Lamy Vista Fountain Pen Giveaway

My love of fountain pens began with the Lamy Vista. I still remember seeing this sleek demonstrator on the shelf in a Japanese stationary store. I anxiously waited until I returned to the U.S. to pop in the ink cartridge, to avoid any unfortunate plane leakage, and I was hooked from the very first scribble. In my opinion, the Vista is one of the best starter fountain pens, since its grip guides the user to grip the pen correctly, and the clear body provides a look at the inner workings of a fountain pen.

To celebrate A Better Desk's first birthday, I've teamed up with Pen Chalet to give away a Lamy Vista to a lucky reader. Check out the Rafflecopter entry form below for entry instructions. The giveaway is limited to U.S. addresses only. The winner will be announced on Tuesday August 30th, and all entries must be received by midnight on the 29th. Check out the Lamy Vista page on Pen Chalet for more details on the Vista.

Thanks so much to Pen Chalet for sponsoring this giveaway. Pen Chalet is my go to online pen shop for any large pen purchases, most recently my orange Pilot Vanishing Point, which I hope to review soon. Its awesome prices and quick shipping make Pen Chalet hard to beat! Show them your love by visiting the Pen Chalet site!

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One Year of A Better Desk

On August 27th of last year, I published the first post at A Better Desk. What started with the need to write, combined with a visit to a Japanese stationary store, quickly resulted in a full-fledged nerdy hobby. I never imagined that I would pass the 50 post mark, nor did I think that I'd be here a year later, planning for the next phase of my geeky experiment. I've loved discovering the friendly pen and paper community, reviewing awesome pens and stationary, and sending 54 little creations out into the world. Every minute has been a blast.

I've dedicated the last year to finding the right analog tools for the job, but choosing the right tools is the smallest piece of the puzzle. It's easy to fixate on choosing the right pen and paper, but it's much harder to develop the strategies and habits required to get the work done. It's when pen finally meets paper that the real magic happens, and I feel myself wanting to dive deeper into this topic. There's nothing wrong with just being a pen and stationary review blog, but I'm ready to take the next step. I turned to the analog world to find clarity and focus, but I've talked about these topics very little. I look at my about page, what I wanted my blog to be in the beginning, and I can't help but feel that I've barely scratched the surface:

Why A Better Desk? Having a better desk means more than using expensive apps, fancy pens, and a complicated paperless workflow. Sometimes it means reflecting on why we work the way we do and why we spend so much time worrying about the things that we can't control. It also means learning how to work with others and understanding that, deep down, we are all still in grade school. Like any geek, I'm fascinated by all of the accessories of a productive work life, but I'm even more interested in examining my own stupid lizard brain and figuring out how to work around it to get the work done.

So where does A Better Desk go from here? If you've enjoyed the reviews, don't panic, because those aren't going away. I still plan on covering my pen and paper exploits, and I haven't even begun to review many of the items that have made it to my daily arsenal. That said, I'm ready to grow, and I hope that you're ready to grow with me. To those of you who have tuned in this year, thank you. And I truly mean THANK YOU. I started this project on a whim and never imagined that I'd receive as much support as I have from this amazing community. I hope that this is just the start of our journey together.

Noodler's Black Ink Review

There's a special place in my heart for Noodler's inks. These inks come in a wide variety of colors and are very affordable. Noodler's Black fountain pen ink was the first bottled ink that I've ever purchased. I Googled "best fountain pen ink for beginners" and landed on a Fountain Pen Network post that mentioned Noodler's, specifically the bulletproof black ink. I was drawn to Noodler's quirky branding, high ratings, and affordable price, and bulletproof black has long served as a staple in my daily fountain pen rotation.

Noodler's Black ink is considered to be bulletproof, which means that it's water resistant and archival. This is the kind of ink that you'd want to use for love letters, messages in bottle, or labeling precious photographs. I typically don't water test inks, but it's important for an ink that claims to be water resistant to hold up well against a drip test. I dripped water on the word card below immediately after writing on the card, and the results were phenomenal. There were zero smears or bleeding, meaning that Noodler's Black passed the waterproof test with flying colors.

Although the archival quality of Noodler's Black is a big plus, the ink does tend to cling to everything it touches, including nib surfaces, converter walls, pen grips, and especially fingers. I'm wary of leaving any ink in my pens for long periods of time, but I'm especially careful with this ink. I should note that I've experienced zero permanent staining with Noodler's Black, but it does take extra effort to clean, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, this problem is made worse by the ink's tendency to creep. I commonly find ink pooled around my fountain pen grips, around the air hole in nibs, and inside of nib caps. This is certainly better with some pens than others, but it is an annoyance nonetheless.

Noodler's Black fountain pen ink is a great choice for first time bottled ink buyers who are looking for a solid performing black ink with archival and waterproof qualities, but there are better alternatives for those who don't need these bulletproof qualities. Noodler's Black certainly has its quirks, but it counters these with an extremely affordable price, unique branding, and great color intensity on the page.

Stats

• Dry Time: Less than 20 seconds
• Wetness: Medium/High
• Shading: Low
• Feathering: Low

Tools

• J. Herbin Glass Dip Pen
• Steam Punk Glass Dip Pen
• Pilot Parallel - 6mm nib
• Rhodia DotPad

RIIND Pen Prototype Review

Kickstarter continues to be a place for new and innovative pen designs. I reviewed the Tactile Turn Gist a few weeks ago, which is an impressive fountain pen built for everyday carry. This week, I have the pleasure of offering a sneak peak review of The Pen, an ambitious everyday carry Kickstarter pen, created by the folks at RIIND. RIIND provided several pens, at no charge, for the purpose of this review.

The Pen is intimidating, at first glance. It's larger than most of the pens that I own, and I initially expected it to be heavy and hard to use. Despite my initial concerns, The Pen is incredibly light. The body is made from anodized aluminum, which is very durable but lightweight. Even though The Pen is longer and thicker than the Retro 51 Tornado Slim that I traditionally carry, it actually feels lighter in hand.

From top to bottom: RIIND Pen, Pilot Vanishing Point, TWSBI Diamond 580AL, Retro 51 Tornado Slim

The Pen's twist mechanism is easily the most interesting part of its design. A half-turn in any direction extends or retracts the tip. While it's easy enough to twist the cap with a thumb and index finger, the mechanism stays firmly in place, with a satisfying click. I do wish that there was less play in the twist mechanism, since it wiggles with pressure, but it's well designed and stable overall. The twist nob has a knurled finish (scoring), which allows fingers to easily grip and twist. This design is shared by The Pen's grip and does an excellent job of preventing finger slippage. While the design provides excellent grip, it doesn't protrude enough from the barrel to be painful or leave marks on the hand. I did notice some finger fatigue after longer writing sessions; however, the writing experience was pleasurable overall. I traditionally prefer slim grips, so I was surprised by just how comfortable The Pen is to hold.

I have a confession to make; I hate pen clips. They're a necessary evil but often seem to be afterthoughts in pen design. The Lamy 2000 is a pleasant exception to this rule, but I don't love the clips on my TWSBI 580 nor Tactile Turn Gist. I say this so that the next sentence carries more weight. I simply love The Pen's clip. The asymmetrical clip design fits in well with The Pen's overall machined look, but also serves an interesting mechanical purpose. Unlike some stiff-as-nails clips, the clip is easy to move and has incredible range, but still keeps the pen firmly clipped and secure. I prefer the black pen body with matching clip; however, the other color combinations look great as well.

The Pen is manufactured with incredibly tight tolerances that make for a great writing experience. The tip unscrews smoothly to reveal access to the ink cartridge, and The Pen accommodates an impressive number of different cartridges. It includes a G2, which sits snuggly in the barrel, with zero wiggling or clicking when writing.

Should you back this pen? That's the question that probably brought you here. I had two main qualms with The Pen, the slight wiggle in the cap and the price. The first isn't worth a second thought, but at $125, The Pen is an expensive investment. It's certainly within range of other projects, like the Pen Type-B, but it's worth asking yourself if this is a pen that you plan to use all the time. If the answer is yes, then absolutely back it. If The Pen seems too expensive for you, then I have some great news that may change your mind. In response to criticisms regarding The Pen's price, the folks at RIIND have lowered the entry pledge from $125 to $95. If you were on the fence, this may well push you over the edge, and it should, in my opinion. Kudos to RIIND for listening to feedback and making changes based on community recommendations.

If you like the overall design and listed features of The Pen, I can assure you that it lives up to the promises and claims on the Kickstarter page. Yes, you can even squeeze a sideways penny underneath the clip. The Pen is well designed, durable, and would make a great everyday carry addition. I'm not typically a fan of larger pens, but The Pen hits a few sweet spots for me. The grip is certainly thicker than, say a Retro 51 Tornado, but it's comfortable and won't slide if it gets wet from the environment or sweaty palms. The quality is top notch, and the twist mechanism and clip are pretty dang cool. Considering these features and the recent price drop, I'd absolutely recommend backing The Pen, if its size and overall design appeal to you. Thanks again to RIIND for letting me preview their latest creation. If you're interested in backing this project or learning more, please visit The Pen's project page on Kickstarter.

Still not sure? Check out these other RIIND Pen reviews:

• RIIND Pen Prototype Review | edjelley.com – Fountain Pen, Ink, and Stationery Reviews
• RIIND (rind) Pen Prototype Review — The Clicky Post
• First Look: Riind Machined Pen — nib & ink

Bock Titanium Nib Review

Last week, I took a look at the Tactile Turn Gist fountain pen, an excellent Kickstarter pen that's now available to the general public. The Gist comes with Bock nib material options, steel, titanium, and gold, and I thought that it would be fun to try a titanium nib. This is my first titanium nib, and I chose the fine version. Unlike the shiny stainless steel nibs, the titanium has a darker, tarnished color. This pairs well with certain pens and compliments the distressed look of my Gist's copper grip and finial. Bock nibs are etched with the Bock logo and intricate spiral designs. These are beautiful on their own, but the designs really shine when ink smears on the nib and fills them in.

The Bock titanium nib has significantly more flex than a steel nib, resulting in a moderate amount of line variation with different writing pressure. The fine-nib version still functions well as an everyday writer, even though it can be pushed to offer a significant amount of flex. The flex does cause the nib to burn through ink very quickly, which doesn't pair well with smaller-capacity converter-fill pens, such as the Gist. Expect to fill the converter every few days or so, even with only a moderate amount of use.

The titanium nib glides smoothly across the paper, with minimal resistance. Although the nib is smooth, I occasionally experience skipping and hard starts, after longer writing periods. There were several occasions where I even had to unscrew the barrel to push ink through the converter and prime the nib. The issues were frequent enough to break my writing flow and cause annoyance, which makes it difficult to recommend the nib without reservations. This can be alleviated, somewhat, by choosing an ink that flows easily.

The Bock titanium nib is fun for short bursts of stationary writing. Its flex is enough to leave moderate line variation without gushing ink onto the page. The nib falters during long writing sessions, and the soft titanium material makes it a poor choice for an everyday carry pen that may see unstable environments or even the occasional drop. Although I don't plan to fill my pen arsenal with titanium nibs, I'm glad to have one in rotation. Most don't choose fountain pens because they're incredibly convenient and versatile, and there's something to be said for the titanium nib's unique performance and aged appearance. It's certainly worth a try, even if it isn't destined to travel with you on a daily basis.

So this is all well and good, but how do I buy one? Here are a few links to pens that offer Bock titanium nib options. Most offer separate nib purchases, in case you already own the pen itself. This isn't all inclusive, since many pen manufacturers use Bock nibs.

• Karas Customs Ink Fountain Pen - $140 with titanium nib. Great review by Pen Habit.
• Tactile Turn Gist - Starting at $159 with titanium nib.
• Conid Minimalistica - The large capacity is perfect for satiating a titanium nib's ink hunger. Great review from The Gentleman Stationer. Don't look unless you're prepared to drop $400.

Don't forget to check out my original review of the Tactile Turn Gist.