All Activity

Apparently it was the biggest manufacturer of ink in the old East Germany and became state run. After the fall of the Berlin Wall the company was effectively dissolved, and one retired gentleman and one younger former employee kept the business going until a decade or so ago. Octopus bought the brand name as it had 200 years of history behind it, and because they operate from (or near by) the former site. I say apparently because I haven't verified it all- it was present on a couple of the ink reviews. At least two of the Barock inks look to be shading inks- ones from the 1910 (art deco era) range.

I just bought 3 Chinese inks, one is 久久 Blue, another blue black that is too blurry in the picture to read, and a red shimmer ink from the tropical fish series. Trying to find the perfect red is harder than expected.

Thank you ☺️!

leading him to

Following the last 14 types of peak grip parts, I also started developing the Ultem grip section (ebonite feeder compatible). Because of limited materials this time, I will limit the types to less than 10. The grip part below is unpolished. This is how it looks like without ink. Below is what it looks like after it's filled. I think the internal appearance will change over time, but this is roughly how it is. Since Ultem is semi transparent after machined, For the first time in my fountain pen research, I observed the ebonite feed flow. It was very fascinating. If you look at the video below, you can see the air exchange. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M35-uzWixqc&t=6s

which faded already

Great colorful pictures @roshpens

Thank you very much! It will for sure help. I have ordered a brush and ink. I will participate soon as well. I do like that sketch too.😊

I was so excited to try out the Ritma and initially thought the Gala might be better for smaller hands. However, they both have the same issue with the nib section. I love the magnetic cap, but uncapping tends to loosen the nib section ever so slightly that I find myself having to constantly tighten the section before I write. This makes me sad because I love the pen construction. The overall smooth, heavy metal, uniform barrel size also makes me death grip the pen. This leaves my hand achy, and my finger callous irritated. I have to consciously make an effort not to death grip this pen where with other pens (Kaweco sport, perkeo, lamy safari, pilot metropolitan, sailor PGS, etc to name a few) I don't have this death grip tendency. With the Gala this death grip tendency is worsened with the smaller diameter and causes hand cramping. I love the omniflex nibs on both, but the overall design, weight and section issues make me not want to use the pens anymore. That makes me sad.

1.3ml. nib size is irrelevant to ink capacity.

@clint1Were you shopping at a Montblanc boutique? Or at an authorised Montblanc dealer that also sells other brands of pen? The customer experience is sometimes pleasanter at a pen shop than at a Montblanc boutique, sad to say. However, a Montblanc boutique should offer a complimentary nib exchange through their service department within 6 weeks of the pen purchase, if the nib does not suit, and if the nib is still in mint condition (no scratches, marks, or other wear). If one merely dips the nib in ink (rather than filling the pen via the piston); uses only a soft microfibre cloth to very gently wipe the nib free of excess ink; writes briefly to determine the nib’s line width output; thoroughly flushes the nib and feed under running water until the water flowing from the nib and feed is clear and colourless, showing that ink traces have been removed; allows the pen to dry; and then very gently wipes the nib with a soft microfibre cloth for a final polish, taking care not to scratch the (soft) gold or rhodium-coated surfaces; if one can follow all these steps, the nib should remain in mint condition and the Montblanc boutique should accept the nib for a complimentary nib exchange. There’s a great deal of “should’s” in these paragraphs, however, so it is best to confirm that the boutique or shop will honour Montblanc’s complimentary nib exchange program before moving forward with the purchase. Best wishes, and please let us know how you get on.

@mosh_2k7Did this lot exclud the magnifying glass case?

@mosh_2k7This shows the lasting popularity of this fully engraved skeleton pen, and the high regard in which it is held by pen enthusiasts.

with pink ink

That is correct, according to the information in the PDF file.

Actually only the dot grid is available as 160 pages. Blank is just 96.

I didn't know Barock was an East German brand name. I found a bottle in a castle shop, and thought it a dip pen ink...so it didn't seem to do much....and it either turned bad after 5-7 years or I just decided to make place. I did not put that in a fountain pen. I chase shading inks....and Barock didn't as far as I can remember or it didn't shade in a real flexible dip pen. .................. 4 inks for €22 seems a good deal...

Adding 3 more sets. The latest experiment was done on a different paper that better presents all ink properties. I discovered after the third experiment that the lined paper does not display sheen at all and is so-so for shade. BPC 2 BPC 3 BPC 4

Speaking of impulsive purchases:https://pen-venture.com/products/taccia-hiroshige-ukiyoe-set just landed in my basket...

Somehow I did it again and managed to buy too many Royal Blue inks. It's far from my favourite blue hue but nevertheless useful in broad nibs. In any case, it gave me the opportunity to compare them. The first picture is of what I wrote on a scrap of Lalo 100g paper. It's not a great picture but you can probably see that there's not much difference between Montblanc, Pelikan 4001 and Faber-Castell Königsblau. Pilot Blue, which was added for comparison, is similar but yet slightly more blue (apologies for the tautology but I can't put it otherwise). Also note that the unlabelled cotton swab at the bottom is Pilot Blue. Then I folded the paper, so that only the right part remained visible and left it exposed to the spring sun for a month. The second photograph shows the deterioration of all inks but especially of Montblanc Royal Blue and, surprisingly, Pilot Blue. Pelikan and its presumed sibling Faber-Castell fared slightly better. Finally, I put a wet finger across the paper and then blotted it with a tissue. All inks but Pilot Blue were affected. Bottom line: everything as expected, although I thought that Pilot Blue was more UV resistant.

in Uncial script

Just cents different now? Was 20% less than Octopus when I looked, with the Classic inks. I've not seen Octopus in stores, but I've heard that chains here in Germany now stock their inks. 👀 Have you tried any of their Barock branded inks?

Myrtie Hugunin? That name sounds so cool, I would probably keep the name on the pen. 😂

Oops. Dunno how this happens. Sometimes I bid low and accidently buy a pen that needs to be fixed up. Sellers photo. I'm hoping I can carefully sand out the name on the side. Medium nib. I love my "51" Special, figured I should get a gold nib, and a vacumatic. I shouldn't need anymore 51s after this, right?

I can picture it, lol. Sounds like a color I found at Five Below a couple of years back.