Troublemaker Tablea Fountain Pen Ink Review

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

It was just a few months ago that I had the pleasure of using my first ink from Troublemaker Inks out of the Philippines. Autumn Rain Gray is a shimmering ink with dark character, but the latest ink I'm trying is part of their standard line of inks. Tablea is a deep brown ink with plenty of shading and zero shimmer.

Brown inks are never at the top of my list of things to try or rotate into my active pens. That said, I can definitely appreciate a nice brown ink if it has some character. In my mind, that character can be achieved with shading. With Tablea, there's plenty of shading to be had, and you don't even need a really large nib to coax it out.

With a lot of dark inks, seeing the shading effects can be difficult with smaller nibs. Given the dark color of the ink, you have to spread it drastically to allow the shading to pop through. Tablea is just light enough to allow the lovely shading to come through with even a German fine nib. It comes out even easier with the 1.1mm stub I used for the photos of this review. Given the great shading effect of this ink, it's definitely a brown that I'll keep around and recommend.

Apart from the shading, this ink is pretty standard. The flow is good, but it feels a tad dry on the nib when writing. This isn't a flow issue at all — more of a lubrication item due to the unique formula of this particular ink. At any rate, it's not severe enough to be unpleasant. It only took a few seconds of writing to adjust to the feel.

The ink does really well on paper. The lines are crisp and defined, and there aren't any bleeding or feathering issues that I've noticed on the different papers I've tried. Show through on the back of the page is on par with what I'd expect with a dark ink, but not overly noticeable. The back of the page is still usable.

The one area where this ink is a little disappointing is the dry time. In my unscientific testing, the ink took between 35 to 45 seconds to dry to a point where it didn't smudge when I ran a finger of it. Look out lefties — this probably won't work well for you unless you really like all your writing to be smudged and on your hand. Regardless of your writing style, you still have to be careful about handling the paper or notebook after writing to avoid smudging or transferring the ink before it's fully dried.

Tablea is a rich, beautiful medium brown ink that fits in well with this season of changing leaves and cooler weather. You can pick up a bottle for $16.50 or a 4ml sample for $4 from Vanness. I'm not often in the mood for a dark brown ink, but this is definitely on the top of my list for when that mood strikes. Give it a try if it looks interesting to you!

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 18, 2023 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Troublemaker Inks, Ink Reviews.

Carolina Pen Co. Charleston Slim Fountain Pen Review

If you have been using pens for any length of time, I’m sure you have discovered what your favorites are. Favorite brands, favorite materials, favorite shapes, favorite sizes, favorite weights, and so on.

I use all kinds of pens, and in a wide range of options. From big and heavy, to small and light. But I do play favorites with my most … favorite … pens. In general, I prefer pens on the smaller end of the spectrum. Barrels that are narrow, materials that are light. Those needs match my handwriting style - tiny, block printing - the best.

The latest pen to match my needs perfectly is the Charleston Slim model from Carolina Pen Company.

The original Charleston model is one of the pens that launched Jonathon Brooks’ pen making career. It is a classic fountain pen shape, with its widest point in the middle of the barrel, and slight tapers towards each end. I’d imagine it is one of his most popular sellers, too, as it is a great platform to show off his material making prowess.

In general, the Charleston is too wide for me to own more than the one I have. It’s great, and I have it fitted with a wider nib - Broad, ground into a Kodachi by Matthew Chen - befitting its wider diameter. But this isn’t a pen barrel I want to use finer nibs and grinds with.

Top top bottom: Standard Charleston, one-off slightly narrower Charleston, Charleston Slim.

Jonathon knows this about me, and last year he took it upon himself to narrow down a Charleston model when I ordered a pen using his Warm Tone Primary Manipulation material. In quick measurements of the widest point in the barrel, the change knocked off a little more than 1 mm of the diameter (15.9 mm on the standard, 14.8 mm on my one-off,) which is noticeable in the hand.

Fast forward to this Summer, at the Washington D.C. Pen show, when I spent plenty of time with Jonathan, and his child Kristen, checking out all of their pens and materials. That’s when Jonathan handed me this new “official” pen model, the Charleston Slim. It was even narrower than the last pen he made for me, and I was immediately smitten with it. He even let me pick out a couple to review, keep, or giveaway. Maybe all of the above!

Edison Beaumont, top.

First things first: the measurement. Taking my calipers to the same spot of the barrel, it checks in at 13.2 mm. For comparison, the Edison Beaumont - another personal favorite - lands at 12.1 mm mid-barrel. And the Beaumont is a pen that I rave about, despite being too small for many users. Not for me, though!

The Charleston Slim is exactly what I want size and weight-wise from a fountain pen. The length fits my hand perfectly unposted (you can technically post it, but it is loooong,) and the pinched section hits my grip just right.

The material of this model is called “The Committee,” and is one of Kristen’s materials from Fountain Telling. It is a wonderful blue green swirl with sparkly undertones, and it POPS. It’s hard not to grab a material like this first off the table when you see it. It also has the Fountain Telling logo etched onto the Fine Jowo #6 nib.

The Charleston Slim is a new favorite pen shape of mine, and one I look forward to exploring in other materials. Jonathon has several models listed for sale on his website for $200, and will certainly have more available at a pen show near you in the future.

My thanks to Jonathon and Kristen for providing me this pen for review. And stay tuned for tomorrow’s post!

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

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!

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Carolina Pen Co, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.