Diamine - Desert Burst - Ink Review

Hi all and welcome to day 7 my DIY Inkmas calendar

This morning I picked out Diamine’s Desert Burst. I picked it out of my ink bag and as I was inking it up I was trying to think of why it sounded familiar, and then I realized that it was the name of a pretty popular finish on guitars. I though it was a neat coincidence until I looked this ink up for some more info while writing this post, and it turns out that this is part of a line of inks Diamine makes inspired by guitar finishes.

Alright, story time over- let’s get to the review!

Sample and tests of Diamine Desert Burst

Writing

I loaded this ink up in my Noodler’s Nib Creaper and found that the flow was pretty average, and the ink went down pretty squarely on the wetter side.

I generally enjoy the way that Diamine inks write, and this one was no exception. It’s a dependable ink that I found wrote consistently throughout the day- it flowed well and stayed where you put it. 

Dry Time

This ink was definitely on the longer dry time side- it was 90% dry at 30 seconds and fully dry at 40 seconds. 

Water Test

This ink is absolutely not waterproof. It’s not advertised to be, but it was still surprising how little ink really held on to the page when some water drops were introduced.

Color

In the context of the guitar color Desert Burst, I really dig this ink. It captured the burst coloring idea well- the way this ink behaves as you write can give you a slight range from a deep brown to the lighter tan-sandy color. I really have no complaints in terms of the ink compared to it’s namesake coloring. 

In the context of the color itself, I don’t know that I would write with it in my every day; that’s nothing against the color that Diamine has produced. It’s just that I don’t typically find myself writing with this color range. 

Verdict

I really enjoy this ink- it’s a well behaved, predictable ink that I was pleasantly surprised by given how outside my usual color palette preference it is.

I’m casually into guitar playing, and always have wanted a nice collection in a range of colors, but for now I’ll just have to settle for this more affordable ink.

Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow for Day 8! 

Organics Studio - Glycine - Ink Review

Welcome to Day 6 of Duck’s Doodles DIY Inkmas advent calendar!

Coming in justtttt under the wire for being within the 24 hours of December 6th but it still counts!

It’s a bit funny to me that the Glycine name is making me think of my Organic Chemistry days in college....and how I used to turn my assignments in at the last minute, not unlike this review getting posted at the 11th hour. Some things never change, right?

Okay on to the review!

Writing

This ink went down with an average flow in the two pens I had it inked up in- my Pilot Metropolitan (with a medium nib) and my Pilot Pera (fine nib, and also what I wrote the writing sample with).

It was on the wet side, which is usually how I prefer my inks so it was one of the more pleasant writing experiences I’ve had recently.

I didn’t notice any feathering on my Rhodia notebook where I wrote the writing sample as pictured above, nor did I really notice any on my Field Notes as I was writing through the day at work.

Dry Time

This ink goes down pretty wet, so the 30 to 40 second dry time range is what I expected, and it was indeed fully dry by 40 seconds

Water Test

This ink isn’t water proof, nor is it advertised to be. 

The ink does hold on pretty well to the paper, which was surprising. This ink looks pretty good when diluted with water, so if you use your fountain pen inks for art this could be a good candidate to play around with 

Color

This ink is solidly in the blue category. As I was writing, it could even look a liiiiitle in the deep purple area (great band :D) but very much reminded me of a traditional Bic pen blue ink.

I have to tell you I was SHOCKED to learn this was a shimmer ink.

Generally, when I do ink reviews I’ll do my writing sample, water tests, dry time etc. I’ll then write throughout the day with it to solidify my opinions, then I’ll look up some information on the ink from the manufacturer or sometimes the site I purchased it from.

Y’all, I was in awe to learn this ink was supposed to shimmer because honestly, if I didn’t read it and then look VERY closely in my Prera’s feed I would never have noticed.

I even swabbed the ink and had to STARE at it to pick up the shimmer. It’s my duty to tell you that if you like a lot of noticeable shimmer particulates, this might not be the ink for you. 

Verdict

This ink is pretty fine. I really enjoyed writing with it, though I would have liked some more shimmer to it- I understand the hesitation on the part of ink companies to really commit to shimmer inks. (And I understand people’s hesitation to trying them....RIP the feed in one of my first Lamys) 

I’ll certainly be happy to try an Organics Studio ink again in the future; this is a solid entry in my blue ink samples. It’s a well behaving ink with good flow and a great color. This particular ink feels like I just happened to have not gotten the best product in their arsenal.

Well thanks for reading and see you tomorrow for Day 7 of Inkmas. Happy writing!

Diamine- 1864 Blue-Black - Ink Review

Hey all and welcome to Day 5 of Inkmas!

Trucking right along and today I pulled out my first Diamine ink of the advent calendar, Diamine’s 1865 Blue-Black ink; this shade was released as part of Diamine’s 150th anniversary celebration. 

Okay, on to the review!

Diamine 1864 150th anniversary ink sample

Writing

I wrote my review with my Pilot Prera (Fine nib), but also loaded this ink up in my Lamy AL Star (Medium nib)

This ink flowed well in both nibs, and went down a bit on the wetter side.

It was a pretty well behaved ink, and I didn’t notice any real feathering as I was writing on the Rhodia pad or even my Field Notes, but I did see a little bit when writing some work notes on copy paper. 

Dry Time

Like I said above, this ink goes down pretty wet and I was expecting the dry time to be somewhere in the 35 to 45 second range, but was pleasantly surprised that with it was mostly dry at 20 seconds and fully dry at 30.

Water Test

This ink isn’t waterproof and it’s not advertised to be.

The water test is often my favorite test of ink reviews, because the dilution of the water after the ink has sunk into the page can really reveal a lot about the real composition of the ink- often with surprising results.

This ink was....not one that gave a surprising result. The water really just showed me some black-ish water after I dropped it on the page, and lightened up the blue a tiny bit in some areas. 

Color

This ink is very much on the darker side. Where the Noodler’s 54th Massachusetts blue-black was more on the grey side, this is very much on the deep midnight blue-black end of the spectrum.

As I was writing with my Lamy there were places it came out almost a deep purple-y color because it was so dark.

Verdict

It’s fine. I’m not an enormous fan of blue-black inks that are definitely on the black side of the spectrum, so I think I’ll pass on loading up on a full bottle.

But hey, if blue-black inks are your passion by all means, write on!

Thanks for reading day 5 of Duck’s Doodles Inkmas adventure. See y’all tomorrow for day 6

Noodler’s - Tokyo Gift - Ink Review

Hello and welcome back to Duck’s Doodles DIY Inkmas advent calendar!

Out of the goodie bag I pulled Noodler’s Tokyo Gift! I loaded it up in my Nib Creaper - like yesterday it only felt right to load up my Noodler’s pen with Noodler’s ink

Let’s take a look!

Noodler’s Tokyo Gift writing sample and tests

Writing

This ink went down pretty middle of the road- not too wet and not too dry. I used my Noodler’s Nib Creaper which has a flex nib and I felt the flow was about what I expected. 

There wasn’t any real feathering on my Rhodia paper, but when I wrote on some copy paper it feathered- there wasn’t a ton but it was noticeable 

Dry Time

This ink was mostly dry at 20 seconds, and fully dry at 30. Please note on my dry time test it looks like the 20 seconds isn’t dry, but it’s because a tiny drop of water dripped and ran the ink. I super promise it was mostly dry on my Rhodia notebook at 20 seconds

Water Test

This ink isn’t water proof, nor is it advertised to me.

I actually really like the range of colors you can get from this water test, so if you’re an artist who substitutes in fountain pen inks for things, this seems like a good candidate to play around with for some pink-red shades

Color

Okay, this is supposed to be pink. This just....is not in my opinion. This ink was made specifically to emulate a cherry blossom pink but it feels closer to a cherry red. 

Now, Noodler’s inks are hand crafted so it’s possible that my particular batch just was heavy on the red and other bottles will get a very pink ink. 

Verdict

This ink just doesn’t “wow” me in the same way that other Noodler’s inks do. I love the idea of a cherry blossom ink, but I just don’t think that this is what I was looking for. This feels more like a candy apple red or a cherry red. Still, I can appreciate the versatility this ink can bring to artists.

Thanks for reading day 4 of Inkmas, see you tomorrow for day 5- happy writing! 

Noodler’s 54th Massachusetts - Ink Review

Welcome to day 3 of the 24 Days of Inkmas!

I pulled my first Noodler’s ink of this experiment and thought it was only appropriate to load it up in my newest pen, the Noodler’s Nib Creaper! 

It’s also my first ‘bulletproof’ ink- if you’re new to inks and are unsure, a bulletproof ink is one that undergoes a chemical reaction with the cellulose in the paper it’s being used on, and binds in such a way that it’s water proof. 

Also, this ink has a pretty great backstory. Here is a video where Nathan, the genius behind Noodler’s, discusses how his personal family history ties into this special ink. It involves some really fascinating history, and I really love listening to people tell the stories that inspire the things they make.

Okay now let’s take a look at the ink:

A writing sample of Noodler’s 54th Massachusetts

Writing

This ink goes down pretty wet- at first I thought it was just because of the flex nib on the Noodler’s Nib Creaper, but even when I loaded it into my Pilot Prera with a Fine nib it went down surprisingly wet

I experienced some feathering but only when I really threw the ink down with the flex nib, and a little bit on copy paper as I was writing through the day.

Dry Time

For being a wet ink, I was expecting a long dry time- something in the range of 35 to 40 seconds. On my Rhodia paper the ink was dry by 20 seconds. 

Water Test

Since this ink is a bulletproof ink, I wanted to do two water tests- one where I dripped water on the ink immediately after writing and one after the usual 2 minute waiting period. 

The ink really does live up to it’s waterproof claims- immediately after writing, there was some movement off the page because not all chemical reactions are instantaneous, but it still stayed put to an impressive degree

After the two minute drying period this ink didn’t budge under water. 

I imagine that thicker, more cellulose rich paper, such as watercolor paper, would increase the dry-time needed for the ink to fully absorb into the page but for the average piece of paper it’s ready to face the water pretty quickly. 

Color

This is a blue-black ink that can get into the grey-ish territory.

Somehow Noodler’s was able to capture a vibrant color in such a traditionally boring shade range. 

The ink really does waiver between a deep blue and black as it goes down and sets into the paper.

This color ink is perfect for professional settings. 

Verdict

Y’all, I straight up am in love with this ink. 

I don’t buy full sized bottles of ink- generally they’re costly and I simply don’t go through inks fast enough to justify the storage space or cost of buying a full sized bottle of ink. The only non-sample sized ink I have is Brad’s Pen Addict x Robert Oster Fire on Fire ink, and I purchased that partially to support Brad and partially because it’s a rad color. 

But I might have to just pull the trigger and snag a full bottle of this ink.

It feels silly that the one I would pick is a “simple” blue-black ink as a full bottle purchase but there’s just something about this that I love. 

Who knew that out of all the colors I’ve tried while writing this blog, this would be the one I’d cave for and purchase a whole bottle. 

Thanks for reading the 3rd day of Inkmas, I’ll see you tomorrow for Day 4!

Robert Oster- Astorquiza Rot- Ink Review

Welcome to 2 day of the 24 Days of Inkmas!

Starting off strong with the second Robert Oster ink review in a row- today’s is Astorquiza-Rot!

The name is so unusual I had to do some quick research- Astorquiza is named after Claudia Astorquiza, the person who introduced Robert Oster inks to the international market, and “rot” is the German word for the color red. 

That’s a pretty cool tribute in my opinion!

Okay let’s jump into Day 2’s review:

Writing

My first assessment was that this ink was on the drier side, as written in my writing sample on Rhodia paper, but the more I wrote with it (using a TWSBI GO, Medium Nib) the more it became clear this was definitely more on the wet side of the spectrum- it just took a little bit of writing to get the flow really going.

I wrote throughout the day with this ink and really enjoyed it. I didn’t really experience any feathering on my Rhodia paper and only minimal feathering on my Field Notes and general office copy paper

Dry Time

The ink was mostly dry in 20 seconds, and fully dry after 30, which is generally what I’ve come to expect from inks of a deep color like this

Water Test

The ink isn’t water proof, and doesn’t claim to be. You can get some interesting shades out of it though- the water test shows the range that you get from this color

Color

This is a SUPER deep red. I mean, it’s so red at times it gets into the nearly brown territory. 

You can get some versatility out of it- there is a shade range from deep reddish-brown to what I’d call a blood red, but it’s usually somewhere in the reddish-brown side of the spectrum.

It’s not particularly useful for everyday office inks (unless you work in a cool office unlike me), but the spectrum of reds makes this ink feel very Autumn-y

Verdict

I like this ink. I’m not a big fan of reds but this really feels like it would go well in an Autumnal themed set.

I like Robert Oster inks and have yet to have one I’d straight up never use again, so if you’re a fan of reds, or even browns, it would be worth picking up a bottle. 

See you tomorrow for day 3, thanks for reading and happy writing! 

Robert Oster- Ocean- Ink Review

Welcome to Day 1 of the 24 days of Inkmas!

Out of the bag came an ink I’ve been wanting to try- Robert Oster’s Ocean. 

So let’s get to Day 1!

Inkmas Day 1 writing sample of Robert Oster’s Ocean

Writing

This ink writes well- I don’t find it goes down particularly wet or dry, like most Robert Oster inks it’s a nice middle of the road writer. I had it loaded into my Pilot Prera for this review, but spent the day writing with it in my Medium Nib Lamy AL Star

I wrote on a handful of different papers through the day- the review was written on a Rhodia notebook, but I wrote in my Field Notes notebook (using Acadia from the National Park series) and some standard office copy paper.

I found this ink doesn’t feather as much as I would have expected on the non-fountain pen friendly paper, but there is some. 

Dry Time

This ink is a surprisingly fast drier- I expect a 25 to 30 second dry time for most inks but this was mostly dry after 15 seconds and completely dry after 20

Water Test

This ink isn’t water proof, and it doesn’t claim to be. I drew som cross-hatch lines, let them dry for 2 minutes and dropped some water on and in places the ink came completely up from the page.

Color

I think like most people I enjoy the color blue, but don’t really want a fountain pen to be inked up with blue ink unless I REALLY like it. 

This ink feels like a safe blue for professional environments, while still being a shade off from “traditional” work blue inks, so you can get a little bit of secret enjoyment out of using it in a day to day setting. 

I’m pretty impressed by the range of shades you can get from this ink, from a deep to a light blue, and so I can see why Robert Oster named this ink ‘Ocean’

Verdict

I enjoy this ink and I’ll definitely be leaving it in as long as I can during this Inkmas experiment. 

I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a work-safe color, but still enjoys getting depth out of their inks. I’d also recommend it to someone trying to experiment some with their inks and art- like I said before the shade range is impressive and I’d love to see someone use this ink in a water painting.

See you tomorrow for Inkmas Day 2- thanks for reading, happy writing! 

Inkmas Challenge - 2019

Hi all and welcome back to Duck’s Doodles!

Since it’s the holiday season I decided to do something a little different- I’ve decided that this year, I was going to treat myself to some ink.

Okay, a lot of ink. 

And I decided to do something fun with all this ink, and a personal challenge for the blog.

So I purchased 24 random ink samples and am going to have myself a DIY ink advent calendar. 

I did check them before hand to make sure there wouldn’t be any repeats of inks I’ve reviewed previously- thankfully there was only one (Noodler’s Apache Sunset), so I swapped it out for another ink sample I had, Noodler’s Fox. 

So, the rules for this are simple: One ink is drawn randomly per day. I have to ink up a pen with that ink. I have to write a review on that ink. Repeat for the first 24 days of December. Then have one final post before the end of December ranking all 24 inks.

(Inks have been shuffled around so they’re randomized and put in a non-clear bag-I won’t peek, I promise!). 

I’m pretty excited, and a little nervous to see how messy my hands are always going to be.

I’ll see you all later today for the first review!

Field Notes - Autumn Trilogy Edition Review - Fall 2019

Hi all and welcome back to Duck’s Doodles!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year- Field Notes Quarterly Edition review day, woohoo!

Field Notes recently released their latest quarterly edition- Autumn Trilogy.

Autumn is my favorite season- growing up in the northeast, there’s just something so special about going for a walk and seeing suburban streets lined in brilliant reds, yellows and oranges with the same beautifully colored leaves crunching under your feet. 

A closeup of the Field Notes - Autumn Trilogy edition

Outside

The Field Notes site always outlines the processes they go through to design their editions; here is where you can see all the steps they take (including a video). The shortened version is that it went from 2D model, to 3D model, to diecast master, to hot resin copies to stamp multiple at a time. They then worked through some tests with various combos of papers, inks, tints and varnishes until the perfect balance was found. 

The final result is a varnished coverstock in 3 very autumnal colors with 3 different leaf designs, bound together with gold colored staples. The orange notebook features a Sugar Maple leaf, the yellow has an American Elm leaf and the red has a Scarlet Oak leaf.

I enjoy the debossed leaves and embossed Field Notes logo on the front cover. The details that they were able to capture in the leaves are INSANE. The only problem is that these details are so subtle that you can really only notice these details in certain light (see pictures at the bottom of this section) or by running your hand over it. Additionally, the back cover has a small embossed tree with “Field Notes” at the bottom. It’s one of those nice Field Notes-y details.

I think when it comes to the colors, the Field Notes team really captured the extreme end of the spectrum for vibrant colors that can appear on trees, but I don’t think the photographs on their site (or even mine) do these colors justice. I was expecting these to be the more burnt orange and a deeper (I.e. less highlighter) yellow, but the red was exactly what I anticipated with the description of “Scarlet Red”. That’s not to say I’m disappointed in these colors, I really think these are the most autumn-y of autumn colors.

I’m particularly attached to the Scarlet Oak leaf, as it’s one of the symbols at my alma mater (go Scarlet Knights!), so that’ll probably be the first one I start using.

A close of up of the orange Sugar Maple

A close of up of the red Scarlet Oak

A close of up of the yellow American Elm

Inside

This edition features lined paper inside and the tops of each page have 2 thin stripes that match the color of the notebook (orange, yellow, red). The Field Notes site lists the paper used as “Finch Paper Fine Ultra Smooth 70#T Soft White”.

I enjoy dot grid notebooks, and I think they’re most popular because they allow for a more flexible setup. But because it’s so popular, I just have a million pocket notebooks with dot grids. I’m pretty happy that Field Notes chose to go with the lined insides to give my collection some variety.

As with all Field Notes, this edition features a section in the front cover for you to write when you started and ended the edition and a place for contact info as well as some general Field Notes info inside the back cover.

Writing

When it comes to writing this edition is no different than any other field notes edition. It isn’t fountain pen or marker friendly, but handles everything else (Retro 51s, Bics, Pilot G2s etc.) just fine. 

Quarterly Extra- Bandana

This might be my favorite extra, but it’s mostly because my beagle Mollywobbles looks so CUTE in bandanas. 

It has the pattern of the 3 leaves around the boarder, along with a Nathaniel Hawthorne quote. 

Please enjoy a few pics of my long suffering pup enduring this bandana:

Verdict

I like this edition. Much like everything Field Notes does, it feels like no effort was spared to make this timely edition. 

I get the sense that Field Notes knows they’ll crush it with Autumn themed notebooks (Mackinaw Autumn, anyone?), so this edition feels like a little bit of a “Best Of” moment. 

Not to say that’s bad, Field Notes has been absolutely killing it with their last few editions, but they’ve been steadily getting more and more complex- from a whole Field Notes community treasure hunt to 9 different covers for different National Parks, there’s no shortage effort being put into these notebooks. Sometimes going back to elegant basics is a welcome change, and that’s what this edition feels like to me. This is Field Notes going back to what Field notes does best- celebrating simplicity.

I dig this edition, and it’s another one I’m glad to have in my collection.

This run is out of 35,000. If you’d like to purchase one you can start a yearly subscription or just buy this edition outright here

Note- I’m not affiliated or sponsored by any brands listed here and all items were purchased by me for review.

Noodler's Dragon's Napalm Ink - Review

Hey everyone and welcome back to Duck’s Doodles!

I took a step back from the blog for a bit; the unfortunate truth of being an adult is that sometimes real life takes priority over the most loved hobbies.

But I’m back, with things a little more in balance in my life. And I figured, what better way to come roaring back than with an ink review for Noodler’s DRAGON’S NAPALM *cue sick metal riff*

Seriously, this is such an intense name for an ink and I absolutely LOVE it. 

Okay without further delay, let’s jump into the review!

Coloring

In every picture I’ve seen of this ink, the swabs all look orangey to me. You always see on ink sites things like “real colors may vary based on monitor settings”. And that’s totally true. So when it looked orangey, I expected a fairly orange ink.

I started to write and, unsurprisingly, it goes down orange. 

But when you let it dry fully, it takes on a very vibrant red hue. It’s even more apparent when you swab it next to the most orange of orange inks, Robert Oster x Pen Addict Fire on Fire (the review of which can be found here).

I swabbed a few other inks I had on hand to help illustrate the real color of the ink, since I think having the others as a visual comparison really helps make the vibrancy pop.

I totally get why the name Dragon’s Napalm is the perfect name now, it’s that bright red is always used in the depiction of a dragon- it’s the reddish orange color of the fireball about to shoot out of a dragon’s throat. 

Feathering

This ink is pretty wet, which usually tends to lead to at least some feathering. But I was pleasantly surprised that this ink stayed put- I noticed no feathering on the Rhodia notebook I was writing in and minimal when writing on non-fountain pen friendly paper (my Field Notes book)

Dry Time 

As mentioned above, the ink goes down pretty wet. When I was writing out the writing test I guessed it would take about 15 to 25 seconds, and it was on the higher side at 25 seconds. 

I wrote in a Rhodia notebook and with a Pilot Metropolitan (Fine nib), so your dry time may vary based on the paper you use and the specific pen.

Shading

Often times with wet inks I’m able to play around with the shading some- it soaks into the paper and allows me to get some lighter or deeper shades based on how much ink I’m throwing on the paper, but I really wasn’t getting any variety from this ink. It stayed the bright reddish-orange the whole time.

Water Test

This ink is not water proof, but it isn’t advertised to be so.

The water test really pulls out the highlighter pinks and deep reds that went into this ink. 

(Water tests are my favorite, you can really deconstruct the inks)

General Writing Experience

The ink goes down wet but not globby, so it creates a smooth glide as you write. It goes down super bright and stays super bright, so I imagine that I’m not going to be using it in my every day office job. But for fun and for my personal projects it’s an enjoyable ink. 

Verdict

I’m going to buy the full size of this ink.

No, seriously. I got this as a sample and I love it. It’s such a fun color, it’s a wet ink that doesn’t take a full minute to dry, and it’s got an AWESOME name. I can see late writing or trudging through meeting notes becoming a more enjoyable experience if this ink was used. I love it, I really do. 

If you want to pick it up, I purchased this sample from Goulet Pens. Here is a link to the sample and here is a link to the full sized.

Thanks for reading and happy writing!

Note- All opinions expressed are my own, and all items mentioned in this post were purchased by me.

One year of Duck's Doodles

Just over a year ago I finally pulled the trigger and created this blog.

For years, I had wanted to do some kind of project. I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to take the form of a podcast, a blog, a Youtube channel or something else entirely.

I’m an anxious person by nature and that’s a huge part of why I have all these “great” ideas and just never do anything about them. There’s always something saying “what if they don’t like your content?”, “is anyone really interested in this?”, “why would anyone care about what you’re saying/doing?”.

I was listening to an episode of The Pen Addict when I signed up for a SquareSpace trial- I had gone back and started the show from the beginning, and the progression of hearing Myke and Brad talk about their businesses…something finally clicked. They both were passionate about something and just…did it. They both gave it a shot and there was no reason I shouldn’t too.

So I signed up for the trial, played around with building the site and in the literal last hour of the trial, just bit the bullet and made the site.

I wrote my first review (fittingly, it was on the orange Pen Addict Retro 51 collab) and the rest is history.

When I started this blog as a hobby, I never imagined that people from literally all over the world would read my opinions on products- I lost my mind when the first international user found my blog. It still shocks me how kind and welcoming the community is- GoldSpot Pens featured my Paris Skyline review in their newsletter, folks have sent in such wonderful emails and overall everyone is just happy to show a beginner the ropes.

One of the other things I didn’t imagine coming from this hobby was a sense of confidence- I’m still unsure of what I want my next project to be, but I do now know that there can be a next project. I’m fully capable of doing what I want to do and there’s no reason to not at least try.

This isn’t the biggest blog in the world, but it’s mine. I’m proud of what I put out, and I thank all of you for coming along for the ride.

I’ll be back soon with more reviews, but in the meantime thanks for reading and happy writing!

-Lindsey

Field Notes - National Parks Edition Review - Summer 2019

Hi all and welcome back to Duck's Doodles!

Today I'm taking a look at the recently released quarterly Field Notes, Summer 2019 edition.

I LOVE Field Notes, and something about the different editions just appeal to my collectors brain. And as someone who loves the National Parks, the announcement of this edition was just like Christmas morning for me.

So let's take a look!

All 9 National Parks editions. From top left- Yosemite, Acadia, Zion, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain, Great Smoky Mointains and Yellowstone

Design- Outside

Let's start with the most obvious feature of this set- the gorgeous covers. Each of the 9 notebooks in the set are adorned with an illustration representing a National Park. 

The parks featured are Yosemite, Zion, Acadia (series A), Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Mount Rainier (series B), Rocky Mountain, Great Smoky Mountain and Yellowstone (series C).

These illustrations were printed using a special, 5 color process that allowed Field Notes to incorporate the color of the cover paper (listed as "100-lb. cover stock from the French Paper Company of Niles, Michigan" on the Field Notes Site) to be used in the printing process.

A close up of the detail on the Acadia cover. The cover is the light yellow seen in the clouds.

I'm just absolutely in awe that Field Notes was able to get the results they did on these cover designs. These illustrations are gorgeous representations of the National Parks unto themselves, but the fact that Field Notes was able to get them onto their standard sized notebooks with no loss of detail just speaks to the level of commitment they constantly have to their products.

This edition doesn’t come with a belly band, but each set has a backing card with the info that normally appears on the belly band (the name of the edition, the pages, the size etc.). The other side of the backing card has a short paragraph about this edition, a list of the parks (with checklist) and info on the quarterly subscriptions.

I’m a little bummed there’s no belly band, as I usually use them as a ‘holding cell’ for my yet to be used notebooks, but I also understand that the Field Notes folks didn’t want to break up the cover designs.

A photo of the backing cards

The three binding staples on all of these notebooks are a copper color.

Design- Inside

The inside cover is a slight change to the usual design- it still has the 'For Internal Records' section where you can put the date the book was started and ended, as well as a place to put your name and contact info. The only difference keeps it in line with the theme- it gives you a section to put the stamp that you collect at the National Park you’re visiting.

The inside back cover has the usual ruler, the brief Field Notes story and notebook specifications. It also includes a short history of the National Park featured on the cover; the history of the subject is always one of my favorite Field Note features. 

Inside back cover of the Acadia edition

The pages inside are a bright white color with grid print inside. The grid is printed in "“Green Earth” soy-based ink.

Writing Experience

If you’ve ever written in the memo book size of Field Notes, this is no different than any others as they use their standard paper here.

If you haven’t, the paper inside writes pretty smoothly no matter the type of pen you’re using. This notebook paper isn’t fountain pen friendly, but I’ve found that fountain pen inks on the drier side have minimal bleeding, you just have to be super sure they’re dry before you turn the page. These pages also don’t work well for Sharpie or other markers.

Verdict

In short- I love this edition and you should go buy a full set right now.

In long- I don't always love the designs that Field Notes put out but I always respect their attention to detail and care they put into their products. However, this edition really checks every single box for me. 

Some of my favorite Field Notes editions are the ones where they choose to do things that celebrate something, rather than only be themed around it. This edition celebrates beautiful and unique things about America, and in such a way that feels very...very Field Notes for lack of a better term. This edition feels like it was an inevitable edition to be made, and I’m just so happy that Field Notes chose to wait on it until everything aligned to make a fantastic edition.

If you’d like to pick up a set for yourself, you can buy the individual packs of 3 for $12.95 (or get all 9 because 5% of the purchase goes towards the National Park Service, and that’s pretty cool)

Note- I’m not affiliated with Field Notes or Fifty Nine Parks. I purchase everything reviewed here and all opinions are my own.

Blackwing Pearl - Review

Hi all! Welcome back to Duck’s Doodles

Today I’ll be reviewing the Blackwing Pearl- my second ever pencil review, and my first wood pencil review!

I’ve been wanting to try Blackwings for a while- they’re fairly well known in the stationary world, but since pencils aren’t my go to writing implement I was hesitant to shell out the money for them (they’re $24.95 before shipping on the company’s site, and I paid slightly more at retail).

I wasn’t sure which to pick, so a friend recommended that if I wanted to both write and sketch I should give the Pearls a shot (thanks Kelsey!)

So let’s take a closer look-

A close up of the gold foiling, the ferrule and the eraser

Packaging and Pencil Design

The packaging is a pretty standard box with an image of the pencil on the front and some information about the company on the back. It’s just a pull on and off lid, and these pencils come in packs of 12.

Since this is the Pearl model, the pencil has a white finish, a white eraser, gold foiling that has the name of the company and pencil model, and a gold ferrule (that’s the official name for the metal part that attaches the pencil and the eraser, who knew!).

Now part of what makes Blackwings special is that they don’t have the typical circular eraser at the end; the backs of their pencils are actually crimped in, which forms an elongated, rectangular eraser.

The erasers themselves are replaceable. So if you find yourself in need of a fresh one, but still have plenty of pencil left, you can swap them with ease.

The barrel is hexagonal, something that is an absolute must in my opinion.

The pencil itself is made from California Incense Cedar, which gives the pencil a really great pencilly smell. The cedar itself is a light weight yet sturdy wood.

Writing Experience

To contextualize my use of the pencil for the review, I wrote with it for a day for work notes. Since I doodle during meetings, and while thinking, please know that anything sketching related that I talk about is coming from my work doodles.

This pencil is advertised as being the Goldilocks pencil- not to soft and not too firm- and its exactly that. Unfortunately, I’ve found that it means that for me it can’t fully do either of its jobs as effectively as I’d like. It doesn’t give the writing feedback I enjoy with harder pencils and it was a little too soft for me to use to shade my doodles comfortably.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy writing with this pencil, I really did. The graphite was smooth and consistent, the pencil itself is a tad longer than most standard pencils and therefore had a comfortable balance to it and the eraser is pretty clean (i.e. those little squiggly eraser bits are pretty contained).

I found that when writing, it smears significantly less than other pencils but if you intentionally smear it you can get a really great fade effect, which is the soft-artistic pencil side of it showing through.

Verdict

This is very clearly a well-made pencil. A lot of care goes into the quality of materials, and it shows. I just don’t think that the Pearl fits my personal needs. I do enjoy writing with design of the Blackwing, and will absolutely be purchasing them in the future, just not the Pearl model.

As an aside, the owners, California Cedar Company (CalCed), does a lot of cool things through the Blackwing brand- most important to me is they support musical education in schools through their Blackwing Foundation. Even if I didn’t absolutely love the Pearl edition, I’m more than happy knowing some of my money went to supporting a great cause. Rock on, Blackwing!

If you find that the Pearl would fit your needs, you can purchase one here from Blackwing directly, and all of their other models are listed on the site too.

Thanks for reading, happy writing!

Note- I am not affiliated with any corporation listed in this post and the above links are not sponsored or affiliate links

Karas Kustoms - Retrakt V2 - Review

Hi all and welcome back to Duck’s Doodles- I’ve had a flurry of new stationary goodies recently, one of which I’ll be taking a closer look at today- Karas Kustoms Retrakt model, V2.

Karas Retrakt v2 with the County Fair edition of Field Notes

A quick note, I don’t have the V1 but off of Karas site it seems the key differences between V1 and V2 would be the improved o-ring; they’ve built this model with a more secure o-ring to keep the parts from unscrewing on their own while in your pocket.

So let’s get to it!

Packaging

Karas packaging  

The packaging design is very reminiscent of a retro electronics box. Even the Karas Kustoms logo looks like something that might be found on the front of a 1960s radio

The packaging itself is just a cardboard box with some inserts to hold the pen in place during transport, simple yet durable, which generally reflects all of Kara’s items.

Also they send you a pretty cool sticker with it, and I’m a total sucker for stickers.

Pen Design

For those who don’t know, Karas Kustoms specializes in machined items. They offer a variety of pens, including fountain pens, and some other products like a pen holder and the occasional toy top.

This batch is offered in a variety of colors and body materials- the two toned options (half silver and half color) are all anodized aluminum, the all black is aluminum and there are brass and copper options.

I chose the aluminum because I like the two-toned look, plus I write notes frequently throughout the day and was concerned about the about sheer heft of other metals would work for my purposes.

For weight comparison, the Retrakt site lists the pen material weights as Aluminum Weight – 27.7g / 0.97 oz, Brass Weight – 61.8g / 2.18 oz and Copper Weight – 65.1g / 2.29 oz.

The top of the pen has a sizable band of knurling (the official word for that crosshatch pattern), which really adds to the pen looking “finished” in my opinion.

The clicking mechanism at the top is made of stainless steel, which I suspect is because it’s the most manipulated part of the pen and the Karas folks wanted to give it some more durability.

Clip

A close up of the bolted clip

I’m a big fan of pens with clips- I like to use them to stick the pen I’m using to the front of my notebook, to the inside of my pen case and frequently to my clothes. As such, I like a clip that’s nice and tight and will stay that way through being manipulated.

And boy oh boy, is this clip here to stay. It’s actually just bolted onto the pen, so it’s as secure of a clip as you can get.

Clicking mechanism

One of my favorite parts of any pen is the capping/retraction noise. I like to hear a satisfying ‘pop’ or ‘click’. And with a name like ‘Retrakt’ I thought for sure I was in for a really great clicky noise from this pen.

Alas, the clicky noise never appears. The clicking mechanism doesn’t so much pop into place as it slides into place, so when you click the pen you get a brief, sliding, metal- on-metal noise. Not in a grating or unpleasant way, but not in the traditionally satisfying clicky way.

Writing Experience

This pen is very well balanced- when I saw the clip was bolted on I was afraid it would have a bit too much weight and “tug” the pen in the back but the size of the barrel does a good job counteracting that so it’s a comfortable writing experience.

The barrel itself is pretty thick, but no so thick that I’ve found it uncomfortable.

When you order a Retrakt you can choose the default refill option that your pen will be loaded up with, but the way the folks at Karas have designed this pen is that with a little bit of provided material you can accommodate different size refills.

I opted to get the Pilot G2 setup, since I’m a G2 fan and have plenty of extra refills lying around. The smoothness of the G2 refill flows really well with the balance of the pen, and overall has a nice writing experience.

Verdict

I like this pen, I really do. It’s not without fault, but nothing is ever perfect. I enjoy the writing experience and colors available are beautiful.

I can’t weigh in on if the V2 o-ring makes a difference, but it is a very secure connection when you reassemble the pen.

I enjoy the variety of refills you can have in this pen, it’s a unique feature to have a pen be designed with more than one or two types of refills in mind so this pen ends up being whatever you need (or want) it to be.

It’s expensive for sure, at $70 for the aluminum model. But you’re paying for a handmade, durable product made entirely in the USA. Plus you get a cool sticker, so it’s a win win.

If you’d like your own Retrakt you can order one here.

Here’s the cool sticker you get for ordering from Karas Kustoms

How to clean a fountain pen

Hi all! Welcome back to Duck’s Doodles!

I apologize for my brief hiatus, but as anyone who has a full time job (or two!) can understand, sometimes the things we enjoy have to be put on hold for the things we have to do.

But I’m back and happy to be writing again!

Today I wanted to tackle something that wasn’t a review, but a controversy that splits the pen community in two- the cleaning of fountain pens. Some folks love it, and some folks absolutely dread it.

I put myself squarely in the camp of ‘loving it’, there’s something cathartic about it in my opinion.

So I figured for today’s post I could take you through the way I clean my pens!

There are tons of ways to clean your pens out there, and they may be needed if your pens have been sitting for a long time or have had some other sort of build up. But for this post I’ll just be going through a basic cleaning routine

Step 1- Disassemble your pen(s)

Pens being cleaned, from left to right- Pilot Prera, Pilot Metropolitan, Jinhao Shark, TWSBI GO, Lamy AL Star

A clear first step is to take apart your pen! Be sure to keep your parts organized. Empty out any ink left in the converter or remove the cartdridge

Step 2- Rinse

Cleaning my Lamy

The next step is to run water over the bottom part of your pen that contains the feed and the nib. Some folks rally against tap water, saying that the minerals in the water can build and clog pens. If you think you have a large amount of particulates in your water you might want to use distilled or filtered water. If not, tap water away!

Keep rinsing until the water runs clear

Step 3- Clean the converter (if applicable)

Converter before  

Converter after, nice and clean!  

If you don’t have a converter, go ahead and skip to Step 4. If your pen does use a converter to load, empty the old ink if there’s any left.

Rinse the converter, to clear any ink at the base.

Take a cup of clean water and load up the converter. Expel the water into a sink or a secondary cup.

Repeat as many times as needed until the water coming out of the converter is clear

Step 4- Use the converter/ink filling system to flush the feed

Re-attach the converter to the base of your pen if you have one.

Get yourself another cup of clean water, and using the pen’s filling system load up on water. Expel the water into a sink or secondary cup

Rinse and repeat as many times as you can until the water is clear.

I find this to be one of the most time consuming parts of the cleaning process, as it always seems that here’s just a tiny bit more ink stuck in the feed.

Step 5- Soak

And this is why we soak!  

Time to let that nib soak!

This is to really let any stubborn ink out of the pen. I’ll usually let it soak for at least an hour.

Step 6- Dry

Go ahead and let your pens fully dry, it usually takes an hour or two. I tend to clean my pens at night, and will allow my pens to dry until the morning ​

Additionally, I tuck a paper towel at the bottom of a cup and put the pens upright to dry, but this isn’t 100% necessary ​

Step 7- Reload with ink and enjoy!

Enjoy your newly cleaned pens! ​

Pilot metropolitan, reassembled. And my horribly ink stained hand

Thanks for reading, happy writing! ​

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to try and clean the ink stains from my hands....​

Field Notes - Mile Marker Edition Review - Spring 2019

Hey there, welcome back to Duck’s Doodles! 

Today I’ll be taking a look at the Spring 2019 Quarterly Field Notes- the Mile Marker edition.  

So lets get into it! 

A closer look at the Field Notes Mild Marker Edition. You can really see the foil on the Deer sign book

Outside

These notebooks are a standard Field Notes size at 3½" × 5½" and are themed around celebrating the USA highway system so naturally they’re modeled after signs. A green exit sign (my personal favorite since these things are a staple of my life in New Jersey), a blue interstate sign and a yellow deer crossing sign. 

These designs are simple but attractive. They’re certainly not “original”  in the traditional sense but these minimalist designs are the type of thing I love to see and it feels very much like a Draplin Design piece (just check out this postage stamp Aaron Draplin designed) 

The borders of the sign and the writing is all foil, which gives it a nice shine as if these have the reflective designs of real street signs. I think it would have been a cool opportunity to have something else printed on the back but sometimes simple is better. 

I also have to mention the small details- the staples are colored black on the deer sign and white on the other two notebooks and the mile marker design on the belly band for the edition. Something I always admire about Field Notes is the little details like these- they really bring the project together and demonstrate how much these folks care about their notebooks. These are little details you might not notice (or care about) but it’s things they notice and with things like this details are everything.

Inside

The pages inside are the usual Field Notes paper (Domtar Lynx Opaque Smooth 60#T in “White” for folks who are interested). The page design is a dot graph with the light grey ink. I’ve found dot graph paper to be the “Goldilocks design”; it’s not as open as a blank page but it’s not as restrictive as lined paper so it appeals to the most amount of people.

As always, the inside back cover features short blurb on the Field Notes company, the specifics of the notebook itself and some “Practical Applications”- a fun list of themed suggestions to use the notebooks on.

Inside the edition- showing off the back cover as well as the dot grid paper

Writing

The writing experience is pretty standard for a Field Notes notebook- fountain pens and sharpie bleed through and it handles things like ballpoints with no problem. This paper isn’t advertised as fountain pen friendly (as much as I’d love if it was!) so no surprises here. 

The Map

The map is the “add on” of this edition. It’s a genuine impossible to fold glove compartment map, but loaded with some extra information.  

There’s Field Notes usual background info talking about the origin of the Highway Program, a guide on changing a tire, a guide on jumping a battery, an explanation of the mile marker numbering system, a list of toll systems (E-Z Pass or bust!), a license plate checklist, time zones, the full map of the US highway system and, adorably, directions to get to Field Notes HQ.

The Map

I really enjoy the design of the map- the Field Notes site calls it “a beautiful and thoughtful data design solution” and I wholeheartedly agree. It’s a clean, crisp and thoughtful design. If you’d like to learn more about the project from the designer Cameron Booth, here is a link where it’s discussed.

Verdict

I love this edition. Full out. It’s not the most original but this edition just feels like a Field Notes edition. They’re simple, beautiful and meaningful designs. It’s celebrating something in a cool, thoughtful way. I’m a total sucker for things like this (I mean c’mon I love 99% Invisible as much as you other beautiful nerds). I can see why it’s not for everyone, and maybe it’s my love of all things road trips that is tainting my judgement here but I’m really excited to use these notebooks.

If you’d like to pick up your own, this edition is out of 35,000 and can be purchased here. 

Lamy Safari Pikachu Limited Edition - Review

Hi and welcome back to Duck’s Doodles!

Today I’ll be taking a closer look at Lamy’s China exclusive, Limited Edition Pikachu set. I was incredibly lucky to get my hands on it, and was able to thanks to Massdrop (Non-Referral Link).

Pokemon is one of my favorite game franchises of all time, so I was particularly excited to be able to snag this kit.

Packaging

The kit comes in a red and white box with a clear window that allows you to see the Pokéball clamshell box that the set comes in. This outer box has “Pika!”, pokeballs and lightning bolts all over and is colored like a pokeball.

Outside box featuring a sleeping Pikachu and the outside of the set’s box  

I actually really like this outerbox, it feels like it fits with the the Pokémon franchise that often proudly puts Pikachu front and center on all their marketing. It’s pretty thin though, which is a little surprising considering the thickness of the pokeball case.

The pokeball clamshell case that holds the kit itself speaks when opened up, which is a very neat feature that feels like it fits with the fun nature of the product.  

Accessories

This kit comes with the Pikachu Pen, two clip figures, a Pokeball pen holder, and a travel case.

The kit itself- the pokeball holder, the Pikachu figures, the pen and the travel case

The pen clip figures are of Pikachu’s face and one of a sleeping Pikachu. These figures are ADORABLE! The face clip has a bar around the back that you just slide the clip onto, and the sleeping figure has a small plastic saddle piece that goes under either side of the parallel pieces that make up the clip. The sleeping figure is a little trickier to get on so I think for now I’ll stick with keeping Pikachu’s face on here. Additionally, there are instructions included to help you have the sleeping figure clip into the pokeball stand if you would prefer to have it there.

The Lamy Safari with the Pikachu face clip in the Pokeball holder  

The Pokeball pen holder is shockingly hefty. I’m pretty sure it’s made out of solid plastic, potentially with some weights at the bottom. The Safari fits perfectly in the slot in the top, and the bottom has a small flat spot to give the ball a surface to stand on. This pen holder is a pen accessory I didn’t know I needed until I had it in my possession. I can’t quite explain it but there’s something satisfying about grabbing a pen out of its designated holder instead of just out of a drawer or off your desk.

The pen case that comes with this set is yellow on the outside (of course!) and brown on the inside. The case has Pikachu’s face stamped on the front, “Lamy” stamped on the back and has a zipper in the shape of pikachu’s tail. It’s a nice sized carrying case to fit the pen, with pockets on either side with a smaller mesh net pocket on one side. This set comes with instructions for pen care as well as a certicificate of authenticity, which are tucked away inside the travel case.

Outside of the case

Inside of the case

I’m not sure how much use I’ll get out of this pen case but I do appreciate it being included as an accessory for those folks who travel with their pens. It feels like it’s made out of durable soft vinyl material, making it viable to use everyday rather than just a novelty. 

Pen

The pen itself is a standard Lamy Safari, but is in an exclusive Pikachu Yellow color, with a red clip and a tail design on the cap.

Backside of the pen featuring the Pikachu tail

I have written about the Lamy AL Star, which is the aluminum version of the Lamy Safari so I already knew what to expect in terms of writing comfort and performance. For folks who are unfamiliar with Lamy pens, they’re comfortable and sturdy writers perfect for every day use that are often referred to as the work horses of the fountain pen world 

The pen comes with a converter so you can use bottled inks or a standard Lamy cartridge will work. I had no issues writing out of the box with this pen. 

Verdict

This is just an awesome kit. This isn’t just a bunch of cheap Pokémon items thrown together with a yellow pen. It feels like every item in this kit was thought about deeply and was only included if it was functional and matched the fun, whimsical tone of this set. There is not one thing in this set that feels like it was cheaply produced. I think Lamy knocked it out of the park with this one.

It is a bit frustrating for fans that it’s a regional exclusive but I’m glad there are vendors who make it possible to snag one of these beauties. Let’s hope they make kits for the other starters, I’d love to have Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle themed pens too!

Note- I am not affiliated with Massdrop in any professional relationship at this time, just a customer.  

Robert Oster x Pen Addict collaboration - Fire on Fire - Review

Welcome back to Duck’s Doodles!

Today I’m looking at the Robert Oster and Pen Addict collaboration ink, Fire on Fire.

It seems like after YEARS of everyone begging him, Brad finally decided to go for it and make an ink. As soon as Brad announced this collab I jumped right on it- I’m a fan of all things orange, and the chance to support a creator in the community is something I couldn’t pass up. (And also, come on we’ve all been asking for so long for this there was absolutely no way I wasn’t going to be included in the first batch of orders)

So, without any further ado- let’s get into the review!

Robert Oster x Pen Addict  

Coloring

This ink is (not surprisingly) orange! I don’t know how Robert Oster did it, but I’m impressed at just how spot on this orange is to the rest of the Pen Addict’s branding.

The top of the bottle has a slight sample and the ink name  

Some of the orange inks I’ve encountered in the past are INCREDIBLY orange. Like, it hurts your eyes to look at orange. Thankfully, this ink is not one of those.

I find that the way that I write has an unintended effect of allowing inks to pool at slightly different places in the letters and this really allows me to get a good sense of the range that an ink can produce. This ink can produce a nice shade of lighter orange as well as a deep shade far closer to the red end of the spectrum.

A close up of the ink to see the coloring  

With most inks that I’ve written with, you absolutely HAVE to use fountain pen friendly paper to get the color as advertised. I haven’t found that to be true here. I used this ink today while working and found that both on copy paper and in my Field Notes notebooks the color didn’t dissipate. This is an ink that mostly stays where you put it on the paper, and I think that this is the contributing factor. Other inks tend to separate out on non fountain pen friendly paper. This really takes away from the depth of colors, and in some cases changes the shade of a color entirely. So how well this ink stays down means you’ll get that orange-y goodness on different papers. (Though I feel by writing this blog I’m legally obligated to still recommend you use fountain pen friendly paper)

Feathering

As I said above, this is an ink that stays where you put it. I experienced a bit of feathering on copy paper, though that’s to be expected. Your mileage may vary depending on your set-up, but I imagine as long as you’re not using a pen that’s throwing ink down on the paper faster than you can refill it you won’t run into anything extreme.

Dry Time

This ink was 100% dry at 45 seconds, though it was VERY close to being entirely dry at 40 seconds.

Dry time test was done with my TWSBI Go

Water Resistance

This ink is not water resistant, though it’s not specified to be so.

Water test of the Fire on Fire ink  

General Writing Experience

This is an incredibly solid ink. It goes down at a comfortable flow rate, writes on the dry side and feels nice going down on the paper.

I really enjoy the color- Brad had stated that he wanted this to be a good orange to use everyday and I think he nailed it.

I do feel it’s important to warn anyone out there, this ink will stain your fingers fantastically. It’s been 8 hours and there’s no sign of this coming off my hands anytime soon. Worth it!

Verdict

This is my first Robert Oster ink and I’m thoroughly impressed- the ink itself writes beautifully. I want to note I prefer inks with a shorter dry time, but the long dry time alone is not enough to deter me from using this ink on a regular basis. 

The Fire on Fire ink is definitely going to be bringing some life into my notebooks.

The initial batch of this ink sold out, but will be available again shortly on Brad’s site. It is $17 for a 50 mL bottle

Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

Note- I have not been paid for this post nor am I affiliated with any company mentioned in this post. I purchased this ink myself and opinions are my own. 

Retro 1951 Tornado - Cake and Pie editions Review (Goulet Pen Exclusive)

Welcome back to Duck’s Doodles! Today we’ll be taking a closer look at Goulet Pens exclusive Retro 51 Tornados- the Cake edition and the Pie edition 

For folks who are new here, I collect the Tornado line, so as soon as Goulet announced these I snatched them up!  

So let’s jump in! 

Design

The pie version features a teal colored background  with cartoon versions of all sorts of delicious looking pies, including pumpkin, key lime, blackberry and cherry pie.   Interestingly, instead of having the same teal color the top cap features a dark blue background and a heart with “Pie” in the middle 

The cake counterpart features a dark blue (the typical “Goulet Blue” that the Goulets use in their branding) background with cartoony cakes- some of them are chocolate forest cake, bundt cake, red velvet cake and strawberry shortcake. Since the top cap of the pie version featured the shade of blue on the barrel of this pen, I was surprised that this top cap didn’t feature the teal color on the barrel of the pie pen. Instead, the cake version has an orange background and a heart with “Cake” in it. 

A closeup of the topcaps  

A closer look at the pie and cake designs  

Both editions have nice, shiny chrome hardware which compliments both designs well.  

Additionally, both come packaged in the typical Retro 51 tubes, with their designs being mimicked on the outside and the tops featuring the Goulet signature.  

Writing Experience

One of the reasons I collect Tornados is because I love the writing experience. If you’ve ever written with a Retro 51, you know just how smooth these pens are. They come loaded up with Retro’s standard rollerball refill but there’s many other compatible refills out there, so feel free to mix and match. 

I also appreciate how well balanced the Tornado design is- the clip provides a nice counter balance in your hand.  

Verdict

I’m a complete sucker for sweet treats- I love baking. So when two of my interests collided, it was an instant buy for me. So, if you like Retro 51s or are a fan of sweet treats, either these are good pens for you.

Both these editions are limited out of 500, and both are still available (as of writing this post) for $46.60 each on Goulet’s site- here’s the cake and here’s the pie . 

In the interest of clarity, I’m unaffiliated with either Retro 51 or the Goulet company.

Uni Kuru Toga review- My Neighbor Totoro edition

Welcome back and happy new year! 

For the first post of the year I’ll be taking a look at Uni’s Kuru Toga mechanical pencil. 

While my main focus is pens, I do find a space for pencils in my arsenal. This pencil isn’t your typical mechanical pencil- for those unfamiliar with this model, the pencil rotates the lead slightly as you write to ensure the lead is worn at an even pace. 

A closeup of the rotation device in the grip

So let’s get right into it!  

Packaging 

Packaging back  

This pencil was picked up at a Kinokuniya bookstore in New York City and was imported from Japan- as such a large amount of the writing is in Japanese. 

The front of the packaging shows the art that’s featured on the pen itself; an adorable Totoro holding an umbrella in the rain. I don’t read or speak Japanese, but the pictures on the back seem to detail the rotation mechanism of the pencil and compares it to lead that does not rotate. 

Now, for the most important thing about this packaging....it was incredibly easy to open. It has minimal plastic and a thin cardboard backing. I wish all products were like this- excessive packaging is a plague on the stationary world and I can appreciate simple but effective packaging.  

Pencil design

A closeup of the clip and eraser  

The pencil itself is slightly smaller than a “typical” lead pencil, but feels well weighted. The clip has “My Neighbor Totoro” written on it in the same purple color as the eraser cap and the ring that connects the parts of the pencil at the bottom.  

Folks who have read other posts of mine know I’m a sucker for a secure cap snap, and I’m the same way for clicks on pens and pencils. The Kuru Toga features a satisfying click mechanism to extend the lead out of the pencil.  

The pen body, clip, eraser cap, and turning mechanism are all made of lightweight plastic. Even though this pencil is light, the clip and eraser provide a nice balance while writing.

The grip section shows off the turning mechanism, and is slightly “wavy” in shape to provide an actual grip.  

The eraser is dissapointly small- I’m unsure if folks in Japan typically use hand erasers and therefore a large eraser on this would be a waste or if it was just a design choice on Uni’s part but this eraser is a quality eraser...I just wish there was more of it. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the art on this pencil. I’m a Studio Ghibli fan (who isn’t?!) and this item is officially licensed by Studio Ghibli. The scene of Totoro holding an umbrella at the bus stop is iconic in pop culture, and this take featured here is a stylized version that feels perfectly at home on this pencil. The soot sprites are a nice Ghibli-esque addition. 

Writing experience

I swapped this pencil out for my usual pens to take notes with at work and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed writing with it.  

​

Writing sample with the Kuru Toga

The balance and lightweight design of this pencil make it easy to write with for long periods of time, and the lead rotation made for a more even writing experience. 

The grip section could be uncomfortable for some, but I tend to hold my pens and pencils low and it was perfectly comfortable. 

This edition has .5 mm lead- I typically use this size and found that this pencil was comfortable to write with using this lead size, though Kuru Togas come in .3 mm and .7 mm for those folks who prefer other sizes.

Verdict

I’m shocked with how much I love this pencil. When I heard folks talking about this or the Rotring pencil it sounded like a nice novel idea- a rotating piece of lead sounds like it solves a minor problem everyone has run into but it wasn’t anything earth shattering. But after writing with this pencil for a bit I have to say it makes the experience of writing with a pencil that much better. 

Also everyone loves Totoro, so if you can get your hands on this edition I highly recommend it- adding a little fun into your day makes those meetings less dreadful. 

The Totoro editions pop up once in a while on eBay, Amazon or through various import sites, but the standard Kuru Toga editions are available through Jetpens.com

As always, thanks for reading and happy writing! 

Note- I am not affiliated with any companies or products mentioned in this post