TL;DR: Quick drawings of Hedgy in action, using Lamy pens.
Read MoreTwo Pelikan 400NN and a Geha 605 (1950s-60s)
TL;DR: Two Pelikan 400NN, one green-striped with 14k-gold M nib, the other tortoise brown striped with 14k-gold BB nib! Sitting next to the Geha 605 from yesterday’s post!! Joy!!!
Read MoreFlexy Geha (605, 14k OB) and Shady Peli (Edelstein Moonstone)
TL;DR: This is the first flexy gold nib I’ve ever tried. A vintage, late-1950s pen, made in Germany. This 14k-gold OB nib of a Geha 605 is a pleasure to write and draw with. Also easy to clean, Geha reserve ink mechanism notwithstanding.
Read MoreHedgy in Watercolor -OR- Experiments With Pens and Inks
TL;DR: Making a watercolor painting in ink is not as easy as it seemed when I was a kid. Here, one of my early, but still recent, processes: (1) Ink the fountain pens, (2) Explore ink palette for the day, (3) Test ink mixtures and water brush effects, (4) Draw in pen, (5) Spread with water brush.
Read MoreHumble Beginnings – Two Sailor Fude DE Mannen and Two Inks
TL;DR: This website is (mostly) about drawing with fountain pens. How did it all start? With two fountain pens, both Sailor Fude DE Mannen (the 11-0127 series) and two Pilot Iroshizuku inks.
Read MoreAn Artisanal ‘Concord’ Nib on a Montblanc 121 Burgundy (Export Only)
TL;DR: Purchasing pens made for a different market can mean some changes are needed to make them fit. In the Japanese market, I often find F nibs thinned to EF and tuned to write glass-smoothly. But, sometimes, I find nibs further turned downward, closer to the Sailor Concord specialty nibs than to the narrow down-turn of the Pilot Falcon or Posting nibs. This rare example of a Montblanc 121 Burgundy with 18k nib, ground from F to EF, turned into a Concord shape, has had artisanal work in these two directions.
Read MoreUrban Sketching in Tarragona -OR- Enters a Geha 722 (1970s)
TL;DR: Urban sketching (usk) is what got me to try out fountain pens. This time, I’m usking in Tarragona, UNESCO World Heritage site with, among others, Roman vestiges. The result? See Figure 1.
Read MoreParker “51” Mk I (1950-51) with Greg Minuskin nib (2022)
TL;DR: What’s better than an iconic fountain pen? An iconic fountain pen with an iconic nib. Made by an idiosyncratic nibmeister. Hence, this Parker “51” with a Greg Minuskin (crisp) italic BB nib. Excellent, thanks, Greg!
Read MoreHedgy -OR- Pilot Custom Grandee, Music Nib (1979)
TL;DR: Hedgehogs appear next to wet noodles – juicy, long, flexible creatures. So, when a late-1970s Pilot Custom Grandee shows up equipped with just this kind of nib, a music nib no less, the Hedgy is bound to show up.
Read More