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Which means the AI unit didn't recognize a standard space character (Unicode U+0020). So intelligent. I don't want to get on the bad side of the forum manners here, so I'm out.

Yep, that looks like it. I'm in the library so don't have it here; mine might be longer? But it might not. And the plug is exactly like yours. (So a Patrician would make sense: same era as the Man 100s).

I'm kind of the same way, Shandy. Here in the Salt Lake City area, the CLOSEST pen show is Denver in October. Distance ONE WAY is over 500 miles. That's 8 hours via I80 through southern Wyoming. Taking I70 is about the same distance but maybe slightly longer time wise. (flying is about 75 minutes). Then there is I80 to US 40, by far the prettiest but longer too. But you can stop in Jensen/Dinosaur at Dinosaur National Monument. The others LA, SF and Portland are all 200 miles or more farther away.

@stoen, @tacitus, the Pelican has returned to the nest. I rubbed both the cap top and the piston knob on my jumper, no smell at all. Here a photo of the barrel i soection window and feed. HTH

I’m fortunate to live about 90 minutes away from Dromgoole’s and they generally have a great selection of secondary market pens. Will let you know next time I see a nice urushi/maki-e. Might get you under that four figures. Appear to have similar tastes so I’ll not mention the Tarkay water color or the signed Dali lithograph or other art hanging on the walls LOL. Keep meaning to post here I recently re-read Sinclair Lewis’, “It Can’t Happen Here”. Flat scary.

Because this is primarily a discussion forum for fountain pen hobbyists and enthusiasts, about sharing information, opinions, and conjectures, and not about action or somehow securing or defending one's position or purchasing power in the market as a consumer. We're here to shoot the breeze, not to try to accomplish anything that would influence the brands. Part of trying to understand the landscape as an outsider with no power to steer is to throw ideas around and sound them off with others, without any hope of improving one's position with a few dollars to spend in the market. That is no answer, because the why has to be from Sailor's perspective, not yours. I was asking about scope, not perspective. Your (perhaps not) wanting any change is not part of any explanation of the motivation or rationale behind the company's actions, and that's the only “why?” that matters. Otherwise, a rhetorical “why?” demands a blunt brick-wall sort of reply from one's peers (as opposed to the company or industry in question) as members in the community of equal standing to set straight the understanding of the issues being discussed.

Hi @stoen, No DRP on the cap tops, just "Pelikan Gunther Wagner". The black one has a "Export" on the binde (it is actually possible to see it on the first photo above), but the green doesn't have it. Here are the pictures of the nibs (both are currently inked ).

Jacques Herbin Bleu Azur Ink Review # 234 --- 🧾 Description As of this date, all J Herbin inks are marketed as Jacques Herbin. Bleu Azur is a light, bright turquoise. It has decent lubrication and was pleasant with most nibs. I preferred it with F, M, and B. It would not be legible with Japanese and Western EF nibs, as it’s pale and harsh under some lights (normally, with finer nibs, lines are darker, but not in this case). It needs a wet pen, soft, wide nib, and white paper to shine. It was most pleasant on white paper, especially Iroful and Tomoe River 68gsm. It has no water resistance and is awful on copy paper. If I were to choose one turquoise from Herbin, it would be Bleu Calanque. --- 🧪 Chroma --- ✍️ Writing Samples (photos only) - Pens Used: Pilot F3A EF, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ stub 1.1), Kanwrite Desire I took only LED and daylight photos. Quotes: English translations provided by ChatGPT; they may differ from published translations. Rhodia “Light illuminates things, but it is shadow that gives them depth.” — Paul Cézanne, French painter Iroful “One must imagine the sky as a promise that begins again each morning.” — Albert Camus, French writer and philosopher Midori “In the blue of the sky there is a gentleness nothing can disturb.” — Victor Hugo, French writer and poet Tomoe River 68gsm “Each dawn is a birth, each blue sky a recovered innocence.” — Romain Rolland, French writer and Nobel laureate Hammermill “The sky, always the sky, reminds us that all things pass and all things begin again.” — André Gide, French writer and Nobel laureate Rhodia Iroful Midori Tomoe River Note: This is the 68 gsm paper, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews. Hammermill 20 lb copy paper Closeup 🔍 Comparison Col-O-ring swatch cards. Scans are approximative. --- 💧 Water Test --- 🎨 Artwork In my previous reviews there were several artworks (either skies or balloons with this ink). Here is one final art work with this ink. La Madrague Inspired by photographs of Brigitte Bardot at La Madrague on the Mediterranean coast, and moments with Roger Vadim. Jacques Herbin, Bleu Azur, Bouquet d'Antan, Kitty InkPot, Unstoppable Snake. Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook. --- - What I Liked: Descent lubrication, small bottles, easy to clean. Price availability. - What I Did Not Like: Paleness, fluorescent quality, lack of water resistance. - Writing Experience: Decent. 🧷 Ink Characteristics - Shading: Yes. - Ghosting: Yes. - Bleed Through: Yes. - Flow Rate: Wet - Lubrication: Decent. - Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. - Start-up: No problems. - Saturation: Pale. - Sheen: None. - Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. - Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice. - Staining (Pen): No. - Clogging: No. - Cleaning: Very easy - Water Resistance: None. --- 🛒 Availability - Available in 10/30 ml bottles, and cartridges. --- 💬 Closing Jacques Herbin has managed to capture the brightness of a summer vacation at the Mediterranean with this bright turquoise, which is perfect for those who like punchy colours. No fountain pens were harmed in preparing this review. Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier.

another order to report on: nibs from Kanwrite ordered on Feb 28, received here in the UK on March 16. so exactly like last time, 10 working days from start to finish, which is perfectly respectable imho. bravo Kanwrite!

In news expected for several months now, Sailor has just announced a dramatic list of price rises and changes to the product line-up. Effective April 19, 2026, most Sailor pens will be seeing prices rises of between 27 to more than 100 percent. Numerous currently available pens are being discontinued, and the nib line-up for specific models is being changed. Sailor’s 21k nib will be available only on the King of Pen Pro Gear and Pro Gear Standard, while the 1911 Large and 1911 Standard will be provided with 18k, 14k, or steel nibs, depending on the specific model. For now, we’re still able to offer existing prices on our remaining stock of these terrific pens. Orders are limited to pens and nibs in stock at the time you make your purchase. There are also still great bargains to be had on the pens made available through Sailor’s Anchor Drop program. If there is a Sailor pen you’ve been considering, now is the time to order – in most cases, we have just one or two pens remaining in stock, after which the pen will either be discontinued, or will not be available again until the price increases. You can see all the Sailor pens we have available here: https://pacificpenworks.com/product-category/pens/sailor/ We are an authorized Sailor retailer.

@Shandy -- I have found that if I check around, I can often also find places to stay in the general vinicity of the show site (depending on the show) that are less expensive than the site hotel is (often a LOT less expensive). If you know the dates of when the show is going to be, you can often shop around on the hotel booking sites for places that aren't too far a drive and are less expensive than the show site. My husband doesn't understand why I do that, instead of just staying at the site hotel, but of course staying someplace less expensive gives me more money to spend AT the show itself -- especially since I'm often having pens worked on or nibs tuned. For instance, at the B/W show, now that it's held near the airport, there are a LOT of places to stay that are close to the site hotel. And it turns out that while the place I stay at for that sometimes has issues (one year the elevator wasn't working) it's only a couple of blocks drive to the show site AND within walking distance of this AMAZING kabob place that someone on here recommended to someone else the year the show moved to the current site. And I saw that post and said, "Oooh -- that sounds good!" And looked the place up and it was literally the next building over from the place I was staying that first year I don't remember now who recommended the place, but the food is AMAZING and I get 3-4 meals out of just one bowl because I'm not a big eater anymore.... Just walk over, get take-out, and stick the leftovers in the room fridge and then toss some in the microwave for the next night's dinner (breakfast is included at the place I stay; and although I forgot this year until I was already on the road, I generally bring a cooler bag with yogurts for myself for lunch and stick them in the hotel fridge as well. Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

You just missed a pen show that's on the west coast - the LA show happens every February. There's also a show in San Francisco in August. FarmBoy here on FPN is connected with that one. The Pen Collectors of America keeps a pen show calendar for those who are interested.

I tried to extract the hex # and check it through: https://inkswatch.com/choice.html?hexColorChoice=9C87F8 It gave me mostly shimmer inks, and when it comes to pale, pastels, the algorithm has difficulty discerning the right colour. J Herbin Bleu Pervenche (Periwinkle Blue) is a turquoise byw. Instinctively I would go towards Asian inks and I would buy, a lot of samples. Traditionally, these ink might have below average lubrication. Buy a lot of samples until you can find the colour which please you and your pens: Here are a few: https://mountainofink.com/blog/sailor-nekoyanagi https://mountainofink.com/blog/vinta-maskara https://www.stiloestile.com/en/inks/bottled-inks/lennon-tool-bar-2025-autumn-limited-penghu-ink-bottle-30-ml Two European inks: https://mountainofink.com/blog/octopus-fluids-pastell https://mountainofink.com/blog/diamine-inkvent-2023-6-10 One American: https://mountainofink.com/blog/monteverde-purple-mist?rq=mist Check Yoseka: https://yosekastationery.com/collections/ink?filter.v.availability=1&filter.v.price.gte=0.00&filter.v.price.lte=120.00&filter.v.t.shopify.color-pattern=gid%3A%2F%2Fshopify%2FMetaobject%2F106045669589&page=2&sort_by=created-descending and Vanness and get as much of samples you can. And finally you can look into chromo-shading inks. But these demand specific conditions (wet pens, the right paper (Japanese) and lighting), and many of them are just marketing hype. Good luck and have fun, but don't expect to get the nuances of a flower in an ink. I've tried it and failed.

This morning, trying out a re-nibbed grey-marbled Pelikan 100N (mostly postwar, except possibly the cap), with J. Herbin Gris Galet. I restored this pen last year, including straightening a slightly bent 14k monoline script nib, which now writes very well -- but is also too broad and wet for everyday use for me. (It's not marked but writes like a broad or a very wet medium, maybe what Pelikan used to call a "MM.") I recently took the nib unit apart and replaced the 14k nib with with a F or EF "CN" nib, of which I picked up a few from Rolf Thiel inexpensively. (CN=chromium-nickel steel alloy; the grade isn't marked here either.) It writes very well and is pleasantly soft and springy, and the Gris Galet, new to me, is lovely too. It reads as a slate blue, or as a relatively saturated grey with a blue edge, rather than as a greyed-out blue, like some "blue-blacks." Finally, I can use and enjoy this!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DV--CufiIp7/ Unbelievable. The text from IG for those who don't have access to IG. From penboard.de 2026/3/17 Here is a crazy note about AI (Artful Idiocy?) and ebay. Jan Schubert is a prominent ebay seller, name berlin-collectible with more than 5000 pens on sale. For months now, ebay kept kicking out items like this ballpoint because their AI found them to be weapons. And today, they shut down his ebay shop. So now his business run by this lovely crew of 5 has been shut down... Lets hope some leftover human brain at ebay wakes up and reactivates his shop. Fingers crossed.

It is time to make a confession . . . I have finally decided to add a Parker to my collection after years of dismissing the brand. I have gone ahead and ordered myself what many here (and the late Queen) consider a must, the Parker 51. No doubt all the vintage-lovers here will gasp, tut, or grumble and mumble; mine will be plum, but not vintage plum.

Thank you. Some nice pens in use here today. @Amberjackthe Sheaffer is beautiful. And I’m in agreement on the nibs.

Top 'o' th' mornin' to ya, me friend! I used to want this black, but then realized I have about ten other blacks. Question my sanity, if you would. Quin, stay strong! That polar bear may also be an illusion. We hope. @LizEF, you make Tuesdays magical and fun... I always look forward to your review and story. Void Kitteh lookin' handsome as ever. 🐈‍⬛ An' here's a bit-o-green for the day. 🐍

Hello everyone! I’ve lurked for a while to find ink reviews on here, but now I feel as though I’ve amassed enough inks to start reviewing them myself, so I thought I’d formally join the forum! From my experience in Jakarta (or Indonesia, I guess) most people shop online for fountain pen equipment. Recently, though, I’ve been travelling to KL, Malaysia, pretty often, and so I’m experiencing The Utter Joys of Shopping For Inks In Person. I recently quit my job to be a full-time artist with my good friend as well, and while most of my work is done digitally, I do hope to eventually incorporate fountain pen stuff + watercolours very soon. I’m here to learn more from this lovely community, and hopefully, make some friends along the way, too! Thanks for reading this far

Only thing I have that comes close is Montblanc Masters of Art Homage to Jean-Pierre Renoir Bleu Outremer, but I think it's probably still not quite violet enough for you. I'll be interested to see what else turns up here.

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi This is review #381 in my series. Here's the YouTube video: Post-recording notes: I got this ink sample from Anderson Pens in November of 2024. In the vial, it's easy to see a purple dye. On paper, this is a neutral black, similar to a *lot* of the standard blacks. I chose a few for comparison and De Atramentis Document Black to show how black Take-sumi isn't. The microscope smear was dullsville. The base was a red-leaning purple, with a couple of dots of bright blue and numerous yellow-green "bubbles" scattered all around the edges. Cleaning was easy with plain water. You may need a few extra flushes just due to dye concentration. Zoomed in photo Screenshot Scan of Completed Review Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper) Line width (Roughly 305µm. The "I" in "Ink:". Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each. With 381 inks measured, the average line width is 299µm.) Swatch card comparison (If anything, all the blacks look a little too dark in their darkest areas and a little too "cool".) Void Comparison (The Void could not be bothered to pose for this picture. Also, he was kinda squished under his brother. Clearly, this ink is no match for The Void.) Previous Review: Yunjingtang Departing Imminently. Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap. Want to influence the inky sequence? Take the "next ink" poll. View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet. Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh? Find the whole story here. Or read Part 8: The Ice Fields Adventure. Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

I only received mine yesterday, which is ironic, because I was most likely the one who ‘enabled’ or ‘inspired’ others — mostly in the Facebook group of Aussie fountain pen hobbyists where I'm primarily active these days — to order the limited edition, but also the last to receive his/her order. (More details here, if you want to know.)

A feeler gauge of your chosen material and thickness, held in a model-maker's parallel clamp with about 1 ~ 2 mm protruding, is quite controllable. The clamp eliminates the flexiness of the bare feeler and serves as the handle. Working the feeler's edge on fine abrasive beforehand seems prudent to be sure the edge is smooth. For brass, one could use a jeweler's agate burnisher (cheap on AliExpress). Small brass sheets are sold by pen-tool suppliers here in the US, and they have all the problems of a feeler gauge, but worse: the sheet is way too big for control, and the edges are commonly cut up for retail using tinsnips or big scissors, judging by the edge curl and burrs I see. Better to cut your own from commercial (hobby-shop or machinist supply) brass sheet. Back to those glue tools -- are they steel? Are they smooth? They would seem to solve the control/handling problem.

Pilot Metropolitan/Kakuno nib: 3 - Even finer nibs feel like crayons to me, and they are too smooth. Platinum Preppy/Prefounte nib: 9 - I love my Platinum 0.2 nib. Just wish that it were a bit less smooth and a bit broader. Lamy Safari/Al-star nib: 7 - Good nibs, too broad for me even in extra-fine. As someone here wrote years ago, if I recall, they tend to have an italic slant. I put a Lamy gold nib in an Al-Star. I liked it very much for a while, then grew weary of the slant and wanted a finer nib. TWSBI Eco/Eco-T nib: 7 - I liked the nib on the 580 quite a bit. Crisp, precise. But I could never re-assemble the 580 after cleaning it, no matter how many times I watched the video. So that nib goes unused.

May I take this thread on to the model 743, which jmccarty has already mentioned? I have been using my 743+FA combination for several years now and, back when discussing the FNF's ebonite feed modification, I wrote several times about how pleased I was by the modification -- after having been on the verge of selling said pen because of frustration with hard starts and tramlining. Well, I have now decided that the FA nib flexes more than when I first had it (do nibs in fact "break in"?) and having in the past also stated that I thought it flexed almost as much as any of my vintage Pelikans, I now have to modify that opinion and say that this nib <does> flex as beautifully and easily as any of my Pelikans! Vintage Watermans? Erm -- not sure; but I have grown to love this nib and I reach for it every day. Anyone else got an opinion? Do you have an FA nib, jmcc? My hand-writing isn't beautiful; but here is a sample: