Image via JetPens
Bright pens brighten up my days, and I know we could all use some brightening up on these particular days. For this giveaway, I have one Lamy AL-Star Limited Edition Turmaline fountain pen with a Fine nib, AND a bottle of matching Turmaline ink to give away to one reader. Read the rules below and enter away.
The XS Titanium Pocket Fountain Pen pen designed by ēnsso is one of the smallest fountain pens on the market. It is ideal for everyday carry without compromising comfort and writing experience. Previously offered in aluminum and brass it is now released in titanium as a Kickstarter exclusive.
For this 2.0 version, ēnsso re-engineered its components, adjusted dimensions, and developed high-resistance gaskets and a new material finish. The pen is entirely machined from grade-5 titanium that offers an excellent combination of high strength and toughness. It is finished using fine bead blasting to achieve a smooth matte texture. At only 95 mm / 3.75” when capped, it is very compact, but transforms into a regular-sized pen when posted. The fast-opening and fast-closing actions rely on high-performance gaskets specifically designed and manufactured for this pen. The twelve-sided XS pen comes equipped with a #5 German-made Bock nib either in polished stainless steel or titanium. It also includes a detachable stainless steel clip.
This is an exclusive Kickstarter product that will not be offered outside the platform. Production is limited to 500 pieces and offered at $59, which represents a 50% - 70% discount to other titanium pens in the market. The last day to pre-order the pen on Kickstarter is Thursday, March 26 at 9:00 AM PDT.
My thanks to ēnsso for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.
The correct order of operation when you buy a new pen you immediately buy a new ink to go with it, right? And there are bonus points if the ink matches the pen? I’m pretty sure these are the rules, but if not, I’m making them official today.
I bought the Leonardo Momento Zero Fountain Pen Lavande Rose Gold from Dromgoole’s Pens at the 2020 Baltimore Pen Show. I’m a Leonardo fan, and this new color spoke to me, so I went for it. I had two decisions to make after purchase: One, do I get the nib ground because they only had Medium in stock, and two, what ink will go with this pen the best because I am here, and this is now?
Being the matchy-matchy person that I am, I wanted a color close to the Lavande of the pen barrel, but no normal pink or purple would do. I pored through the large swatch books at Vanness Pens rejecting colors left and right, until it hit hit me. Doesn’t Akkerman have a nice magenta? Why yes, they do! Akkerman #12 Mauritshuis Magenta is the exact color I was looking for.
Many of you may be yelling at the screen by now, “Brad, I love pink-purple-magenta inks, and there are a TON of great ones out there.” Yes, I admit I’m a little bit late to the party with this shade, but with my already-professed love for all things pink and purple, it was only a matter a time before I combined the two into a new love.
My main question is this: What do you call this color? Magenta seems right. I see Rose used a lot, or maybe it’s Purply Pink? Regardless, it’s great, and I’m glad I added a new Akkerman to the collection, which now totals six.
Mauritshuis Magenta is a classic Akkerman mix of quality, performance, and color. There are inks out there that will out-sheen this classic, but for pure writing with a decent amount of shading, Akkerman more than holds its own. Plus, they have the coolest ink bottles in the world, and are reasonably priced at $30 for a 60 ml bottle.
The cursive italic grind I had put on this nib by Gina at Custom Nib Studio shows off the shading well in the vertical strokes, and the ink flow never skipped a beat when writing. I think that is my favorite feature of Akkerman Inks - they just work.
And they look great too. I may not be able to pronounce their names, but at least I have a number to work off of. Welcome home #12!
(Vanness Pens provided this ink at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes. I purchased the Leonardo from Dromgoole's at a discount.)
