Kickstarter

A refillable glass piston filler

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Just a quick blog post about a Kickstarter that was funded last year: Winkpens.

(Image © Winkpens)
(Image © Winkpens)

It’s basically a piston filler, but instead of using a traditional nib it features a glass nib (think glass dip pen).

I have seen similar pens from the 1950s and earlier, but I assume these were fountain pens that have been modified to hold a glass nib, not pens built specifically for this purpose.

One of the advantages of this nib is that you can write or draw using many more liquids, not just ink – the founder covers this topic in their FAQs. Winkpens is using the example of writing using wine. I guess you will have less problems when writing with wine than when writing with wine based ink [1]My wine ink from De Atramentis got very thick after a while, but luckily I got a free replacement.. The idea of writing using alternative liquids reminds me of a recent blog post from Scribbler, looking at the use of ‘dirty water’ in broad edged or pointed pens.

My understanding is that the pens are already being manufactured and that they will ship in April. The Kickstarter is over, but they are now being offered on Crowd Supply.

 

I believe that the use of the image shown in this blog post falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.

References

References
↑1 My wine ink from De Atramentis got very thick after a while, but luckily I got a free replacement.

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Tactile Turn Gist

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I’m interested in the Tactile Turn Gist, but am not sure yet whether I should back this project on Kickstarter. I probably will, but I am also not sure which combination to pick. So much choice. I had a few questions I tried to answer by searching on the web and thought what I found might also be interesting for others, too.

 

The nib

The Campaign page states these are Bock #6 nibs. I have heard of them, but have never used them, so my first question was: how do they perform, especially: are they springy? I prefer springy nibs to stiff nibs.

#6 seems to refer to the fact that the nib feed has a diameter of 6mm.  If you want to know more about Bock: The Southern Scribe wrote about a visit to the Bock factory.

According to Peter Unbehauen’s video a Bock titanium nib seems to be more flexible than than a Bock gold nib, which again is more flexible than a Bock steel nib, which seems quite stiff. The nibs used for the Gist might be different, but this might give you an initial idea about the nibs. I am sure The Pen Addict talked about the nibs in the podcast, espeiclaly the Titanium one, but but I don’t remember the details, just that it is a different writing experience and podcasts aren’t easily searchable. If I have more time I will check again.

Diagram showing the different prices for the different Gist materials
You know it’s serious when I get the Eberhart Faber Blackwing 602 out to do a diagram.

The materials

Polycarbonate

According to the Campaign page polycarbonate is like Makrolon, the material used for the Lamy 2000. I guess the Gist will feel different to the Lamy 2000 because of the different surface, but it makes me think that the pen, if ordered in this material will be very durable. Nice.

Brass

Brass sharpeners have more or less disappeared, partly because brass often contains lead to make the material easier to work with, but new regulations in many parts of the world want to ban lead or put warning labels on these products because of possible health effects. Lead free brass is available, but usually comes with a higher price tag. 360 Brass, as used for the Gist, seems to contain lead which makes me think whether I should pick another material if I back this Kickstarter.

Copper

Lead also seems to be common in many copper alloys. I haven’t yet figured out what 145 Copper is and whether it contains lead. I will need to find the time to find out more and expand this blog post.

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Book Block

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Another blog post about a Kickstarter.

This time it’s a Kickstarter to launch a customisable notebook. They have been contacting several stationery blogs, so I am sure you will read more about them soon.

To customise your notebook you basically create a file containing what should be printed on the cover (front, side and back) and Book Block will then print this on the cover of the notebook for you.

The whole idea sounds very tempting to me, especially since for what it is the price for one of the notebooks seems very reasonable – or should I say almost ridiculously modest.

Remember Monsieur Notebooks, from a previous blog post? It looks as if the notebooks will be done in cooperation with them. Back in 2011 when I reviewed the Monsieur Notebook they were made in India, but according to the Book Block Kickstarter  page they are now manufacturing in the UK and you can chose from five different types of paper provided by Monsieur Notebooks. The covers used for the notebooks are from Europe, too, they are sourced from the Netherlands.

Some sample Book Block notebooks (Image © Book Block)
Some sample Book Block notebooks (Image © Book Block)

The whole Kickstarter sounds really exciting. I hope Book Block will get enough funding.

Book Block have offered many blogs, including Bleistift, a free notebook if their Kickstarter is successful. I don’t believe this has influenced me when writing this blog post. I have written about other Kickstarter projects in the past, some were successful, some were unsuccessful, and I have not received any good or money from the other Kickstarter projects I wrote about in the past.

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Nock Kickstarter

4 Comments / Pencil cases / / , , , ,

Just arrived this morning: The Nock Co. Hightower Pen Case in Forest Green/Yellow with Union Jack tag and a Nock Co. Dot Dash Notebook.

Nock Hightower Case and Notebook
Nock Hightower Case (outside) and Notebook

I backed The Pen Addict‘s Kickstarter in January and got the pen case today [1]Funnily enough it was addressed to MEMM, instead of my first name / surname, but I assume I must have messed this up in my Kickstarter settings.. I paid $45 (~£29; €40) [2]I have since stopped buying expensive stationery (>£10) for more than one reason. I might even sell some of my more expensive stationery, but I still have some stuff coming in I ordered in the … Continue reading.

Nock Hightower Case (outside) and Notebook. The Noris was not part of the Kickstarter.
Nock Hightower Case (inside) and Notebook. The Noris was not part of the Kickstarter.

Price: January 2015

Exchange rates: June 2015

References

References
↑1 Funnily enough it was addressed to MEMM, instead of my first name / surname, but I assume I must have messed this up in my Kickstarter settings.
↑2 I have since stopped buying expensive stationery (>£10) for more than one reason. I might even sell some of my more expensive stationery, but I still have some stuff coming in I ordered in the past, plus there is still a lot of expensive stationery I bought recently that I want to write about.

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Cursive handwriting

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I should try to avoid too many blog posts about Kickstarter campaigns, but here’s another one: CursiveLogic.

The team behind this project is trying to get workbook out that helps with learning cursive handwriting [1]I assume cursive is still being taught in some parts of the USA, but many schools have dropped it. This reminds me of an episode of American Dad where Stan told Steve that cursive handwriting is … Continue reading. An interesting project, probably even more so if you’re coming from an area where cursive isn’t taught in school any more.

 

References

References
↑1 I assume cursive is still being taught in some parts of the USA, but many schools have dropped it. This reminds me of an episode of American Dad where Stan told Steve that cursive handwriting is important because a lot of business in done in cursive.

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