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Just thought id share some of the parker victory MKI examples. (Marble, Pearl, Hatch [candystripe], Transparent, Block, Hex, lizard, herringbone).

Hi everyone! I'm in the market for a nice Senior sized striped duofold. I'm particularly interested in the blue pearl version! Are there any places in Australia who may have a nice one of these? Or anywhere great in the states or other overseas areas? I have been waiting for a reasonable one on ebay but no luck. I can't quite post a WTB yet here, but will once I hit that (30) mark. Lastly, what price are we looking at if we're being fair? Thank you so much!

Until I received this pen, Laban was not a name that I had heard of, and would not have become aware of had I not been offered this fountain pen as a replacement for a very warped Monteverde Catalina butterscotch. In my view quite a generous offer by the Ebay seller I bought the Catalina from. He assured me that it was a much better pen. Based on the price, that seems true – in the internet the price range is about $95 to $120, and the recommended retail price appears to be $140. In comparison I paid $65 for the Catalina. The Laban web site has practically no detailed information on the pens they sell – on laban.com they only show a few special collections, and on labanusa.com they have 82!!! pages of pens, but still absolutely no details. I am always skeptical when a manufacturer has a catalogue of 100’s of pens….. According to the description on most sites the pen is made of “mother of pearl” resin and has platinum plated trim. Whether the trim is really platinum plated I have no way of confirming. The complete pen is in resin, i.e. section, barrel and cap. This did surprise me, as from the internet it looked like only the barrel was resin. The barrel has a very nice mother of pearl look, and the rest of the pen has a silver pearlish shimmer depending on how the light falls on it. It comes in black, red, green and purple versions – to me the black version looks the most elegant. The nib is a two tone F nib, and has the words Laban Iridium on it. According to some comments on FPN about this pen, it appears to be a Bock nib. The pen came in a what I thought was a slightly extravagant box, with no cartridges or converter provided. I think Laban could save on the box and provide a converter instead. I bought a Pelikan converter, which fits perfectly. Now some facts: Length capped: 145 mmLength uncapped: 128 mmLength Posted: does not seem to be made to be postedBarrel Diameter: 13 mmCap Diameter: 15 mmWeight: 37g capped, 24g uncappedConstruction The pen is made completely of resin, except for the insert of the section and in the barrel, which is plated metal. The nib is very nicely plated two tone nib with the Laban logo and some decoration. The barrel is really nicely done with what looks like long segments of mother of pearl. The cap is black shimmering resin with a broad band at the bottom, two rings at the top and a metal logo inset at the end. The clip is fairly stiff. On mine screwing the cap on is very difficult, the thread does not take immediately and there is quite a bit of resistance initially; it takes only one turn to close. Not sure if this is a problem only on mine. Overall the pen makes an impression of good quality. Writing with the pen I chose a fine nib, but I would say it tends slightly toward medium, rather than the other way. It is clearly a non flex nib, which suits me down to the ground. I have inked it up with Waterman tender purple. I had absolutely no problems – the pen worked beautifully first time and is really lovely to write with. An excellent smooth writer. It is a relatively chunky pen, very nice to hold and the balance is good. Posting the cap however makes it very top heavy, and I found the pen to be unsuitable for posting – there is no positive placing of the cap, and it seems not to have been designed to be posted. Because it is so nicely balanced without, I find it perfect unposted. Durability Hard to tell after a week – I don’t carry my pens around with me, so they are not really subject to wear. The resin surface is highly polished, so not sure how it will hold up under daily use. Conclusion / Value for money I would not have bought this pen, but now that I have it, I really do like it very much, and it has become one of my favourites. I find it very difficult to say whether it is value for money – it is definitely a quality pen, but without knowing for certain whether the trim is really platinum plated, and the nib really is from Bock, it is hard to make a judgement. Here is a size comparison to a Jinhao 159 and the Monteverde Catalina.

I've been perusing with interest the threads on additives to ink for sparkly purposes. It's past midnight here and one of those connective thoughts has come to mind between two hobbies: hydrocolloids and ink. Therefore need a chemist to weigh in here. Would food additive E415 Xanthan Gum in ultra tiny amounts (it's very very very effective) help suspend the glitter/pearl/mica particles when the pen/vial is still for more even and simpler distribution, yet due to it's unique shear-thinning characteristics allow good flow with just a shake of the pen? For people unfamiliar with E415, page 87 of this collection of hydrocolloid recipes/characteristics contains some of its unique properties including pH tolerances etc. http://khymos.org/hydrocolloid-recipe-collection-v2.3.pdf Random thought. It's used in commercial non-food industries for its shear-thinning properties, as well as in food salad dressings etc. I don't yet own semi-disposable pens nor the glittery/pearly/mica products to try this out, but I do have this... Edit: now it's past 1am and I realised I hadn't made it clear why I thought of this. The particles in the inks appear to be settling out for members in the testing threads both in the vials and in the feeds and causing issues for some, so I was wondering whether xanthan might be a solution.

http://i.imgur.com/wOBHQP8.jpg Edison Pens is one of the most well-known of modern American companies. The company, initially the work of penmaker Brian Gray solely, now has several employees. Together, they turn out custom pens and production pens in wild-colored acrylics and ebonite, and even celluloid, when it was available from American Art Plastics. Now, celluloid pens from Edison are made only when the rod stock is customer-supplied. I got into fountains just about two years ago, and was quite immediately taken with them. Six months or so into my fountain pen journey, I bought a cappuccino Nouveau Premiere. The pen was well-made and beautiful, but was just too thin for me to use comfortably. I ended up gifting the pen to one of my penpals upon learning her birthday was coming up. http://i.imgur.com/gbdmufZ.jpg After coming across photos of the collaboration between Edison and lacquer artist Ernest Shin, I was taken aback by how gorgeous the pens were. Eventually, I caved and made the initial inquiry to Ernest and my order was placed. I went for the the Edison Pearl, in the Black-Gold-Clear Kara-nuri finish. The finish requires many layers and results in a stunning mottled pattern of black urushi, gold powder, and transparent light brown urushi. http://i.imgur.com/GHMW5YE.jpg Edison/Hakumin Pearl and Lamy Safari. This is a simplification of the lacquering process, but this is basically how the process works: 1. A few layers of raw urushi are applied and cured, then black urushi mixed with albumin (as a stiffener) it applied in a random pattern of dots and swirls on the pen. The stiffener in the urushi results in the pen having slightly raised dots of black urushi. 2. A layer of raw urushi is applied and 23.5kt gold powder is brushed over the entire pen. 3. Several layers of transparent, light brown urushi is applied, curing and sanding between each layer. 4. Then finally, the pen is sanded smooth and polished. The result is that that parts where the stiffened black urushi was applied is black and the gold powder shines through the urushi in the other parts. It’s really something to see and it’s impossible to capture it in photographs. This finish was used for a limited edition Pearl between Edison and Hakumin Urushi in 2010 or so, and has long been sold out. Ernest agreed to make me a pen just like the LE, though my pen is only signed without the numbering. Edit: Ernest emailed to say that while the pen is Karanuri, it is applied differently than the LE. http://i.imgur.com/FyE8kI7.jpg From top, Romillo Eo #9, Edison/Hakumin Pearl, Newton custom Gibby, Eboya Kyouka (medium-size) After I ordered I was given an estimate of 6 months for the pen to be finished. Ended up taking around 11 months. While Ernest did update me on the progress of the pen when I asked, he was not very proactive about it, even when he was behind schedule. However, aside from the lack of proactive updates, I’d say the ordering/waiting process was pretty smooth and pleasant. http://i.imgur.com/JoglrkC.jpg Pearl slightly out of a Taccia pen kimono. The packaging is the same as any other Edison, which is fine with me. I do wish, however that a pen kimono was included. I bought a Taccia pen kimono from nibs.com and the Pearl stays in that. http://i.imgur.com/DlAOgmA.jpg Nakaya Piccolo and Edison/Hakumin Pearl. Now to the pen: The Pearl, I’ve read, was inspired by the Nakaya Piccolo. Having the pens side by side, it’s very obvious. The peaked ends aren’t as severe and the Pearl is slightly longer, but major design points are present in both pens. http://i.imgur.com/eDUO0Ru.jpg From top, Nakaya Piccolo, Romillo Eo #9, Newton Orville (medium-size), Eboya Kyouka (medium-size), Edison/Hakumin Pearl, Danitrio Flat-Top Mikado http://i.imgur.com/5SzjJ2l.jpg Edison/Hakumin Pearl and Romillo Sil #9 The urushi models are built on black ebonite pens and everything seems as you would expect from Edison: smooth threads, tight tolerances, no play in any of the threaded parts. The lacquerwork is also first-rate and I love seeing Ernest’s kanji signature on the end of the barrel. http://i.imgur.com/ocalrJa.jpg Edison/Hakumin Pearl and Romillo Sil #9, both uncapped. The nib is a standard 18kt two-tone Edison nib made by JoWo. In my case, a fine nib. This is where we first get to a disappointment. The nib was very smooth — which was the problem. It was so smooth, it had the worst baby’s bottom I’ve ever seen. A little scribbling would get the nib to write and it would continue to write as long as I held the nib to the paper. Lift the pen for more than a second or two and it was back to skipping. I'm sure Brian Gray would have made it right had I asked but I was more disappointed in the fact that nibs being tested is used as a selling point and I can't see this pen as having been filled and tested. You literally could not more than a word or two before you'd get skipping and have to tap the nib onto the paper and get the ink flowing again. http://i.imgur.com/5cKqJT7.jpg Writing sample with Sailor Souten ink on Clairefontaine Triomphe paper. Normally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to work on a pen in this price range myself but I figured I could buy a new gold JoWo nib unit from Mottishaw or someone else fairly easily should I mess up the nib. After an hour or so of very slow and very careful work, being sure to roll the pen as I worked to avoid flat spots, I managed to get rid of the baby’s bottom. Since that time, it’s been smooth sailing with the Edison/Hakumin Pearl. http://i.imgur.com/48EsBTF.jpg The nib was a bit of a disappointment, especially since the fact the nibs are tested is used so often as a selling point of Edison Pens, but I’m pleased with the pen and I would buy it again. Ernest’s lacquerwork truly is amazing and I look forward to seeing what kinds of designs and finishes he comes up with in the future.

Okay, I'm at a loss and my newbie inexperience with Sheaffer pens is showing! I need help from all of you, please. My sleuthing has not gotten me very far so I'm turning to the experts here to determine if my free, 'thank you' pen is correct or a couple of parts cobbled together. Bought a great little Waterman Vest pen off the bay and when it arrived, there was a BONUS pen added as a thank you. How cool is that! Here is where it gets interesting...she thought, and I am almost agreeing, that the pen looks married. Either that or the barrel is ambered or stained. I've not done anything to/with it as it's a vacuum filler and I'm clueless on these. I'm pretty clueless on Sheaffers as my stuff is normally the most obscure, cheapest stuff ever made for a one time school class, sold at a drug store and found in the junk drawer!!! Here is the pen I'm wondering about. I know it's a vacuum filler, i know it's Sheaffer White Dot and I know it's a Lifetime nib with a number...but... ...do top and bottom match correctly? I have since discovered it IS ambered and you can see through it when held to the light. Is the nib correct? Is this a Balance or something else. Timeframe for age (I think it's a '35 based soley on the hump clip shown. (Maybe someone changed the clip???) Worth restoring? I am coming to the experts as I R Not 1! Any help is appreciated!! Thank you!! (Update: The pen inks from what I can tell, well, it's still writing, but I don't see ink IN it. Hmmmm.) Attached Images