Thursday, April 23, 2020

Parker Jotter in movie Joker

parker jotter in the jocker 2019
 A movie that made a lot of fuss lately is The Joker with ‎Joaquin Phoenix. A disturbed person that becomes the infamous villain is going to therapy right at the beginning of the movie.
The therapist is evaluating him and taking notes about his situation. In a closeup, it is very clear that she is using a Parker Jotter with a red barrel.
I would add that the Parker Jotter is a great pen for taking some quick notes.
the joker therapist parker jotter

the joker therapist parker jotter notes

Friday, April 10, 2020

Koh-I-Noor limited edition ink



I have spotted on the Koh-I-Noor site that they have a new ink for sale.

It uses the same plastic 50 ml bottle as the standard one but it is about 5 times more expensive.

The name Koh I Noor is missing from the label, just Hardtmuth. I guess this is because it is a limited edition from the "HARDTMUTH collection".

Blue or black are the only available colors.
I didn't test it yet, I hope I will in the future, but I would like for Koh I Noor to make more colors at least for the "special collections". As their inks come in basic blue, black or red.


Saturday, March 28, 2020

Sunday Sudoku

Like many others, I found myself with a lot more time on my hands. I have a long list of stuff I would like to do like learn to ride a skateboard, make a bonsai, pick up the guitar again, read 3 books, exercise and others. But for this Sunday I wanted to enjoy the hobby that made me create the blog. As I do not know how to draw and I am not that much into journaling I thought Sudoku is a great way to use my beloved pencils and erasers, exercise the brain and kill some time. All with one stone.
I think I overstretched downloading some "moderate" Sudoku. The first took me about 2 hours and the second more than 3, as I found a mistake almost at the end, which set me back a lot. I tried a 3rd moderate Sudoku but abandoned it after an hour and 3 numbers discovered.
Koh-I-Noor Mephisto Mechanical pencil 0.7 HB
Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth eraser

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Rotring Artpen - the last Rotring fountain pen

Rotring has moved away from fountain pens over the years. The only fountain pen model that is still available is the Rotring Artpen, which was launched in 1984.
"...a calligraphic pen originally intended for artists. Its unparalleled ergonomics quickly make it a top seller" says Rotring
During this period the fountain pen was kept pretty much the same, but over the years different variants were offered to the public.
It has an interesting design, made entirely out of plastic, with a wavy grip section. The fountain pen as the name indicates is addressed for those who are art-oriented. The design of the fountain pen is reminiscent of a dip pen for me at least, with its long and pointy barrel. You can easily change the nib, different sizes and grinds are available.
The fountain pen takes cartridges or a converter.

Different moddels of the Rotring ArtPen:

Rotring art pen white was introduced to the market in 1988 (Rotring catalog 1988)
white artpen newstock
In the same year, Rotring introduced the Artpen Graph which featured an Isograph tip instead of the fountain pen nib. (Rotring catalog 1988)

In the same catalog, the Artpen is sold as a Sketch combi-set along with an Artpen 2 mm clutch pencil rotring artpen pencil fountainpen eraser set

A better photo for the Artpencil and Artpen Graph from the Rotring 1990 catalog


In 1994, 10 years after the launch of the Artpen, Rotring decided to bring to the market a limited edition called Millennium. 
"The success of the ArtPen calls for an ArtPen Millennium range. From 1994 – 2000, a new ArtPen Millennium limited edition was brought out each year, as collector’s items, presented as both signs of the times and objects d’art." (Rotring heritage website)

From 1994 until 1997 special editions of the Rotring Artpen, presented as a countdown.

Left to right 1994, 1995, 19946, 1997. Rotring 1998 catalog
Millennium 6 (1994) - Limited edition of only 3500. Metal barrel turned out of bar stock, red and black multilayer lacquer finish. It has a two-tone gold nib
Millennium 5 (1995) - Limited edition of only 3500. Barrel out of galvanized metal hand polished, multicolored stripes. It has a two-tone gold nib 1.5 mm
Millennium 4 (1996) - Limited edition of only 6000. Barrell is made out of cherry wood, and the cap is metal with 8 coats of lacquer. It has a two-tone gold nib
Millennium 3 (1997) - Unique limited edition of only 6000 worldwide. Barrel of translucent multi-colored resin with gold plated bicolor nib. Engraved on cap plug. (marble-like barrel)

In 1998 Artpen gold was introduced
" Caligraphy is the art of beautiful writing. The Rotring ArtPen brings this artistry into daily life. It accentuates its owner's personal handwriting style and underlines the joy of beautiful writing with every word brought to paper. The ArtPen is the right choice for creative, emotional writing and for words written for special occasions.
The ArtPen Gold is the writing instrument for the most exclusive requirements and most expressive pieces of writing. Gold fittings accentuate its classic shape, and the high-gloss resin finish gives the slender barrel a special touch of sophistication"

In 1999 a more simple design is released (edition 1). The fountain pen is an anodized aluminum body and cap in deep blue color, that can look almost black. With a bicolor gold nib. 6000 pieces were produced

In 2000 the last fountain pen in the series was released. A very nice cap and barrel made out of solid brass. Both sections have been etched with a guilloche pattern, and silver-coated. It has a hand-polished, bicolor gold-plated nib 

Rotring Artpen 2000 millennium limited edition

All of the special edition Artpens came in a nice box with a certificate mentioning the pen number and the total number of pens produced in the series. All of the Artpens from the Millennium edition had the production number marked on the cap.

Another fountain pen that could be considered a variation of the Artpen is the Smartpen. Even though it is marked a bit differently, basically it is the same thing but in more vibrant colors marketed towards younger customers.


"The ArtPen brings a new enjoyment to personal artistic expression with the written word. Its calligraphic nib makes any piece of writing into a work of art to delight the writer and reader alike."
rOtring Writing Sensations 2001 / 2002

Extra pictures



















 
Overall the Rotring fountain pen remains the same over the years, with some very nice-looking editions. At the moment from what I can see it only comes in the standard black color keeping the design close to the original. The Art pencil has vanished from the market leaving only the fountain alone on the shelves of the stores. After 33 years of service, the Rotring ArtPen fountain pen is the only fountain pen available from the brand. I hope in the future Rotring will offer the market if not a new fountain pen at least a special edition Art Pen or Art Pencil.

I recommend taking a moment to go over the blogpost Rotring Art Pencil by unofficialrotring.

Updated on the 12th of December 2021

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Soft Eraser Koh-I-Noor souvenir from Prague

This is the last from the bag of goodies. The Koh I Noor round soft eraser.
The number one thing about it is the unique looks. The logo covers the entire face of the eraser, and it looks awesome. The colors and the printing make this basic white eraser look apart.
If I am not mistaking this model comes in 3 sizes, this one, and two other bigger versions. This has a 37.5 mm diameter and 12 mm in thickness.
The eraser works fine, but it doesn't shine in any area. It's a classic eraser that leaves dust everywhere, it picks dirt on it, and the erasing is fine but not special. It doesn't need much pressure to do its job. I would call it a good all-around eraser.
koh i noor hardtmuth eraser
It only cost 25 CZK which translates in just a little under 1 Eur 0.98 at today's exchange rate.
This is one of the best souvenirs you can get in my opinion. Forget the magnets, just get one of these.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Document Ink Koh I Noor Prague trip

prague koh i noor pencil since 1790 hardmuth
This is a long-awaited moment for me, as I have been looking for this ink from Koh-I-Noor for some time with no success. I could not find it locally anywhere and it was the same story the first time I have visited Prague. It was not available in the shop. On my second visit I did not put much hope in finding it but ... here it is.
And when it rains it pours, I see that the official Koh I Noor website is selling it in Romania as well. For now, it is available only online, but maybe in the future, it will be available in stores as well; fingers crossed.

The Document ink is Koh I Noor's permanent ink. Available in blue or black colors, plastic bottles as the standard Koh I Noor ink, and in a more classic ink well made out of glass which comes in a cardboard box.
I have bought the more "elegant" version.
The inkwell has a classic look to it, with a white label on the face. The logo of Koh I Noor, underneath Document ink is written along with the quantity, 30 grams. 
It is a very dated design, a bit boring but I am not going to judge the ink by its label.
glass well permanent ink blue 30g

In this setup, it is more expensive. The price was 87 CZK which is 3.42 EUR or 3.82 USD. It is still very accessible but the standard ink is about 3 times cheaper and the quantity is almost double. 

But the comparison is not fair as the standard ink comes only in plastic bottles and not in a more premium glass well. You can "czeck" the standard ink out in this older post.

As I said this is a more expensive ink due to the fact it is permanent and because mine came in a glass ink well. But if you choose to buy the plastic bottle (image of it to the left) you will receive the same formula of ink in a  more economical package, and maybe a nicer design of the bottle and label.
This bottle is 50 ml and costs around 2.10 euros. Much better pricing. If we compare the cost of the document ink in plastic bottle to the standard ink the prices are closer as the standard costs around 1.25eur.



The box is plain white with blue writing. If you get the black document ink the writing on the box will be black. The design of the box is quite underwhelming, I will leave it at that.

ink well blue boxink well box

And apparently, it is not to be used by penguins?! I did not know why Koh I Noor forbids penguins to use their ink, a bit racist.
But it turns out this means that you should not freeze it.
ink well blue box made in Czech rep


The ink performs well, as I expected. It works well on cheap paper, it is smooth, it dries fast, and it does what is meant to do. It stays on paper regardless of external factors. It is an archiving ink so it is no thrills. The light blue looks nice but nothing special


The water resistance is excellent. You cant get it out of the paper no matter what you do to it.
I tested it under running tap water high flow cold and hot for 30 seconds.
I also left a piece of paper underwater for close to 10 minutes. The paper was a bit fragile and I just wanted to make sure it does not disintegrate

Before and after pictures.
 
note: I would like to say that the variance in color is caused by the lighting and the camera.

I am also testing the ink's resistance to UV rays. I will be back with the results.


PS. After taking a look at Koh I Noor website I see they have a new ink limited edition. It seems it is in the same plastic 50 ml bottle but the sticker is different.

Friday, February 7, 2020

Mephisto 0.7 Koh-I-Noor Prague souveniers


The second pencil souvenier in line from my recent trip to Prague, is a mechanical pencil named Mephisto.
I will spoil the read saying this is another gem by Koh-I-Noor. I was surprised by how nice the pencil feels and how well it is built.
The pencil features a plastic construction. It is available in different colors, and I chose this incredible dark metallic red color (almost candy apple).

It has a rubberized grip that may not appeal to everybody. Not to mention that the grip seems a bit high and it has an hourglass shape. So you can't really move your fingers too much up or down. It certainly has a sweet spot, it forces you to hold it in the way the designer thought you should hold the pencil.
Besides this, which is not a big deal for me, the rest of the pencil is awesome.

The clip has the name Koh-I-Noor stamped on it. Not too dip, but a nice touch. This is the only place where the name Koh I Noor appears on the pencil. The clips is very solid.

On the barrel, the name Mephisto and lead size are printed in silver lettering. Also, the plastic is color-coded, blue for 0.7 mm lead.

Like most pencils, it has a standard white eraser, covered by a chromed end cap with a hole on top for safety reasons. The endcap slides on and off easily, but not to easy. I did not have any trouble with it falling on its own while in the bag.
The lead is loaded by removing the entire color-coded plastic, along with the eraser and the chromed cap.
The cone tip is stainless or some sort of chromed metal.
It hides a retractable tip that works flawlessly. Either if you hide it or deploy it the action is smooth and does not require any pressure.
And the thing I love the most is the lack of wiggle of the tip. Just after seeing this implementation I can tell the pencil is incredibly well built. Most of the pencils in this price tier and above struggle. Not the end of the world but a definite turn off, especially if you are a stickler like me.

This pencil costs a little more, 113 czk which translates to 4.44 EUR or 4.93 USD.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Pelikan Souveran spotted in the movie Nine Lives

A new/old spot on the big screen, because it is a 2016 movie. It is a Pelikan Souveran, probably M1000 fountain pen, green body with black and gold trim cap.
cat fountain pen kevin spacey nine lives
The Pelikan fountain pen is placed on a big classic desk in a pen holder.  The action is taking place in Tom Brand's office. 
cat fountain pen kevin spacey nine lives
If you haven't seen the movie Tom Brand soul is passed in the cat which is adopted by Tom's family.

cat fountain pen kevin spacey nine lives
 Opposable thumbs take you a long way. In cat form, Tom has real trouble using his fountain pen.
tom brand pelikan can fountain pen
Tom's role is played by Kevin Spacey. He looks really cute :)
tom brand kevin spacey pelikan

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Mechanical Pencil Koh-I-Noor Versatil 5216, Prague souveniers


As you can remember from my recent post, I have visited Prague and 2 Koh-I-Noor shops. And of course, I had to bring back home a few souvenirs.
The first rabbit out of the bag is a Koh-I-Noor clutch pencil with 2 mm lead, Versatil 5216.
This first picture is not an exact representation of it's looks as it has a paler purple color and not a blueish tone.
The pencil looks very nice in my opinion, not to mention the price was incredible. Just 65 CZK (Czeck Koruna) which equates to 2.55 EUR or 2.84 USD. A real bargain.

The pencil body is a hexagon, painted in a nice purple color with gold lettering on one side. Koh - I Noor Hardmuth Versatil 5216. The printing could be improved as some of the letters are a bit fuzzy. The barrel I think it is made out of aluminum, while the mechanism inside is stainless steel and what looks like copper.
I have to say I am very pleased with the construction, I was expecting a cheap all-plastic no thrills 2 mm clutch pencil. The pencil has an integrated 4 spike sharpener in the push button as most Koh I Noor lead holders, and no pocket clip. It is a very classic design that I like, with a nice touch of modern brought by the colors it comes in.

The grip on the lead is good as the lead will not rotate when you try to sharpen it and will not slide in when you apply vertical pressure on the lead. This is nothing to brag about, as it should be standard, but Koh I Noor had this issue with some variants of this pencil made out of plastic.
 
Koh I Noor clutch pencil 2 mm fun colors all metal

All in all, I am very surprised by this mechanical pencil. Its low price and good quality, the feel in hand as well by the colors it is available in. I love it and I recommend everybody to get one or more of these pencils.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Happy new year

Happy new year dear friends !!
I wish all a great new year, a better year
full of achievements, full of joy and happiness
Enjoy every minute of the new year along the loved ones


 Pilot 2020 shaking mechanical pencil
still shaking in 2020

Popular Posts