My new Lamy Copper Orange AL-Star with Lamy Copper Orange Ink cartridge.  Paper is Exacompta Index Card Stock. — My new Lamy Copper Orange AL-Star with Lamy Copper Orange Ink cartridge. Paper is Exacompta Index Card Stock.

Kill Winter With . . . A Copper Orange AL-Star

March 4, 2015

I didn't think I would like this pen as much as I do. I'm a fan of Lamy pens, with the 2000 being my favorite. I like the Safari, and I've owned an AL-Star in the past but didn't take to it, even though it was red (typically my favorite color in pens). But there's something about this year's limited edition that really struck a chord with me, and I had to have it. I'm sure it's directly related to the depressing weather we've been having here in the greater Nashville, Tennessee area--it's been either frigid with six inches of ice on the roads, or raining in buckets. So why not buy an orange pen? It beats the S.A.D. lamp.

There's nothing remarkable about the AL-Star as a writer that I haven't already addressed in my review of the Safari. It's a good pen--slightly larger than the Safari--and you would be hard pressed to find a better option at less than $40, provided you can deal with the shape of the grip section. Some people think the AL-Star lacks character, but I like metal pens, and the aluminum AL-Star feels great in the hand. I have also settled on medium as my preferred Lamy Safari/AL-Star nib width. The extra fine and fine nibs tend to have flow issues, in my experience, and the broader nibs are too wide for my handwriting. Medium hits the sweet spot.

I preordered this pen, along with two packages of Lamy's limited edition orange ink cartridges, from Frank at Fontoplumo in the Netherlands. If you've never ordered from Fontoplumo, add it to your list of pen purchasing options. Prices are reasonable, and shipping is relatively quick, considering that (unless you are located in Europe) your order will have to be processed through customs. I purchased this pen and ink with my own funds--it was not provided for review.

As to the ink, I hope that Lamy adds orange to its array of regular colors, as they did with last year's limited edition "coral" ink. The orange is a solid option for those of you out there who like an orange ink, but feel that many other orange options on the market are either too "neon-highlighter-esque" or too washed out looking. Lamy's offering is a middle-of-the-road, darker orange, which exhibits some shading and is fairly resistant to feathering and bleed-through. I've been using it for a week and would buy a bottle without hesitation, if Lamy decides to go that route.

The Lamy Safari comes packaged in a simple, yet well designed, cardboard sleeve. — The Lamy Safari comes packaged in a simple, yet well designed, cardboard sleeve.

Basic Black: One Week with the Lamy Safari

February 13, 2015

Lamy's Safari line is a go-to recommendation for a "first fountain pen." Many people, like me, come to Safaris later, after they have been using (much more expensive) fountain pens for a while, only to realize that the Safari is a flat-out good pen, irrespective of its price range. If you don't have one in your rotation, you should reconsider, provided the design works for you.

Design and Build

Like the Lamy 2000 (perhaps my favorite fountain pen of all time), the Safari sports an iconic design. Also like the Lamy 2000, the Safari has remained largely unchanged since its debut in 1980. The pen is relatively rugged, made of injection-molded plastic, and will hold up to pretty robust pocket carry and daily use. It's earned a reputation as a good daily user; a "knockabout" fountain pen for those who are hesitant to tote their more expensive pens around town with them. The Safari also comes in numerous colors, including matte charcoal (pictured), shiny black, red, blue, white, and yellow, along with various "limited edition" colors that change annually. This year's L.E. Safari is neon coral; last year's was neon yellow.

Profile shot of the Safari. You can see how the sides of the triangular section are flat, forming a ridge along the top.

The Safari sports a characteristic triangular grip section, which is either loved or hated by users. Frankly speaking, your opinion of the grip section will either make or break this pen for you. I don't mind, because I apparently grip my pen in a manner that is "Lamy-compatible," but I know several people who simply can't use this pen because the section hurts their fingers. At the $30 price point, the Safari is not going to break the bank if the purchase doesn't work out, but this may be a "try-before-you-buy" purchase if you have never held a Safari or an Al-Star (the slightly larger, more expensive aluminum version of the Safari). Fortunately, Safaris are relatively easy to find. For example, in my area, a local luggage store that carries a very limited pen selection stocks Safaris.

How I hold the pen, which is fairly comfortable.  Yes, the nib on the Charcoal Safari is black! — How I hold the pen, which is fairly comfortable. Yes, the nib on the Charcoal Safari is black!

Finally, the Safari is a cartridge/converter pen. The pen comes with a single cartridge of Lamy blue ink, but a converter must be purchased separately for a few dollars more.

Nibs

The Safari uses Lamy's interchangeable nibs that also fit other Lamy pens, including the Al-Star, the Vista (basically, a clear Safari demonstrator), and the Studio. All Safaris come with stainless steel nibs, but if you're inspired to trick out this pen I imagine that the gold nibs featured on some of the more expensive Studio models would also fit the Safari.

There's no need to spend that extra money, however, because for the most part, Lamy's Steel nibs are perfectly satisfactory. I've had the best luck with the medium nibs, which write a traditional "western medium" line. The fine and extra-fine nibs can be scratchy, and sometimes I can barely tell a difference between them. If you are interested in trying italic nibs, Lamy offers 1.1 and 1.5 mm options, and they are very good for the price point.

Takeaways

So is a Safari right for you? If you are considering one, here are the main questions to ask yourself:

Is the triangular grip section going to bother you? If you think that it might, and "grip guides" on pens and pencils haven't worked for you in the past, I would try to find a Safari to test out before you place an order.
Do you mind having a "funky looking" pen? With it's grip section and oversized cap and clip, the Safari is "unique" looking, to say the least. You will get questions about this pen, and people will want to use it.
Are you worried you will be tempted to buy more than one? Here's what I find to be the main issue--because Safaris (and AL-Stars as well) are not very expensive, the siren song of the "limited edition" becomes very hard to resist. This year's limited edition AL-Star in Copper Orange is already on its way to me.

But once these issue are resolved, get a Safari. It's a great pen. It's also one that I have owned once before, sold to finance another purchase, and immediately regretted letting go. I'm glad this one's back in my pen case.

Ink Used in this Review

Lamy's iconic ink bottle with the blotter paper holder in the base.

The ink that I used to review this pen was Lamy black. Lamy black gets very little "press" on the pen blog circuit, probably because it's one of the most utilitarian inks out there. It does, however, flow extremely well and shades to some degree. While many people don't find shading desirable in a black ink, Lamy black has some additional character, meaning that it has some deeper green/purple undertones. I've also enjoyed the bottle, which comes with a roll of blotter paper that you tear off and use to wipe the nib after you fill the pen. The ink has worked well on most paper that I've used over the past week, and especially in my Baron Fig notebook that has become my daily companion.

This pen and bottle of ink was provided to me for review purposes at no charge by Ron at PenChalet. PenChalet carries a wide variety of Lamy prducts, including the 2000, the Safari, the AL Star, and others. Their prices are always extremely competitive, and they stand behind the quality of what they sell.

The Pelikan M600 Souverain:  The lesser-loved, highly practical mid-size sedan of the Souverain line. — The Pelikan M600 Souverain: The lesser-loved, highly practical mid-size sedan of the Souverain line.

Pelikan M600 Souverain: The Right Choice?

February 3, 2015

Here’s one pen review I’ve been sitting on for the past two years, and I’m just now comfortable putting it out there. Neither the pen nor the review is particularly complex or controversial, but for some reason I really wanted to get this one right.

I purchased the red/black striated Pelikan M600 from Richard Binder at the 2013 Baltimore Pen Show. While it wasn’t the most expensive pen that I had purchased to date, it was definitely the purchase I had thought the most about prior to pulling the trigger. The reason? I was torn between the M600 and the M800/M1000s that nearly everyone was urging me to buy. So, how did things turn out? I made the right choice, for me at least.

Build Quality

Every Pelikan I’ve owned or written with is built like a tank, and the M600 is no exception. These are high quality German pens, and are designed to last. This pen has seen heavy use over the past two years, yet the action on the piston remains smooth, with no sticking or loosening of the blind cap over time. My pen has no visible flaws on the body or the trim, other than some minor micro-scratches that I consider normal wear and tear.

The cap band is engraved with "Souverain," and the material has a sparkling quality to it.  It doesn't photograph very well in my current lighting, but where the barrel meets the section the pen is translucent, allowing you to view the cur… — The cap band is engraved with "Souverain," and the material has a sparkling quality to it. It doesn't photograph very well in my current lighting, but where the barrel meets the section the pen is translucent, allowing you to view the current ink capacity.

My pen is in the classic striated material (either celluloid or resin, which one I'm not sure). I chose the red/black version, my all-time favorite color combination. Solid black, green striated, and blue striated are also available, along with some special editions that pop up from time to time, like this gorgeous white tortoise version Azizah from Gourmet Pens reviewed (in the M400 size). I normally keep this pen loaded with a dark red or burgundy ink.

Nib

The M600 sports a 14K nib that can easily be modified to add flex. Both Richard Binder and John Mottishaw offer this option. I have the standard EF nib, which I wouldn’t characterize as “flexy,” but it’s definitely soft. The nib is engraved with scrollwork and the classic Pelikan logo. One note on Pelikan nibs: they tend to run very, very wide. Prior to Richard Binder tuning this nib, the EF nib ran more like a typical western fine, or even a Japanese medium. Richard ground it down to more of a “true EF,” but you’re still not going to get .3mm lines out of this nib. Per my preference, he set the nib to write moderately wet, with the slightest hint of feedback.

Packaging

I save most of my pen boxes, but I’m not one of those people who pays a ton of attention to packaging. Most of the time the box ends up in the closet, where it stays indefinitely (unless I sell or trade the pen). The M600 comes in a nice Pelikan presentation box, very dignified without being overly ostentatious. The box includes a faux-white leather pen wrap/envelope, which is nice (I suppose), although I've never used it and probably never will. (White leather is an impractical carry for things that hold ink.) Pelikan could up its game by offering its Souverain line with a bottle of ink in lieu of the "penvelope." It's not uncommon, once you get into the $250+ price range, for a pen company to offer a free bottle, especially if the pen is a piston-filler. I’m surprised that Pelikan hasn’t seized on the opportunity to market its “luxury” Edelstein line of ink by packaging it with its pens. Recently, some retailers have taken it upon themselves to throw in a bottle of Edelstein with your purchase. Check for deals!

Takeaways

“You’ll regret buying the M600 later. Spend the extra $150 or so and get the M800. You’ll definitely want more pen.” I can’t tell you how many times I heard this from pen show attendees (and not necessarily vendors who were trying to sell me the more expensive model). So were they right? Let’s find out.

I’m glad I went with the M600. While I still expect to add both a M800 and a M1000 to my collection eventually, those have been pushed way down the wish list. If you’re thinking about buying your first high-end Pelikan (and by “high-end,” I mean $250 plus), and are debating between the M400/M600/M800/M1000 lines, here are a few things to consider:

The M600 is very light, posts well, and fits perfectly in a shirt pocket. It’s a great daily writer and a workhorse. I found the M400 slightly too small for my hand. The M600 was a better fit. For an illustration of the size of the M600, see the gallery below.
The M800 is a large, heavy pen. I don’t find that it fits easily into a normal shirt or jacket pocket, and it’s very long and top heavy when posted. The same thing goes for the M1000. I don’t know of anyone who posts the latter.
The 14K nib on the M600 is much softer than the nib on the M800, which I found stiff. On the larger end of the spectrum, however, the M1000 nib is very soft and provides decent line variation.
The M600 nib units are interchangeable with the M400 and, I believe with the M205. If you have other compatible Pelikans, you will get decent mileage out of any additional nib units you buy, which can mean serious savings (especially if the nibs have been modified or customized by a nibmeister). The M800 nibs units are only interchangeable within the M800 line; likewise for the M1000 nib units.
All of the pens in the Pelikan Souverain series are piston fillers with good ink capacity. I’ve not measured the ink capacity of the M600, but one fill gets me through two or three days of writing with this pen exclusively, and if I’m carrying more than one pen (which is most of the time), a single fill gets me through a full week.

I purchased this pen from Richard Binder, who unfortunately is no longer retailing Pelikan pens (though he does still sell and modify replacement Pelikan nibs). Pen Chalet has excellent prices on Pelikans (the standard M600 currently retails for around $400, minus applicable discount codes). If you are looking at purchasing a Pelikan pen from a nibmeister who will tune the pen prior to shipping it to you, I would recommend visiting John Mottishaw at Classic Fountain Pens.

For another take on this pen (with a BB nib) and a look at her drool-worthy collection of Pelikans, check out Azizah's review of the red/black M600.

Pen Review: Kaweco AC Sport

December 14, 2014

When Kaweco sent me the Dia2 for review, they also sent me a few other pens. Included among them was the Kaweco AC Sport, which may my favorite of Kaweco’s many entries in the Sport lineup. For starters, it comes in a deep red with black trim. While my small-ish fountain pen collection (hey, compared to some people) remains varied, the one constant is that I like red pens and black pens, and when a pen is both red and black, I generally buy it. This review won’t revisit the build quality, great steel nib, etc., of Kaweco's flagship line, all of which are excellent. See my review of the AL Sport line. Instead, I’ll talk about what makes the AC Sport special.

A picture of the pen body, which is wrapped in carbon fiber trim.  I reviewed this pen with a medium nib, which is my go-to size for Kaweco. — A picture of the pen body, which is wrapped in carbon fiber trim. I reviewed this pen with a medium nib, which is my go-to size for Kaweco.

The AC Sport is different from the other Sport pens because it is Kaweco’s riff on last year’s trend of adding carbon fibre trim to fountain pens (and pricing them accordingly). One thing that should be stated up front: the AC Sport is not a true carbon fiber fountain pen, in the sense that the pen body is made of carbon fiber components. A true “carbon fiber” fountain pen made out of carbon fiber costs five or six times as much as the AC Sport. I recall seeing a few of these a couple years ago, and something tells me they didn’t sell well, because you don’t really see them anymore. What Kaweco appears to have done is taken an AL Sport and wrapped the barrel in carbon fiber panelling or trim. The result is more aesthetic than anything else, but I suppose that if you are really, really hard on a pen, or want to avoid the scratches to which the AL Sport is prone, you might get some more durability out of the AC Sport. According to my scientific method of deduction (i.e., holding both pens in my hands and trying to guess which one is heavier), the AL Sport and the AC Sport weigh about the same.

So why would you buy an AC Sport priced at $122.50, when the AL Sport typically starts at $80, and the regular Kaweco Sport at $25? Honestly, it comes down to a matter of preference and aesthetics. When it comes to nice looking red and black pens (and the red AC Sport fits the bill), I have no self control. From an economic standpoint, if you are looking for an extremely durable, pocketable, nice writing pen, the standard Kaweco Sport is one of the best buys on the market at $25. There’s no practical need to spend any additional cash. On the other hand, if you’d like something a little “fancier,” (as in, not plastic), the AL Sport can be had for a bit more, still at the sub-$100 price point. The AC Sport is the fanciest of them all, but it is a good looking, quality pen. Carbon fiber is not cheap, and I think the going rate for this pen is reasonable for what you get. I plan on pairing it up with one of Kaweco’s black-plated nibs as soon as I can find one.

You can find the AC Sport at Jetpens. [Link Here]. In the interest of full disclosure, Kaweco provided me with this pen for review purposes.

Pen Review: Karas Kustoms Ink Black 'n Copper

December 7, 2014

Before I got this pen into my hands, I didn’t know whether or not I would like the Karas Kustoms Ink. I love their machined rollerball/gel pen bodies, such as the Retrakt, the Bolt, and the Render K, but I wasn’t sure how the machined pen concept would translate to a fountain pen, which is much more sensitive to issues such as balance and weight. Also, I’ve had difficulties in the past with metal sections. I shouldn’t have worried.

Like Karas Kustoms’ other projects, the Ink has been masterfully executed. This pen already has been reviewed to death by nearly every other blogger out there in recent months since the Kickstarter project shipped, so I won’t rehash the details about the impeccable design, construction, balance, etc. :) Instead, I’ll tell you what my favorite aspect of this pen is: customization. You can choose an anodized pen body from among various color options, and pair it with a grip sections made from different metals (aluminum, brass, or copper). I chose a black pen with a copper section and couldn’t be happier. The copper was shiny for the first day or so of use, and rapidly developed an “old-penny” patina. I’ve tried to include some photographs showing how this happened. Check out the picture that I posted to Instagram the day I received the pen, and compare to how the pen looks today. It’s awesome.

Here is the copper section just after purchase.

Here is the copper section approximately one week later.

The nib is a stainless steel Schmidt, like the old TWSBIs. I chose a medium, and it writes flawlessly. The flow is just wet enough to let me use even my driest inks without any problem. I personally preferred these nibs on TWSBI pens and have not been very happy with TWSBI since they change over to Bock.

Karas Kustoms Ink handwritten review with Sailor Naoi-Sumire.

The Karas Kustoms Ink is on my short list for best pen purchase of 2014, and should be in your pen case, if you haven’t added it already!