Reviews: Lamy Al-star, Sheaffer Calligraphy Pen, Diamine Jade Green Ink

Reviews written by Melissa:

26 April 2009

I wrote the date with the medium Sheaffer nib.  Way too thick.  Even the extra fine nib is a little thick and the ink bleeds through the paper.  So I switched to my Lamy FP with a 1.1 nib.  It writes nicer and the bleed-through is minor.  The Lamy FP is becoming a fast favorite of mine, right up there with the Pilot Plumix.  I switched the EF nib to the slightly thicker 1.1 mm nib, and that has made all the difference in the world.  For a thicker barrel pen, the thicker nib is key.  It makes my writing experience better, and it provides a smoother line.  For thinner barrel pens, like the Pilot Cavalier Pen, the EF nib works better.  It just makes more sense to me.

23 May 2009

Jade Green (Diamine) written with a Kaweco Sport FP.  Nice, light green.  Reminds me of a sunny, spring day.  Good saturation.  Consisten, smooth lines.  Would definitely consider using this more often and purchasing a bottle.  On this Clairefontaine paper there is minor bleed-through.  On other paper, such as my Clairefontaine GraficFlow Hard cover Journal, there is no bleed-through.  I love this color.  It makes me happy.  =)

This last picture was written with a Kaweco Sport fountain pen with Diamine Jade Green ink.  We had gotten the Jade Green in a sample pack of a few different kinds of inks from Pear Tree Pen Company.  The sample packs are really a great (and cheap!) way to sample different brands and colors of inks.  It's so tough to get an accurate picture of the color of an ink on your monitor.  There's so many different variables as to the "true" color of an ink like how the picture was scanned in, your monitor color settings, things like that.  So it's definitely a great way to get just enough to try out on your own.  (This is where that glass pen comes in handy!  Just dip it into the sample, try it out on your Clairefontaine, and wash the color off to try the next color.  Works great!)

She used a Kaweco pen that was converted into an eye-dropper fountain pen.  For those that don't know this pretty cool technique, you basically eliminate the need for any kind of cartridge or converter.  You can fill up and use any ink in your pen relatively quickly without the hassle of a converter.  Writer's Bloc has a great write-up of how this is done here:

http://blog.shopwritersbloc.com/fountain_pens/pen_modification_convert_into_1.html

Most of your fountain pens can be converted into an eye-dropper pen, but, unfortunately, pens that have holes in the barrels, like my Lamy Al-star, can't be made into an eye-dropper pen.

Good Pens also has a great post about converting his Pilot Preppy FP into an eye-dropper:

http://goodpens.blogspot.com/2009/06/preppy-cartridge-fountain-pen-converted.html

And here's one from nrepose about using Noodler's Blue Ghost in a converted Preppy:

http://unpostednrepose.blogspot.com/2009/05/blue-ghost.html

Here's an example of the glass pen in use.  We received the ink sampler from Pear Tree Pens which included Noodler's Apache Sunset, Diamine Woodland Green, Diamine Maroon, and Diamine Quartz Black.  Sampling the inks with the glass pen took a matter of minutes.  Instead of worrying if your fountain pen is dry enough to put in your next ink, you can easily wash the color off the glass pen and use the next color.