I can’t fault Venvstas’s persistence. After I heavily criticised the first Magna piston, this fiery Italian brand took my comments on the chin and came back stronger with the Magna CC, which I really liked: it had much better fit and finish, and the use of the converter both improved serviceability and filling, and fixed … Continue reading Venvstas hits 2.0 with the carbon fiber Magna piston
Ticking all the boxes I’ll say this right off the bat: I’ve discovered that I’ve become pretty fond of Aurora. In my time I’ve owned a grey flex Optima, a Duocart, a Talentum Black Ops, an 88 Black Mamba, a Pacifico, an 88 Minerali Amethyst, and my favourite of all, an 88 Nettuno. My experiences … Continue reading Aurora’s Matera and Deserto are gorgeous and (nearly) flawless
by Feng @Onoto First, I wish Anthony all the best for his new job and enjoy his family life. I would also like to thank him for all his contributions over the last five years. We just can’t deny how much we have gaind from his reviews! I am sure he might want to come … Continue reading A new jouney began with UKfountainpens.com
After my last post, I received dozens of messages asking me to keep ukfountainpens.com live as a resource for the community. For a variety of reasons, I couldn’t commit to doing that. But I’m excited to announce something even better. Feng Li of Onoto will be taking the reins of UKFP. I’ve known Feng for … Continue reading An exciting new start for ukfountainpens.com
Today is as good a day as any to wind up ukfountainpens.com. Unlike my previous end-of-year writeups and other similar posts, I’m not going to indulge myself in a lengthy review of what I’ve achieved or learned over the past five years. Don’t worry: I have a wonderful tray of pens, I enjoy writing with … Continue reading Goodbye: for real this time
Regular readers will know that I spend a lot of my collecting energy trying to spot patterns in my own behaviour, interrogating why I buy, keep and sell the pens I do. It’s resulted in scoring methodologies and taxonomies aplenty. I have a new one for you today, one that has been nagging at me … Continue reading Icon, maker or lux?
UPDATE: The Scholar is live on the Onoto website to order. I’ve been singing the praises of the Onoto Magna for at least three or four years now (Flanders, Shakespeare, Sequoyah, Mammoth…), and still I find that people don’t see the value proposition until they’ve held one. A plastic converter filler with steel nib for … Continue reading The Onoto Scholar was worth the wait
The first thing I should tell you about this three-pen fountain pen case from Orange Leatherworks is that it costs 649 CAD, or about £390. That’s before shipping and import duties. This is unashamedly a luxury item, but a luxury item by the purest and least vulgar definition: an item that’s made with no expense … Continue reading Orange Leatherworks: flawless craft for a premium price
Culling the grails My last state of the collection post was in December, and this is what my main tray looked like then. From that tray I’ve sold the Nakaya 17mm, Namiki Urushi 20, Radius, ASC arco, Graf Classic and Aurora 88. Six of 18. Some really really good pens there! Honestly I probably wouldn’t … Continue reading State of the collection: March 2022
I dunno about you, but my Facebook feed is absolutely swamped with people pouring epoxy resin on to pieces of wood. Often it’s a coffee table. But you can also get phone cases and myrid other objects, large and small, made using this technique. While this ‘hybrid’ effect is on the verge of being overdone, … Continue reading Silverburl hybrid pens: creative, but with quirks
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