Reviews in Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

A new year has found us again, and I'm doing that thing where I look back on the long stretch of the previous year, wonder where the time went, and marvel at everything that happened. 2023 was an overwhelming year for me. Graduating, turning 40, cleaning out my Grandmother's house, publishing a book, getting a fancy new job. I think it's safe to say that this past year was my busiest yet. And this year, more than ever, I relied heavily on my stationery to see me through. And while the world tested me, I tested my tools. I didn't review everything I used, and I didn't end up using everything I reviewed, but here are the things that I did review that were among my favorites this year.

Ink:

Pennonia Strigoi was my favorite new ink I reviewed this year. The amazing color and unique composition made this an absolute standout in a year where there were gallons of excellent new inks to be tried. The clay-like sediment does make this one a little more high-maintenance, but aren't we all, sometimes?

Paper:

The Traveler's Company Notebook Passport size was my desk away from home this year, and I was often away from home. While this system definitely works better for me on the road, being on the road is when I'm most in need of a good system. The endless ways it can be customized and adapted gave it the flexibility I needed to go from banquet halls to beaches.

Non-Fountain pen:

The CW&T Pen Type-B might be my most-used stationery item this year. I reviewed it in March and it has gone with me literally everywhere since I received it. We're approaching one year of daily carry for this pen, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. There's just something about this pen. Practically, it's not the obvious choice. It's super heavy, has a ridiculous sleeve cap, and doesn't technically function any better than many smaller, more normal pens. But it makes me happy, so along it comes, every day.

Accessory:

The Traveler's Company Brass Clip has likewise come everywhere with me since I opened the package. Maybe I just like brass? Possible. But I also really like this clip, and I fully didn't expect to. It's bulky! And heavy! But it works so well, and it keeps all my wee slips of paper clipped into my notebooks so nothing goes missing. Even after I shelved my Traveler's Notebook, post-travels, I moved this clip into the notebook I continue to use. And I'll keep doing that forever, because it's brilliant.

Fountain pen:

Okay, look. We can all agree that it's pretty much impossible to pick one favorite fountain pen in a year of amazing fountain pens, right? Right. I'd be hard pressed to limit myself to a list of five favorites. So how do I pick the standout? Well, it's the one that made me smile the most as I scrolled through this past year's reviews, which means it's the BENU Skull and Roses. It's not my year's most used, or the fanciest. But I just can't stop myself from grinning when I look at it. It's delightful.

There were also a number of things I purchased and didn't review that have been essentials, like a Plotter Bible-Size that has been my commonplace book for several months now, and the Plotter leather pen roll. I'll save my 2024 setup for another post, but it's safe to say that this will be another year of leaning heavily on my tools for survival. And I'm looking forward to it.

Currently Inked Christmas

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

Thought I’d keep it simple and (relatively) short for this Christmas week post and write out the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, more commonly known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore. I used my 48 currently inked pens to write out the 56 lines on 52gsm Thin Paper by Kokuyo.

A Visit from St. Nicholas, by Clement Clarke Moore

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,

Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the housetop the coursers they flew

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Here are all the inks that were used to write out this poem:

— Montblanc Antoine de Saint-Exupery Encre du Desert

— Diamine, Flowers, Burgundy Rose

— Diamine Matador

— KWZ x UK Pen Shows, Beefeater Red

— Robert Oster x Endless Pens, New Year New Hue

— Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline

— Vanness Pens Hissy Fit

— Pelikan Edelstein Rose Quartz

— Wearingeul x Atlas Stationers Twelfth Night

— J Herbin Rouille d’Ancre

— Sailor Ink Studio 273

— Iroshizuku Yu-yake

— Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin Orange

— TWSBI Tangerine

— Robert Oster x Pen Chalet Antelope Canyon

— KWZ x Fontoplumo, Monarch

— Bungubox Mikkabi Mandarin Orange

— Robert Oster 1980s Honey Bee

— Wearingeul Stonecutter’s Song

— Robert Oster Caffe Crema

— Sailor 50 States, Texas

— Robert Oster x Cult Pens Dartmoor Brown

— Papier Plume Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

— Robert Oster x Vanness Pens Venom

— J Herbin Vert Olive

— Wearingeul The Secret Garden

— Anderillium Cephalopod, Spirula Green

— Diamine Music, Beethoven

— Kobe #34 Sorakuen Tea Green

— Pelikan Edelstein Apatite

— Bungubox June Bridge Something Blue

— Robert Oster Australis Hydra

— KWZ Walk Over Vistula

— Robert Oster Lake of Fire

— Kobe #50 Kyomachi Legend Blue

— Diamine 150th Anniversary, Blue Velvet

— Sailor 50 States, Illinois

— Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite

— Robert Oster Aussie Cities in Colour, Adelaide

— Vinta Inks x Enigma Stationery, Tabuan Purple Sea Star

— Wearingeul Grape-colored Night

— Vinta Inks Lavender Payapa

— Monteverde Purple Reign

— Montblanc Lavender Purple

— Franklin-Christoph Black Cherry

— Diamine Amazing Amethyst

— Pelikan Edelstein Amethyst

— Platinum Chou-kuro

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I wish you a very happy holiday season!!

Sailor x Nagasawa Kobe Affection Kyomachi Legend Blue - A Tale in 3 Acts

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

I first saw the Sailor x Nagasawa Kobe Affection Kyomachi Legend Blue pens (phew, say THAT 3 times fast!) at the DC Pen Show a few months back. It is a beautiful blue pen with gold sparkles, but I’m on #teamflattops, so I was good and passed on them. Wallet saved! Then I saw them a few weeks later at the SF Pen Show and reminded myself that I already have a 1911 and that I didn’t need any more because, you know, #teamflattops. And since Nagasawa wasn’t attending any other US pen shows after SF, I and my wallet were safe. Or so I thought. I found out that Nagasawa partnered with Vanness Pens after the SF Pen Show to sell their products in the US. which meant that I saw the pens again at the Dallas Pen Show. And Joe Crace, The Gentleman Stationer kept posting pictures of the pens all weekend and tempting me with these beauties. Darn it, Joe! I couldn’t decide between the 1911S and the 1911L, but Lisa Vanness was kind enough to loan all 3 of them for a comparison review to help me decide.

Act I - Background & Introduction to the Characters

Nagasawa is a retail stationery company with several shops located primarily in Kobe, Japan. They are most known for the pen collaborations with brands like Platinum and Sailor, as well as their line of Kobe inks which are made by Sailor. There are stories behind the names of their pens and inks like “Koikawa Ipe” (their exclusive Decimo), which is named for Brazil’s national tree that was planted along the Koi River or “Tarumi Apricot” (Kobe ink #25), which is the color of the sunset when viewed from nearby Tarumi’s hills. And this pen is no exception. It is the first in the “Kobe Affection” series and is called “Kyomachi Legend Blue”, named for the Kyomachi area where the Kobe City Museum is located.

There are 3 models of the Kyomachi Legend Blue pens: Medium (what is more commonly referred to as 1911S), FL (aka 1911L), and Large (aka King of Pen or KOP). All 3 pens are slightly pointy, cigar-shaped pens, as opposed to their flat top Pro Gear counterparts. As there are already many articles out there on the various Sailor models, sizes and nibs, I will instead focus on this particular release. Since the pens are on loan, I won’t be inking them up and will only use them for comparison purposes.

The Kyomachi Legend Blue is a beautiful blue pen that leans a bit towards periwinkle without being purple and has subtle, gold shimmer interspersed throughout. The pen has gold trim, including the cap band which has the Nagasawa name and “Pen Style Den” debossed around it. As with other Nagasawa exclusives, the weathervane is also engraved on these nibs.

I love this beautiful (and difficult to photograph) material!

Nagasawa cap band.

Kobe Weathervane on the nibs of the Kyomachi Legend Blue as well as the Platinum 3776 Apricot exclusive and Sailor PG Kounan Maroon exclusive.

As with other Sailors, the Kyomachi Legend Blue 1911S has a 14kt gold nib (EF, F, MF, M, B, and Zoom); the 1911L (EF, F, MF, M, B, and Zoom) and KOP (M and B) both have 21kt gold nibs.

Act II - Main Story

The Kyomachi Legend Blue 1911S is a fairly slim and compact pen, though not as short as its Pro Gear Slim sibling, due to its pointed ends, which gives it a bit more length.

1911S and the Pro Gear Slim, Nuts.

The length difference is most noticeable when uncapped and unposted.

Caps were gently and barely posted. Length is much closer when posted.

1911S (top is just barely longer in hand – I didn’t notice the difference.

The 1911L is a bit longer and girthier than the 1911S and likewise, is longer than the Pro Gear due to the ends. Note that the 1911L Kyomachi Blue has a smooth, metal grip section which has a ledge at the nib end to prevent your fingers from slipping. I’m not sure why they chose to put the metal section on the 1911L but not the other two. I did not write with it, since it is a loaner, but it felt comfortable in hand. I don’t usually have issues with metal grip sections though.

1911L and the Pro Gear, Tequila Sunrise.

The KOP is the largest of the three and has the same grip section material like the 1911S. True to its name, the King of Pen is not a small pen. Aside from the pen being longer and girthier, the nib is also significantly bigger (longer and wider) than the others, where the difference is less noticeable. As such, folks like me who have steeper writing angles or smaller hands aren’t able to comfortably use the KOP (I’m also unable to use pens that have Bock 8, Pilot 30 or 50 nibs, etc. for the same reason). They only made 100 of these in the KOP size - the nibs are engraved with the number.

You can see that this is number 018/100.

1911S, 1911L and KOP nib sizes - the KOP nib is significantly bigger/longer/wider than the other two.

Left: This is my natural, steep writing angle with the 1911L. Right: Because I like to hold my pens close to the nib and also because of my not-big-enough-for-KOP-hands, I have to write at a lower angle in order for the longer nib to touch the paper. This feels very uncomfortable to me so thankfully the KOP is not a pen I can use/buy.

How each pen looks in my hand.

Here is the KOP next to similarly sized pens: Pelikan M800, Aurora 88, Visconti Homo Sapiens, Visconti Opera Master, Leonardo Momento Zero Grande, Pilot Custom 823, Montblanc 146, Platinum President.

Act III - Ending

While I liked how the metal grip section looked on the 1911L, it being a touch too pointy for me made it easier to pass. Maybe if the ends were more rounded, like on the Platinum 3776 or Pilot Custom 74, I would have considered springing for the 1911L. I did have to reach out to Lisa Vanness to get the 1911S because I just couldn’t resist this gorgeous blue pen. (I was good and sold the 1911S that I had so I could justify getting this one instead!)

I picked Kobe #50 Kyomachi Legend Blue for the first inking due to the name. The ink was created before the pen, so it’s not the most perfect match colorwise, but it’s close enough. I think that next time I will pick Diamine Blue Flame which matches the pen color better as well as the gold shimmer in the barrel.

Sailor x Nagasawa Kyomachi Legend Blue 1911S and Kobe #50 Kyomachi Legend Blue.

All 3 pens, as well as the Kobe ink of the same name, are available for purchase at the Vanness Pens website. The 1911S sells for $300, the 1911L for $450 and the KOP for $880. Thank you to Vanness Pens for loaning the 3 pens for review and for letting me purchase the 1911S. 🙂

(Disclaimer: All pens were loaned to me for review, and I ended up purchasing the 1911S from Vanness Pens at a discount.)