If it's a myth that fountain pens are messy, why are my fingers always stained with ink?

Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I don't get inky when you might expect — when changing inks. No, my problems start when I'm nowhere near the pens when, between uses, they leak into their caps.

There are two primary repeat offenders here. One inexpensive pen (Noodler's Aerometric/Eyedropper — see my review) and one rather pricey one (Cross Apogee). When other pens misbehave similarly, I tend to blame my rough handling of their storage cases. But these two are such consistent offenders (the Cross especially, which has exhibited this behavior with a range of inks), that I think there must be poorly designed, defective, or damaged nibs to blame.

I tend to forgive the Noodler's a little more, because it gets handled more roughly day to day, stored in a pencil case inside my briefcase, which gets slung around quite a bit (though that doesn't seem to bother the Lamy 2000, Pelikano, or Platinum Preppy that are also in the case). But the Cross lacks such an excuse. It is typically stored nib up inside my portable letter-writing kit, which gets handled with much greater care. I must have a tissue handy every time I open it so I can wipe it down before gripping it to write.

Am I just being too rough on my poor pens? Or is this simply physics at work, perhaps with some nib problem?

If it's a myth that fountain pens are messy, why are my fingers always stained with ink?

I'm # 1! Woohoo!

Blog posts? No.

Blog awards? No.

Blog traffic? Not even close.

No, instead my claim to fame is: Champion Ink Sampler. And I have the paperwork to prove it, in the form of the note accompanying my latest order from Goulet Pens (which Brian graciously approved posting here):

The smudged name is my doing.

I'm # 1! Woohoo!

Ink me!

Well, nothing like 16 little samples of fountain pen inks to cheer me up after another all-nighter! The timing of today's delivery from Pear Tree Pens was perfect. If you love ink but don't know about their ink sample pack, you're really missing out! Four samples for $4.99. Quite the deal. (I have no affiliation, I just love the service.)

If you're curious what the colors are, click the pic, then mouse over the sample you're interested in!

UPDATE (5/18): Pear Tree Pens is in the "Retailer Spotlight" at Rhodia Drive. Check it out!

Look under the picture for more updates!

UPDATE #2 (5/22): Welcome Pen Addict readers! And, for those of you who arrived at this post some other way, make sure to check out Pen Addict's "Ink Links" post published today and every Saturday, where you'll find lost of links and likely discover (like I do) a new blog or two you want to follow nearly every week.

UPDATE #3 (5/22): Just this week, I learned that Brian Goulet of Goulet Pen Co. (and the teriffic Ink Nouveau vlog) is also offering samples. For now, he's only offering J. Herbin and Pelikan inks, but he's got some colors in those brands that Pear Tree pens didn't offer samples of the last time I ordered, and you don't have to order in sets of 4 . . . so I ordered 11 more samples from Brian yesterday!

Ink me!

Who took my Iroshizuku?

emember when I told you how much I was looking forward to opening my new Iroshizuku ink, and that I hadn't done it yet because I was so busy with work and wanted to wait until I could really take the time to savor the moment?

Well, I finally got my break in work, but I haven't savored anything yet, because I can't find the Iroshizuku! I remember very clearly putting it in my truck the other day at work to make sure I had it at home over the weekend in case I had time to open it then. (I didn't.)

Finally, yesterday, after a a month-long stretch of crazy hours that included three all-nighters, I finally had the time to spend on enjoying it, and even a new pen to fill with it. I went to retrieve the Iroshizuku from my truck and . . . couldn't find it! Maybe I brought it in? Looked all over the house. Couldn't find it.

This is driving me nuts! If anybody finds it, please email me.

Who took my Iroshizuku?

"At least you've got a nice pen"

Sorry to flake on all the new readers this week. I have been absolutely swamped at work all month, and this week took the cake.  Trust me, folks, an all-nighter on Sunday night is no way to start your week! (And they're a heck of a lot harder at age 49 than in your college years, I can tell you.)

I've been able to spend maybe an hour a day with my family this week, so the blog took a hit. Anyway . . .

This is going to be another crazy weekend, starting with a drive to the airport to drop off my wife and 8-year old daughter for a visit with her grandparents, then back to the grind to work all weekend and probably one more all-nighter between now and Wednesday. On Friday, I'll get to join my wife and daughter and finally relax a little with them.

Amid all this tumult, I took a few minutes from my work to show my wife — who seems mildly amused by my new-found fetish — the notes I had taken today in Private Reserve Copper Burst, which I just got on Wednesday. A few minutes later, I was ranting and raving about some stupid court rule making my life more difficult. When I was done letting off steam, my wife smiled at me and said, "At least you've got a nice pen."

And a nice wife, don't you think?

So, here's the Copper Burst and the rest of this week's order from Jet Pens:




I'm dying to open the Iroshizuku, but I'm so pressed for time, and  want to savor it, so I'm saving it for later. Reviews of everything here (except the Lamy converter) lie ahead . . . as time allows.

"At least you've got a nice pen"