The Pen Addict podcast: Episode 546 - Getting Together and Doing Pen Stuff

Back to Bawlmer!

It’s been a while since I’ve planned on a full travel year, and it looks like 2023 is going to be just that. I’ve booked three pen shows in the first part of the year, which Myke and I discuss this week. I’m excited already!

Show Notes & Download Links

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Bindewerk Basic Wood Metal Edge Notebook 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!)

I purchased this notebook as a souvenir from Scriptura in New Orleans this past fall. It was irresistible, which was my only excuse for purchasing a large notebook made out of wood and metal while attempting to one-bag minimal travel. It just felt good in my hands. No regrets.

This is a hefty A5 notebook with 144 sheets (288 pages) of dot-grid paper. The cover boards are made of cherry wood with a black cloth spine and aluminum edges that run around the border of each cover board. The binding is sewn in small signatures, so the book lies flat with very little training. It is very well made, despite one stray thread that escaped the binding process on mine. That doesn't appear to have affected the quality of the binding--it's just a long, stray tail that I trimmed.

Inside the back cover is a flat diagonal folder for holding a few sheets of paper, but it has no gusset, so its capacity is limited. The cover is held shut with a black elastic band that has a lot of tension, so it lays flush against the back when not in use instead of flopping around, which makes me very happy.

There is no branding on the outside at all, though the wood cover is begging to be decorated. It's unfinished, so it would be fun to sketch on, or paint, or cover with stickers. If not, I bet the wood will age beautifully.

Inside, the book remains very minimal with only a blank endpaper before the dot-grid pages. The paper is cream colored and quite textured. It's not rough, but it has a lot of feedback , particularly when writing with very fine-point pens. The dots of the dot grid are fairly faint, so they can be ignored if needed, and the paper also has a barely-visible vertical structure to it that is best seen when held up to the light.

The paper does not bleed or feather and shows very little ghosting, even with a Sharpie. I was very impressed. I had expected some of that texture to lead to feathering, but no--this is some fantastic paper.

Bindewerk hand-makes their notebooks in Germany and this model costs around 36.70 Euros. I forget what exactly I paid for mine in New Orleans, but it was in the $30-something range. You can also pick them up from Orange Art Store in the US (the shop is affiliated with the US distributor of the brand.) I think that's a great price for the quality of the build and the generous serving of excellent paper. It was well worth the space it took up in my travel backpack.

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PenBBS 469 Double Ended 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.)

The double-sided writing instrument certainly isn't a new thing. I'm sure we've all used or seen a doubled sided pencil at some point, or even a double sided Sharpie — one end a normal fine point Sharpie, and the other end a broad chisel tip. Pencil, pen, marker — they're all more useful than their single-ended counterparts!

A natural progression to this type of writing instrument is double ended fountain pen. I've seen them before, but normally only from bespoke pen makers, and not in a large quantity. If you wanted one and knew where to look, you could get one fairly easily. But it required some know-how and persistence. You couldn't just order one online in a matter of minutes. Well, the PenBBS 469 makes that possible. Curious about whether a doubled ended fountain pen would be useful or not? You can scratch that itch for $50.

We've reviewed several PenBBS pens here over the years, and they generally pack a lot of value into a relatively affordable package. I've personally been surprised and delighted with the other pens I've used from this maker, so I was intrigued when I saw the double ended fountain pen on JetPens a few months ago.

The color variant I'm using here is called Misty Mountains. It's a clear acrylic with some light and medium blue stripes that swirl through the material in a really pleasing way. There are a few other color options to choose from, and I think they all look really interesting.

Regardless of what material you like, the most striking feature of these pens is the middle area where it's obvious that something unconventional is happening. You can see two separate cavities right in the middle, which is the first indication that this pen is not your normal fountain pen. On closer inspection, you'll see that there are also two caps. And with that comes two separate nibs and feed systems. Essentially, this pen is two eyedropper pens connected back to back and divided by a small wall in the middle to keep the ink reservoirs separated.

I really love how everything about this pen is perfectly balanced. Each side of the pen is exactly 50% of the overall size. The caps are the same size, the ink reservoirs are the same size, the nibs are the same size, and the grip sections are also identical. The only difference between the two ends is the nib tip size. One side is fine while the other is medium.

Filling the pens is really simple. They use an eyedropper filling system, so you just unscrew one of the grip sections, fill the reservoir with ink, and replace the section. Repeat on the other side! There are o-rings on the end of the section to keep any ink from seeping out over time, and the fit and finish is really tight and well done. I have no concerns over either end leaking.

Writing with each pen is also what I've come to expect with PenBBS! The steel nibs are smooth, true to size, and perform really well. The grip is comfortable and the pen is still well balanced even with the extra length. Unfortunately, you can't post the cap on back of the other cap, so you're left holding or storing the cap while writing.

Despite the nibs being the same overall size, I was really surprised to see that they have different decorative scroll work designs. I assumed they would have identical decoration with just a simple "F" and "M" to differentiate them.

The only real complaint or disappointment I have about this pen is the lack of nib options. The perk of having a fountain pen with two ends is being able to have two dramatically different writing experiences (along with two different ink options). If I had my way, I'd choose an EF or F nib on one end and a cursive italic or stub on the other end. The fact that PenBBS limits this to one choice — F and M — is disappointing. I assume that this limitation is a cost saving measure. Can you imagine the headache of trying to stock these pens with all the possible nib combinations? Can't say I blame them for limiting the options, but I just wish they'd settled on a more interesting pairing! Even if custom italic and stub nibs aren't an option, I could pick a broad nib and have someone do a custom grind with something interesting. A medium nib doesn't have as much material to work with, so custom grinds are even a bit limited.

Despite the lack of nib options, this is still a really fun pen. Just having the ability to pack two different inks into a single pen is really cool. The clear body really shows off the ink washing around inside the ink reservoirs, and the blue swirls add even more visual interest. It's a conversation starter for sure.

At $50, the PenBBS 469 is a great price for two great pens in one body. I'm not sure how long they'll be available — this looks like what could be a short term experiment. If you are curious about a fountain pen with two ends, go for it! Trying it out with this pen is a great testing ground before deciding you want to go the full custom route.

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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