From no Imperials, now I have three. Bexley’s Imperial is a homage to Japanese pens. This explains a lot. The burgundy FPN-P pen is made of resin, and the other two are modern ebonite in purple and raspberry. I appreciate the simple lines and the undecorated clip. The nibs are workhorses. Most Bexleys I’ve owned …
I bought a Sheaffer Copper Legacy from Jim Gaston early in my fountain pen collecting days. The pen is now with a dear friend, and Jim Gaston’s site has now been turned over to the family resort; nothing on the front page links to any of the beautiful Sheaffers he used to sell. When Dennis …
Stubs are the smartly-cut jackets of the pen world. They can make anyone (and their signatures) look better. Stubs make broad vertical strokes and thinner horizontal strokes. Unlike italic nibs, the corners of the stub nib are rounded, so upward strokes don’t bite into the paper. Here’s a sampler of my stubs. They’re all factory …
We’re shooting at Pinto Gallery in Antipolo. Stairs of stone and cement lead to and from pockets of gardens and ponds. There is a whiff of delightful dereliction about the place, a devil-may-care attitude towards cobwebs and lichen. There are sculptures almost indistinguishable in texture from the grass and soil and wood that surround them. …
This was a quick exercise using three different nibs on Moleskine reporter notebook paper: a Bexley fine (bright green ink), a crisp italic from Mr. Binder (spring green ink), and a vintage Parker Lucky Curve nib (burgundy ink). The Bexley fine works out better than the other two, which have a touch more tooth (in …
The Tibaldi Iride arrived a month ago in a plain, ink-stained Pilot box. I’d asked the seller to not send it in its de rigeur crystal coffin, to avoid damage in transit. Besides, the box is never as important as the pen it holds. I liked the Tibaldi Iride for its celluloid. Celluloid is a …