Saturday, December 26, 2015

Attack of the Nib Eater!



by Tony Thomas

I was going through some of my infrequently used pens and found a Wality eyedropper with a Knox nib that I had filled with Rohrer and Kligner Scabiosa ink quite a while ago. Some of the ink had evaporated so I decided to clean out the pen. As could be expected, it took a quite a bit of effort to clean out a pen containing iron gall ink.

When I attempted to remove the nib and feed from the section, I noticed that it was stuck. After applying a bit of elbow-grease, I was able to dislodge them. I was not surprised to see that the steel nib was pitted and corroded due to prolonged contact with the ink.

What did surprise me is that, upon closer examination with a loupe, the ink had actually eaten a hole in the nib!

As a result, I would advise everyone to use any iron gall ink with extreme caution in any pen with steel nib. In my case, I only use iron gall inks in inexpensive pens with easily replaceable nibs. In the future, I will not leave iron gall inks in any of my pens for more than a few days.

You have been warned!
 






Saturday, December 19, 2015

Dollar General DG Office Writing Tablet

by Tony Thomas

I am always in search of inexpensive, fountain pen friendly paper.  When visiting my local Dollar General store recently, I came across their "DG Office" writing tablet priced at $1.00 for 120 sheets.

I always check to see where it was made and was excited when I saw it was made in Indonesia.  As I have reported earlier, I have had quite a bit of success with Indonesian paper supplied by iScholar.  The paper was unusually smooth for the price (most cheap paper feels like fine sandpaper these days). Since it was only a buck, I thought I would give it a try.

I was quite pleased with the results.  Most pens and ink played well with this paper.  There was only a bit of feathering with my Pilot Custom 74 with SFM nib and Pilot blue ink, but this pen is notoriously wet.  My other pens with Waterman ink performed well.  There was a bit of bleed through/show through, especially with broader nibs and wetter pens, but for thin paper, this is to be expected.

Bottom line: This is pretty decent paper for only a buck!







Thursday, December 17, 2015

Jinhao 8812 Rosewood Fountain Pen

by Tony Thomas

I'm always on the lookout for interesting fountain pens. When I saw the Jinhao 8812 , I knew that I wanted it. As someone who loves objects made out of wood, I found its rosewood body especially attractive. And at less than $8 on eBay, the price was right.

Here are some vital statistics:

Length (capped): 136mm
Length (uncapped): 119mm
Width: 13mm
Weight: 45 grams

Nib: #5 medium

The pen is a bit hefty and is solidly built.  Jinhao is usually pretty good in the QC department which is amazing considering the low price of their pens.  The 8812 is also a smooth writer (as most Jinhao pens are).  You can post it, but I found it to be too back-heavy when posted and too long (160mm).   It comes with an Jinhao converter and it can also take international standard ink cartridges.

This is a great pen for the money that will turn a few heads.