Caran d'Ache Ecridor 55

What evening ensemble wouldn't be enhanced by such a fantastic pen?

The elusive luxury pen.  Elusive for your average college student. I am still an average college student, but I got extremely lucky when filling out a fountain pen survey online and I was one of the selected winners.  Sometimes you just get lucky.  Maybe it's karma, or maybe it's just about time for the world to treat me well for once, but regardless. I won a magnificent Caran d'Ache Ecridor 55.  A luxury pen is within my reach for the first time in my life.  It is quite exciting.  The only pen that I have to compare it to is a Parker 51 (M), which is approximately 45 years old. I'll do my best to review it, but I have to say that luxury pens aren't exactly my specialty.

Extremely smooth medium nib, and it looks pretty too!

The Ecridor 55 is a pen that upon first glance is extremely stylish.  A fountain pen isn't a fashion accessory, but if you're paying enough money for it, it might as well be.  This pen truly fits that label.  Crafted from silver and rhodium, with a stainless steel nib, the Ecridor 55 has a beautiful "S" pattern that is meant to mimic the air intake "gills" of the 1967 Ford Mustang. I honestly can't attest to any similarities that I know of, but it is beautiful indeed.  I can really imagine this pen peeking out from a suit's front pocket.  I don't believe that a pen can define a person, but I do respect someone with a fountain pen... as long as it is being used.

Now, on to the writing experience, because a fountain pen is completely worthless if it doesn't write well.  I found overall that the Caran d'Ache Ecridor 55 was a fantastic writing experience, on par with the Parker 51 (but then again, I don't have tremendous experience with the world of luxury pens).  The balance of the pen is quite possibly the best that I have experienced in any fountain pen (cap posted or unposted), even better than my Parker 51. The nib is the critical part of the pen and this medium nib does not disappoint.  The nib is as smooth as the Parker 51 and the flow is a little bit slower, but not too much slower, so unless you're an artist or have an extremely quick hand, it's nothing to worry about.  The included adapter holds a lot of ink.  I've been running tests on this pen for about 3 weeks and have used almost 2 full legal pads and I've only refilled it 7 times. I have been using Noodler's Polar Black, my standard ink. I'm sure that in time I will find an ink that works best with this specific pen, but even with Noodler's Polar Black, this pen writes fantastically.

I would love to review more high end fountain pens, but unless they fall in my lap, that won't be happening any time soon. Regardless, I enjoyed the experience tremendously and look forward to possibly reviewing more in the future.

Eternally Inked,

The Classicist 

Waterman Black

It's not too often that I get an ink that isn't made by Noodler's. It isn't that I don't like other inks, it's just that I like Noodler's more.  The durability of the ink on paper is one of the most important properties of the ink in my eyes. For this reason, I almost always choose Noodler's. Though there can be some drawbacks to Noodler's inks, such as feathering and nib creep, the durability and flow in almost all inks are so dependable that they are still my primary ink choice, and that doesn't even factor in how many different colors there are to choose from.

Pretty good lookin' bottle, huh?

I figured that my first step away from Noodler's would need to be conservative so that I wouldn't be disappointed eventually, so I bought Waterman Black.  It's about the most standard black that exists in my opinion.  It's not Noodler's Heart of Darkness Black, but it gets the job done.  For me at least, that's pretty much where this ink falls. It's not super saturated, doesn't flow unreasonably well or resist water very well, but this ink gets the job done. It's an average, run of the mill "Bic Stic" type of ink.  The ink is thus extremely well behaved with no shading, bleeding, showthrough, bleedthrough or nib creep.  I actually would highly recommend this ink for someone just getting into fountain pens because this ink washes off very easily, behaves so well, and is relatively cheap.

One of the more interesting qualities of this ink, however is that after being exposed to water, the black ink sitting on top of the page washes off, leaving a blue layer on the page. This prompted me to look at the bottle in direct sunlight and I realized then that the ink looks like a nice blue-black in the bottle, but believe me, this ink doesn't exhibit a single trace of blue. Being a fan of blue-black inks, I probably would have appreciated that a little more, but sometimes there's nothing wrong with an ink that's just plain and ordinary. It's the things that are plain and ordinary in our lives that help us appreciate the things that are truly great, so I will get some great usage out of this black ink.

Aeterne Atramentus,

The Classicist

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner

My apologies for the brief hiatus in posts! Without further ado, here we go!

While I enjoy the Pilot G-2 and other ballpoint and gel pens, I have found that none of them suffice when I want the feel of a fountain pen.  The ability to write with a light touch and create flourishes is almost exclusive to fountain pens, with the exception of fine point markers.  The Sharpie Pens are one of the best examples of fine point markers that can fill a similar niche as fountain pens. They are not anywhere near as prone to leaks as fountain pens and are suitable for tossing into a bag and forgetting about until you need them.  While there are a lot of markers out there that are advertised as pens, it is not always the items shoved in your face that are on display at the store that work best. Enter the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner!

I love the color and precision of marker pens.

I was searching for writing utensils around Chicago and the suburbs and stumbled into the marker section and tested some pens, pencils and markers.  I purchased three of these pens while at a Dick Blick art store in Chicago after a brief writing test. The blue, being my favorite ink color, has been entirely used up and as such is no longer with us. Green and Black, however are still going strong. These are art markers. They are not marketed as pens, but serve exceptionally well as pens. My standard for comparison in this area is the Sharpie Pen, seeing as they are very popular and there are many reviews for them online, so here comes the review:

You can really see how long and skinny this pen is when compared to a Pilot V Razor Point

This pen is longer and skinnier than most pens which I come across and is obviously skinnier and longer than the Sharpie Pen.  The pen can really feel uncomfortable in my hand at times, but I can't be sure if it's because of the unique triangular shape of the barrel or because of its width. The tip is the perfect hardness in my opinion, being just a bit softer than that of the Sharpie. It has not disintegrated after months of use and has retained its shape, allowing me to continue to write with a fine point. The most important point for comparison here is color, seeing as the Sharpie Pen's "green" is a disgustingly light and turquoise that was a huge let down for me.  The Staedtler has a color of green that is pretty much spot on what I imagine standard, average, real green to be. The black is on par with the Sharpie Pen in terms of color. The ink doesn't bleed through on Moleskine paper and doesn't show through at all. The ink also dries really quickly as well, so you don't have to worry about smearing, you lefties out there.  There is no odor, making this a very useful art marker and in this case, a fantastic pen.

When you can't carry a fountain pen with you for fear that it would leak or break, carrying a marker pen with a fine point can act as a fantastic substitute.  With the exception of potential barrel comfort issues, this pen can become a daily workhorse or eternal backup in your bag.

PennedHouse Double Feature: My Ink Blend and Pilot Petit1 Conversion

The Pilot Petit1 is a fantastic fountain pen that is similar in size to the Stipula Passaporto, and is extremely small with the pen cap on, but with the cap posted is a comfortable fit in my hand.  The nib is very smooth for a fine point pen, especially one that is as cheap as this pen is.  My big problem with the Petit1 as a daily writer is the size of the ink cartridge. While refillable, the ink cartridge barely holds enough ink for the amount of writing I encounter during the day. I was thinking that there must be a solution!

From the desire to increase the ink supply of the Pilot Petit1 came the following experiment.  My goal was to convert the Petit1 into an eyedropper pen, but along the way I got curious and started creating my own ink which, for which the recipe will be posted next week. Back to the Petit1 though, it wasn't really a whole lot of work doing the conversion.  The biggest problem I encountered was figuring out how much silicon grease I needed to prevent ink from leaking all over my fingers.  It took a few days to figure it out, but once I did, there were no problems whatsoever.

The fruit of my labor!

The ink color I ended up creating is a dark teal, which is similar to one of my most desired inks. Noodler's Coral Sea Blue is exclusive only to Australia and as such would cost a LOT of money to ship to America, not to mention that a bottle before shipping costs $39.95 in Australian dollars! I knew I would never be able to get my hands on a bottle unless by some miracle, so I combined different amounts of blue, black and green inks to get the ink in the pictures, which matches up almost perfectly with Coral Sea Blue.

This is probably my favorite color of ink now.

The results of both experiments were successful and should keep me occupied for a while, which is both a good and bad thing.

The Parker 45

You can see the slight curvature of the barrel in this picture.

Greetings from Augustana College! Baseball season is underway even though there is still freezing weather predicted for the next week.  I apologize for the slight delay in this post, but my schedule has been hectic as of late.

My uncle's reward during service week in Singapore.

This wonderful fountain pen was awarded to my uncle in 1976 for volunteer work for the Singapore government. What a gift it was!  It hearkens back to a day when a prize/award was useful and didn't just sit on a shelf like a trophy.  I found it in my basement along with the rest of my older pens and this one was in the worst condition of the bunch.  That's really not saying much, seeing as it still has the tag on the clip! 

Upon initial inspection, this pen has a slight bend to the barrel, which does not inhibit the writing process whatsoever, but does look weird at times.  I can't be sure of exactly what caused this warped body, but it was either great force or a combination of that and heat.  The filling mechanism of this pen was stained black, but had very little encrusted ink within.  This pen was taken care of, though less than my Parker 51 which I reviewed here.

Until I get the opportunity to inspect the rubber on this pen and replace it, I'm not going to use this pen as anything but a dip pen.  I don't want to risk a spill in my pen case or major leaks and spotting on a homework assignment. It's unfortunate, but I already have a TON of pens that I carry around with me everywhere.

Red-Black, you never cease to amaze me!

I do like the color of this pen, and I actually wish I had a pen with a green barrel that I could use on a daily basis, because I usually end up buying blue pens. The nib is a smooth writer indeed and not completely different from that of the Parker 51, granted however that I am using it as a dip pen. The balance of this pen isn't terrific because of the materials used in making it (let's get real here, it's not a higher end pen).  Posting the cap partially brings balance back to this average pen, but it's still darn good and holds a lot of meaning and history.  Overall, I'm happy to continue using this pen for writing letters and taking notes at my desk, but there isn't anything about this pen that blows me away. 

Χαιρετε παντες!

The Classicist

Noodler's Polar Blue Part II

I've gotten much use out of Noodler's Polar Blue in the past few months, but the review that I did a while ago was lacking the more rigorous of the ink evaluations that are sometimes needed. Well, I figured I would do this full review of the qualities of the ink for those of you who are looking for a nice blue to use. I'm continually on the search for blue inks and I don't often find myself bored by them, which led me to purchase Noodler's Baystate Blue, which has blown my mind in every way. That's a post for another time though.  I bought the 4.5 ounce bottle online and it came with a free fountain pen (a modified Platinum Preppy .3)

"Noodler's Polar Blue is pretty standard in color, but can seem washed out at times. It almost seems to be chalky, especially when compared to other blues, specifically Baystate Blue.  After months of usage, I have not found this ink to feather, even on cheaper paper.  the included fountain pen has gotten a lot of usage and has performed like a champ.  The 'bulletproof' qualities of this ink are true after a bleach test. I have not tried this ink in any other pens because of the warning that it might stain pens (which others can attest is true).  If I remember correctly, this ink has often been compared to luxury blue in the Noodler's line, but I don't own it and can't make the comparison. I highly recommend this ink." 

I've taken many many pages of notes with this ink.

The Addiction: Explained

I am a member of a community of pen enthusiasts. I realize that many of us really enjoy just using pens, but for some of us, it goes much farther than that.

I carry all of these around with me everywhere I go!

I'm addicted to pens, but this post will cover a small niche of that area, specifically fountain pens.
I am a college student, so my hard earned money almost all goes into my savings account, but I allot myself a certain amount for pens each month. I am sometimes forced to combine my allotment for two months so that I can make a purchase. This is my method for enabling my habit. The rush of opening a box from jetpens.com or gouletpens.com is without compare.

I rationalize my habit in a number of ways:

1. I have a few bottles of ink (8) and I am often asked, "How long does it to to finish a bottle of ink?" It usually takes me quite a while to finish a bottle, and they don't seem to understand why I have so many. What they don't understand is that there are different inks for different scenarios. Different colors are appropriate for work and letter correspondence. Why should my life be drab and defined by one color? Using one color for a long time, no matter how vibrant, makes it become dull. I enjoy the variety and vibrancy that a reasonably sized ink collection provides.

2. As Nathan Tardif has stated, the price of ink (specifically Noodler's) are the cheapest per ounce on the market. Assuming a comparable pen, such as a G-2, costs $2.00, then a 4.5 ounce bottle of ink holds the same volume as that of 75 pens. The savings are ridiculous, even if you have many different ink colors. You just have to use them all to get the savings. It's a good motivation to write.

3. In regards to the number of fountain pens I own, I not only value each pen that I own, but appreciate being able to write with any ink at any time.  Having a pen ready to write for each ink that I own is a luxury, I realize, but it is also a necessity.  It allows me to easily grab notebooks by scanning a page, because I use different inks for different subjects.

I really liked the lighting in this picture, even though it is pretty much the same picture as above. :)

4. Part of the reason that so many of us in this community are interested in these niche pens is because they're far more interesting than the standard disposable pen and better for the environment. Our words are interesting, so shouldn't our writing instruments be too?


5. Last and most importantly, I feel like I'm more of a part of history.  Everything that I write (especially in the Classics) owes much to the past.  Writing is just that much more enjoyable knowing that I'm part of a great writing tradition.


I look forward to many more years of fountain pen enjoyment and feeding my addiction.  I'll also be sure to pass it on to others. Maybe I'm not addicted. Maybe I'm in love.