Misfill, Make Stuff Edition

Each week in Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter, I publish Ink Links as part of the additional content you receive for being a member. And each week, after 10 to 15 links, plus my added commentary on each, I'm left with many great items I want to share. Enter Misfill. Here are this weeks links:

— A Spontaneous Desire To Make Stuff: Keith Haring On The BBC (The Quietus)

— UniBall Edge Ballpoint Pen Review (The Poor Penman)

— Pocket Size Review 45: Montblanc Great Characters Andy Warhol, Colorverse Constellation (Penquisition)

— My desk is not nice enough to do justice to the Galen desk pad (UK fountain pens)

— Montblanc Meisterstück PT 146 Solitaire Doué Le Petit Prince Aviator (Gourmet Pens)

— Sailor Maruzen Athena Lemon (Tokyo Station Pens)

— J Herbin 350th Anniversary Ink – Vert Atlantide (Nick Stewart)

— Ink Review #1221: Robert Oster Flaming Blue (Mountain of Ink)

— A Few Sailor Studio Inks (Wonder Pens)

— Liu Xiaodong’s New York Diary (Hyperallergic)

— Kolkata woman makes for a rare collector of fountain pens (The Hindu)

— Bullet journaling has helped Doncaster woman with enforcing structure into her life during lockdown (Doncaster Free Press)

— Translating an Apology to a Designer For Stealing Their Work (Core77)

— Pencil Case Review: Tombow Irojiten Set with Portable Case - Limited Edition (The Well-Appointed Desk)

— Ink Review #1220: KWZ Stay Home Purple (Mountain of Ink)

— Plaid (Crónicas Estilográficas)

— Oval 2 Prototype Pen by Darriel Caston of D Rocket Designs (The Clicky Post)

— Working Tools 39. Hey! Yay! Nay? (Stuart Lennon)

— InHouse Records launches a weekly magazine for prison inmates during the lockdown (It’s Nice That)

— Dan Matsuda: a New World of EDC (Carryology)

— Nanami Seven Seas Review (Fountain Pen Pharmacist)

— Interactive Event with Paint Kartel Teaches Seniors to Create Bold Graffiti in Belgrade (Colossal)

— Montblanc Donation George Gershwin Fountain Pen Review (SBREBrown)

— KWZ Ink Sheen Machine 2 – Sheen Day (by STALÓWKA)

— The USPS Introduces New Hip Hop Stamps (Kottke)

Want to catch the rest, plus extra articles, reviews, commentary, discounts, and more? Try out a Pen Addict Membership for only $5 per month!

Nomad Notebooks Giveaway Winner

Nomad Notebooks has some fun things going on with their notebook designs. I love the different themes they come up with, and the mix and match paper style is a cool look. I have two 3-packs to give away this week, and the winners are:

Congrats Bronwyn and Eleanor! I’ve sent you each an email to collect your shipping address.

TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Prussian Blue with Mark Bacas Predator Grind: 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.)

Last week I reviewed the TWSBI Diamond 580 in Smoke and Rose Gold with an EF nib. So, why, you might ask, am I reviewing another 580 this week? Well . . . first, because the Prussian Blue has some distinct stylistic differences from the 580 in Smoke and Rose Gold, and second, because this 580 boasts a specialty grind by Mark Bacas.

I’ll start by discussing the Prussian Blue version of the Diamond 580 and how it is distinct from the Smoke and Rose Gold. The Prussian Blue arrives in the same plastic TWSBI box.

The aluminum trims on the pen have a dark teal matte finish which is still shiny but in a subtle way.

One thing I don’t like about this version of the 580 is that the clip is plain silver rather than the gorgeous Prussian blue color. I wish they had matched the clip like they did on the Rose Gold.

Unlike the Rose Gold 580, the cap finial and grip are machine-grooved. This gives the finial a special look and provides texture on the grip for your fingers.

Although the Prussian Blue is the same size as the Rose Gold 580, it weighs slightly less: 27 grams capped, with no ink, 17.9 grams inked and unposted. The grip diameter is just a smidge larger at 11 mm. Like the Rose Gold 580, Prussian Blue holds 1.8 ml of ink and is a piston filler.

I purchased my TWSBI Diamond 580 in Prussian Blue from Mark Bacas (nibgrinder.com) and requested a Predator grind. The Predator is created from a broad nib. It is ground so that when the pen is held normally, you get an extra fine line. When you hold the pen upside down, you get a medium to broad line. It is similar to a Sailor Cross Concord but without the doubled nib.

Here are several photos showing the Predator grind from various angles:

This nib grind is so much fun! The EF point is smooth and creates lovely delicate lines. Writing examples follow:

The B point offers substantive line width (it’s not so broad that its unusable for writing) and you can use it for both cursive and print writing.

I created a mandala using this nib and Sailor Yama-dori ink. It’s really great for artwork because you can create super fine lines and use the other nib side for broad lines or for filling in.

The fact that you can get this grind on a TWSBI 580 with its huge ink capacity makes this nib more practical than the Sailor Cross Point (which only comes on Sailor pens with tiny converters). Plus, it’s almost impossible to find Sailor Cross Point nibs anymore, and if you can, they are very expensive.

You can purchase this pen from Mark Bacas for $60 (if he still has some in stock; if not, he carries other TWSBI models). The Predator grind is an additional $50.

(I purchased this TWSBI Diamond 580 in Prussian Blue with the Predator grind with my own funds.)

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