price. It isn't perfect. I get some hard starts and skipping, more often with some paper than others, and the .5 medium nib writes a lot more broadly than I'm used to seeing from a Platinum medium. This is more like a western medium, and it's much wetter than my other Platinum pens. That's not a complaint--I like it. But it may not be what people are expecting when they buy it. If you like Platinum nibs because they tend to be dry and fine, size down for this pen. Unfortunately, it looks like it is only available in .3 fine and .5 medium at this time. Hopefully the finer .2 extra-fine that is on the Preppy will also hit this model.

Overall, I think this is a good value, and an exciting new line for Platinum. I've already caught myself thinking, "Do I need a whole set of these for school?" I mean, of course I don't, but I might. If you already love the Preppy, I don't think you need to upgrade to the Prefounte, though. And a lot of people love the Preppy! That could be the Prefounte's doom. But I still think this might be the perfect pen to give to a child or a friend who is interested in fountain pens. It is just enough better to make it special.

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

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Posted on January 2, 2020 by Sarah Read and filed under Platinum, Prefounte, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Lamy 2000 Ballpoint Pen Taxus Body Review

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

At this point, we're all very familiar with the Lamy 2000. It's an iconic design that has definitely stood the test of time. Love it or hate it, it certainly has a fan-base. We've also seen some special editions for the Lamy 2000, but not many. The classic black Makrolon is a winner, but that doesn't mean the 2000 has to stop there.

The Lamy 2000 Ballpoint pen has been around for quite some time. It's not a new pen by any means, but the Taxus body option sure is new to me. Instead of the industrial Makrolon body material, this ballpoint features a beautiful wooden body made from the taxus tree. It's a completely different aesthetic that adds a lot of warmth to this old classic.

If you're already familiar with the shape of the Lamy 2000, then this pen doesn't have any surprises in store for you. For me, it's an exceptionally comfortable pen that I've never had any problems with when writing for long periods of time. The Taxus body just adds a small amount of warmth and a smoother texture than the Makrolon material.

Aesthetically speaking, the grain of the wood adds a lot of character and visual interest to an otherwise reserved design. It's a lighter colored wood, with darker grain that swirls smoothly around the surface of the pen body. Personally, I think it's a great color and texture match for a timeless design. I've really enjoyed using this pen and would highly recommend this option to anyone interested in a Lamy 2000 ballpoint.

The Lamy 2000 uses a Lamy M16 ballpoint refill, and it ships with a medium black refill. You can also pick up a blue refill, but you only have the choice of a medium tip. Monteverde also sells compatible refills for this pen with a few other color options, but I haven't personally tried these out yet.

The M16 refill is really smooth and lays down a dark line with minimal skipping. It actually does a pretty great job compared to other ballpoint refills, but it just can't compete with the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 I've come to love so dearly. This is one of those moments where I furrow my brow at Lamy for insisting on their own proprietary refills instead of using a more accessible style. That's really the only complaint I have against this pen, and it can be a fairly major one depending on how much you like (or dislike) the default M16 refill.

Refill woes aside, this really is a delightful pen. The nock mechanism is smooth and crisp, the minimal Lamy logo printed on the back of the nock collar is tasteful, and the clip features the famous spring action design that the flagship Lamy 2000 fountain pens boast. All in all, it's a great pen.

Now, this fancy taxus wood body does come at a premium. Compared to the base price of about $65 for the traditional black Makrolon ballpoint, the Taxus Body comes in at just over $103 (at the time of publishing). That's a hefty premium, but one that I think is justified in the look and feel of this premium material. These pens make great gifts for the pen enthusiast in your life. Oh, and of course they're an excellent addition to your collection if it checks all the right boxes.

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

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