My discoveries for 2010

Last year I did a post on what my discoveries were for the year 2009. It was the year of me starting this blog. Many of you readers responded and I was a little bit overwhelmed. I thought I was the only one with this strange hobby. Past year I blogged less because of my disease in april 2010. But I overcame and lost almost 30kg (66 pounds). I want to thank you all for the sweet responses on that. It gives me a boost to start blogging again.

Paper
The trouble with some ink in Moleskine notebooks was the trigger for my 'quest' for Moleskine friendly ink. I found a lot of inks that performed outstanding in a Moleskine. I labeled them as 100% Moleskine-proof. Past year I discovered a great replacement for my personal journal through out the year. It is by far the best notebook I tried so far. The paper is fountain pen friendly. The paper is 90grams, crisp white and shows no see through or bleed through on any ink in any fountain pen I used so far. So why should I bother trying to search for Molsekine friendly ink when I can use any ink in a notebook that is better then the Moleskine! I have to rethink my blogging in the coming year on that.

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I will start posting again

I have not blogged for a while. My last post was from june 2010. The reason was simple I invested my time in something else.

In april 2010 I was hospitalized for one week. The doctors diagnosed diverticulitis. It is a disease that is more often diagnosed on older men (grrrrr, I'm not that old!). But they saw it more and more on younger men with overweight.

I was 121kg (266 pounds) on a length of 1,87m1 (6,14 foot). Off course I knew for a long time this was not a good thing for my health. But it was hard to get it right between the ears and do something about it. Being in that hospital for a week I made a commitment to myself and my family, "I am going to lose some weight".

My goal was being 100 kg (220 pounds). I started running, bicycling, and eat less. I told my friends I would not drink beer or alcohol until I reached my goal.

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Lamy Al-Star Coffee brown (broad)

I bought this Lamy Safari Al-Star on La Couronne du Comte that has a great online store in the Netherlands. They every time exceed my expectations, with a nice gesture. Sometimes a nice gift-wrap, other times a nice bottle of free ink. Keep up the good work!


New color
This new color Lamy Al-Star is introduced in may 2010. Lamy calls it coffee brown. It is a very nice color indeed. Lamy is an independent family-owned enterprise which was established in 1930 by C. Josef Lamy in Heidelberg in Germany.

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Sorry guys for not publishing a while

I was hospitalized for a few weeks after some health problems. So I could not write anything for a while. Everything seems OK now, and I am full of energy again. I will start with writing again on one of my big passions: fountain pens, ink and notebooks. Some great fresh ideas crossed my mind. So I hope you will read again my blog with great enthusiasm.

Visconti Homo Sapiens (stub-nib)

Visconti (from Florence, Italy) made a beautiful pen out of really ancient materials, bronze, lava and palladium. They introduced the pen at the Philadelphia Pen show in january 2010.


Package

The package contains, the pen, a beautiful luxury leather-feel box, a booklet on Visconti, a impregnate cloth for cleaning the bronze parts. Inside the booklet is a DVD on Visconti and on how to use the fountain pen. It also contains a seal with the serial number (mine is CG0015945459).

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Moleskine Passions - Welness Journal

The new Moleskine Passions - Welness Journal

Iroshizuku ajisai (ink review)

This ink review is about the Iroshizuku ajisai ink. I bought this bottle at PenGallery in Malaysia. My experiences with this shop are good.

I bought some new flash gear, so had to try a lot and made a lot of pictures of this ink ;-)


Color
A nice vivid bluish purple color. It is named after the beautiful flower Hydrangea. But the color is more blue then purple.

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Creative office environment. Folio Professional.

A video introduces the possibility's a new Moleskine® collection dedicated to the office environment.

Sheaffer Turquoise (ink review)

In my search for a nice red, a lot of people on the Fountain Pen Network advised Sheaffer Skrip red. This ink was amazingly good. So I bought some more bottles with other colors. This bottle I bought at a small store in Groningen (The Netherlands) called Vulpenwereld (translation Fountain Pen World). It is a store where the owner still knows a lot on his business.


Color
Writing with this color makes you longing for spring to come with sunshine and a beach. It is a swimming pool blue.Great color if you like turquoise. This ink has great shading!

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New Montblanc 2010 Limited Edition Queen Elizabeth I Fountain Pen

Queen Elizabeth I was one of few historical figures whose impact on history was so powerful that an entire era has been named after them – and she did it with a passion and charisma that still enthralls us today.

Elizabeth I ascended to the throne of England and Ireland in 1559, and over the next 44 years made her kingdom not just into a world power that ruled the seven seas, but also into Europe’s leading cultural nation of early modern times.

Today this golden age of British history is still known as the Elizabethan Era – a time when the English renaissance flourished, producing masters such as William Shakespeare and John Dowland and opening up Britain’s path into the present day. Her life has been filmed many times, the most recent version starring Cate Blanchett – clear proof that Queen Elizabeth I is still able to influence our lives today.


Montblanc pays tribute to this fascinating woman, queen and lover of culture with a stunning writing instrument – the Limited Edition Queen Elizabeth I. The pattern on the cap and cone is inspired by ornaments of the cover of the book "The Miroir or Glasse of the Synneful Soul".
• The lacquer reminds to an ermine, a symbol of royalty and Elizabeth I.
• The rose as the symbol of the Tudor dynasty as well as the cross with its green cabochon, are elements referring to Elizabeth I.
• Her motto is engraved on the cap ring "Video et Taceo".
• Handcrafted 18k gold nib with the royal crown.

Pelikan Blue Black

I bought this vintage ink at a local flea-market. I saw three of these bottles with the right box. I paid $ 10,= for these beauty's. One box was a little bit damaged.


Color
It is a nice Blue Black. It is more blueish then Montblanc Blue Black. The color comes close to Iroshizuku tsuk-yo but without the green hue.

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Sailor Kiwagura Nano Carbon Super Black

Is it for everyone the same? I have a passion for fountain pens and have way to much ink. I have some great black inks in my stock: Noodler's Black, Visconti Black, Montblanc Black. How can it be that I always have to try an ink that I don't have...... I bought this Sailor Kiwagura Nano Super Black ink at Jetpens in the USA. The have a lot of Japanese stationery and deliver quickly.


Color
OK, the color is black. What more can I say. In my opinion Noodler's Black is blacker. I think Noodler's is a little bit more shinier and Sailor is more mat.

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My new Leuchtturm1917 diary

In about 8 months I used two Pocket Moleskines (plain paper) as a diary. I do not write on a regular daily basis, but always 3-5 times a week. When we have holidays I write a story every day. Everything I do daily and comes to mind when I write I put in it. Sometimes I make little sketches in it, and often I glue some pictures with the story.


I love the Moleskine, no matter how much you put in it, they still hold up and don't fall apart. Look how they grew in the past months. Moleskine has a great advantage over other notebooks, they always lay flat on the table.

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Rohrer & Klingner Pernambuco

I bought some bottles of Rohrer & Klinger at The Writing Desk from the United Kingdom. Great shop that I can recommend to you.


Color
The color is named after the Brazillian Wood called blood-wood. This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used for making bows for string instruments. The wood also yields a red dye called brazilin, which oxidizes to brazilein.

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Private Reserve Tangerine Dream

I bought this bottle of Private Reserve Tangerine Dream at the PenGallery website. It is a real joy doing business with these people. I can highly recommend them. PenGallery specializes in sale of branded quality writing instruments, related products and lighters at competitively lower prices compared to that of the manufacturer's list price.


Color
The color is named after the fruit Tangerine. The tangerine (Citrus × tangerina) is an orange-coloured citrus fruit. It is a variety of the Mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata). The color is between bright orange and dark yellow. The ink is good visible on the paper. When it is more yellow it often becomes harder to read.

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Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa

I bought this bottle at The Writing Desk in the United Kingdom. It is an iron-gall-nut ink. I wrote this review with my Marlen Aderl (medium).


Color
This color tends a bit to Rohrer & Klingner Old Bordeaux. But the color is darker and more purple. The color has fantastic shading in combination with this pen. Standing out of the crowd you can use this color for everyday use I think. Just be bold! ;-)

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Stipula Musk Green (Verde Mushiato)

I bought a few bottles of Stipula Calamo Ink at the PenGallery. Pen Gallery is a really great shop which delivers fast from Kuala Lumpur to everywhere in the world. I never heard of this ink. So I read about it on The Fountain Netwerk. I became curious and ordered some bottles. For this review I used my Pilot Namiki Vanishing Point with an italic nib from Richard Binder.


Color
This color tends a bit to Rohrer & Klingner Old Golden Green. But the color is darker and more green. The color has magnificent shading in combination with this wonderful italic nib. I really enjoy this ink. I thought this color was more green like the sample on the outside box, but is has more yellow in it.

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Rohrer & Klingner Old Bordeaux

I bought some bottles of Rohrer & Klinger at The Writing Desk from the United Kingdom. The shop has a nice Col-o-rama. Rohrer & Klingner is a German company that makes all kinds of ink since 1892. I filled my purple Lamy Safari (fine) with this fine color.
Here's my oldest daughter Deniece. She wanted to show of here dress for prom night. For me it was just the ink that was important for the picture........ ;-)


Color
This color reminds me on antique bordeaux curtains...... Hmmmmm I don't know why, but I like this color. It is a color I use a lot when I'm journaling. It is some kind of faded bordeaux.

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Montblanc White Forest (ink review)

I bought this bottle from The Goulet Pen Company. I like this shop very much. The service is great and the owner is very committed to keep you satisfied. I am looking for an ink that has a dark color but is not black. I ordered this one because the swaps looked promising.


Color
The color is green/brown and very dark. It has a lot of shading. In my opinion it is more dark green then dark brown.

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How a fountain pen is made

I came across this great movie about making a fountain pen. The movie belongs to the great pen company Aurora.

Moleskine Passions - Film Journal

I bought my own Moleskine Passions at moleskine.dk. I bought the Film Journal, Book Journal and Music Journal. I will do some reviewing in the near future. For now I only have some picture and a movie.

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Sheaffer Red (ink review)

This really surprising bottle of ink I bought in Groningen (in the Northern part of the Netherlands close by where we live) in a store called "De Vulpenwereld" (translation: "Fountain Pen World"). It is a really nice small fountain pen store with excellent staff. The ink sometimes called by it's second name Skrip.


Color
I read a lot about this ink on The Fountain Pen Network. Some said it was the perfect red color. I do a lot of accentuating and highlighting with a red color. I'm not a teacher, but I think this Sheaffer Red color is excellent for grading students. It has some nice darker red shading in it.

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Moleskine Passions - Music Journal

The New Moleskine Passions. Journals for the Loves of Your Life
Moleskine introduces a new set of themed Journals, for Recipes, Films, Books, Wine, Music, Wellness, designed for people who love to organize information about their own cultural passions, and who want to do it neatly and with elegance.

This is a promo movie on youtube for the Music Journal

Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

I bought some bottles of Rohrer & Klinger at The Writing Desk from the United Kingdom. A great fast delivering shop. Rohrer & Klingner is a German company that makes ink since 1892. So they must have a lot of experience. I filled my black Lamy Safari with a medium nib and started this review.


Color
The color is a nice dark sepia. This is a color you could do your every day writing with in my opinion. Very great for business people who want something else then black or blue. Just stepping a little bit out of the crowd isn't hard.

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Moleskine Passions - Recipe Journal

Moleskine has announced an exciting new range of products, the New Moleskine Passions.

The "Moleskine Passions" is a collection of six different journals to record and recall memories, thoughts and notes about six different passions: Recipes, Wine, Book, Film, Music and Wellness.

This movie is about the Recipe Journal

Diamine Registrars Ink (ink review)

I bought this bottle at The Writing Desk in the United Kingdom. It is a remarkable ink. I tested this ink in a Pelikan M1000 (fine) for two weeks at my office.

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Moleskine Passions - Book Journal

Moleskine has announced an exciting new range of products, the New Moleskine Passions.

The "Moleskine Passions" is a collection of six different journals to record and recall memories, thoughts and notes about six different passions: Recipes, Wine, Book, Film, Music and Wellness.

This movie is about the Book Journal

Iroshizuku yama-budo (Bordeaux)

I love Iroshizuku fountain pen ink. They never let me down in a Moleskine. I ordered this bottle of Iroshizuku yama-budo in september 2009 at Jetpens. They have a great assortment of Iroshizuku inks.


Color
It is a very good saturated purple color. The color has almost no shading with my Pelikan M1000 (fine). The picture below reflects to much pink. In real it is between purple and bordeaux.

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