The 2017 Atlanta Pen Show Is Almost Here! (Sponsor)

The Atlanta Pen Show is one of the main events on the annual pen show calendar, and the 2017 edition is right around the corner.

From April 21st through the 23rd, the ballrooms at the Wyndam Atlanta Galleria will be packed with modern and vintage pens, and more ink than you could ever dream of. There will be several pen repair tables and nib grinders as well for all of your fine-tuning needs.

For weekend pass holders there is a cookout on Friday night, and Saturday night brings about the live Pen Addict Podcast and afterparty. You can purchase your weekend pass in advance to lock in all of the fun.

The Atlanta Pen Show is a highlight event for many, and is well worth the trip. My thanks to the Atlanta Pen Show for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.

Baron Fig Archer Snakes And Ladders Pencil Review

I have been anxious to try Baron Fig’s Archer Pencil since it first launched. I was running a bit behind when they first dropped, and shortly thereafter, Baron Fig started the mother of all subscription services. I chose to subscribe to the Archer and wait out the first release. Snakes & Ladders is now here, so let’s check it out!

Two things stand out when first picking up this pencil. One, it is beautiful. The Vermillion red paint job with the dipped cap is right up my alley. The imprints are clean, with a snake, ladder, and the Baron Fig name on three of the six hex sides of the barrel.

Secondly, it is light. Crazy light. I have a few pencils like this and I enjoy them. But there is a but. If the pencil is light, I need the lead to be firm. The HB core in the Snakes & Ladders edition is not firm.

The graphite is dark and soft, which is not my preferred setup. This is purely an individual taste thing, of course. I did get a single original Archer pencil to compare it to, and while it is also an HB core from the same factory, it is firmer, and lighter in color. This is normal variance in manufacturing I believe.

I’ve been spoiled with ultra-smooth graphite in other pencils - the Blackwing 602 for example - and the Snakes & Ladders core is grittier. This is normal in most pencils, the 602 is more of an outlier, but that begs the question: Is the Archer pencil worth the premium price for what is essentially the most basic graphite core available?

Right now, I say no. This is a very good pencil, not a special pencil. I’m happy to have my subscription, but I can’t see being a long term subscriber because I probably have a dozen pencils on my desk right now that I would pick up before this one. Hopefully Baron Fig has some graphite core experimentation up their sleeves for future releases.

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March Sponsor Spotlight

Image via Goldspot

Sponsor support is very important to me here at The Pen Addict. My sidebar advertisers put their faith in me to deliver good value for them month in and month out, and I want to shine the light on the best of the best for you. If you are shopping for pens, paper, inks, and more, please check out these great companies and see what they have to offer. Some recent highlights:

JetPens broke the internet with their recent addition of over 100 Holbein Artists’ Watercolor paint colors. Yes, you read that right.

Goldspot has the brand new Pelikan M101N Bright Red Special Edition fountain pen, featuring a beautiful red marbled acrylic with yellow and orange undertones.

Anderson Pens received the TWSBI Mini AL in Blue, making it the first color release in this series. It comes in all nib sizes from EF to 1.1 Stub.