Thursday, September 13, 2018
Hamburg, Germany and Montblanc in a duty free shop
I just came back from Hamburg, Germany, after a very short trip. And I learned 2 new things.
First, I have to look for flights with more time between them or I should get in a better shape. It was a short and intense trip, as for my flight to Hamburg I had to change planes in Munich, and because the first one had a delay of over an hour I had to run for about 15 gates to get to my second flight just to realize that the gate number had changed and had to run back another 28 gates. I was completely out of breath. I can't even believe that a few years back I ran a full marathon.
The second thing I learned is that Montblanc is also a perfume maker ?!? What ?!?
Maybe Paco Rabanne will start making inks... Not trying to be mean but I do not like this kind of style of business even though this seems to be the future for all brands.
Have someone produce whatever you want to sell, and you use the brand name to make people pay as much as possible for a generic product.
I just hope this is not like Armani watches (replace Armani with whatever clothing brand you would like), pricey pieces of quartz that you should pay around 30 $.
I can't say much about Hamburg as I did not get the chance to visit anything. But I saw a lot of construction sites, brick buildings, and graffiti. Oh, let's not forget about the bubble machine on a car.
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Back to school small notebook
This is the last weekend before schools start again. So this means 2 things. A lot of stationary stuff everywhere and the last 2 days with "normal" traffic.
Yesterday I was in a shop and just noticed this bright neon small notebooks for just 0.25 Euro. I just had to have one of each color as they look very fun.
I enjoy using small notebooks as they are easy to fit in a pocket, in a bag without making it heavy or bulky. And this small size is just enough to write down some quick notes or have as a few backup information that is easy to reach on the go. Or just use it for something as basic as a shopping list.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Ink Review Koh-I-Noor blue
The fountain pen ink is produced by Koh-I-Noor in the Czech Republic.
It comes in a plastic bottle, 50 g (or roughly 50 ml) like in the picture. The ink doesn't come in any kind of additional packaging, it has no additional box. All this I imagine is to reduce the cost and offer the best possible price to the consumer.
It comes in just 3 colors, blue, black and red (edit: I also found green recently), so a rather limited selection, but the ink is marketed towards students who need a no fuss, inexpensive ink.
And when it comes to price, it is a fantastic one. It is available in about every shop and costs between 1.1 - 1.4 Euro (average of 1.5 USD).
Another cheap contender would be Hero, but the price for a bottle of 60 ml is about 4.8 - 5 USD
Another comparison could be done with Pelikan 4001 blue 1000 ml (which is cheaper than black). The price on Amazon.de for 1000 ml is 26.59 euro, which translates into 0.03 euro/ml or 1.5 euro for 50 ml.
This makes the Koh-I-Noor ink to be more cost-effective even compared to Hero ink. Yes, the Hero comes in a glass bottle and has a box.
Koh-i-Noor is a well-known brand of artists' supplies, and their ink is considered to be of high quality. Their ink is often used by calligraphers, illustrators and artists due to its rich, vibrant color and smooth flow. Some of their inks are also waterproof, lightfast and pH neutral which is great for artists who want to create long lasting works. Many artists and calligraphers also appreciate the fact that Koh-i-Noor inks are made with natural pigments, which can give their work a unique and organic feel. In addition, Koh-i-Noor ink is also used for technical drawings and is suitable for use with fountain pens and dip pens.
So the ink comes in an unimpressive plastic bottle, the label is in Czech and English and this is about it. The top colored band from the label represents the color of the ink.
It is a light blue, not too saturated, but I like the look. The color and saturation is in between the Faber Castell Royal Blue and the Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue. The Pelikan 4001 has a little more of an indigo color in it.
If you are interested in Koh-I-Noor's offer for document ink, you can check the following link:
Koh-I-Noor document blue ink in glass bottle
Friday, August 17, 2018
"Get Out" presents Bic Matic
The movie Get Out presents for a short period of time the famous Bic Matic
It's not the best movie, and I don't know if it deserves the mark it has on IMDB, but it has an interesting scenario.
In the movie, Rod is looking for his 26 year old friend, Chris. And to put down all his ideas, he uses a clear body Bic Matic with a yellow clip.
Also spotted in movies.
Thor using Bic four colours
Bic Matic Grip in cinema
Bic does not seem to be camera shy.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Rotring 500 review
The 500 is the cheaper version of the 600, but it is not the cheapest in the line. Tthat spot is reserved for the 300 complete plastic build. The 500 is made in Japan and the build seems solid. The grip, lead hardness indicator, and the cap are made out of brass. The clip is made out of stainless steel and the barrel is plastic (ABS) but feels very nice to the touch.
Compared to the original 500 series, the modern version comes only in all black with the text and rings in red. The mechanical pencil has a dead serious look to it, it could be part of any minimalist EDC (if you carry it in a case as the tip is not retractable) or it can sit on an office desk. But the sleek look of the pen over the time will change, as the black color is painted rather than anodized. After heavy use, especially the grip section will show the white metal underneath.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Black ink: Faber Castell vs Pelikan 4001
Saturday, July 7, 2018
OEM Kaweco
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Advertising with a pencil
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Continental Typewriter at a flea market
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Ink over time
The test is not very scientific as i used different fountain pens and the exposure to light was different as i did not used all the inks in the test from the begining but still the results are interesting.
Inks used: platinum blue black, Faber Castell royal blue, Faber Castell permanent black, Pelikan 4001 royal blue, Pelikan 4001 black, Pelikan 4001 personal mix 1:1 royal blue and black, Koh I Noor Blue
The test was conducted for a period of 4 months from March until June.
Results:
Koh I Noor blue with the least time exposed to sunlight is almost invisible
Faber Castell royal blue is very hard to read even though it received a similar amount of sun with Pelikan 4001 royal blue
The blacks from Pelikan and Faber Castell look similar after sun exposure.
The winner of the test I would say is the Platinum blue black
The ink was not the only one affected by the sun the paper that was exposed obtain a yellowish tint
Also see: Platinum Preppy
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