Last month I reviewed the Conway Stewart No. 15 pen. I really enjoyed the pen. I enjoyed the feel, and how it writes – I usually have issues with vintage 14k nibs, but not this one. I used the pen for the entire month. It took a couple days to grow accustomed to the flexibility of the nib. The nib did not let me down. I was so impressed I bought a No. 15 pen and pencil set – used maybe 1 time – more on them in the future.
The usual suspects starting the year are the Pilot Prera and the Kaweco Student. New to the list is the 1951 Parker Stripped Duofold.
For the New Year, I am inking up a 1941 Parker vertically striped Duofold (button-filled model).
She may be pretty but the filler is not working correctly preventing the ink sac from filling properly. Ugh! I’ll probably switch to the 51.
Did you miss any of the past month’s blog posts? Welp, here is your chance to catch up…
- It’s a new month, what’s in your pen cup? Let’s see how I started December with a review of November. It’s a new month and time to shelve your current choice of pens in favor of new pens or those that may be long forgotten and feeling neglected. Also, let’s review how did the pens from last month fare? Also included is a recap of the month’s postings, Pen news and book banners do it again.
- “Missed by that much” or How I learned I was conceited and needed to appreciate others I was reviewing my “unpurchases,” purchases that didn’t happen. These are unpurchased because I failed to think the unthinkable – that someone wanted these pens more than I did and that I wasn’t entitled to them after all.
- The Fountain Pen Mystery Theatre Presents Welcome to the Fountain Pen Mystery Theatre, where “it may be said with a degree of assurance that not everything that meets the eye is as it appears.” In this episode, our hero (Maisie Dobbs) unravels the Secret of the Jade Pen.
- Doodle Journal My current journal is nearing the end and heading to the recycling bin. With it will go a bunch of doodles. Time to share before they become lost to memory.
- #ThrowbackThursday From time to time when I’m feeling uninspired (or lazy) – it is December so we know I’m lazy. I figured my Doodling post was lame-o, so I decided to supplement it with a blast from yesteryear. This time I am presenting a pen only been manufactured for a year and is hard to find.
- It’s winter time, who doesn’t enjoy a hooded … Pen Having a hood over the nib seems like a great idea – the pen resists drying out, does well with temperamental inks, and is a must when you make ink that needs a special pen. Some great ideas die hard.
This month I experienced an interesting milestone, the publication of Fountain Pen Mystery Theatre generated more visitors from the UK than the US – a first. Thank you UK viewership.
In the News
Absolutely nothing exciting happened in the world of pens last month. The annual state of the Fountain Pen Market report was released. As I am not paying $3,300 per copy, I will merely mention some of the dedacted highlights. “According to this study, The 2022 boom of the Fountain Pen Market is projected to continue through 2029. Over the next Seven years, the Fountain Pen Market will register an amazing spike in CAGR (compound annual growth rate) in phrases of revenue.” In this summary, I corrected numerous errors – you would think the report would have been edited at this bargain price before advertising it.
I did find this amusing. Ink Attack on Maha Minister. Police dropped the attempt to murder charge against three persons arrested for allegedly throwing ink at a state minister. This occurred in the Pune district of Maharashtra, east of Mumbai. Personally, I felt ink is preferable to other substances they could have thrown.
Banned book author Ashley Hope (that is a subversive name) Perez discusses finding humanity in the darkness. Her book Out of Darkness, banned in several Texas school districts, is based on the true events of 1937, when a natural gas explosion at a school in New London, Texas, killed nearly 300 students and teachers. Goes to show you, don’t mess with Big Oil Texas.
Musings
Some years ago, I read about the Icelander tradition of giving books to each other on Christmas Eve and then spending the evening reading. Iceland “has more writers, more books published and more books read, per capita than anywhere else in the world.” I was intrigued. For years my wife and I spent every Christmas Eve at Barnes and Noble picking out books for the kids and each other. Adopting as our tradition was no big leap.
Throughout each year, I look for books to present to each family member and some chocolate. Time and opportunity permitting, I buy hand-crafted chocolates. This year the chocolate came from Pollinator Chocolate, while the books gifted were: At the Water’s Edge, The Historian, Brida, The Hollow Places, and A Tale of Magic.
Why not start your own tradition? Read more about Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood,” and the Icelander Christmas Eve book tradition.
COPYRIGHT © 2021-2023 DANNY WATTS and CHRONICLES OF A FOUTAIN PEN.
Chronicles of a Fountain Pen 
Because you highlighted the Conway Stewart with verve last time….I looked for one. A CS 286 (?1930/40s) was won on eBay and now awaiting arrival. So will try that this month. The 2 Waterman Experts and the Faber Castell Essentio for the keen January writings to start New Year recording and planning. Paper? The wonderfully adept Monograph A4 pad, Leuchtturm and Legami journals and the new Paperblanks day to day diary. Inks? Not sure yet, but an ink test for paper compatibility much needed. Cheers for your insights again. All the best.
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CS286 produced 1935-1945. There is a very good chance it is casein – avoid exposing it to water. Quite a lovely pen.
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That’s a great bit of advice. I remember you writing about casein in one of your blogs a while back. I wouldn’t know how to identify it and recognise it in a pen’s manufactured material though. Very naive re: pen knowledge. So your knowledge here is really welcome. I won the pen for £20, so quite pleased. Cheers Danny.
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This month (or however long it takes to finish the ink), I’ve decided to break out my TWSBI Eco and Diamine Oxblood, just to journal with FPs once more. Have been using gel pens before this, because I wanted to use cheap supplies for a bit. Let’s see how long one refill can last me!
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That is the funny thing with refills. Seems no two pens hold the same amount of ink. Oxblood, is an interesting color of ink. I recently saw it compared to prune juice – in color of course. Thanks for stopping by.
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You know how you stick to one ink even though there are many others you bought over the years? That’s what Oxblood is to me. It’s also the first non-black ink I’ve bought.
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I don’t necessarily stick to one as I stick to a group that primarily resemble each other.
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