You can lower your hands again, thanks for taking part.
I’m not surprised so many here miss Nock Co. It’s a real shame they closed down. Their products were well thought-out and of great quality. Luckily, I backed all Nock Co. x Pen Addict Kickstarters, so can still enjoy a few of their pencil cases.
The 2017 Sapelo fits perfectly in my Lihit Lab A4 sleeve that I use to transport my laptop to work every day – and the quality of the Sapelo so much better than that of the Lihit Lab case.
There’s one case however I never really could find a great use for: the 2019 Burton. The waxed surface made me (probably needlessly) worried that it will make items sticky or greasy if the outside comes into contact with them. The inside was somehow too big for my purposes. The look is great though. Outside it is unobtrusive, inside it is happily and very bright green – it’s the bomber jacket among pencil cases.
My new use is not really stationery-related. It’s now my case for an 8 inch portable screen I use for Raspberry Pis. It’s not quite the intended “A5 notebook and some pens” use, but it works very well for me.
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of visiting Montblanc Haus in Hamburg, located just next to Montblanc’s headquarters and manufacturing site.
The Montblanc Haus in Hamburg
The visit was part of a trip to Hamburg with my wife and son. We didn’t really know what to expect, so I thought we’d see a small exhibition about Montblanc’s past plus a gift shop, situated in a crammed building. The reality was quite different, though: when we arrived we were greeted by the view of a very modern, purpose-built building.
2 meter high metal shopping bags outside the Montblanc Haus
The surface of the building is wavy in a mesmerising way, showing what I assume is the mountain panorama of Montblanc, the highest mountain of the Alps. Even the landscaping of the outside area was aesthetically in line with the Montblanc Haus.
The outside landscape, as seen from the cafe
The reception staff was extremely friendly. To entertain children there is also a treasure hunt activity to keep them busy. The exhibition itself is spread over two floors. The building has a third floor, which wasn’t open on the day of our visit.
Montblanc fountain pens, arranged as a mountain
I won’t be able to relay the impressive exhibition here, so I am not even trying, but just to give you a quick overview: the ground floor is focussed on Montblanc’s history.
Montblanc inkwells over the years
The first floor is looking at the production process of Montblanc’s fountain pens as well as the importance of writing.
A letter, handwritten by Albert Einstein. One of a few dozen letters by influential people.
The last part of the first floor is linked to one of Montblanc’s latest campaigns: Wes Anderson’s advertising. You can be part of the set (or a copy of the set) used in the 100 Years of Meisterstück campaign video.
I am always impressed by Montblanc’s ability to release pens that are very different to each other. If you look at Pelikan’s piston fillers, Kaweco’s Sport or Lamy’s Safari, AL-Star or even the latest pine green Lamy 2000, the ‘achievement’ of the manufacturers is that you get the same pen in a different colour. It reminds me of my factory tour of Staedtler’s facilities: I mentioned the limited edition colours of the Mars Micro 775, which I was quite keen on, but they were hardly aware of it and mentioned “but it’s just the same pen in a different colour”. Montblanc on the other hand brings out new pens that are very different to each other and are often only available for a few months – with a price tag to match.
The Wes Anderson set
There was also a Montblanc shop, selling stationery and more. This includes a special Montblanc Haus fountain pen and ink. Ms Wergin from the shop explained to me, that the ink’s recipe is quite special and was developed specifically for calligraphy. It can however also be used in standard fountain pens without problems. Its consistency is supposedly a little more liquid than that of Montblanc’s main black ink, which helps it dry faster.The ink also consists of several colour pigments, which should give it a particularly deep and rich colour.
The shop in Montblanc Haus
I didn’t get round trying the ink out yet, as my currently used pens were just recently inked, but I am looking forward to trying it out soon.
Today: a look at a new eraser from Staedtler. I bought this eraser in August at Kaufland, a German supermarket-chain that is part of the same group as Lidl, on offer for €1.09 (~£0.92; $1.16). The normal price seems to be €2.20 (~£1.85; $2.33).
The packaging advertises it as being made with a minimum of 56% renewable materials. This made me curious to find out more. Luckily Mr. Rüdel from Staedtler was able to provide some more details: the chalk that is typically used when producing this type of eraser has been replaced by olive pomace, i.e. the solid remains of the olives after pressing for olive oil. The eraser has been available since Autumn 2023.
According to the official web page for this eraser, the plant flour that replaces the chalk can also come from corn. Additionally, the sleeve paper is made from by-products of sugar cane harvest..
This all sounds great, but the question now is whether the eraser performs well at erasing.
Luckily the 526 83-5 (that’s the official article number) doesn’t disappoint. Its performance is comparable to the well-known Mars plastic eraser, also by Staedtler.
My favourite erasers are still dust-free ones, but this is a nice performer with the added bonus of being made from renewable materials.
The Pelikan Hubs for 2024 took place last weekend and luckily I was chosen again as the Pelikan Hub host for Bremen. This year we met in a more central location: in a very nice and vegan Restaurant serving Chinese / Taiwanese food.
Compared to last year it was really busy: Altogether twelve fountain pen fans attended, including Michael Silbermann, the author of the bilingual book in German and English on Pelikan’s special and limited edition’s between 1993 and 2020. He and his wife also brought a few of their special and limited editions with them. It was great to try them out. Other participants also brought lots of pens and I was able to try out pens I didn’t even know existed before this evening.
Once a year, not long before their worldwide Hubs, Pelikan organises an Open Day at their ink tower (TintenTurm) in Hannover’s Pelikan quarter. Seeing that I now live in driving distance, we (i.e. the whole family) went there last Saturday to have a look.
Lots of construction sites around
When parking the car nearby the venue you can see a lot of construction sites where residential buildings are being built. A nice surprise was that the street names all seemed to have a Pelikan link.
A Pelikan related street name
Before even entering the ink tower the event already starts just outside the tower, with activity tables and a prize wheel set up for kids.
Activities for kids
The prizes were really nice – a free spin gets you anything from pens and other stationery items to fridge magnets and the likes.
Prizes
I was especially impressed by the Pelikan erasers I saw there that have a slot on the top, so that they can be used as pen holders. Unfortunately I haven’t seen these in shops yet.
An eraser with a pen holder (green) – great idea!
You can certainly see where the ink tower got its name from, as it is the tallest (connected) building around.
Downstairs entrance area
After walking up the stairs you see the main area. Luxury pens in the front and school pens in the back.
Landing area updstairs
To the left of this area there is a neighbouring room.
Exhibition
On the day, it housed an exhibition of drawings submitted for a contest on one end and a table where you can try out different Edelstein inks by writing your own postcards.
Postcard station
Cards and stamps were provided. There was also a member of staff on this table who was engraving Toledo pens, or, more precisely, the barrels of Toledo pens.
Toledo engraving
The main part of this room, between the exhibition and the post card table was taken up by a pen-show-like set up with sellers, selling their goods on tables.
Toledo!
Similar to what you see at Pen shows in the UK the pens on offer are mainly vintage pens.
Kaweco’s Michael Gutberlet
This being Pelikan’s Open Day I was quite surprised to see Michael Gutberlet there, the man who single-handedly revived Kaweco in the 1990s.
Goldfink Berlin’s Tom Westerich
Another ‘revived’ brand at this Open Day was Goldfink Berlin, revived by Tom Westerich in the 2000s.
Goldfink Berlin
I was quite moved by the fact that Goldfink gave children free fountain pens. What a nice gesture.
Goldfink Berlin
We also got a tour of the (outside of the) buildings with an overview of Pelikan’s history. A great experience.
Historic Tour
Pelikan also sells some of their luxury pens at a discount there. I was very tempted by the Orange Delight version of the M200.
Historic Tour Pelikan coat of arms
You also have the chance to try out the different nibs, so I asked to try out the F and EF version.
Trying the pen out there and then only produced meh results, with the line being far too wide. We bought the pen anyway because it looks so nice.
When trying it out after I returned home I was very surprised: the pen wrote much better, producing thin crisp lines, just how I like them.
I am not sure what happened, either their ink wasn’t right or their paper, maybe because it had been stored in a humid environment at some stage, who knows. In Hannover the paper sucked the ink in so lines were wide, nearly like blotting paper.
So I now have an Orange Delight M200 that writes amazingly, I have one critique about the new paper-covered boxes though. The employee must have had inky hands when packing the pen – and it is impossible to remove the ink without damaging the slightly rough paper on the box.
We had a great time. If you ever have a chance to visit the ink tower please do so. They are open throughout the year, but historic tours only take place on certain dates. I assume that the special activities, like postcard writing, pen sellers etc also do not occur very often, so it might be worth checking first.
