Ink Nouveau

If you've ever experience or read about a problem with vac-filling pens drying up after writing for a few minutes, you will definitely want to check out this video. The solution to your problem could be so simple you'll slap your forehead.

It's been a while since the Noodler's Ahab Flex Pen came out, and I have had this video in my sights for some time. So without further ado, here is a video that shows how to fill the Ahab with its piston, as well as how to convert it to an eyedropper pen. I even show the various ink capacities that the pen can have, and how that compares to your average cartridge/converter pen.

If you have a TWSBI Vac-700, then you will be very interested to learn more about the Vac-20 inkwell. It's an ink bottle that screws onto the Vac-700 to make transporting and filling ink a cinch, without making a mess.

TWSBI created a 50ml inkwell that's made to fit the TWSBI 530/540/580/Mini, as well as standard international converters. It's a good way to fill your pen without making a mess. It's a classy-looking bottle that you can use for all your other pens, too, and I show you how to get the most from this bottle.

Here it is, the 2013 limited edition Lamy Safari color, neon yellow! I must say, wow. It's certainly neon! In person it comes across even brighter than in the video.

Here it is! The newest Lamy Al-Star, in Pearl. It's really more of a champagne color, almost an exact match for my and Rachel's two gold Pontiac Azteks. It's a pleasant color, nothing flashy, but just pleasant. It'll come available from Lamy with a steel nib in extra-fine through broad, but you can swap the nibs to get a black extra-fine through broad, or a steel 1.1mm, 1.5mm, or 1.9mm italic. It comes with a single Lamy Blue cartridge, but can accept a Z24 or Z26 converter for use with bottled ink.

I was curious how much lead would fit in a TWSBI mechanical pencil, so I recorded my adventures as I crammed as much lead as I could find into it. Spoiler alert, it's a lot. But it's the journey that is the reward! You're getting to see my unedited reaction to the discovery!

I know I normally review fountain pen stuff, but I have been getting asked a lot about TWSBI pencils lately. I finally checked them out for myself, and wanted to share with you what I think!

The Midori Traveler's Notebook is something I heard about very early on in my fountain pen journey, but I never quite understood the hype until I actually got one in my hands. Now that I've had the time to learn the whole "system", I see how cool these things really are, and I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you here.

It has been long-anticipated, a black Pilot Iroshizuku ink! So how is it? It's pretty great...not everything I would have hoped in my wildest dreams, but taking reality into account, it exceeded my expectations.

Shin-Kai (Deep Sea) is one of the three final Pilot Iroshizuku inks to complete the line. In this video, I compare it to Tsuki-yo and talk about all of its properties as I use it in my Lamy Al-Star.

Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-Iro is one of the three inks to have come out recently to complete the Pilot Iroshizuku line of 24 inks. The inks, aside from looking great in the bottle, have typically been known for smooth flow, not drying on the nib, pleasant colors, ease of cleaning, and fast dry-time. Watch the video for the full review.

With the release of the Ama-Iro, Take-Sumi, and Shin-Kai, Pilot has now completed the line of their 24 Iroshizuku inks. This is a broad overview of the brand as a whole, showing how the three new inks fit in to the palate.

If you own a newer (demonstrator) Pilot Prera, then you know the affliction of ink behind the cap insert. I used to think it was just a fact of life, but with some experimentation, I discovered the cap does in fact disassemble entirely! With a few simple steps, you can completely clean out your Prera cap to look like new.

I wouldn't have ever guessed that I'd be shooting a video about a $40 piston-fill, flex nib, ripple ebonite fountain pen with a clear ink window, but here I am! Nathan Tardif of Noodler's Ink has blown me away again, and I'm here to share with you his latest unbelievable creation.