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I have never seen a review of the Caran d’Ache blue lacquer Varius. I think this pen is a great addition to people who wants to know more about the lacquer version of this Caran d'Ache model. This is my first fountain pen review and I hope to write more reviews for the fountain pen community. Please feel free to comment on this post. I hope to contribute more to the fountain pen community. I will like to thank Sbre Brown, FP geeks, and the Pen Habit for getting me started on fountain pen reviews. First impression This pen is something special. The first thing that catches the eye is the blue lacquer. From what I can tell, it is a navy or dark blue. I will argue this is the prettiest of the lacquered Varius because the color really contrasts well with the silver plating. The color reminds me of the staedtler product with the pencils and erasers, which I used throughout school. I just love lacquer and always wanted to own a pen made with the material. When people think of lacquer, they think of Nakaya, Sailor, or Namiki. I am pretty sure they never thought of this Swiss brand. score 5 out of 5 Appearance This is a very thin pen which is a characteristics of many Caran d'Ache pens. They are usually very thin and a gripping section that is even thinner than the pen body. I usually have very big pens. My everyday carry is a Lamy Al-star and my biggest pen is a Homo Sapien Bronze. But the blue and silver body will make anyone fall in love with this pen. The pen body is hexagonal with the beautiful Caran d'ache labeled cap perfectly aligned to the 6 sided blue and silver body. The hexagonal cap has smooth edges capped a cylinder top with the words Caran d'ache and the logo CdA. I got to admit that Swiss engineering make this pen aesthetically pleasing and very precise. Well done Caran d'Ache. The clip is a very functioning that can easily clip to any shirt and even jean pockets. Tension of this clip is just enough to secure the pen while having enough give to operate it with relative easy. The metal cap is a fingerprint magnet. I personally have no problem with it, but some people certainly do. If you hate fingerprints on your pen, I would not recommend this pen score 5 out of 5 Size/ weight The pen capped at 5¼ inches and uncapped at 5 inches. Capped, this pen stands at 6½ inches. The diameter of this pen at its largest section at ½ inch and the smallest section at ¼ inch. I will say this is a very decent size pen, but the section is a little small for my hands. I will hold it a little further back. I can still write with this pen for long sessions. This is a heavy pen. It is a smaller pen, but the metal certainly make this a very substantial pen on the hands. I like heavy pens so I definitely like the weight of this pen. I will advise this pen to be uncapped because it is a little back heavy when its capped. Without the cap, this pen is extremely well balanced. score 4 out of 5 Filling mechanism This is a standard/ international cartridge converter pen which will have some people groan. I personally have a power filler visconti and while I enjoyed it, its not too upsetting for some pens to have with cartridge converter. For the retail price, I definitely expect this pen to have a piston filler. I understand that the company might not want to put in a piston filling mechanism because this pen is pretty small with a small piston knob will certainly make this pen difficult to operate. score 3.5 out of 5 Nib The pen is nothing without the nib. This is a 18K Medium nib with a plastic feed. Decorated with the beautiful scroll work, this is a very small nib. It writes smoothly when you write on its sweet spot. It has a preference on how you hold it. If you angle the pen towards you to admire the nib design, the nib will become scratchy. I have to adapt to its sweet spot, but it was not hard to figure it out. This pen has a lot of tooth so you definitely feel like writing with a fountain pen. This pen writes like a true European medium. I have compared the Pilot Vanishing point and the Visconti Homo Sapien. The VP writes just a tad bit thicker Varius with the gushing Homo Sapien writing the broadest. It is very consistent with flow when I filled this pen with Waterman Serenity blue. It only skips once or twice after I had this pen, but once I started writing it is just magical. This pen does not flex well, while it can give some line variation, it is a pretty small difference between flex and unflex. I will not use this pen for any spencerian script. Score: 4 out of 5 Price At retail price of over $1115.95 at gold Spot, this pen is MORE THAN the Montblanc 149 and that is a piston filler. I saw this pen at the back room of Fountain Pen Hospital for $495 used. I am screaming inside because this pen is certainly NOT worth $1000+ dollars. The writing experience plus the blue lacquer is just not worth $1000. Luckily, I bought this pen off an auction on Ebay used for about $300. I will say this pen is a steal for me. The owner really took care of this pen and I will treasure it like its previous owner. Retail: 0 out of 5 Me: 5 out of 5 Conclusion It is not everyday that someone can find this pen for the price I got it. The color just POPs. I am really impressed by the design. It is a beautiful Swiss design and I am proud to say I found my accidental grail pen. Here in the U.S., not a lot of people appreciate Caran d’Ache due to price and its not a Montblanc, Visconti, nor a Pelikan. I think I will looke into Caran d’ache more often in the future assuming the price is right. Score 4.417 out of 5 Total

Many months ago I found in a second-hand market in Genoa, a fountain pen branded Caran d'Ache, in perfect external conditions and equipped with its cartridge converter so, mostly attracted by the prestige of the brand, I bought it: I remember I spent about 20 euros. I cleaned it with the usual blend of dish soap and warm water, rinsed, dried, inked and go ... argh ... the bold nib - a size I am not used to - skipped wildly and hopelessly. I thought it was a matter of dry ink residues inside, so I cleaned it away and filled with the not less usual warm water and 10% ammonia blend and leaved it to its destiny the whole night. At morning, I rinsed and inked it again ... no change. Really upset by the waste of money (I am genoese, after all!), I set it aside. Some days ago, trying to tidy up the box of disposal pens, I noticed it ... pretty nice, after all ... so I picked it up and started trying to figure out what Caran d'Ache model it is; I tried on producer's web site, without success. I am posting here some pictures, wondering if there is anyone that can help me identify the pen model (pictures can be clicked to zoom): The pretty massive bold nib: Moreover, the clip seems to be strangely arched: can someone tell me if that is its correct shape? Many thanks Sergio

For the last couple of months, I have been searching for the right blue black for my writing needs: it needed to be wet, smooth, dark without looking black and as saturated as possible while still rinsing out easily (with water only) from a vintage celluloid pen. I had tried every shade of dark blue and blue black from my usual go-to brands Herbin, R&K, and Diamine and was ready to attempt mixing my own ink using the recipe of Waterman Blue, Black and Purple that girlieg33k posted in a thread on this site, when my last two blue black samples arrived from the Goulet Pen Company: Caran d’Ache Magnetic Blue and Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite. This was my first Caran d’Ache ink and my second ink from Edelstein. (I recently tried Topaz and was disappointed for two reasons: 1. I was expecting the Edelstein line to be on the wetter side and 2. Topaz, when dry, was nowhere near as vibrant as what I thought a color named after the gemstone should look like....) Comparison In the wet nib of the 1950s 146 and on Rhodia paper, Magnetic Blue and Tanzanite look very similar with Tanzanite being a little more saturated. Both inks were well behaved and started immediately even when resting the pen uncapped for a minute. Both colors neither feathered nor bled through even when dripped in heaping blobs on the page. Yet, the experience of writing with both inks differed greatly. Magnetic Blue Magnetic Blue reminded me of many of the Montblanc inks I’ve used that look beautiful on the page but that don’t suit my heavier hand. Don’t get me wrong; writing with the ink was not unpleasant, but the ink’s average flow and smoothness failed to meet the expectations I had for a $30 bottle of ink. I did not have the magnetic attraction to this ink that I wanted to have and after playing with it for 20 min I was more than ready to empty it out of my pen. I will say that Magnetic Blue was extremely easy to clean. Tanzanite I was a little nervous about filling Tanzanite in my pen because the pigments clung somewhat menacingly to the walls of the plastic Goulet vials. But, I put my trust in Pelikan's track record and took the plunge. The moment the nib touched the page I was blown away. (Tanzanite performed very differently from its sister ink Topaz.) The ink has a perfect flow that does not feel runny or slippery but rather provides just the right amount of smoothness to allow a nib to flex and dance across the page with ease. If I had to sum up this ink in one word it would be: LUSCIOUS. Unlike with Magnetic Blue, the attraction was definitely there; this was not an ink that I could pull myself away from and rinse out of my pen in order to try a sample from one of the other color families I ordered. Needless to say, I used every drop of Tanzanite before cleaning the pen. So, did the ink pass the cleaning test? YES! In fact, it rinsed out just as easily as Magnetic Blue. Bonus: I thought I was losing it when I started to see a very subtle reddish shimmering halo around some of the letters written in Tanzanite. A day later, I could still see something there. This sheen was nowhere near as intense as the sun-kissed golden puddles of Sargasso Sea, but warranted further investigation. I dipped a q-tip in what was left of the vial and applied it to the page and am pleased to report that it was no mirage; around the edges of the wetter areas the ink formed a coppery sheen! Final Verdict Based on my needs, Tanzanite is the clear winner of the two and the closest ink out of all the samples I’ve tried to my ideal blue black. I will be picking up a bottle before the fall semester starts and am excited to finally have a blue black ink to add to my rotation of colors for this pen!

I have discovered two brand new bottles of discontinued Caran d'Ache ink (they probably sat there in the store for a few years, on the edge of the shelf partly covered, mostly out of sight) Amazon http://fp-ink.info/colorcard/601.png and Storm http://fp-ink.info/colorcard/375.png Now is the question, do they have any worth for collectors? Because I can't find anything about them on eBay or the likes, probably not much left. If they got a significant value increase from what I bought them for I might consider selling them off again, otherwise probably use them myself as they are my favorite colors green&purple. There was a bottle of saffron and carbon too but the bottles are pretty pricy and I'm not a big fan of orange/black so if it's nothing with value then I'd be stuck with those

"Touring" on eBay today, I found a listing for a Hexagonal series Caran D'Ache ballpoint pen and fountain pen (the former brown lacquer and the latter maroon lacquer). Scrolling down the page to view the many posted pictures, I was saddened to find some pictures of the nib showing neglect, lack of cleaning, and lack of care. As the owner of similar Hexagonal series Caran D'Ache fountain pens (black lacquer and maroon lacquer), it makes me sad to see such a lovely nib encrusted with dirt due to neglect. You can check out the listing at http://www.ebay.com/itm/F440-Vintage-hexagonal-Laque-De-chine-Caran-Dache-Fountain-Pen-Pen-In-Box-/281364349380?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item41829f41c4. Unfortunately, this is not the first neglected fountain pen that I have seen on eBay. It is sad that some folks do not seem to appreciate and take care of the lovely pens that they own.

Earlier this year, there was a seller on eBay who had a listing for a Caran D'Ache fountain pen. However, the listing was truly for a Colibri fountain pen with a steel nib which was put into a Caran D'Ache box. I contacted the seller about the pen to inform him of the problem and he replied with a kind thank you for the information. Yet, he continued the listing. Fortunately, no one purchased the pen. Then, a few weeks later, the same listing was posted again. I contacted the seller again and, this time, he tried to claim that Caran D'Ache made the pen. So, I found the pen on the Colibri site and sent him the information about his pen as well as introduced the seller to the difference between a Caran D'Ache pen and a Colibri pen. Again, he kindly thanked me and continued the listing. Fortunately, once again, no one purchased the pen. The seller, yet AGAIN, listed the pen in the same manner a few weeks later. Since the original listing had irked me so much, I had been watching for the second and, then, third listing of this pen. We had yet another round of "this is not a Caran D'Ache pen" with the same thank you and continued listing of the pen. Sooooooooo, since the seller had reposted and continued this fraudulent listing, now, three times, I reported the listing as, this third time, there were folks, other than me, watching the listing. The listing was removed. Unfortunately, with final exams and grading demanding my attention, I was not able to check eBay to determine if the pen was listed to trap unsuspecting buyers of holiday gifts. My habit has always been to contact sellers whose listings contain errors/problems. This has always been an enjoyable experience which has resulted in several eBay friends. However, last fall when the above described pen was posted on eBay, providing correction and appropriate information did not seem to work, prompting me to report the listing to the powers-that-be of eBay. How do you deal with incorrect/problematic auction listings?

Hello everybody, I need your expert help with identifying a few pens. A few years back I have received some pens made by Caran d'Ache as payment. Since I lack the knowledge to identify them on the internet and find their value, I hope someone here might be able to help. I am attaching a few pictures and am thankful for any help I can get. Thanks, David

Hello to everybody, I'd like to introduce you my Caran d'Ache Varius Metwood that I have had for three years. The body of the fountain pen is rosewood, while the cap is silver plating with rhodium-coating. This is a detail in the cap with the symbol of the brand. Nib B of gold of 18 k with rhodium. The filling system is either by cartouche or converter. Right now, it is filled with a Caran d'Ache ink named Storm. It writes pretty smoothly, and the nib is wet. Nevertheless, there is no line varation because the nib is stiff. The paper is Kimberly Classic of 90 gr. Greetings!

Ok, this might be a strange question, but I'm hoping that someone can help me out. I recently bought an empty Caran d'Ache bottle from the Goulets because I think the bottle is the bee's knees but I'm not really sold on any of the inks. When I got it, I had a bear of a time cleaning out the cap because there was some serious corrosion that had occurred. My guess is that the all metal cap does not agree well with getting ink splashed on it, perhaps a fatal error for an ink bottle. Anyway, I got most of the corrosion cleaned off with a q-tip dunked in vinegar, but there's still some rough spots. I know that it will likely get worse and then I'll have to clean it again and again. I hesitate to put any kind of chrome polish or anything on it, since I don't know how it will react with the ink inside. Thus, my question: Would putting a thin layer of silicone grease on the threads inside the cap protect them for being further corroded? The bottle also does not screw on super smoothly, likely due to the metal on glass action, so I'm sure a little grease would help that too... Thanks in advance for any wisdom! :-)

Hello! I'm new to this site, please bear with me. I was recently given a new Caran d'Ache ballpoint pen as a graduation present, which was awesome! I then had to travel to Brasil (I'm from Peru) and just took the pen with me (not the case nor its guarantee). However, I had the misfortune to let it slip from my hands when I was about to sign a paper and it fell down with its tip first. Now the pen won't write properly, it is intermittent and the retractable function will only work when I wish the tip of the pen to appear. When I try to hide it, it just stays there.. I don't know if I did the right thing but I pushed the tip into the pen so it won't get any more damage (that's how I know I can make the tip appear but not hide it when I turn the upper part a bit). I tried to look for an image of my pen but I don't seem to find any so I'll describe it: it is a ballpoint pen, retractable, has 2 parts the lower part is red with the point silver and the upper part is silver with vertical lines that with it a bit of texture, in order to make the tip appear or dissapear you have to turn the upper part a bit to the left/right. Hope you can help me, any advices regarding what is the best thing I can do will be extremely appreciated

Anyone know the current price of this caran dache gold 1010 limited edition pen?

New here. Have always had a fondness for fountain pens and started using them early in life. Grew up in the next city block over from original headquarters of Montblanc in Hamburg. Came here to have a question answered regarding a T.S. Dupont Classique pen I own.

Almost 5 months ago I "designed" and had this pen case tailor-made for me: http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/mmmcosta/Watches/PenCase_zps27acfdc3.jpg Here's the story: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/245327-tailor-made-pen-case/ Earlier today the cartridge went empty - in the small side pocket, a spare was available for replacement. Best! Marcelo

http://www.iguanasell-pics.com/photos/logos/fpn_logo_45_45.png See all our items @ FPN Caran d'Ache Ecridor XS Chevron Fountain Pen - Silver - 0996.286 Brand New in Box - Warranty by authorised Dealer - Free Shipping CHARACTERISTICS: Brand Caran d'Ache Description Caran d'Ache Fountain Pen Finish Silver Filling System cartridge filling system Nib Steel Closure System Click action Dimensions (capped/uncapped) 10.7 cm (4.2") / 9.3 cm (3.7") Line Ecridor XS Chevron Reference 996286 Retail Price 207€ / $270 / £175 Special features: A very nice Caran d'Ache fountain pen. Small size comes in handy for carrying around and sketching. Silver plated with a subtle pattern engraved. Comes with original box and papers. Lifetime guarantee. CONDITIONS: The item is brand new in original box and comes with all papers and warranty stamped at the moment of the purchase by authorised dealer List price: $270 - Contact us for a personalized offer Payment Methods: Paypal Credit card Google Checkout Money Order (We have Bank accounts in the US as well as in Europe) Cash on Delivery (Euro Countries) [*]Free Expedited Shipping (UPS or Fedex) to the US, Canada and European Union. Other countries, $18 (shared shipping costs) ABOUT US: We are an international company with more than three (3) years of experience in e-commerce, duly registered in the US and Europe. We are present on the most important Marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon, ecommerce sites: shopping.com, yahoo shopping... and our own website You can take a look at our eBay feedback here or read the opinions of other forum members: 1 , 2, or 3 CONTACT: To contact us, just write us a pm, or send us an email to info@iguanasell.com http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-1.jpg http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-2.jpg http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-3.jpg http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-4.jpg http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-5.jpg http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-6.jpg http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-7.jpg http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-8.jpg http://iguanasell-pics.com/photos/E019/Caran-d-Ache-Ecridor-XS-Chevron-Fountain-Pen-Silver-0996.286-996286-9.jpg CONDITIONS: The item is brand new in original box and comes with all papers and warranty stamped at the moment of the purchase by authorised dealer List price: $270 - Contact us for a personalized offer Payment Methods: Paypal Credit card Google Checkout Money Order (We have Bank accounts in the US as well as in Europe) Cash on Delivery (Euro Countries) [*]Free Expedited Shipping (UPS or Fedex) to the US, Canada and European Union. Other countries, $18 (shared shipping costs) ABOUT US: We are an international company with more than three (3) years of experience in e-commerce, duly registered in the US and Europe. We are present on the most important Marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon, ecommerce sites: shopping.com, yahoo shopping... and our own website You can take a look at our eBay feedback here or read the opinions of other forum members: 1 , 2, or 3 CONTACT: To contact us, just write us a pm, or send us an email to info@iguanasell.com More Caran d'Ache pens on our website Thanks for looking! ----------------------------- Website: www.iguanasell.com Join our newsletter for special promotions and news http://static.anuncios.ebay.es/images/dailydeals/dm/icon_facebook_24.png Follow us on Facebook http://static.anuncios.ebay.es/images/dailydeals/dm/icon_twitter_24.png Follow us on Twitter: @Iguana_sell

Greetings! I wanted to share my experience shopping on pensinasia.com with you. Almost two years ago, I won the auction for a Caran D'Ache Varius China Blue ballpoint on eBay. Since then, I have been looking for the matching pencil. Unfortunately, I had not found one in any area pen stores and the two frequently listed on eBay have been overpriced. So, of course, time has passed and, now, the China Blue Varius has been discontinued (no longer listed on the Caran D'Ache site). Disappointed by this as I still wanted to purchase the matching pencil for my lovely ballpoint pen, I renewed my efforts to find someone from whom to purchase the pencil. I contacted several brick and mortar (B & M) stores in the United States as well as online retailers to inquire about purchasing the pencil. Folks at all the B & M stores informed me that the China Blue Varius had been discontinued, adding that I would be lucky to find a pencil as folks do not usually purchase high-end pencils these days. Several online retailers that I contacted told me the same thing, and other online retailers include statements such as "This is a special order item and may take up to 2 - 3 weeks for shipping." As I continued to look for the pencil, I found the pencil listed on redfingerprint.com. Although a bit wary, I decided to buy the pencil since it was listed as being in-stock and the price was reasonable. So, I made my purchase, selected PayPal as my method of payment, and replied to the order confirmation email, requesting a PayPal invoice so that I could pay. After that, since I did not receive any communication from redfingerprint.com, I sent another reply to the order confirmation email, requesting a PayPal invoice again. Since I still did not receive a reply, I decided to cancel the order a day later as I had tried to communicate by email and via the site without receiving a reply. I did not receive a reply to this second email until three days later, and I was informed that the pencil was not in stock and could not be ordered from redfingerprint.com's various suppliers. From there, I moved to pengallery.com as the pencil was listed as being in stock and folks on FPN had mentioned pengallery.com as a good online pen store. This time, I placed my order and paid immediately via PayPal as this was an option. I immediately received a confirmation for my order and a receipt for my purchase. Unfortunately, two days later, I received an email informing me that the pencil was no longer in stock and that it would take about a month for the pencil to be order and shipped from Switzerland. Since the pencil is no longer listed on the Caran D'Ache site, I did not believe that it would be possible to order the pencil from Caran D'Ache and I canceled my order. Lai at pengallery.com treated me well and processed a full refund rapidly. So, still without the lovely Caran D'Ache China Blue pencil, I continued my search. Since I did not want to send inquiries to retailers who had already informed me that they did not have or could not order the pencil, I checked my lists, surprised to find that I had not inquired at pensinasia.com. Since I had read many positive (glowing, actually) reviews of purchases from Tay at pensinasia.com, I emailed Tay to inquire about the possibility of purchasing the pencil and, since it never hurts to ask, I inquired if he might be willing to match the redfingerprint.com price for the pencil (sending the hyperlink to the listing of the pencil on the redfingerprint.com site with my inquiry). Tay was great: not only was the pencil in stock but also Tay was willing to match the price! Even better, Tay processed my order that very day and sent me a PayPal invoice so that I could pay immediately -- I liked that a lot since I prefer to pay immediately. : ) So, my order was processed, I paid for the pencil, and I received confirmation of both my order and my payment IMMEDIATELY. Although Tay said that he would ship on Friday (I placed the order on Wednesday), Tay shipped on Thursday! So, not only is Tay SUPER organized but also Tay ships FAST!!!! You might wonder if it is possible to top this -- the answer is yes, it is possible as Tay used Priority EMS shipping, sent me a hyperlink to the speedpost.com.sg tracking site and the tracking number for the pencil, and Tay sent me a picture of my dream pencil with a hyperlink to a page on pensinasia.com that has additional pictures of the pencil!!! Better than all this is Tay's great communication -- friendly, efficient, and always timely and greatly appreciated!!!!!!!! : ) So, I "watched" online as my new pencil traveled from Singapore to the United States in five days -- only three business days as this included a weekend. Upon receiving the package on Tuesday, I was pleased to see that it was well wrapped and the Caran D'Ache box was inside another box for protection. With anticipation and delight, I carefully opened the outer package and then the outer box to access the Caran D'Ache box within. Then, I opened the Caran D'Ache box to reveal my new, gorgeous Caran D'Ache China Blue Varius pencil within -- breathtaking and a perfect companion for my ballpoint, forming a gorgeous pen and pencil set! Tay is MAGNIFICENT -- kind and helpful -- providing GREAT service and a PERFECT purchase! I am grateful to all of you who have shared your pensinasia.com purchase experiences on FPN as you let me know that pensinasia.com is a reputable site with a caring seller -- Tay. I am DELIGHTED with pensinasia.com and APPLAUD Tay as a FANTASTIC seller -- THANK YOU, Tay!!!!!! Below is my lovely Caran D'Ache China Blue Varius pen and pencil set. How LOVELY!! Enjoy!

Dear all, since there is not much mention of this pen on FPN I thought I’d put a post together. I considered making it a review, but there is no way I could be objective. http://imageshack.us/a/img29/966/1f7o.jpg After a long production run the Hexagonal has recently been deleted from the catalogue; indeed, actual production would have already ceased a year or three ago. The Hexagonal, and particularly the Ecaille Chinese Lacquer finish, represents an older time and philosophy, as well as a slightly outdated aesthetic. The gold and maroon seems rather 1980s, not a finish being produced today on any other pen that comes to mind; it would be way too small for the overwhelming majority of modern fancy pen buyers (personally I enjoy using a variety of pen sizes), when this price bracket must translate to a “full size” or “oversize” pen, whether that be current production or vintage; and certain details would be done in a very different way had the pen been designed in even the last ten years, such as the basic, straight clip, which would have to be more stylized and symbolize something, or the screwed end piece of the barrel, held in with a Loctite-like substance, which although means the barrel can be accessed from both ends in case of a service issue I have also seen it fall out without much more than normal use (but not on this particular one, which I’ve had a few months). http://imageshack.us/a/img585/8232/lkte.jpg It is a pen, however, that adapted the CdA trademark hexagon shape from the original Ecridor mechanical pencil into a product aimed at distinct advancement, both as a consumable, writing tool, and as something emblematic of the rise of CdA into new markets, much like the Ecridor pencil had taken the hexagonal shape and advanced the company beyond their fixpencil, an advancement of the basic wooden pencil. It is a pen that company owner and former president Mr. Hubscher is very proud of. Mr. Hubscher has a steel trap mind and a remarkable memory for what Caran d’Ache has made or even considered over the past 50+ years, and the Hexagonal, he believes, is the pen they “got just right”, across the spectrum of design, style and function. It is also my favourite Caran d’Ache pen (although admiring it for a long time, I have only recently got one). For me this pen is truly second to none in terms of attention to detail, not in that they got spot on a signature of the historical figure it is dedicated to, or that they used the fibres from a military coat from a battle 400 years ago, but that they went to the trouble of filling the rectangles on the gripping section with lacquer. They went to the trouble of writing a few details about the pen under the clip, which would not be visible to anyone but the owner. And it is hard to describe, but the way the barrel screws on exudes quality, the kind of exacting standards you would get on a top of the line pen in the 1950s and which manufacturers seem to have been unable to replicate on modern and contemporary pens. All of the fit and finish is superb, from the way the barrel screws onto the section, or the sublime click when the two hexagons of the cap and barrel match up like puzzle pieces. This is a pen crafted along the lines of an older, more understated philosophy of manufacture, in which all of these aspects were not “features”, but simply part of a quality, over-engineered product. Although the rich, high-quality gold plating and totally unique tortoiseshell coloured Laque de Chine are not exactly understated in appearance, it is details like the fact that the manufacturer’s name is discreetly tucked away under the clip that hark from an era when these fancy pen makers made a “quality” good, rather than a “luxury” good – even my beloved Caran d’Ache. Also written under the clip are the words “Gold Plated G” – why this would need to be written on the pen at all I have no idea. The gold plating throughout is stunning, feeling almost “soft” to the touch; in addition to their other strengths, I have always found CdA gold, silver and rhodium plating to be the best in the business. There are a few curious oddities with my particular pen. One is the fact that it carries the current and older logo on the same pen, the older “CdA” sitting in the deckle in the clip, and the more stylized, newer logo laser engraved on the cap top. In addition to this the hand applied Chinese lacquer of the cap and barrel is not exactly a close match – the barrel is darker with finer detail, the cap lighter with no definite lines. Why these things are the case for mine I do not know for certain, but I can only speculate that it was one of the very last of the line, and was made up of remaining parts they had. It is all factory correct – I was there when the sealed plastic slip was opened for the first time. While this particular example is the one I have seen the most inconsistencies on, there have been others – I have seen a rhodium and carbon fibre FP with the newest logo on the clip, but no engraving at all on the cap top, and I have seen another FP (I forget the finish) with the newest nib but no screw threads in the section for the screw-in converter. While mine actually does have screw threads the current, screw thread converter is too big for the barrel, and the barrel does not screw on with it in place (it came from the factory with no converter in place, so evidently they had the same problem). I’ve fitted a slim Waterman converter which works well. http://imageshack.us/a/img12/9727/5qoq.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img546/9086/xpfe.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img716/4821/0eqf.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img14/7130/fdtt.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img27/5501/fr34.jpg The performance was not exactly what I would have liked straight from the factory – the newer style small (i.e. non-Leman) 18ct nib seem to always need a bit of further polishing of the tipping material, and the Broad size always seems to have “baby’s bottom”. Mine is a Fine, albeit a rather thick Fine, which I had sorted out after just a bit of playing around. The sole grievance I have with this pen is actually the plastic feed, and it is obviously something I have no way of fixing. Although my personal preference is mostly for ebonite, plastic can be fine for a feed. But whatever plastic it is they make their small feeds out of they seem to repel ink, which means watery inks can have inconsistent flow as you use the ink welled up in the feed after you first uncap the pen, becoming drier after a few sentences, or thicker, saturated inks can stop flowing altogether. The only remedy for this, I have found, is to use something like Noodler’s and refrain from washing the pen out too much. The feed becomes coated in inky goodness and flow problems are solved, even after changing to watery inks. Because the gold is just a bit too gold for me when I’m out this will serve solely as a desk pen, and there is still not a scratch on it, unlike my other most used and loved pens. I’ve had a variety of inks in it, but seem to have settled on Visconti Blue, at least for now. Certainly not a pen for everyone, especially my particular inconsistent example, but it is one of my favourites that I own and without doubt my favourite that CdA has produced. http://imageshack.us/a/img856/5488/ix34.jpg

I remember seeing on Goulet that Caran D'Ache was coming out with new inks, but now there's no mention of them anywhere. What happened?

I had some of this really thick, manila-ish ribbed paper with music programs on one side that I needed to get rid of, and I thought it would be fun to scribble some jibberjabber on it. I have this Waterman 12 with a nib that clicks when you release from shaded downstrokes, and I wanted to know how the pen held up against this thick, but ribbed paper. I'm pleased to say that the nib didn't catch unpleasantly or anything. The Storm came out a little subdued, but it shaded nicely. I apologize for the uncontrolled slants and slopes. This is what happens when I write on paper without lines. Damn my artistic temperament!!!

Caran d'Ache in an unknown German firm pen on Clairefontaine paper.