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Bertram's Inkwell Blog - Fine Writing Insruments

January 16, 2019 By Eric Aycock Leave a Comment

Esterbrook Estie- Cobalt blue and chrome

Esterbrook Estie- Cobalt blue and chrome

The Esterbrook Pen Company was founded in 1858 by Richard Esterbrook in Camden, New Jersey. The original iteration of the company was in operation until 1971.  In 2014, the name and rights were purchased by Harpen Brand Holdings where they had limited success in reviving the brand. In 2018, Kenro Inc purchased and “re-birthed” the brand. The new line up is currently comprised of two models, the Esterbrook Estie and the newly released Esterbrook Phaeton. There was a lot of thought put into the relaunch of the brand and how it would pay tribute to the colorful history of the brand while still setting itself apart. Cary from Kenro graciously sent me one of the new Esties for review, as well as their MV adapter, which lets you use a vintage Esterbrook nib on your new pen. Thanks go out to the great people at Kenro, and you can find out more about the rebirth of Esterbrook at http://www.esterbrookpens.com/.

Packaging: The pen comes in a red textured cloth box with “Esterbrook Est 1858” in white lettering on the lid. The ends of the box are white felt and one end has a product information sticker. My version’s sticker read, “E146-F Estie Cobalt Blue Chrome Trim Fountain Pen.” The lid closure is a magnetic flap which opens to reveal a white felt interior which matches the ends of the box. On the inside of the lid flap, embossed in red is “America’s Original, Reborn.” I think this is a great way to acknowledge the long history of Esterbrook, while boldly stating that this isn’t the same company your parents or grandparents got their pens from. There is a small information booklet which gives a brief explanation of the company and warranty info. The pen rests on a small felt pillow with an elastic band holding it in place. Also included are a converter and spare ink cartridge.

First Thoughts: Wow! Nothing more, nothing less, just wow.

Design: The pen has a classic cigar shape that tapers at both ends into rounded finials. It weighs only 15 g, which is great for longer writing sessions as you barely feel the pen. The clip is chrome on this model and tapers to a rounded end as well. The only branding on the body is the word “Esterbrook” engraved in white lettering below the clip. I love when companies allow the pen to speak for itself and don’t over-brand their products. There is a very small step-down from the body to the grip section, which has a small finger stop behind the nib. A chrome ring sits at the back of the grip section, and there is a matching chrome ring behind the threads on the body. The cap unscrews with ¾ of a turn, which is great for taking quick notes. The cap is interesting, as there is an inner cap which feels like it is attached to a spring. As a result, you need to give a little pressure to engage the threads when you cap your pen. This inner cap works well at keeping the pen from drying out or having hard starts from lack of use.

Nib Performance: The nib is a simple steel nib, simple in design not in performance. It has “Esterbrook 1858” engraved, as well as an “F” for fine and a bit of decorative scrollwork. The nib wrote beautifully out of the box and laid down a nice wet line. One of the coolest features of the new Esterbrook is the modern/vintage (“MV”) adapter they offer for an additional $40 USD. The MV adapter allows you to use your vintage Esterbrook nibs in your new pen. At the initial release, a vintage nib was included when you purchased an adapter, but they are no longer included. Mine came with a fine stub nib, but I did not include a test of that nib since it wasn’t made by the current company.

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Filling System:  The pen is filled via a standard international cartridge/converter.

Value: The retail price of the pen is $196 USD and is typically found around $156.

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Overall: I am glad to see what Kenro has done with the Esterbrook name. The first fountain pen that I ever restored was an Esterbrook J series, with some help (explanation of how to do it) and parts from Brian and Lisa Anderson. When I heard that the brand was going to be “reborn”, I was initially worried about how the final product would look. I think Kenro did a wonderful job designing this product and respecting the legacy of the Esterbrook brand. It has a vintage look and feel, and it looks like what Esterbrook may have produced today if the original company had never closed. I feel that Richard Esterbrook would be very proud that his company is being taken care of and that his legacy lives on.

Specs:

Name:  Esterbrook Estie Cobalt Blue with Chrome Trim

Design: Screw cap, cigar shape

Length: 149 mm (5.9 in)

Posted: 170.3 mm (6.7 in)

Diameter: 13.3 mm (.5 in)

Weight: 15 g (.5 oz)

Nib: Stainless Steel

Filling System: Standard international cartridge converter

Pros: ¾ turn to unscrew the cap, ability to use vintage nibs with the adapter, beautiful material, inner cap keeps the pen from drying out

Cons: I honestly could not find any

In the same price range:

Lamy 2000

Pilot Custom 74

Platinum Century #3776

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December 10, 2018 By Bert Oser Leave a Comment

Taccia Fountain Pen Inks

Taccia Fountain Pen Inks

Shu-Jen Lin is the brand manager for Taccia at Itoya USA. She has been a fixture at pen shows and in-store events across the country for who knows how many years. Taccia has always been a more moderately priced brand, but as of late Shu-Jen has started ramping this up quite a bit with a collection of some really higher end Maki-e pens. More on those another time. Today I’m writing about a new collection of Taccia fountain pen inks. Shu-Jen introduced them back in August at the DC Pen Show.  Taccia and Nakabayashi (one of Japan’s largest office product companies) joined forces to create this amazing collection of 13 different ink colors. All these Taccia fountain pen inks come in a very elegant glass bottle with a highly polished cap. Its 40ml size ensures you’ll have an ample supply, but won’t have to make a long term commitment like with other inks coming in 50-80ml sizes. As one might expect we have the standard blues, blacks, reds, and greens but things do get better from there.  

 

Taccia Midori Green Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
緑, Midori, Green. I would compare to a very rich and dark Sherwood green. Nothing light about this ink. 40ml

Taccia Ao Blue Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
青, Ao, Blue. I’m a blue guy, using blue ink most often. A true description in the name. This ink is a classic Royal Blue with no hint of greens or turquoise. 40ml bottle

Taccia Sora Sky Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
空, Sora, Sky. In Japanese. The description says it all. A light blue leaning in the turquoise direction, but darker than your traditional turquoise. 40ml bottle.

Taccia Kuro Black Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
黒, Kuro, Black. That’s what this ink is – dark and pure black as night. Excellent coverage and density. 40ml 5 Stars

Taccia Ebi Shrimp Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
エビ, Ebi, Shrimp. While “shrimp” is not a color, this one will be the star color for the Taccia fountain pen ink collection, as early sales show. This intense dark red/purple is truly a unique color. Rich and royal qualities. 40ml (don’t drink it) 5 stars

Taccia Tsuchi Soil Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
土, Tsuchi, Soil.  Rich golden brown. This ink will be perfect on cream colored Pineider stationery.

Taccia Aka Red Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
赤, Aka, Red, This Taccia fountain pen ink is a brighter red for sure. Kind of like the lighter, brilliant red that a fish might have. 40mL

Taccia Momo Peaches Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
もも, Momo, Peaches. not sure how they got this one, but if you’re looking for hot pink here is your color. Perfect to highlight in your Rhodia Goalbook. 40ml

Taccia Daidai For Generations Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
代々, Daidai, For Generations. I’ll call this one orange unless Google translate is off a bit.  I’ll give this a more accurate name and call it Blood Orange. This ink has a strong red overtone which makes this a unique orange a must have. 40ml.

Taccia Aoguro Blue/Black Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
青黒, Aoguro, Blue/Black. Now that makes more sense. True to it’s name we present this blue/black, not grey or some off color this ink BB ink echoes a dark mysterious blue with enough black to allow the blue to come through.

Taccia Murasaki Purple Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
紫, Murasaki, Purple, A hard color to please folks with as there are so many variations (just ask the folks at Monteverde). What we have here is the success of communication not the lack of. This Purple reigns in depth and darkness to give the writer a pure and rich purple color. 5 stars 40ml.

Taccia Uguisu To Sleep Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
うぐいす, Uguisu, To Sleep (?), Not getting this one either, Google. This one is a dark olive green but not as dark as Midori. I also would not say light green as there is a gritty olive look to it. 40ml 3stars

Taccia Cha Tea Brown Fountain Pen Ink - Bertram's Inkwell
茶, Cha, Tea Brown, A reddish-brown beautiful color, as this is not a black-brown. This one has depth and a tint of red to bring out a brown color that others can’t come close to. 40ml 5 stars

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Filed Under: Fountain Pen Reviews, Fountain Pens, Inks & Refills Tagged With: Fountain Pen Inks, Fun with Colors, Made in Japan, Taccia, Taccia Ink

October 31, 2018 By Corinne Litchfield Leave a Comment

NaNoWriMo Starts November 1

NaNoWriMo Starts November 1

November is National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, and every year thousands of writers sign up at the official website for the challenge of writing the first draft of a 50,000 word novel. It’s proved to be the starting point for over 480 traditionally published novels, including Water for Elephants and The Night Circus, and more than 130 self-published novels. Perhaps yours will be next?

NaNoWriMo, writers, writing, writing supplies, Nanowrimo writing supplies, pens, fountain pens, bottled ink, notebooks, notepads, Rhodia, Parker Quink, Pilot Varsity, Palomino Blackwing pencil, Faber-Castell pencil, novel writing, fiction writing
Tools for a successful NaNoWriMo: Parker Quink bottled ink for fountain pens, Palomino Blackwing and Faber-Castell pencils, Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens in blue and pink, Rhodia notepad.

Here are our picks for NaNoWriMo participants:

Parker Quink bottled ink. If you’re writing longhand with a fountain pen, you are going to want a big bottle of a reliable ink. Parker Quink is beloved by many fountain pen fans and comes in blue, black and blue-black.

Palomino Blackwing and Faber Castell pencils. Pens ain’t your thing? That’s quite all right: we have a great selection of Palomino Blackwing and Faber Castell pencils to keep you scribbling away.

Rhodia pads. From dot grid to graph to lined, we’ve got you covered. Rhodia paper is great to use with fountain pens, gel pens, pencils, ballpoints…you get the idea.

Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens. Available in 4 different colors, these inexpensive fountain pens from Pilot are great for marking revisions or taking along on group writing sessions. Bonus: you can give these Varsity pens away to fountain pen-curious friends without breaking the bank!

Pro tip: If your first draft will be written out by hand, the Conklin Carbon Fiber Word Gauge fountain pen is definitely worth checking out! This clever piston fill pen with steel nib features an ink window etched with numbers to let you know how many words you can write before your ink runs out. Available in black carbon with either blue or clear ink view; select from a fine, medium or stub nib. 

Conklin Carbon Fiber Word Gauge fountain pen, Conklin fountain pen, Conklin, fountain pens, pens, writing, word gauge pen, piston fill fountain pen
The Conklin Carbon Fiber Word Gauge fountain pen is a piston fill pen with an ink window that shows how many words you can write before refilling. Perfect for long writing sessions!

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Filed Under: Product Roundup Tagged With: Faber Castell, fiction writing, Fountain Pens, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, notebooks, notepads, novel writing, Palomino Blackwing, Paper, Pencils, Pens, Rhodia, writers, writing, writing supplies

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