Happy Labor Day!

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Christine (Pentulant)

It’s Labor Day here in the US and like many Americans, Mr. Pentulant and I have the day off.

The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, as a tribute to the many contributions workers have made to our country.

Labor Day has also become the unofficial end to summer. It’s been a nice summer here – we had visits from out-of-town friends and family members, a few lazy days, I traveled to New York, Mr. Pentulant started his fancy new job, and we’ve resolved to enjoy a slower-paced, more mindful life.

Today, picture me kicking back with fresh-squeezed lemonade.

How are you celebrating today? And what was the best part of your summer?

FOUNTAIN PEN INK: A Sampler by Greg Clark

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Christine (Pentulant)

Anyone who follows me anywhere (and anyone who comes to my house – ha!) knows that I’m slightly obsessed with ink. Swabs, samples, bottles, and more – I love ink. I like to say that I’m working on collecting them all. Only kind joking. (The above is Noodler’s Habanero on Tomoe River Paper.)

A few weeks ago, Mr. Pentulant and I had friends over for a delightful afternoon of board games. The topic of my ink addiction came up and one of our friends said, “Hey, I had a friend who wrote a book about fountain pen inks once.”

What!? Say what?!

Something about swabs on all of the pages (and I’m thinking, “No way!”) and next thing you know, our friend is texting the wife of the guy. But, no, that book has been out of print for a number of years.

Well, the end, right?

Wrong!!

Mr. Pentulant regularly trolls the For Sale section of Fountain Pen Network and in an amazing bit of unbeknownst-to-me serendipity, the book showed up for sale there!!!

Saturday was the one year anniversary of our marriage. Among other wonderful things, Mr. Pentulant presented me with the book. True love.

The book is in excellent condition. The previous owner says it was stored in drawer to protect it from light – and, really, the swabs look like they could have been done just a week or two ago and not in 2007 as indicated in the text.

It’s interesting to see some very familiar brands and colors – and it’s also interesting to see which brands and colors have not survived.

I see this book/project as a snapshot of a moment in time. The pricing guide, the availability of certain inks, and the articles included in the concerning the changes happening with fountain pen inks.

Granted, this isn’t an incredible piece of history (it was published in 2007), but it is a record of someone’s love for something I love – and that’s pretty special.

Tradition says that paper is the gift one gives for first anniversaries – Mr. Pentulant sure got it right with this. (Not to mention our other crazy paper adventures over the weekend – but more on that another time.)

What do you think? Would you be crazy for an item like this, too?

REVIEW: Staedtler Textsurfer Gel

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Christine (Pentulant)

I’m a huge fan of highlighters and especially like the Staedtler brand. They work well and aren’t too smeary.

Before we get started with the review, did you see that I’m giving away a brand new Lamy Safari Fountain Pen? It’s the new Neon Coral color and still have time to enter to win.

On to the review …

When I saw the Textsurfer Gel, I picked one up with hopeful skepticism. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t what I saw when I removed the cap. They reminded me of the Crayola Stick Slix (do you know those?) and I was immediately concerned about smears, bits of the gel flecking off, and having a product that would be consumed very quickly.

Using HP 32 lb paper, I tested four fountain pen inks, two Bic ballpoints, one marker, and one pencil. Before swiping the Textsurfer across the writing, I made sure the inks were dry.

Overall, it went very well as far as smeariness goes.

There was definitely a somewhat sticky gel residue left on top of the paper. Surprisingly, over the course of a few days, that went away and what was left looked and felt like any other highlighter.

Imagine that gel residue if I’d been highlighting in a book and closed the page? Ew.

I then did some in-depth testing with Noodler’s Black . . .

Line 1…didn’t wait for the ink to dry before highlighting
Line 2…a retest of the above
Line 3…waiting for the ink to dry and then vigorously rubbed the gel
Line 4…didn’t wait for the ink to dry before vigorously rubbing the gel (ignore that dog hair, please)

Here’s a link to the full-size original image. (It’s big.)

My final analysis . . .

It’s ok (not great). My fear of flecking was not realized (good news!).
The sticky residue is troubling, but not terrible for single sheets of paper that aren’t going to be stacked.
The cap cannot be posted – irritating, for sure.
I wouldn’t buy another one of these.

Have you tried this? What is your favorite highlighter? I have some of the Noodler’s highlighting inks. Need to get them loaded and tested.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Fountain Pen Edition

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Christine (Pentulant)

Noodler’s Blue Eel Ink Swab

Time for another fabulous Throwback Thursday!

But first – it’s almost Valentine’s Day – are you celebrating by going to the LA Pen Show?

Also, don’t forget, I am giving away a bottle of (almost new) Pilot Iroshizuku Shin ryoku. You still have time to enter. Go go go.

Last year around this time, I was going on about Noodler’s Blue Eel. I didn’t love it – too wet for my needs, but seeing the color sure makes me want to try it again. I also might be missing my review forms – probably not enough to start using them again right away, but maybe..someday. We’ll see.

Here’s what others were talking about….

Brian Goulet from Ink Nouveau was showing off Apica Notebooks. (I ended up getting a few of these – they’re nice!)

Inktronics gave us a first impression photo of an ink I know nothing about.

The Pen Addict reviewed the Platinum Balance. This is a pen I have, but haven’t written about yet. It’s love. Serious serious love.

Gourmet Pens had an in-depth review of another ink I know nothing about. (Do you love black inks? I’m not wild about them.)

And, finally, Ed Jelley reviewed an ink that I know and adore – J Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Fountain Pen Edition

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Christine (Pentulant)

Last year around this same time, I was talking about DeAtramentis Gold. I didn’t love it.

Let’s jump into the ole time machine and take a look at some things you may have missed…

The Unroyal Warrant looked at the Pilot 78G Fountain Pen.

Pen Addict was talking about a super-popular ink – Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki.

Notebook Stories had a..uh..well, just look at it for yourself. Crazy, right?

The gentle people over on FPN were talking about Sheaffer Skrip Blue and another person was asking for help identifying his fountain pen find.

So…Throwback Thursday….is it fun or stupid? Somewhere in between? Help me decide.

Throwback Thursday: Fountain Pen Edition

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Christine (Pentulant)

Noodler’s Habanero Ink Swab on Tomoe River Paper

It’s another edition of Throwback Thursday!

Just about a year ago, I was going on and on about Noodler’s Habanero. I’d heard so much about it and its wonderful shading abilities. I was definitely not disappointed. It was one of the inks I swabbed on to Tomoe River Paper. Gorgeous! And I wrote about it again in August.

I’ve not used it for a few months, but seeing it again definitely makes me crave.

What was everyone else talking about last year?

FPN had a review of Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku.

Notebook, Esq. wasn’t talking about a fountain pen.

Foutain Pen Geeks were looking at form and function.

Rocket? Pencil Sharpener? Take a look.

Inkdependence was sharing some ink love with us.

And, finally, Gourmet Pens had a sweet Wordless Wednesday.