Sep 4, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

Noodler's General of the Armies Review

Noodler’s is a huge one-man ink operation, run by Nathan Tardif, with an enormous line of colors. One of their more unique colors is the General of the Armies ink. Noodler’s designed the General of the Armies as a tribute to General Sheridan of the Civil War. General Sheridan was a Union general in the Western theatre of the U.S. Civil War and was closely associated with Ulysses S. Grant, the General-in-chief at the time.

Sep 1, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

Diamine Apple Glory Review

Diamine is a pretty large British ink maker that makes all types of inks, from fountain pen inks to archival stamp pads. They are quite popular among fountain pen users for their relatively inexpensive inks and their large range of colors. One of Diamine’s older colors is their Apple Glory ink. The name is cool enough already, and manages to evoke images of those candy green apples that you used to find as kids.

Aug 29, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

First Impressions - 5280 Majestic Fountain Pen

(This pen was loaned to me by my good friend, Wendy, for review purposes.) Most of you probably have not heard of the “5280” brand of fountain pens, probably because it’s Paradise Pen’s exclusive house brand. Paradise Pen also makes Padrino pens. You can find the 5280 pens at either a Paradise Pen retail store or their online store. The 5280 brand got it’s name from the number of feet in a mile.

Aug 26, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

First Impressions - Montblanc Princess Grace of Monaco

(This pen was loaned to me for review purposed by my good friend, Wendy. All the options provided below are mine only) Everyone knows Montblanc, the famous luxury company based in Germany, obviously needs no introduction. Everywhere you turn in the fountain pen world, you’ll find a Montblanc pen of some shape or form. What may need some introduction is the Princess Grace of Monaco. Monaco is a tiny country located in the beautiful French Rivieras and has an area of only 0.

Aug 23, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

First Impressions - Cartier Roadster Fountain Pen

(This pen was loaned to me free-of-charge for review by my good friend Wendy. The opinions below are completely mine.) Many of you readers have heard of Cartier before undoubtably. Cartier makes a bunch of luxury jewelry that would cost both arms, legs, kidneys, and probably eyes. However, unknown to most, they also make quite a few luxury pens with a bunch of different styles. Luckily, those only cost about one arm.

Aug 21, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

First Impressions - Visconti Pininfarina Carbon Graphite

The Italian pen maker recently paired up with another Italian company, Pininfarina, to design a unique pen with interesting technical characteristics and flair. Pininfarina is well known among car collectors for being the primary designer for Ferrari, Maserati, Ford, and Jaguar. Pininfarina also partnered with another pen(cil) company known as Napkin create the Napkin Forever Pininfarina. The Visconti Pininfarina line is available in two colors (soon to be three): Carbongrafite (black) and Nanotech (silver).

Aug 18, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

First Impressions - Urso Luxury White Tiger

(This pen was loaned to me free of charge for review purposed by my friend, Wendy. This review represents my own thoughts only) Urso Luxury is one of those under-the-rader brands that I haven’t heard of until very recently. They specialize in creating very luxurious writing instruments which tend to feature precious metals and stones. One of their more popular series is the ones based off animals, such the Horse, Panther, Elephant, and Falcon.

Aug 16, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

Ruled Paper Templates

I often get asked if it is possible to turn a blank sheet of printer paper that is fountain pen friendly, such as the HP 32lb Premium Choice Laser. A simple solution would be to print rulings (lines, graph, or dot) onto their paper of choice. Personally, I print different rulings onto printer paper all the time, just for the versatility and cheapness of printer paper compared to other papers like Rhodia and Clairfontaine.

Aug 15, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

Napkin Forever Pininfarina Cambiano Pencil Review

What do you get when you cross a never-ending pencil with a luxury Italian car designer? You get the Napkin Forever Pininfarina Cambiano Pencil! The guys at Napkin Forever teamed up with Pininfarina, designer of numerous Italian cars, to create a pencil that is truly a beautiful work of art. When I first saw this pencil, I was a mix of skeptical and confused. The makers define this writing instrument to be a “pencil” so I will call it that too.

Aug 13, 2015

Written by Felix Jen

Private Reserve Spearmint Review

Private Reserve Ink is a small ink manufacturer based out of Indiana and founded by fellow fountain pen collectors. Private Reserve boasts a large color spectrum, with over 53 regular collection colors and occasionally release special limited edition inks, such as DC SuperShow Blue. Additionally they make refills for ballpoints, rollerballs, and stamp pads. One popular Private Reserve (PR) ink is their bright green, known as Spearmint. It is a very cheery and happy “summer” green and can be reminiscent of a “Christmas” green.