From Lemon To Love: In Which Dr. Inkenstein Goes on Safari

Once upon a time, early in Dr. Inkenstein's Pen Collecting and Using Life, there was a yellow Lamy Safari with black clip and black medium nib.
 

But it never wrote all that well.  Scratchy.  Stingy.


Crash of thunder.  Flash of lightning.  Ooo, scary!


Dr. Inkenstein gave the Safari away and never looked at another one until, for some unknown reason, a Charcoal Safari with 1.1 italic nib found its way here.


Still don't recall why I bought it.  But I inked it up.  Hey.  It wasn't bad.' It had GOOD ink flow!  Wasn't scratchy or nothin'!


Then I began reading all sorts of Safari and AlStar-related posts on the Fountain Pen Network.

And then, I discovered the Nexx.  And all was lost.  Or found, depending on your perspective.  I started buying Lamys again.  They are sturdy, inexpensive, come in a variety of nibs, and best of all, COLORS galore.  Each year Lamy puts out a Limited Edition color.  And they are collectible' (translated to English: wayyy expensive on fleabay).


The Pink Nexx, F nib:

 

 

 

The Coral Nexx (M), and the Pearl (color looks like Champagne, really) AlStar (B):

 

 

 

Lamy family, top to bottom (Coral Nexx, Pink Nexx, Pearl AlStar, Yellow Safari, Apple Green LE Safari, Aqua LE Safari, Ocean AlStar, Blue Safari, LE Pink Safari, Red Safari, Charcoal Safari.  Unable to make it to the photo shoot was my blue Lamy ABC):





The really sad part of this tale is that the original 'lemon' was probably fixable.  And that the yellow with black nib/clip combo is now selling for hundreds of dollars on fleabay.

One of these days Dr. Inkenstein will actually return with the Superhero Pens post.

Ahoy Mateys! In Which Dr. Inkenstein Swabs the Deck With Autumn Color

Are you one of those fountain pen aficionados who changes ink color according to the season?

When fall is in the air, away go the bright pinks, turquoises, spring greens, and out come the October/November colors.

Far from being in-depth reviews, these samples are just quick impressions, in the hopes that one or more of these inks might catch your eye. Most of the testing was done with a glass dip pen and the swatches were applied with cotton swabs.
　
Many of these inks are available from dealers like isellpens and Goulet pens.

We've got some autumnal browns up first:

　
　
Ahoy, maties!  Behold J Herbin Rouille D'Ancre. This not-really-brown, not-really-pink color does not have a huge following, but it's the kind of ink oddity I really like. The name means Rusty Anchor, and yes, that is a great name for a dockside bar. Like most JH inks, this is watercolory and shades well, showing its qualities best when used in any pen with a wet B nib. There is just enough pink in the formula so the color will work in a fountain pen with a pink barrel. (Dr. Inkenstein is a little particular that way.)
　
　
On to Terre de Feu, which looks ruby in the bottle but brown on paper. But as browns go, it has great shading, and there's always just the slightest, corner-of-your-eye hint of burgundy. This ink and my red-swirl Parker Frontier pen are an inseparable combo.
　
　
Lie de The has more olive undertones, and in an actual nib (not a swab) comes across as a medium-dark brown that leans yellow.


More browns:

　
Sheaffer Brown shows a bit of red, and like just about all Sheaffer inks, it's well-behaved. As the sample notes, it has an almost caramel shade to it.
　
Speaking of food, when I want a dark neutral brown that reminds me of cocoa, Noodler's 41 Brown usually gets the nod. I dilute it up to 50% with water for an ink that starts right away even in my dry writers (Stypen Creeks).
　
Waterman Havana brown is new to me. It looks deep mahogany-red in the swab, and seems to shade well. If it's anything like other Waterman inks, it should be a good mixer with those of its own kind.
　

A few burgundy-esque inks:

New to me here: Noodler's Black Swan In English Roses. This seems like a nice brick-burgundy, and though I'm disappointed not to see any halo effect, it worked well in a Waterman Carene (M), where its red components harmonized with the tomato color of the pen's barrel.
　
Black Swan In Australian Roses, also new, on the other hand, looks purple in the sampler tube, but swabs out a pleasantly antique-ish dusty burgundy. But ditto on the halo effect. Wasn't there. TT__TT
　
　
J Herbin Rouge Caroubier---the name means 'Locust.' I'm thinking they were referring to the tree, not the bug, since the label shows a leaf, but it's not the locust leaf I'm familiar with. It's ruby-orange in the bottle, swabbing out coral-pink. Another ink that would probably show best in a broad-nibbed pen.
　

Finally, on to some cooler colors.

　
Pilot Iroshizuku (color-drop) Fuyu Syogan is new to my collection. 'Old Man Winter' swabs out a blue-steel color, and appears to shade beautifully. It will add to my small collection of grays, and maybe one of these days I can afford a full bottle. -_-
　
Noodler's Blue Nose Bear, also new to me, is supposed to be another 'halo' color, and in this case, it's true! (some might see the halo as bleeding/feathering), but I love this evergreen-blue color so much I can't wait to put it in an actual pen. The scan really doesn't do this elusive and strange color justice. It would probably fare well in a fine- nibbed pen to let the feathering magic do its work, such as any Hero 329 or 616.
　
JHerbin Gris Nuage was my first gray, and it's a true gray, delicate and neutral, like a cloud as its name suggests. Maybe it's a bit too delicate and watercolor-ish for some, but it suits Dr. Inkenstein just fine.

Up next:  maybe some socks, maybe some more fountain pen tests, maybe another fanfic. 

Color! In Which Dr. Inkenstein Swatches

Dr. Inkenstein already suffers from Too Many Loaded Pens Syndrome, so when in the mood to play around comparing and contrasting inks, I don't want to load another fountain pen.

Most of these ink swatches were done with cotton swabs, then a glass dip pen, and therein lies the problem.

Can you say 'frustration?'  I'm sure you can.  None of my glass dip pens wanted to write (The swab below is Herbin Poussiere de Lune).

Enter The Goulet Pen Company.  Dr. Inkenstein eagerly watched a video demonstrating glass dip pens and knew something was wrong.  Mine were not writing like the pens in the demo.

The glass pens in question did not come from Goulet, but a now-defunct art supply store.  I'm pretty sure they were not J Herbon.  I don't even recall the brand.

After some intensive Customer Service courtesy of Brian Goulet, I conducted a science experiment and found out one of my culprit pens actually had a broken tip.

Out came the manicure tools.  In a matter of minutes, Dr. Inkenstein had inhaled a lungful of glass dust, and the pen was writing.

Then my new J Herbin glass pen arrived.  BIG difference.  Smooth as, well, glass.  Right out of the box.  Ink is happy.  Dr. Inkenstein is happy.

Colors prettyyyy.

Go Speed Racer Go! In Which Dr. Inkenstein 're-views' an old pen/ink

Checkered Flag or Crash!
Hero fountain pens,  a well-known brand made in China and  imported by dedicated pen dealers, produce some very spiffy pens at a next-to-nothing price point.

Dr.  Inkenstein aquired this particular model, the 569, quite some time ago, attracted by its general look.   It probably cost between $10 and $15.

The Hero 569 has such a pronounced racing-theme look with its silver 'rims' and black and white checkerboard barrel, that I almost expect it to sprout wheels and take off.

Unhappily, it doesn’t fly quite yet.

I had high expectations for the 569, perhaps because of its semi-hooded nib look and heavy feel. Eager to make it to the starting line, I first tested this pen (it’s a converter-fill) with a small amount of J Herbin Diabolo Menthe ink, and found that it was a ‘hard starter.’ I had to really coax the ink to come forth, but when it did I immediately tried it on a page of story notes on a ruled Levenger Letter pad. I was enjoying the color of the ink and the look of the nib, and had written a sentence or two of chapter notes when---SPURT!  STUTTER!  BLOB!
What the---?  Oh, the pain.

Dr. Inkenstein wiped the pen off and started in again. One word--BLOB.  I ended up with three fat inkblots on the page, and decided to write out the ink on a cheap steno pad.  I only got three paragraphs or so out of this quarter-fill before the pen ran dry, which seemed odd to me.

So I ran to the fabled Fountain Pen Forum for help, and taking the advice I got, tried a different ink, Noodlers Navajo Turquoise---another quarter-tankfull.  I started writing with this ink on the cheap steno pad, and it started with less difficulty than the previous fill. Using the cheap pad, I wrote a draft of this review with no further problems.

I don’t dislike this pen’s writeability at all---but in addition to seeming fussy about the ink, the line it produces isn’t quite as fine as the Hero 329 and the grip doesn’t suit me as well due to the ridges just north of the racy black ‘hood.’

The Hero 569 has a stiffer  feel to its nib as well. 

But with the Hero logo big and bold on the nib end, and a repeat of the logo surrounded by laurel leaves on the snap-on/off cap, the Hero 569 carries its racing theme all the way up and down the pen.

Dr.  Inkenstein tried one final test on the Levenger pad with the new tank of Noodlers---and instant blobbage!

Maybe the pen just hates that paper.

Sorry that there's no photo of the pen itself.   Just this scan of hasty scribblings.   Got the pen from isellpens, where it might still be viewable on one of their Hero pages.


Since I like the Speed-racer look of the pen, it will stay in my collection, as long as I keep it away from Levenger paper.




On Edit:

This ancient review illustrates the many and mysterious interactions of pen, ink, and paper.   I write with some inks that bleed on every conceivable form of paper, even Clairefontaine (Everflow True Blue, but I LOVE that color!).  I write with some inks that behave themselves in anything, on anything (just about any Sheaffer ink).

Levenger's pads are decent; I use them with a variety of fountain pens and inks.  J Herbin inks, ditto.   Speed Racer just really, really needed to throw up on that Levenger pad. 

Nothing Dr. Inkenstein can't cope with.

Oh, and here's Speed Racer himself:

Not the best pic, but ehh...

Stay tuned for TEH MYSTERY SOK.    It lurks in the wings, waiting.....