Peacock pens

• Throwback last month
• Caught my attention
• As full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in Midsummer.
• Smooth is good
• A good quote

Dear reader, April has been a hell of a month. I had a lot planned to do, but circumstances have given my plans a different direction. I suspect that the first faint rays of sunshine have caused some commotion, and that suddenly other things get the upper hand. But this is life, not everything goes according to plan.

But I can’t complain. April was a successful month in terms of the number of visitors to my blog site. I enjoyed the numerous chats and the nice posts from fellow bloggers. The nice interactions and likes is a form of appreciation and it gives a huge boost to keep going full of enthusiasm.

April’s main topic was pen reviews. I enjoyed picking up this thread again. At the moment there are a number of good pens in my pen pouch which gives good prospects for May.

To my great regret, I have hardly been able to free up time to sketch, but I am working on it.

Throwback last month

• Drawing challenge 1000 portraits/faces
  This challenge was completely terminated with the status ‘failed’. I owe you an explanation of what this challenge has brought about. More on this in a later post.
• Watercolour sketching
  My post House with Greenery was my first attempt with the new water colours, a partially successful attempt. But you don’t always have to have professional equipment to get great results. Proof of this is my post about simple and loose sketching where I go crazy with regular fountain pen ink.
• Eight pen questions
  With my post where I gave an answer to Eight Pen Questions, I went along with the internet vibe. The reactions to this post are also numerous in April. Similarly, Laura (Inky Imaginings) made an effort to answer these questions, check out her post. Since the vibe is still hot and trending, I keep referring to it in my overview, but also as a challenge for other fellow fountain pen lovers to do the same.
• Pen swapping
  As already mentioned, April was the month to focus on some pen reviews. This month I just failed to do my goal of four pen swaps. The following pens were swapped:
  – Sailor Profit Jr. –> Duke 551
  – Parker Urban –> Lamy Ideos
  – Pelikan 400 vintage –> Otto Hutt Design 04
  At the moment I’m doing my very best not to buy any new pens, albeit temporarily. The reason? At the moment I still have about 36 unused new fountain pens and I want to finish them first. The goal is to have this done before the end of this year. Fortunately, I can control my shopping spree without taking pills :-).

Caught my attention

The pen world does not stand still. Rumors and truths are emerging. A number of things have caught my attention and seem interesting to follow.

• I think it’s only natural that when you build a collection you look for the special ones, the rare ones, the ones that not everyone has. The added value is an important aspect. For me, this also applies to collecting fountain pens. I see that many own a Kaweco Sport. It’s a fantastic pen for a fair price. My eye has recently fallen on the KAWECO Ebonit Sport. Kaweco released this pen to celebrate their 140th anniversary. Would you consider selling all your KAWECO’s sport to buy the KAWECO Ebonit Sport special edition? Difficult isn’t it :-). This pen is for sale at Penworld.be for 375 Euro.

• Waterman fountain pens are actually a bit of a nostalgic past. In my youth I had a few. My gut tells me that there is actually little new to report about Waterman. Until recently I saw their new series of pens appeared, the series Reflections of Paris. These pens look so pretty. There is a pen available for every price range: the Hémisphère, the Expert, the Carène and the Exception. I will definitely follow these pens.

The Reflections of Paris collection is inspired by the spirit and romance of Paris by night, by the River Seine flowing gently through the ancient capital, the vibrant, beating heart of not only the most romantic city in the world, but of France itself. (Waterman.com)

• I probably haven’t mentioned it on my blog site yet, but I’m a fan of the Parker Jotter. It is a ballpoint pen that I use a lot when the use of a fountain pen is not possible due to circumstances. Parker recently launched the Jotter Tokyo Special edition. It has since been added to the Jotter collection 🙂

• Every year I am an avid visitor of the Dutch Pen Show in Utrecht (the Netherlands). This year, on 2 June, this event will also be organised. It is the ideal way to test out pens, meet fellow pen enthusiasts and dream away from all the novelties. Unfortunately, due to my schedule at work, I will not be able to attend. Be quick, tickets are limited.

As full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in Midsummer.

With April it was still a drizzly month. The rain is really discouraging and spring just doesn’t seem to be starting. Hopefully the few days of sunshine are a harbinger for much more in May. What will I spoil you with in May?💌:

• A look back at my ‘failed’ drawing challenge. It’s lost, but did I learn anything from it?🎡
• There is urban sketching and sketching urban? Confusing? Let me explain!🎨
• Reviewing fountain pens! How do I do it, what are the pitfalls, how do I avoid them and how do I make it fun. 🖋
• Which pens do I put into action in May? I insist that I will perform four swaps. The fountain pens that will be in action will be: the Waterman Concorde (vintage), the Platinum 3776, the Visconti Rembrandt and the Sailor Professional Gear. I know, these are not the least pens. 💥🖋
• Reading books has not been an activity in which I have excelled until now. But recently, I’ve taken action. In any case, the book I want to briefly explain is War and the Fountain Pen (Richard Binder). Very interesting as a fountain pen lover to get an idea about vintage pens.

Smooth is good

A few months ago I introduced the ‘Smooth is good’ fountain pen competition. Time for the third round. As a fountain pen enthusiast, I love fountain pens that write buttery soft, where the fountain pen glides over the paper, as it were. The intention is that I have a kind of competition between the inked fountain pens where the best will be in the lead. This ‘competition’ is always held at the end of the month. Only my inked fountain pens at the end of each month are discussed. The judging will be purely instinctive, in which all factors play a role (writing performance, look, quality, value for money, …). Since I do a maximum of 4 pen swaps per month and because I always have 8 inked fountain pens, this means that each pen ends up at least twice in a ‘Smooth is good’ competition.

Here are the results for April 2024:

1. 🆕Otto Hutt Design 04 🥇 – Good quality with an amazing smooth stainless steel nib!
2. Opus 88 Jazz 🥈 – Smooth fine writer, nice grip!
3. Parker Duofold centennial 🥉 – Top writer, vintage! Some minor issues with writing performance as a leftie.
4. 🆕Dukke 551 – The fude nib is great and the fountain pen is finished in detail!
5. TWSBI VAC 700 R – Looks great and writes good, piston.
6. Conklin All American – Other ink and reinstalling nib and feed is the way up.
7. 🆕Lamy Ideos – Simple design, same nib as many other Lamy’s. Closing and opening the pen is confusing.
8. BENU Chameleon – Nice pen, special look and good nib, on the scratchy side.

A good quote to start May