Schon DSGN Copper Pocket Six Fountain Pen Giveaway

Plus, a bonus!

Not only has Ian Schon, from his namesake company Schon DSGN, hooked up Pen Addict readers with a Solid Copper Pocket Six Fountain Pen, he went all-out with the upgrades on this model. Included with this full Copper-barrel pen and Medium Steel Nib is the Long Ridge nib section to give it a unique hooded nib look, plus an extra Copper grip section with the Rollerball add-on for fountain pen ink. How cool is that? And how cool is Ian for doing this! Read the rules below and get to entering.

Schon DSGN Copper Pocket Six Fountain Pen Giveaway

ENSSO ARIA: A metal pen for BIC. Now on Kickstarter! (Sponsor)

Do you have a BIC ballpoint pen? Almost everyone does. It is the most famous and best-selling pen in history. About 60 pens are sold every second. Its success relies on its affordable price point, reliable ink refill, and worldwide availability.

For a few years, we have been thinking about designing a premium, yet affordable pen that accepts all classic BIC refills- a pen that would serve you a lifetime. The result is ARIA, a minimalist all-metal pen conceived with utmost attention to detail. It has a streamlined design based on ergonomics, which is perfectly balanced for the most comfortable writing experience. The barrel also features integrated threads to securely close and post the cap while writing.

ARIA is machined from solid bars of space-grade (6061-T6511) aluminum and natural brass. The lightweight aluminum version is anodized in matte black for an understated and elegant aesthetic. The brass edition is heavier and offers a more tactile experience. The brass is left uncoated and will develop a patina over time. Such patina is appreciated by collectors but can easily be removed with any brass-cleaning product for a new and shiny appearance.

Our ARIA pen has been designed and engineered for over a year and it’s manufactured in California using state-of-the-art machinery with the best raw materials. Our mission is to deliver a writing instrument to be used for many years with the highest quality and elegant atemporal design.

ARIA is available on Kickstarter for $29 (50% discount off future retail price). My thanks to ENSSO for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.

Robert Oster Australis Oak Fountain Pen Ink Review

Robert Oster Australis Oak is exactly the type of ink that I never buy for myself, while simultaneously being the exact type of ink I should be buying for myself. Not every ink has to be Blue Black, Orange, or Purple - right? RIGHT???

I’ve wanted a good every day brown ink for a while now, and Australis Oak is certainly a contender. I’ve always thought the more chocolate brown shades would be my thing, but with the few I’ve tested none have stuck. They seem to lean flat, and boring. Leaning red is not much my style either, but what about a shade that goes a bit deeper in the gold/yellow range? Maybe so.

That’s what I was hoping to get with this ink, and I believe I succeeded. This is a rich, brown gold that leans a little gold. Or maybe well-worn tan leather. Or maybe fresh out of the oven pralines. Wherever it lands, I’m happy with it.

Part of the challenge with brown inks is that, for my personal usage, they do need to favor the pen I am going to ink it up in. That means no Pink Love here, and no Primary Manipulation. It has to math more closely than if I was throwing a bright blue ink around, for example. With my Stylo-Art Kinpaku, I found the perfect match.

This is the perfect fall pen, with the perfect fall ink. Any brown, red, gold, or yellow would be ideal for this pen, and it doesn’t hurt that I’m inking it up while the leaves are turning.

From a performance perspective, Australis Oak is identical to every other standard Robert Oster ink I use. It flows beautifully from the Pilot stub nib in this pen, with moderate shading. There is no sheen to speak of, and the dry times and color saturation are right smack in the mid-range. In short, it’s a perfect all-day, every-day writing ink.

Will I commit to using it that way? That’s the question that still remains. I love it, and it is a great compliment to the rotation of inks I find myself using regularly. I guess we will find out together!

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

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