Maruman Into-One Binder Mini Size in Light Blue: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I purchased the Maruman Into-One Binder Mini in light blue, thinking it would be a handy replacement for loose index cards. It's the perfect size for a purse or backpack pocket, and the loose-leaf sheets make it quite versatile.

The binder is made of flexible, textured plastic, and the rings are attached with metal posts. The rings and opening/closing mechanism are made of clear plastic. To open, you simply pinch the mechanism with your fingers. Push the rings together in order to close the rings.

Unfortunately, one of my binder rings is out of alignment, so it doesn't close properly.

The binder is 5.9 inches/150mm wide, 3.6 inches/92mm tall, and 0.63 inches/16mm deep (where the binder rings are).

The binder comes with twenty pages of 80gsm lined (front and back) white paper. It is B7 size (130mm x 87mm = 3.4 x 5.1 inches) which is slightly larger than a 3 x 5 index card. Each sheet has nine holes, but the binder only has five rings. I'm not sure what the additional holes are for. Blue lines at the top and bottom of each page act as margins. Dots and dashes at 0.5mm intervals provide guidance if you want to draw vertical lines on the pages. The binder can accommodate up to sixty pages.

Considering how thin the paper feels, I was pleased by how well it stood up to various writing instruments. In my fountain pen test none of the inks feathered or bled through, with the exception of the wet flex nib in my Opus 88. There's some show through, but it's negligible enough that you can write on both sides of this paper.

The paper handled ink swabs with ease--I used very wet swabs but no ink bled through. The inks exhibited shading and pooling, but no sheen.

I also tested various pens and one pencil. The only bleed through was with the Sharpies (both ultra fine and regular).

The Maruman Mini Binder could be used in many ways. I listed several possibilities and created examples of some of them.

The Maruman Into-One Binder costs $7.25 on JetPens. You can get it in light blue, dark blue, and pink.

There are multiple options for filling the binder, including various print styles (ruled, graph, blank, to-do, and time planning) and colors/paper styles: white, pastel colors, croquis (for sketching), and scrap. You can also get a zip case, tabbed dividers, and paper protectors.

I love this little binder and plan to use mine for reading notes and memorization purposes.

(I purchased the Maruman Mini Binder and lined paper refill with my own funds.)

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Scribo Blue Capri and Arancio di Sicilia Inks: A Review

Today I'm reviewing two summery Scribo inks: Blue Capri and Arancio di Sicilia.

Blue Capri

Blue Capri is a bright, turquoise-blue ink with good shading and a bit of magenta sheen.

On Rhodia Dot Grid paper the ink offers good saturation, some shading (especially in broader nibs), and a fast dry time. It is not waterproof.

Chromatography reveals slight variations in tone from light turquoise to medium turquoise.

I did a longer writing sample using the Fenestro EF fountain pen (reviewed here) on Tomoe River Paper. The ink flowed well and is bright and readable. Even with an EF nib, some shading is noticeable if you look closely.

On MD Cotton Paper with a ruling pen, the ink dazzles. It's nicely saturated, with shading, lovely pooling, and that magenta sheen.

Compared with my other turquoise inks, Blue Capri is closest to TWSBI Sky Blue, although Blue Capri is slightly more saturated. Iroshizuku Ama Iro is a cooler turquoise. Robert Oster Tranquility is greener and Fire & Ice is darker.

Blue Capri is a beautiful turquoise ink, reminiscent of sparkling Italian waters.

Arancio di Sicilia

Arancio di Sicilia is a vivid orange ink with excellent shading and some pink sheen.

The ink is saturated with deep reddish-orange tones and good shading (especially in flex nibs). The ink took some time to dry, but that's likely because I tested it with my flex nib. It is not waterproof.

The Chromatography displayed pale pink, peach, and deeper orange tones.

The Ruling Pen brought out the best of this ink on MD Cotton Paper. It is bright orange ranging from deep sunset tones to lighter pink-orange. The shading is excellent and pink sheen shows up where the ink pools.

For my longer writing test, I used Cosmo Air Light paper. The pink tones of the ink are enhanced on this paper. Shading is also good. It's an orange that is deep enough to read easily, but complex enough that it doesn't jar your eyes.

Although I have several orange inks, none of them are as beautiful as Arancio di Sicilia, in my opinion. TWSBI Orange is closest in terms of hue, but it is more of a burnt orange whereas Arancio is brighter.

Arancio di Sicilia just became my favorite orange ink. It looks like how a fresh, juicy orange tastes. I'm definitely going to order a full bottle of this color.

You can purchase both inks from Vanness Pens. Blue Capri is $3.50 for a 4ml sample and $35.00 for a 90ml bottle. Arancio di Sicilia is priced the same.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Fine Writing International Fenestro Fountain Pen in Aurora: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Fine Writing International is a Taiwanese company established in 2011. Their Fenestro series is named after the Esperanto word "window" because of the large ink window in the design. The color way, Aurora, alludes to the northern lights and is a mixture of turquoise and brown luminescent resin.

The pen arrives in a black cardboard box engraved with the company's motto, "To Experience the Joy of Writing." In addition to the pen, inside is a plastic eye dropper and a converter. The pen can also take a standard international cartridge.

My initial reaction upon seeing the pen for the first time was, "That's hideous!" There's something strange about the proportions of the pen. The smaller than normal clip, long cap, and the large ink window seem out of proportion with the pen's length and girth. Obviously, this is a purely subjective opinion. The sense of disproportion is lessened if there's ink in the pen, and it looks normal with the cap removed. Aside from the proportions, the resin is quite beautiful and displays chatoyance in the sunlight.

Flat finials and a slight taper make for a simple, almost angular design. As stated earlier, the clip is quite small compared to the cap. Metal rings encircle the bottom of the cap and the bottom of the ink window. The cap is lined to prevent the nib from drying between uses.

The Fenestro is a lengthy pen when capped or posted, measuring 5.9 inches/150mm capped and 7.0 inches/178mm posted (it's absolutely unwieldy posted). Uncapped it measures a reasonable 5.3 inches/135mm. The grip is 10.5mm and the pen (uncapped and filled with ink) weighs only 14 grams. It's quite comfortable as a writer.

One of the best features of the Fenestro is its multiple filling mechanisms. You can certainly use a cartridge or converter, but the pen can hold a whopping 3.6ml of ink if you eyedropper it. There's an o-ring seal, so you do not need any silicone grease.

The nib is a standard #6 JOWO steel EF with scrollwork and Fine Writing International's logo--a quill. My nib was perfect out of the box--tines aligned, smooth, and good flow.

I inked the pen with Scribo Blue Capri, which matches the turquoise well. The EF nib is not at all scratchy and writes more like a fine than an extra fine. It's definitely a nail of a nib, offering no line variation or flexibility. I tested it on Tomoe River Paper (review here), Cosmo Air Light (review here), and Ayush Paper (review here). Interestingly, on the Cosmo Air Light paper the line seemed wider and wetter than on Tomoe or Ayush paper.

The Fenestro comes in four colors: Kuroshio (royal blue and green), Aurora (turquoise and brown), Winter's Night (silver and black), and The Snow Scene (white swirls). Nib sizes include extra fine, fine, medium, broad, and a large 1.5mm stub. Currently, JetPens only has Aurora and Kuroshio, each costing $85.00 and they are running low on stock. This is cheaper than another eyedropper pen, the Opus 88, which runs between $115 and 120.

Although I'm not a fan of the Fenestro's aesthetic, the pen itself is well made and is a good writer. If you're looking for a pen that holds lots of ink and you're happy with standard JOWO nibs, this is a good option.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!