The Bunny's Pens

Musings on pens and reviews of pens and ink.

[thebunnyspens]

The Caran d’Ache Fixpencil is an interesting leadholder. It just wasn't so comfortable for me, but I still use it to sharpen leads.

[thebunnyspens]

I can’t really find any pictures of my other leadholders. I wonder why, but I really like the Staedtler Mars Technico 788C much better than the two 780C leadholders I have.

[thebunnyspens]

Some inks are really hard on pens for various reasons. Diamine Hope Pink and Orange for instance can be really hard to clean out of pens. I used to use Hope Pink in my Pilot Capless, but it’s just so hard to clean, and it makes a mess in that pen, so I decided to put it in a much simpler, easy to clean pen.

[thebunnyspens]

I just love royal blues and washable blue inks. I keep both a bottle of Pelikan Royal Blue and Montblanc Royal Blue. Lamy blue is such a nice colour. I would consider a bottle if I didn’t already have two other bottles of royal blue.

[thebunnyspens]

I guess a good update was that I was able to make a cup-shaped plug for my Lamy Al-Star. I think I would have considered selling the pen if I wasn’t able to do this! Brass and ink just don’t play well with each other generally.

[thebunnyspens]

I never thought I would actually get a Lamy Al-Star. Here is my first, and probably my last, one. It’s nice, but I don’t like that there is a brass plug in the cap. Neither the ABC or Nexx have this. I have been able to successfully make a wax plug that goes over it to keep it from corroding, but it’s hard work. In some other pens, you can take it out and get it powder coated to protect it, but in this pen it’s permanently placed in there. It’s well made though, and very light and comfortable. I really like how you can check the ink level and look at how the pen works. The finish is pretty nice, and the colour (which is what attracted me to the pen in the first place) is a really nice shade of aubergine. I was originally going to use an A nib in this pen, but instead I reground the broad into a crisp italic, and I like it a lot.

[thebunnyspens]

These are some interesting pencils. Back when, Mirado was actually its own brand. Now, after all the buyups and stuff they are sold under the Papermate brand. The quality is ok, and the lead is smooth, but they don’t always glue the lead in the wood, and the wood is odd because it doesn’t sharpen easily. It has hard spots and soft, flaky spots. When I was writing this, the lead actually fell out of the tip because it wasn’t glued in at that spot.

[thebunnyspens]

I picked up one of these pencils the first time I went to Ikea. It’s functional, and it works well, but it does seem hard to sharpen.

[thebunnyspens]

The Dixon Red & Black is just an interesting carpenter pencil. It’s hard to sharpen, and the lead feels kind of gritty though.

[thebunnyspens]

I was using my Rotring 300, and I noticed that it made this light clicking sound when I shook it. Unlike most other leadholders, you can take the Rotring 300 apart. I was really surprised by how many parts it has. They really over-engineered it. I think though that it’s ironic that the part that gives the mechanism its very crisp feel, that spring, is also the thing that moves around in the pencil when the lead is extended.

[thebunnyspens]

This is the Rotring 300 lead holder. It’s a neat pencil, and I think it’s a good value. I’m still not sure how I feel about having an elastic band as the red ring. I guess it works though! Mine is made in Japan, and it’s pretty well made. I think at least half of my Rotring pens and pencils come from Japan.

[thebunnyspens]

I decided to get the matching pencil for my Lamy ABC. I still wish I had the matching one for my red first generation ABC, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t going to happen. It’s such a nice pencil for kids, and has nice thick lead.

[thebunnyspens]

I’ve actually had a Lamy ABC for a long time. I just decided to get a new one, at least partly so that I can compare it with the old one. I take these to school a lot, and they are hard to lose because they have your name on them. They also don’t look really out of place like some pens aside from the fact that they look kind of neat.

[thebunnyspens]

The Lamy Nexx is a really neat pen that’s a step up from the ABC. I’m really liking it so far. I needed something inexpensive because I have some inks that really beat up my other pens, and these are much easier to clean and care for.

[thebunnyspens]

Cultpens haul! I just got a bunch of new pens from Cultpens in the UK. More reviews coming soon!

[angieakunya]

help pls

So I’ve recently acquired a Waterman fountain pen as a gift from a close friend of mine and I was wondering if anyone knew what kind of converter I could use for it.The pen had an empty cartridge in it when I got it (the pen belonged to my friend’s father before he got it and it wasn’t being used at all) and I don’t even know what model it is, but any help or advice you guys have is greatly appreciated~♥!

[thebunnyspens]

Hello Angie,

Waterman fountain pens don’t actually use international cartridges, they use Waterman ones which have a slimmer, non-tapered body. You can use a Waterman converter which has a slimmer body than most international converters do. Waterman cartridges are odd in that they fit pens that use international cartridges, but international cartridges do not always fit Waterman pens because many Waterman pens have a liner inside the barrel, and international cartridges often get stuck inside.

Good luck finding a converter! I think Jetpens, Cultpens, and Pengallery have them.

[thebunnyspens]

The Gedess lead pointer is really one of my favourites. It's kind of like a Moka coffee pot. It's been around forever and has a loyal following and a distinct design with few parts. To be honest though, I don't really use it all that often anymore. I just point my leads with a sharp knife instead. Anyway, if you're looking for a good lead pointer, I think the Gedess will do you some good. Enjoy!