Today: a quick look at two blue Lamy Safari fountain pens – one from the early 1990s and one from the mid-2010s.
…and just because people prefer to watch my videos showing normal stuff (like refilling mechanical pencils) I added something about…
The Lamy Safari – Then and Now Read More »
Recently I have contacted Sebastian Gutberlet to find out more about the Kaweco Perkeo. All I knew is that there used to be a Kaweco fountain pen with that name in the (early?) 20th century.
Just a reminder, Sebastian is the son of Michael Gutberlet, the man who revived Kaweco. The main intention of asking Sebastian about the Perkeo was to collect some more information for the Stationery Wiki – because I couldn’t find much information on the web, but then I thought: why not turn it into a blog post.
It came as quite a surprise to find out that this new Perkeo has been in the making for a very long time. Sebastian’s grandfather Horst Gutberlet [1]Michael Gutberlet’s father actually developed the new Perkeo’s precursor in 1997. The prototype was resting in Michael Gurberlet’s desk for many years before now being finalised and released.
I’ve mentioned more than once that when I went to school you had to use a fountain pen, at least in Bavaria where I’m originally from. I’m not sure about the current pen situation in schools there, but my guess would be that on the continent there are (still) many schools where pupils write with fountain pens. The grip zone is supposed to help the pupil with holding the pen the right way. As a beginner’s fountain pen the Perkeo is probably aimed at these pupils (..but that doesn’t mean we adults can’t have fun with this pen, too).
It will be available in four colour combinations and according to Sebastian Gutberlet the Perkeo will be released in Juni or July the latest.
I’d like to thank Sebastian Gutberlet for answering my questions and providing pictures for this blog post.
References
| ↑1 | Michael Gutberlet’s father |
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I’m currently using my Super5 with the 0.7 nib a lot, but I made one mistake: I filled a Faber-Castell converter with the Aurora Blue-Black ink without checking first whether it fits. Well, the converter is too long to fit, but luckily you can remove the end caps of the new Super5 fountain pens [1]The purpose of this: So that you can create different colour combinations, e.g. a white pen with a red end cap, etc. ..so I have been using the Super5 without the end cap for the last weeks.
Somehow the Super5’s 0.7 nib makes me write quite differently: the writing is a bit bigger with letters being more condensed, not as tall. Well, it makes for an interesting change.
I can’t complain about the paper I’m using either. It’s from one of Rad and Hungry’s old subscription boxes, the Swedish one from maybe five years ago. Excellent paper!
References
| ↑1 | The purpose of this: So that you can create different colour combinations, e.g. a white pen with a red end cap, etc. |
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Epic fail: Using a Faber-Castell Converter in a Super5 Fountain Pen Read More »
This morning, when I went to the lecture theatre to give a class for my second year undergraduate students, I made an unusual discovery.
Someone forgot two vintage gold-nibbed fountain pens on the computer station. Shock!
Well, one of the fountain pens is not in such a good state, but it is still a gold-nibbed fountain pen. The other pen seems to be in great shape for its age.
I took them to my office, have checked the timetabling system and have emailed all staff who used the room in the last week in the hope that these treasures can be reunited iwth their rightful owner.
I had had lost my fountain pens I would be devastated, so I hope the owner can be found soon.
Fountain Pen Calamity Read More »
Think of a random number between 1 and 1000.
No, really. Please do.
Ok, now multiply this number by 3 and remember it.
Well, imagine the shock I got when I recently had a closer look at my Lamy 2000.
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is ‘Not shocked at all’ and ’10’ is censored because of the expletives uttered, the number representing my shock was slightly higher than the number I just asked you to remember.
It all started with me happily going about my daily business and cleaning my Lamy 2000 (with an EF nib) in expectance of a Robert Oster ink from Kirit Dal, one of Robert Oster’s UK resellers.
When an ink ‘stain’ at the front of the Lamy’s grip section didn’t want to disappear I had a closer look and after moving the end of my fingernail over the ‘stain’ I started to have an ominous suspicion. Not much later the aforementioned shock happened [1]Well, where are the smelling salts and the defibrillator when you need them..
You’d think I’m a broken man now, looking back at the excitement and fun I once experienced when using fountain pens, but not able to have any joy anymore going forward from now on. The reality is different. I’ve come to stoically accept that mark on the grip section as something that makes this Lamy 2000 different to all its anonymous siblings that left Lamy’s conveyor belt since 1966. It is something, together with a dent on its body, that makes this Lamy mine. Who knows, maybe deep down, in some illogical part of the brain, I might even be a tiny bit ‘proud’ that I have my own unique Lamy 2000 now…
I am sorry for showing you all these gory details, especially after just showing you horrific pencil mutilations in the previous blog post. I guess you might be more careful form now on, avoiding to look at my blog anymore while eating food.
In case you’ve been sick over your pen collection while looking at these gory photos: I’ve heard that baking soda might eliminate the odour, but I haven’t tried it myself yet.
I thought of combining this blog post with a look at the ink I was expecting, but I didn’t do it because I thought someone who doesn’t read carefully and only looks at the pictures might that the ink I was expecting caused the issue. To avoid this the Oster ink I was expecting (cleaning the pen to be ready for this ink) will be covered in a separate blog post.
I have a suspicion which previously used ink might have caused the issue, but as I am not sure it was really that ink I don’t want to mention the brand in this blog post.
References
| ↑1 | Well, where are the smelling salts and the defibrillator when you need them. |
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The Lamy Horror Picture Show Read More »