Insights-X

Super5 at Insights X 2016

Super5 presented their new fountain pens, the 07 and the B) at Insights X. They belong to Papierlabor / Format from Darmstadt in Hesse (not to be mixed up with Austrian paper manufacturer Format Werk).

Additionally to the 0.5mm nibs they now also sell 0.7mm nibs, M nibs (1.0mm) and B nibs (1.5mm).

Like the 05, the 07 version has no iridium point – that’s what gives the Super5 the very different writing experience and style. The M and B versions do have iridium points, though.

Robert Neumann, the man behind the Super5 fountain pen.
Robert Neumann, the man behind the Super5 fountain pen.

Some sources on the Internet suggest that there is no iridium in fountain pens’ iridium points, e.g. this article, but when I asked at the stand about this I was told that there is in fact iridium in the iridium point of the nibs.

Also available at the stand were Super5/Papierlabor’s waterproof inks, their ink cleaner concentrate and their new brush with soft synthetic fibres.

Super5 fountain pens
Super5 fountain pens

When you see the new fountain pen colours on a screen they look good, but in reality they look absolutely amazing! Especially the blue and green versions, but also the yellow one look just so good to me.

Robert Neumann, the man behind the Super5 fountain pen, also told me about the flex nib verison of the fountain pen they are working on, together with JoWo. I love flex nibs, so I am definitely looking forward to their new fountain pen.

Super5 ink
Super5 ink

By the way, the new pen bodies don’t have the logo printed on the body anymore. Instead they are embossed. I preferred the old look, not only because on the new body you can see on the outside where the thread is, but everyone has a different taste.

Top: the old Super5 body with the printed logo Bottom: the new body with the embossed logo
Top: the old Super5 body with the printed logo
Bottom: the new body with the embossed logo

You might remember my leaky Super5. Luckily I got it swapped for another one.

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Kaweco at Insights X 2016

Kaweco stand

Kaweco’s stand was the stand most visitors would see first as it was just next to the entrance to the first hall.

They showed many of their new products. I particularly liked the red fountain pen. It is a red colour that feels like a red that has been revived from Kaweco’s past, but when I asked about this I was told that it is a new colour they came up with recently.

Kaweco new pens

 

Kaweco also introduced new packaging in the form of a big plastic screw (you can see it in the back on the left, in the photo above).

The employee at the stand also told me that black is their ‘best colour, so they introduced black as part of their ICE Sport series (that’s the series of Sport pens that are half transparent)

Ink-wise they showed their new colours Smokey Grey and Sunrise Orange.

The new nib holder is at the bottom
The new nib holder is at the bottom

 

Kaweco’s new aluminium dip pen / nib holder was also being presented at their stand. There is only one nib for now, but more will be available in the future.

What I found most exciting: They brought all the tools needed to assemble their fountain pens. I was lucky enough to have witnessed how these tools are being used and made a little video. The pen being assembled is a fountain pen that is a bit darker than the new Macciato colour. This Caramel colour is limited to 300 pieces.

The last item I want to show is their new pen holder in the shape of a German Shepard, Kaweco’s heraldic animal. The pen is made from artificial stone. I have used Pelikan’s pen holder in the shape of a pelican, but it is made of some sort of ceramic and will scratch the plastic body of Pelikan pens. From the looks of it I think the problem with scratches shouldn’t be as bad with Kaweco’s pen holder, but I haven’t really tried it out.

Kaweco German Shepard pen holder

I was happy to hear that all of these items will be available in the UK.


You can find more information about Kaweco’s new products on their web site.

I found more information about the Kaweco pen holder at mostwanted-pens.com.

 

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At the Insights X 2016

I’m back from the Insights X and hope there’ll be enough time in the next few days to write a few short blog posts about the trade fair.

We [1]My wife and son went, too. had a great time at the trade fair. Seeing the stationery blogging royalty in real life was great, too.

insightsx-entrance

 

I was most happy to finally have met Lexikaliker. I have been in contact with him since 2009.

I also met Dries. I have exchanged emails with him since he started blogging in 2013.

Then there were Aziza and Stephen. Aziza has been blogging about stationery since 2010 and Stephen must be the most popular stationery vlogger on YouTube.

I wasn’t the only one from the UK. Tessa was there, too. I just heard her talk on the Pen Addict podcast a few weeks earlier.

I also met Christian and Markus. I remember looking at Christian’s blog post about the posh edition of the Gessner in the past. Very tempting. Markus’ blog is quite unusual as it doesn’t only cover stationery, but lots of lifestyle topics, too.

A panorama shot from my phone. Excuse the panorama stitching mistakes.
The view from the press centre. A panorama shot from my phone. Excuse the panorama stitching mistakes.

References

References
1 My wife and son went, too.

At the Insights X 2016 Read More »

2x Staedtler

Greetings from Nuremberg.

If you follow the Bleistift Facebook page or my Instagram feed you might have noticed that I’m on my way to a stationery trade fair, the Insights X in Nuremberg.

On the way there two exciting things have happened. Out of the blue I saw someone at Manchester Airport with a t-shirt that seemed to feature Staedtler’s Mars logo from fifty years ago – you can see the old logo  in this blog post from Lexikaliker. I assume this seeing this Mars head on a t-shirt is a coincidence and not linked to Staedtler, but to the Mars symbol itself …but seeing it in an unexpected place was still exciting.

Then when the second plane was landing in Nuremberg things got even better, we were flying just next to Staedtler’s headquarters I visited earlier this year.

Staedtler in Nuremberg
Staedtler in Nuremberg

Unfortunately the photo, taken with my mobile, is not that clear but if you look closely you can just make it the Staedtler logo. In reality it was very easy to see.

 

 

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Insights-X

Exciting news: This weekend I’ll be going to the Insights-X Stationery EXPO in Nuremberg.

Image ©: AlexSchelbert.de / Spielwarenmesse eG
Image ©: AlexSchelbert.de / Spielwarenmesse eG

I first read about this trade fair in Lexikaliker’s blog. It’s from the same organiser who runs Nuremberg’s big toy and game trade fair and this year I was lucky enough to have been invited to attend, like several other bloggers.

Exciting: I'm expecting to see lots of Staedtler products
Exciting: I’m expecting to see lots of Staedtler products

It doesn’t come as a surprise that the big pencil manufacturer’s from in and around Nuremberg will be there, but strangely enough Faber-Castell isn’t listed in the pencil category of the trade fair’s directory. I am not sure whether this means that FC will focus on other products at Insights-X or whether this is just a mistake in the directory.

Faber-Castell has a big stand, too. Hindustan pencils is not far, stand A-13.
Faber-Castell has a big stand, too. Hindustan pencils is not far, stand A-13.

To my surprise some of the more exotic pencil manufacturers will also be there, for example the Hindustan Pencil company, but others, like Portugal’s Viarco are not present.

Sharpener wise, the only exciting company at Insights-X seems to be KUM.

I’m very much looking forward to visiting the trade fair. I’ve never been to a stationery trade fair or even a pen show before.

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