Unbeatable Yellow

Been some time since a new fountain pen has come my way, and posts focusing on fountain pens lately have been second looks at one or another of what I have here already. Looking at the pens on my desk and on shelves elsewhere anybody would surely agree that there are pens enough around here to satisfy even the most critical enthusiast, and while a new Pelikan or Montblanc would be welcome, for now I am happy enough to scratch scribble and diddle with what I have. The past few days one particular Sailor fountain pen has been my regular sidekick, one that I ordered from Classic Fountain Pens in Los Angeles about five years back. It’s the Sailor Full Size 1911, a joy to write with from the first words that flowed onto the page from its high quality nib.

According to Nibmeister John Mottishaw at Classic Fountain Pens, The nibs on these Sailor pens are among the best quality of any made in the world today. In my experience there is a lot of truth to that because the quality of Sailor nibs is directly related to their longtime master craftsman, Nobuyoshi Nagahara. Mr Nagahara’s work has elevated the art of nib design and production at Sailor to something that goes beyond even first class. But back to John Mottishaw, indisputably a top-ranked nibmeister himself, I credit him with taking the stock M 21k gold nib on the 1911 Full Size pen and customizing it to my preferences perfectly, giving me a pen that never fails, never disappoints. Let me quote another Mottishaw description: ‘Because of the large-bore opening on the Sailor converter, ink starvation problems, common to many other brands of cartridge/converter pens, are avoided.’

Further description of the Sailor 1911 Full Size on the Classic Fountain Pen website tells us that the overall design has its origins in the 1931 Sheaffer Streamline. No question it is an elegant design of clean lines with minimal distraction. There are four gold bands and a simple, almost plain gold pocket clip. The pen measures 5½ inches capped and a little under 6¼ inches posted. Good choice of colors to choose from: black, burgundy, blue, red, transparent and yellow. I chose the yellow, which resembles the 1928 Parker Duofold Mandarin. If the pen didn’t write like a dream I would still love it for its bright yellow.

I used to work with a Japanese man, someone I still call a friend who came around at least once a week wondering if he could borrow that wonderful yellow fountain pen, that he had a particular document that required the look of a good fountain pen, hopefully with a conservative dark ink. I never hesitated to lend him the Sailor 1911 because his handwriting was such a pleasure to see—a smart calligraphy-like hand, but neither too studied nor too fancy. I always marveled at how casually he dashed off such character rich lines always easy to read. He told me that half of it was the fountain pen, the Sailor 1911 Full Size.

Little need to pretend this Sailor 1911 is anything less than expensive, but it is one of those indulgences when value comes with every penny paid. I’m not sure what’s available on eBay or elsewhere, but the chances are good there is a 1911 Full Size somewhere out there at a price not too intimidating. It’s a fountain pen that any enthusiast will come to treasure.

Photo credit to Classic Fountain Pens for the two photos of the 1911 Full Size.

An Oddly Named Beauty

Got a feeling that I’m moving backward on the autumn colors with today’s look at a GREEN ink. Anyone might have guessed that after pumpkin, orange crush and red would come brown, or something close, and I did actually consider writing about a brown ink. But I got blindsided by a green ink new to my eyes, and as chance would have it, I have sort of a thing for green inks.

I still think of Diamine as an ink new to my fountain pens. It is not marketed in Japan—or at least it wasn’t when I was last there several months ago—and my Diamine experiences before today were limited to Sapphire Blue, Syrah and Pumpkin. One quick look at Diamine Umber was enough to send a bottle to my Brian Goulet shopping cart. Like I said, I have a passion for green inks, and Diamine Umber is pretty much a green unto itself. I lined it up beside six or seven other related greens and none of them are a close match. I would say the closest match is Conway Stewart Green, but where the Diamine Umber employs a touch of gray to tweak the green, Conway Stewart shows a hint of blue.

‘Umber’ has to be called an odd choice for the name of a color that, simply put is not umber, and not even close. True umber is an earthy brown showing no trace of green. On the other hand, Diamine Umber ink is an earthy green showing no trace of brown. Go figure. But let me be clear on this point; forget about the name and feast your eyes on this remarkable mix of green. I don’t really care for the word, so rarely use it, but the Diamine Umber is gorgeous. I ordered a bottle from Goulet Pens on Saturday, and Brian got it to my mailbox on Monday morning. How’s that for service? —and including still the handwritten note of thanks for my order.

Filled one of my favorite pens with the new Umber, a Sailor 1911 Large, medium nib re-crafted by John Mottishaw of Classic Fountain Pens. Putting the pen to a sheet of Clairefontaine 90g paper I was impressed from the first line. The Sailor 1911 is a wet pen and handles the Diamine ink very well, with a beautiful shading. I wouldn’t describe it as a very saturated ink, and it certainly produced no show through on my sample. The result was not so good on the few lines I tried using cheap copy paper. The shading was still good, but the bleed through was nasty. I’m thinking that Diamine Umber is an ink to save for better grades of paper.

The review of this Umber by John Gill on Ink Nouveau offered an interesting waterproof test I wanted to try myself because the set up was one familiar to us all. You’re writing in your journal or otherwise in a coffee shop or café and a drop of water spatters your page… What happens? Grab a napkin and blot the already dry Diamine Umber and the result is a word, or words still legible, small mess, no problem.

In looking at definitions of the word ‘umber’ as it applies to this ink, I found one description that bordered on what I see in this earth tone green. Somewhere in the world lives an Umber Moth brownish gray in color, a coloring that resembles tree bark. Reading that I thought, forget the moth and imagine instead the moss or lichen that we sometimes see growing on tree bark. In that lichen I can see the beginnings of Diamine Umber.

Old Pen Reborn

Three or four weeks ago I received an unusual and very special gift from my friend, Joan Mary, whose work as an appraiser sometimes brings her in touch with interesting objects. No information on just where she might have laid hands on it, but the gift was a beautiful antique sterling silver dip pen.

The spiral shape of the shaft is particularly striking, and I wonder if the design is uncommon among dip pens. There is also a name engraved on the lower part of the shaft, just above the nib, or ferrule. As best I can read the fine engraving, it says ‘M. Miellez ’96.’ The pen measures 18.5 centimeters (7.28 inches), including the nib.

Not surprisingly, the pen came to me without a nib, so I spent some time finding out what was needed and where to get it. Knowing next to nothing about dip pens, I contacted Julie at Whatever, and she put me in touch with Sam at Pendemonium. Sam was most helpful, explaining that from the look of the photograph, I needed a gold nib of a certain size, and would get the best results from John Mottishaw at Classic Fountain Pens. So, I contacted John and struck pay dirt. He had a Crown nib that he thought might be the right fit, and two weeks later a Crown semi-flexible fine .497 arrived at my door. Eager to try the old dip pen, but unaware of the surprise in store I started dipping. Don’t really know why I failed to imagine the unique feeling and difficulty of writing with a dip pen, but my first few words and lines were a squiggly, spidery mess. Quite a new experience for me.

As it turns out, writing is somewhat slow and difficult because the pen is very slender, very light, and the nib does not have what feels like good, solid seating in the pen’s ferrule. It tends to move or shift slightly after a few words, prompting me to stop and readjust or straighten the nib. The feeling I get is that the nib needs to be properly ‘installed’ by someone more knowledgeable than I, and that perhaps the ferrule requires some repair. But it’s going to take a little time to get a good and manageable handle on this pen. Definitely a pen that will require some practice in using.

Workhorse

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned my workhorse pen from Classic Fountain Pens in Los Angeles, the Sailor 1911 Large. Anyone familiar with past pages of this blog will already know that Sailor fountain pens take a prominent place in my fascination with pens. No need to review my impressions of Sailor in general. Six different Sailor models are in constant rotation at and around my desk, but the 1911 Large is my never fail, always-a-joy fountain pen.

The 1911 Series was introduced by Sailor twenty-five years ago to mark the company’s foundation. Over the years, variations on the initial design have come out periodically, though it has not varied greatly. Of course, they’ve always had the great Nobuyoshi Nagahara designing the nibs, and that standard is unfailingly consistent. The chances are almost ninety-nine percent certain that a Sailor nib will give satisfaction right out of the box. Most of my Sailor nibs are unmodified and I’m happy with that. The medium 21k gold nib on my 1911 Large was modified to fit my preferences by John Mottishaw at Classic Fountain Pens, and he worked magic on that fountain pen. If anyone is considering a Sailor pen, I strongly recommend John at www.nibs.com.

Specifics on the 1911 Large…

MODEL NAME: 1911 Color 2021

NUMBER: 11-9201

MATERIAL: PMMA Resin

FILLING SYSTEM: Converter and cartridge

NIB: 21k gold in a wide range of sizes

The design of the pen is traditional and measures 5.5 inches capped, weighing 24 grams. It comes in yellow, blue or red, with gold trim and pocket clip. There are double bands on the cap, which has a rounded black top, minus the familiar Sailor anchor logo. Mine is yellow, and slightly reminiscent of the old 1928 Parker Duofold Mandarin.

I refer to my 1911 Large as the workhorse because it writes page after page, day after day without the smallest slip. The medium nib is very wet, and you would think it might guzzle ink, but that isn’t the case. The ink flows smoothly with good economy. I was writing a letter this morning that turned out to be several pages, and looking back on those pages at the end, I felt the pen deserved some praise. It lays down line after line, day in and day out, forever looking and feeling like the acme of fountain pen writing. Kind of wish I had the blue and red models as well.

A Treasure Out of Print

Two years ago I ordered a book from Classic Fountain Pens in Los Angeles, the place where nibster John Mottishaw does his fine work. I ordered the book only because it looked like an interesting read, and because I am a great fan of Pelikan fountain pens. The book is one called Pelikan Schreibgeräte by Jürgen Dittmer and Martin Lehmann, published in 2004 by H.F. Dunkmann GmbH & Co. As it turns out, it was a smart purchase, because not only is the book a ‘must have’ for any Pelikan fountain pen buff, but it has suddenly turned into a rare item. The idea was to add the link to Classic Fountain pens above for those readers interested in buying a copy of the book, but I found out there are none in stock, the German publisher is out of stock, and the book is out of print. So, if this short post and the included photos stir your interest… Well, keep your eyes out for a copy on the shelves of your nearby secondhand bookstore.

This is a large book of 188 pages which offer up almost anything you want to know about the Pelikan company, its history and development, and a complete illustrated guide to every pen made by the company from 1929 up to 2004. There is a full section on all limited edition pens, as well as special edition pens. Pages 138-181 are a comprehensive table showing the complete line of pens from 1929 to 1977, with pertinent facts about each, including the value of all vintage Pelikans. Also included is a very interesting chapter on the development of the fountain pen. The whole thing is chock full of tidbits about the company, the pens, and their advertising; a favorite part of the book for me is the abundance of old illustrations, posters and advertisements.

For those able to read German, the book will prove even more valuable, as it includes both the original German text on the left side, with English translation on the right. It is a strong and sturdy hardback publication, printed on good quality paper, and as mentioned above, full of very good illustrations. It measures 12 inches in height and 9.5 inches wide, which calls for some tall shelf space.

Hopefully, the publisher will bring out a new edition of the book before too much longer. A first edition came out in 1997, and it was seven years later that this second edition was published. Hopefully, we can look forward to a third edition in 2011.

Sailor in the Dumps

Time for me to growl a little about a troublesome fountain pen. Anyone who has read more than a couple of the posts on this blog will already know that I am a devoted fan of Sailor, avid for both their inks and their fountain pens. It has been a long time since I left the house without at least one Sailor pen in my pocket. I have six Sailor pens, and five of them are nothing short of the cat’s meow.

Oh, but that pesky Sailor 1911 Mid-Size can be a devil. It’s one I bought online three years ago at Classic Fountain Pens, Inc., located in Los Angeles. I had earlier purchased another 1911 from them, that one in the large size, and I was so pleased with the crafting of the nib, I immediately wanted another in a different color and size. In my experience with Classic’s nibster, John Mottishaw, he has always given me exactly what I asked for in a nib. In fact, I wouldn’t dream of putting any blame on John for the irritating nib on my 1911 Mid-Size.

Downstrokes are the problem, and as many as ten times on one page, the pen will skip. I’m not sure if you can see them clearly, but in the photo of the poem, I have indicated with a red dot places on the page where the pen skipped and I had to go back and re-write those letters. Well, seven times in the space of seventeen lines is too much for me. Considering my five other Sailor pens, even one time is too many. It happens only with the 1911 Mid-Size. I have taken the pen to a clinic where Nobuyoshi Nagahara took a look at it, made a few adjustments, and suggested that the 14k nib might be one reason for the problem. I didn't really understand that because I have steel nibbed pens that don’t skip, as well as a Sailor Professional Gear with a 14k nib that never skips. I have cleaned the nib as well as can be done safely, I have tried a dozen or more different inks, I have altered my grip and still the pen skips on the occasional downstroke.

Despite it all, I do like the Sailor 1911 Mid-Size, but the 14k M nib is giving me a headache. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I would welcome them.