I initially got Diamine Majestic Purple as a possible replacement for Bungbox L’Amant. Not that L’Amant is getting discontinued, it’s just really expensive to buy and ship. Turns out Diamine Majestic Purple is not quite there as a L’Amant replacement. However, Diamine Majestic Purple as purple inks goes it’s quite nice. It shades nicely going from a deep purple to a less saturated violet colour. I like that it is a deep and saturated colour.
Similar Inks:
Noodler’s Golden Brown is a good shading ink but the colour is just too similar to Pilot Iroshizuku Ina Ho. I think my dislike of Ina Ho is quite obvious now. Noodler’s Golden Brown just happens to be in that light brown colour that I rather dislike. But colour aside, Golden Brown is a wet ink that shades well. If you are looking for a shading brown ink, Golden Brown is one you should check out.
I realised I do not have a swab of Pilot Iroshizuku Ina Ho. If anyone want to spare me enough to do a swab of the ink, please get in contact with me. Thank you.
Similar Inks:
The Numbers:
Weight: 25g
Length (capped): 143mm
Length (uncapped): 123mm
Body Material: Resin
Nib Material: 14k gold
Filling Mechanism: Cartridge / converter
Colours: Blue only
Intro:
Platinum released Kawaguchi, the last of the 5 Fuji Lake series and it is the only one that I have purchased. Kawaguchi is basically a limited edition Platinum 3776 Century with a different design for it’s body.
I got mine from Aesthetic Bay because I wanted to get a special nib on mine plus the ability to choose the number for this numbered limited edition pen. 2500 pens were made for this particular release and I picked 1012. My name in Chinese sounds like 10 when the numbers are read individually while 12 in Japanese sounds like my English name. Of course, 1012 is going to be mine. Plus, Kawaguchi is the only of the 5 lakes that I’ve actually visited. I’ve already reviewed the Platinum 3776 Century previously so I won’t be repeating myself since most of the facts are still the same.
Packaging:
The Kawaguchi comes in a white box with all the regular user manual, cartridge and converter. There is nothing particularly special about the packaging other than having the name of the pen printed on the inside of the box.
Performance:
Kawaguchi is made of a blue resin with lines etched across the body in a wave like pattern. The blue resin isn’t exactly the same shade as the regular Chartres Blue’s. Also instead of gold accents, Kawaguchi has silver accents. One plus point, Platinum has thrown in a matching silver converter with this pen. I feel the lines help to enhance the feel of the pen when compared to the standard Platinum 3776 Century. I can tell it is a slightly more premium product.
Like all other 3776 Century, the Kawaguchi also has the slip and seal technology. However this is also a cartridge converter fountain pen, the ink capacity isn’t fantastic. It is unlikely to leave your ink in there for 2 years unless you forgot all about it. Personally I never had the opportunity to really try it out.
On the other hand, the nib is the star of the pen. The nib is a 14k soft medium gold nib. I don’t think you can get a soft medium nib from online retailers as far as I know. This is one of the perks of buying from a brick and mortar store, nib swaps are available if they have the nib in store. Since I have to have the 1012, I picked the soft medium that was available. I was hoping to get a FM nib instead but sadly that wasn’t available.
The SM nib is writes bouncier than the standard medium nib but not much wetter. I would say Platinum gold nibs tend not to be soft when compared to Pilot’s. Even their SM nib is not particularly soft, just springier when compared among their own nibs. It is also said that Platinum nibs are Nakaya nibs. That might be true but when comparing this nib to my Nakaya SM nib, I found that the Nakaya’s nib is just slightly bouncier. It might be down to the rhodium plating that’s on the Kawaguchi’s nib since my Nakaya nib is the regular gold one. The nib has the characteristic Platinum feedback that I love. I really like this nib.
Conclusion:
The Platinum 3776 Century - Kawaguchi is a special pen to me personally. As a regular pen, I don’t think there is anything to warrant the difference in price between the regular edition and this limited edition. If the pen design doesn’t speak to you, you are better of going with a standard 3776 Century.
Pros:
Cons:
There are affiliate links in this review. I may get a small amount of store credit if you purchase anything via the links. You are under no obligation to do so but if you would like to do something nice, do buy what you need via my links.
I do not have much experience with Rohrer and Klingner. Blu Mare is a turquoise ink by Rohrer and Klingner. It’s bright, cheerful colour that pops right off the page. It shades nicely even in a Japanese nib going from a cerulean blue to a light shade bright blue-green. It shifts between a greener or bluer turquoise depending on the paper and nib. Blu Mare is fairly lubricated and feels like a wet ink. If you are are looking for a nice bright turquoise, Blu Mare is one to check out.
Similar Inks:
Grand Canyon is part of the Caran d’Ache Colours of the Earth series which has since been discontinued. I’ve reviewed Sunset previously which was part of the same series. Grand Canyon is a brown ink which shades nicely. On my TWSBI Mini, it feels super dry but on my Visconti pen it feels lubricated. I feel the experience on my TWSBI Mini is quite bad. It’s like the ultimate worse pairing or something. On the Visconti pen, it is dark, saturated and wet. What a world of difference.
Similar Inks:
I’ve recently do a count of my entire pen and ink collection. So here are the stats. I have 27 fountain pens. There are 11 different brands among the pens. Out of 27 pens, 12 are Pilot pens of varying prices. They go from the humble Pilot Kakuno and Metropolitan to the more expensive Custom 823 and 742. The next most popular brand would be Lamy and Platinum standing at 3 pens each. (I count Nakaya pens under the Platinum brand.) My collection is overwhelmingly Japanese pens heavy. There are only two pens of which I owe more than 1 of each. They are Pilot Kakuno and Metropolitan. The Pilot Kakuno are both fine nibs one of which is out on loan. The Pilot Metropolitan I have 3 of, one is out on loan, one is being used as a review pen and the last is the only one available for my normal use.
I have a Dudek Modern Goods’ Block on my desk. I keep all my pens on the Block. Every time my Block is getting crowded I know it is time to thin the herd by selling them. The Block holds 21 pens. I think that is a good number to cap the collection at. You might notice that I say I own 27 pens so that’s 6 more pens that the Block can hold. There are exception to this rule. There are pens that are gifts. Those I won’t sell even if I do not like them. Those would live in my Nock Co Brasstown in semi permeant cold storage. Strictly speaking, I now have 3 empty slots on my Block. Once I am down to one slot, it time for another culling. I am of the opinion that it is better to let a pen go to a better home where it will be used and loved, than let it languish in my pen stand being unused and sad. Plus I keep all my pen packaging in the event I sell the pen so that’s also taking up space as well.
Now my ink collection has gone through many cycles of buying and selling. I have a total of 40 ink bottles of varying volumes. Some are small like the Pilot Iroshizuku Mini bottles other are giant like the 100ml of Pilot Blue Black I have. I keep all my inks in two IKEA boxes sized to hold DVDs. They are not very big boxes but with some clever stacking I managed to fit all 40 bottles into the boxes. I have a third box but when I start spilling onto the third box I know it is time to cull the collection once again.
Out of 40 bottles, I have 15 brands if I count Bungbox and Kobe to be under Sailor’s brand. There are 16 individual bottles from Sailor, Bungbox and Kobe alone. The next most popular brand is Pelikan coming in at 5 bottles of both Edelstein and 4001 series. If we go by colour, green and purple are tied with 6 each. However both green and purple has a wide ranging in terms of the actual colour. On the other hand I have 5 all rather similar looking orange inks. The only ink I have more than 1 bottle of is Bungbox L’Amant but all time favourite colour. This is of course not counting the many many ink samples I have as well. Those come from ink swaps with friends and fellow members of the local pen club. I shudder to think about that.
I must say I am impressed that I’ve managed to keep my personal collection number so low. I had totally expect to be totally out of control in regards to sheer volume of pen and ink acquisition. Though the collection being so overwhelmingly Japanese heavy is not a surprise to me. Pilot pens are one of the best out of the box regardless of the price. Sailor inks are just fantastic in terms of the sheer amount of colour and the sheen! I definitely fall squarely in the user category. There isn’t a right or wrong way to enjoy our shared hobby. All that matters is to enjoy it within our means be it monetary or space constrains.
If anyone is interested in my actual break down of my pen and ink collection, drop me a comment and I’ll update this post with the breakdown.
Ok, some readers have requested I go into the breakdown of my pen and ink collection so here is the breakdown of my pen collection.
Pilot Metropolitan White Tiger - F On loan
Pilot Metropolitan Pop Red - F
Pilot Metropolitan Pop Orange - M
Pilot Custom 74 - SF
Pilot Custom Heritage 92 - F
Pilot Custom 742 - FA
Pilot Custom 823 - F
Pilot Myu 701 - F
Pilot Murex - F
Pilot Kakuno Orange - F
Pilot Kakuno Grey - F
Pilot Vanishing Point - F (SS)
Lamy Safari (Matte Black) - EF / F / B
Lamy 2000 - EF (Modded)
Lamy CP1 - EF 14k
TWSBI Mini - 1.1 stub / F / EF / M / B
Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black 21k - F
Nakaya Decapod Mini - SM
Nakaya Fox with Harvest Moon - SF
Platinum #3776 Kawaguchi - SM
Visconti Van Gogh Starry Night - EF
Kaweco Supra - F
Tactile Turn Gist - Ti EF
Pelikan M600 - EF
Pelikan M405 - EF (Modded)
Pelikan Twist - M
Edison Pearlette - EF
The Edison Pearlette is a new addition that I neglected to add to the total pen tally. As you can see I have a lot of Pilot pens. Most of them are not super expensive, they are my most reliable fountain pen. They all just work right out of the box. I am in the process of spring cleaning so I’ll have some pens for sale soon. Right now I’m trying to sell my Pelikan M600. If you are interested, drop me an email or look for me on social media.
Now for my inks.
Pilot
Iroshizuku Ku Jaku
Iroshizuku Ama Iro
Iroshizuku Yama Budo
Blue Black
J Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor
Diamine
SBRE Brown
Pumpkin
Majestic Purple
Sailor
Kobe #31 Kaigan Grey
Bung Box Blue Black
Bung Box L'Amant x 2
Bung Box Hamanako Orange
Bung Box June Bride Something Blue
Jentle Oku Yama
Jentle Yama Dori
Jentle Gernade
Jentle Tokiwa Matsu
Jentle Apricot
Jentle Souten
Jentle Yuki Akari
Jentle Rikyu Cha
Jentle Kin Mokusei
Athena Sepia
Montblanc
Lavender Purple
Toffee Brown
Irish Green
William Shakespeare Red
Pelikan
Edelstein Mandarin
Edelstein Amethyst
Edelstein Topaz
Edelstein Turmaline
4001 Dark Green
Graf von Faber-Castell
Stone Grey
Deep Sea Green
Delta Sepia
Montegrappa Special Reserve
Same thing here, I have an overwhelming number of Sailor made inks. I just love their inks. I am in the process of streamlining my ink collection. I’ve ear marked 5 bottles to go, these have found new owners already, I just have to pass them on to their new homes.
Drop me a comment if you have any questions about my collection.
Another year has come and gone. I’ve posted at least 52 fountain pen inks reviews if not more. It’s time for me to share my top 5 inks of 2016. The criteria to make it onto my top 5 inks list are simple. Firstly, I’ve made the purchase of the ink during the year. And, I’ve used it and loved it. With that out of the way, onto the list.
This is an ink released just this year by Montblanc. It is a companion ink to the Montblanc Writer Series fountain pen. Velvet Red is one of the surprising buys of the year. I didn’t expect to like a red ink but the shading just blows me away.
Another ink that is released this year. Lamy Dark Lilac was released in conjunction with the limited edition Lamy Safari of the same name. I didn’t buy the pen but the ink was a no brainer. The dark purple is also another great shading ink.
Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline was a surprising ink. I never expect to buy a bottle of pink ink, ever. Pink have never been my favourite colour. Howeverm Turmaline changed my mind about pink inks in general. I was lucky enough to locate a bottle locally. My thanks to Ana of The Well Appointed Desk for introducing this ink to my life.
Surprise, surprise another pink-ish ink. This is part of a now discontinued ink series by Caran d’Ache. When I initially did my ink review, I had resigned myself to only having a small sample of the ink. However my local store some how miraculously conjured up a couple of bottles from the ink series. Buying a bottle of this ink was a no brainer.
Orange, orange inks have always been my favourite. It is no surprise that the ultimate orange ink is top of my ink list this year. The only surprise was someone generously offered to sell me a bottle. Apricot needs no introduction. Just look at the vibrancy and shading of the ink.
Upon reflection, this year has been a year of discontinued inks. I am playing catch up with my fountain pen inks, buying the inks that I had missed out on. My list has been heavily dominated by warm colours. One special mention is the De Atramentis Singapore, this is the blue ink that caught my eye this year but my love for the above 5 inks pushed it out of the list.
I've recently had a trip to Hong Kong. I didn't went out of my way to go pen shopping but I did drop by Winner Pens Collection. I didn't buy anything but I took some photos. Enjoy them!
You can find Winner Pens Collection at
中環德輔道中68號
萬宜大廈商場 110 號
Man Yee Arcade, Shop 110
68 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong.
Tel.: (852)-2710-8802
Fax.: (852)-2781-2608
Another year of blogging and another year of pen buying. Like the top 5 inks of 2016 list, the criteria to make it onto the list are simple. Firstly, I must have made the purchase of the pen during the year. And, I’ve used it and loved it. With that out of the way, onto the list.
This is a good value for money beginner fountain pen, not that only beginners can use the Loom. Mine came with one of the smoothest stainless steel nib that I’ve ever used. Coupled with it’s ability to take both a standard international cartridge and converter it makes the Loom an versatile and outstanding fountain pen.
My personal experience with my Kaweco ICE Sport aside, the Kaweco Supra took me by surprise with both its ingenuity with the extender and the size of the nib. The #6 nib makes the Supra easily upgradable because you are not only limited to only Kaweco offerings. The Supra is the best EDC fountain pen I have in my collection now.
The Pilot Custom 823 in amber was acquired this year. It has a giant ink capacity and a fantastic nib that wrote well out of the box. I must say the Pilot Custom 823 is one of the best workhorse fountain pens around.
I have a love / hate relationship with the pen but after switching to the Hobonichi and then the Traveler’s Notebook for my daily planner, the Pilot Vanishing Point shines as the pen that I pair with my planner. It’s a pen that I come crawling back to even after selling my first. My preferred nib is the stainless steel nib instead of the softer 18K one, the stainless steel nib helps with quick note taking and on the go writing.
What can I say? I am a sucker for the way a fountain pen looks. Look! Pretty fox, that actually is raised. Plus, that SF nib is just sublime. The very tactile experience of writing is addictive and tingles my senses. This isn’t a pen for everyone for sure due to the price but I love mine, a lot.
I have more stainless steel nibs on the list than gold. That speaks to the quality and writing experience that can be achieved with a good stainless steel nib. A gold nib isn’t needed for a great writing experience. The enjoyment of a fountain pen isn’t just limited to the writing experience too.
The Numbers:
Weight: 39g (without extender) / 51g (with extender)
Length (capped): 103mm (without extender) / 134mm (with extender)
Length (uncapped): 93mm (without extender) / 124mm (with extender)
Price: USD$140 from Pen Chalet
Body Material: Brass
Nib Material: Stainless steel
Filling Mechanism: Cartridge converter
Colours: Brass
Tarnished vs not.
Intro:
I didn’t have any luck with my first Kaweco fountain pen which incidentally was my very first big girl fountain pen. It was a Kaweco ICE Sport that burped on me randomly. Tests were conducted and it was concluded that it was user problem, not the pen at fault. However, I was still rather apprehensive in purchasing another Kaweco fountain pen until I saw the Kaweco Supra.
Kaweco is known for their Sport and ICE Sport lines. These are pocket fountain pens that take standard international short cartridge and converter. There is also the Lilliput which epitomises the pocket fountain pen. This is where the Kaweco Supra comes in. The Supra is the bigger sibling of the Lilliput. Unlike the Lilliput, the Supra comes only in plain brass. The main difference other than size, the Supra comes with an extender. This allows the pen to transform into a full length fountain pen, no need to fuss around with posting the cap. This also enables the pen to take full length standard international cartridges and converters.
Personally I found the pen too heavy in its fully extended form so this will be a review for the Kaweco Supra used mostly in the pocket form.
Packaging:
The Kaweco Supra comes in a vintage metal box that reminds me very much of the box which contained Mathematics instruments I used as a student. Opening the box, the pen rest inside a plastic insert with moulded slots to keep the pen from rolling about. The metal box can easily be reused to hold a variety of knick knacks. This is a packaging I appreciate.
Performance:
It goes without saying that the Kaweco Supra is a heavy pen. Being made of full eco brass (meaning it is lead-free), it is to be expected. Hence my preference to use without the extender. Though heavy, the Supra isn’t unbalanced. The weight helps the pen to centre itself in my hand. I don’t have to “hang” on to it, it settles itself in the web of my hand and there it stays. I use the pen unposted without any trouble, in part due to my small hands and in part due to the weight.
One special note, the Kaweco Supra is a brass pen. That also means that the pen would tarnish and the colour would change as it comes in contact with the natural oil that our hands produce. It doesn’t take long for that to happen. If you don’t like the tarnished, weathered look of brass, buy a non-abrasive polish and clean your pen. The pen will look as good as new again.
The Kaweco Supra is a plain and simple fountain pen. It is shaped like an elongated bullet. The only adornment on the exterior is the logo on the top of the cap and on the finial. The cap is long. I had hoped that the cap would be flushed with the barrel once capped but there is a slight difference in diameter. This is the same if the extender was used. The end of the extender isn’t flushed to the barrel that it is attached to. Maybe this is something that Kaweco can look into in the next iteration of the pen. It will be a sleeker silhouette if it is all flushed. There are threads at the end of barrel for the cap to be threaded in.
It takes about 3 and 3/4 turns to uncap the pen. Once uncapped, you will see a big ass #6 size stainless steel nib in its full glory. For a pen of this size, it is surprising to find a full size nib on it. This is my favourite part about the Kaweco Supra. The nib takes to the stage, front and centre. I don’t think I’ve ever complain about the nib being too large for the pen body and I am not about to start now.
The grip section has a slight hourglass shape to it. It guides my fingers to the middle. Though the grip section is small (It can’t be helped since it is a smaller than usual pen.), I have no trouble with it. I find myself resting only one finger on the grip while the others are placed higher on the barrel. You will definitely feel the threads but they are not hostile to your fingers. If you use the extender, there is a very slight step between the grip and the barrel due to the slight difference in diameter.
The Kaweco Supra takes a standard international short cartridge in it’s pocket form while it is able to take a standard international long cartridge or converter if the extender is used. This is where my complains about the Kaweco converter comes in. I’ve used two Kaweco converters in my Kaweco ICE Sport, namely the squeeze converter that doesn’t have a metal casing on the exterior and one that has. Both do not fit the Supra when I am not using the extender and both don’t work well anyway. I opted to refill my short international cartridge and use it that way. I have no problems with burping or ink flow issues using it this way.
I went with a F nib for the Supra. The stainless steel nib provides a smooth writing experience right out of the box. Paired with a wet ink, the writing experience is truly enjoyable. Kaweco only sells the Supra in EF, F, M and B stainless steel nibs but given that it’s a #6 size Bock nib, I can easily interchange it with a nib that comes with my Tactile Turn Gist. All it takes is a twist to unscrew the nib unit, take care to have a firm grip on both the nib and feed while doing this. This unlocks a world of possibilities for the Supra. Titanium nib on your Supra anyone?
Conclusion:
The Kaweco Supra isn’t a pen for everyone. The weight would put off some but for those who enjoy a hefty pen the Supra is an excellent EDC fountain pen. The brass body would be able to take the vigour of living in the pocket. Couple with the ability to turn it into a full size fountain pen and pair it with a #6 size nib, the Kaweco Supra is a great pen.
Pros:
Cons:
Additional Reading:
There is an affiliate link in this review. I may get a small amount of store credit if you purchase anything via the links. You are under no obligation to do so but if you would like to do something nice, do buy what you need via my links.
Noodler’s Pacific Dawn at the Golden Gate Bridge is a Noodler’s ink that’s exclusive to Straits Pen. It’s a fast drying ink with water proof properties. On Tomoe River paper with a Japanese fine nib, I’ve clocked a 5s - 6s dry time. This is an excellent workhorse ink especially for a lefty like myself. There is a slight red sheen on which is the only thing that washes out once it gets in contact with water. There is a crazy amount of nib creep on my Pilot Vanishing Point. Colour-wise, Noodler’s Pacific Dawn is a standard blue-black colour which shades slightly in broader nib sizes. Personally, the colour isn’t my cup of tea but for the fast drying and water proof properties, any colour will do.
Similar Inks:
Pilot Black is one of the 3 standard inks that Pilot offers. Pilot Black isn’t a very dark black. It has a curious greenish undertone to it. It shades sightly even in my Japanese fine nib. There is not much to say about the ink other than it is an affordable basic black ink especially if you buy it in the 350ml bottle.
Similar Inks:
Bungbox Hamanako Fresh Mandarin Orange is another Bungbox exclusive ink made by Sailor. I had hoped it might be a Sailor Apricot look alike. It is similar but not quite the same. Hamanako Mandarin Orange is a beautiful shading orange ink in its own right. It shades from a pale yellow to a saturated bright orange even in a fine Japanese nib. Though Hamanako Fresh Mandarin Orange isn’t exactly like Sailor Apricot, it is still a worthy alternative to the beloved ink.
Similar Inks:
The Numbers:
Weight: 21g
Length (capped): 135mm
Length (uncapped): 121mm
Price: USD$220 from Pen Chalet
Body Material: Acrylic
Nib Material: 14K gold
Filling Mechanism: Piston
Colours: Clear, (Orange, Smoke and Blue Japan only)
Intro:
I wasn’t expecting to be an owner of the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 but I spotted one listed for sale on the local pen group. It was a great price so I grabbed it without hesitation. The main reason I sprung for the pen was the orange barrel. Now I have a matching set of orange Pilot Custom 74 and Custom Heritage 92. How could I say no to that?
Packaging:
The pen comes in a regular black plastic clamshell box that Pilot regularly packs their pen in. Inside is nothing fancy, just an insert with a felt-like texture and an elastic band to secure the pen to the insert.
Performance:
The Pilot Custom Heritage 92 is a light weight pen with flat ends. It is a clear orange mostly, accented with a smoke grey at the top of the cap and the piston knob. Together with a silver clip and centre band, this is one stylish looking pen. Though I’ve complained about the “boring-ness” of Pilot fountain pens, I love the way the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 looks.
Holding it in the hand, I found it light and just the right length for me. It is balanced unposted but the cap can be posted if you prefer it that way. The cap posts deeply so the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 doesn’t end up overly long. Accidentally twisting the cap while it is posted wouldn’t result in your piston knob being turned at the same time.
Pilot fountain pens when it comes to the Custom or Custom Heritage series comes with 2 types of clips. The round tops have the clip with the blob at the end while the flat tops has the well… flat clip. Personally the flat clip is my preferred clip shape, I’ve never really warmed to the blob clip.
The cap twists easily and gets uncapped with 2 turns. Underneath is the #5 sized (Pilot size) 14k gold nib. The grip section is a lighter smoke grey acrylic. Comparing the acrylic used for the grip section, I found my Pilot Custom 74’s is darker and matches the top of the cap and end of the barrel better. The grip section is slightly tapered towards the nib and flares out just before it reached the nib. It might be a little shorter for people with larger hands but there is next to no step between the barrel and the grip so shifting your fingers higher up the barrel is no issue. The threads are also smooth and doesn’t hurt my fingers.
The Pilot Custom Heritage 92 is a piston filler fountain pen. That means it has a piston fitted inside the pen body. The knob at the end of the barrel twists to push or pull the piston up or down the length of the barrel. The piston mechanism operates smoothly. One thing to note though, Pilot uses a single seal piston rather than the double seal one that TWSBI uses. Logically, a double seal would have a better chance of preventing ink from back flowing into the piston mechanism but after a few months of use, the Pilot’s piston seal hasn’t failed me.
Given that this is a piston filler fountain pen, it might be a pain in the ass to clean the pen. Luckily, the nib and feed is friction fit so if you prefer cleaning or filling your pen without twisting the piston multiple times you can get access to the ink chamber by removing the nib and feed. Take care to grip both the nib and feed at the same time before pulling. This also mean you can nib swab between all your other #5 (Pilot size) Pilot nibs.
As for the writing experience, the F nib that came with the pen writes very smoothly. I love the way the 14K gold nib glides across the paper effortlessly. The line width is narrow enough for me to use wet inks without any problems of smudging. Pilot’s F nib is one of my favourite nibs out there.
Conclusion:
The Pilot Custom Heritage 92 is very much a workhorse fountain pen. Though it has larger ink capacity, it isn’t more than the Pilot Custom 823. Though it is an affordable piston filler fountain pen, it isn’t as cheap as a TWSBI is. However, the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 is an affordable gold nib piston filler fountain pen with a good rate of working well right out of the box. You can’t go wrong with a Pilot fountain pen and as the only piston filler fountain pen in their lineup, check it out before looking at other piston fillers with gold nibs that are more expensive.
Pros:
Cons:
Additional Reading:
There is an affiliate link in this review. I may get a small amount of store credit if you purchase anything via the links. You are under no obligation to do so but if you would like to do something nice, do buy what you need via my links.
Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline is Pelikan’s 2012 ink of the year. It seems like I’ve missed out on a good pink ink. I really love the bright pink colour of Turmaline. It’s vibrant, it’s loud, it’s in your face. Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline shades, going from a bright pink-violet to a dark pink-red. My thanks to a friend for sending me a sample of Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline. You have successfully poisoned me.
Similar Ink:
I initially got Diamine Majestic Purple as a possible replacement for Bungbox L’Amant. Not that L’Amant is getting discontinued, it’s just really expensive to buy and ship. Turns out Diamine Majestic Purple is not quite there as a L’Amant replacement. However, Diamine Majestic Purple as purple inks goes it’s quite nice. It shades nicely going from a deep purple to a less saturated violet colour. I like that it is a deep and saturated colour.
Similar Inks:
Noodler’s Golden Brown is a good shading ink but the colour is just too similar to Pilot Iroshizuku Ina Ho. I think my dislike of Ina Ho is quite obvious now. Noodler’s Golden Brown just happens to be in that light brown colour that I rather dislike. But colour aside, Golden Brown is a wet ink that shades well. If you are looking for a shading brown ink, Golden Brown is one you should check out.
I realised I do not have a swab of Pilot Iroshizuku Ina Ho. If anyone want to spare me enough to do a swab of the ink, please get in contact with me. Thank you.
Similar Inks:
The Numbers:
Weight: 25g
Length (capped): 143mm
Length (uncapped): 123mm
Body Material: Resin
Nib Material: 14k gold
Filling Mechanism: Cartridge / converter
Colours: Blue only
Intro:
Platinum released Kawaguchi, the last of the 5 Fuji Lake series and it is the only one that I have purchased. Kawaguchi is basically a limited edition Platinum 3776 Century with a different design for it’s body.
I got mine from Aesthetic Bay because I wanted to get a special nib on mine plus the ability to choose the number for this numbered limited edition pen. 2500 pens were made for this particular release and I picked 1012. My name in Chinese sounds like 10 when the numbers are read individually while 12 in Japanese sounds like my English name. Of course, 1012 is going to be mine. Plus, Kawaguchi is the only of the 5 lakes that I’ve actually visited. I’ve already reviewed the Platinum 3776 Century previously so I won’t be repeating myself since most of the facts are still the same.
Packaging:
The Kawaguchi comes in a white box with all the regular user manual, cartridge and converter. There is nothing particularly special about the packaging other than having the name of the pen printed on the inside of the box.
Performance:
Kawaguchi is made of a blue resin with lines etched across the body in a wave like pattern. The blue resin isn’t exactly the same shade as the regular Chartres Blue’s. Also instead of gold accents, Kawaguchi has silver accents. One plus point, Platinum has thrown in a matching silver converter with this pen. I feel the lines help to enhance the feel of the pen when compared to the standard Platinum 3776 Century. I can tell it is a slightly more premium product.
Like all other 3776 Century, the Kawaguchi also has the slip and seal technology. However this is also a cartridge converter fountain pen, the ink capacity isn’t fantastic. It is unlikely to leave your ink in there for 2 years unless you forgot all about it. Personally I never had the opportunity to really try it out.
On the other hand, the nib is the star of the pen. The nib is a 14k soft medium gold nib. I don’t think you can get a soft medium nib from online retailers as far as I know. This is one of the perks of buying from a brick and mortar store, nib swaps are available if they have the nib in store. Since I have to have the 1012, I picked the soft medium that was available. I was hoping to get a FM nib instead but sadly that wasn’t available.
The SM nib is writes bouncier than the standard medium nib but not much wetter. I would say Platinum gold nibs tend not to be soft when compared to Pilot’s. Even their SM nib is not particularly soft, just springier when compared among their own nibs. It is also said that Platinum nibs are Nakaya nibs. That might be true but when comparing this nib to my Nakaya SM nib, I found that the Nakaya’s nib is just slightly bouncier. It might be down to the rhodium plating that’s on the Kawaguchi’s nib since my Nakaya nib is the regular gold one. The nib has the characteristic Platinum feedback that I love. I really like this nib.
Conclusion:
The Platinum 3776 Century - Kawaguchi is a special pen to me personally. As a regular pen, I don’t think there is anything to warrant the difference in price between the regular edition and this limited edition. If the pen design doesn’t speak to you, you are better of going with a standard 3776 Century.
Pros:
Cons:
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I do not have much experience with Rohrer and Klingner. Blu Mare is a turquoise ink by Rohrer and Klingner. It’s bright, cheerful colour that pops right off the page. It shades nicely even in a Japanese nib going from a cerulean blue to a light shade bright blue-green. It shifts between a greener or bluer turquoise depending on the paper and nib. Blu Mare is fairly lubricated and feels like a wet ink. If you are are looking for a nice bright turquoise, Blu Mare is one to check out.
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