I'm back!

Pilot Custom 74 with Robert Oster Fire & Ice.

So I started this blog because I have so much I want to write about, but as you can see I haven’t updated it in a while. The reason isn’t actually because I haven’t written anything, because I have actually written quite a lot! That may sound strange but let me explain. I write with pen and paper and the problem has been how to quickly transfer the text into digital form. Also we have had the hottest summer in 260 years in Sweden, so I really haven’t felt super excited to sit down with a computer in the sun. 

But that ends now as I’ve found an okay way to transfer the texts and I still want to share my thought about so many things, especially my growing pen interest. There will however probably won’t be as many updates as I started out doing as I still mostly do this for myself and some things feel “done” when I have written them down in analog form.

The plan now is to write one post per week at least, but maybe more. It all will be decided on how fast I can transfer the analog posts into digital form.

Taggade:

Who doesn't need a pair of titanium chopsticks?

Those who know me probably know that I’m a big fan of Kickstarter. Almost every night before I go to sleep, I check out all of the new projects that have been launched since last time. More often than not I also find something cool that want to support, and depending on how tired I am I might even back the project without much thought.

This has led me to buy many cool and nice things, but also so many stupid, strange and useless items, like these. I think I'm at 53 backed projects as of writing this post.

What you see in the pictures are a couple of titanium chopsticks and even now as I write it I think that is super cool. They are travel sized and come with a acrylic travel case so you always can have them with you and yes, they are also quite nice to eat with. But the question is, why do I need these?

When would I want to travel with my own pair of chopsticks and at home I want to set the table with matching flatware. The only time I can use them is therefore, when I’m home alone. Maybe not something I really did need, but still, I do like them. They are the perfect example of what happens when I get to tired and start to check Kickstarter.

 

My favorite pen right now! The Pilot Custom 823

Some time ago I wrote about what I thought was one of the best beginner fountain pens, so I thought it was time to write about one of my absolute favorite pens. This is the pen you buy if you want to skip the beginner pens and just buy a super good pen straight away, or if you already have a couple of pens and want to upgrade.

This is the Pilot Custom 823, one of Pilots top of the line pens and only vacuum filler pen. The pen comes in three different colors, a clear one, an amber one and the one that I have, smoke. All of them are translucent so that you can see how much ink is left in the pen, but the Smoke one is almost so dark as it looks black, and I like black. It does however change color in strong light depending on what ink you use. I use Iroshizuku Shin-kai in it right now and then the pen gets a beautiful blue shine.

One problem is that all the colors aren’t available in all parts of the world, hey, Pilot doesn’t even sell the pen AT ALL in Europe. Therefore, I needed to get mine directly from Japan via an eBay seller, something I don’t like to do as fountain pens can be a bit finicky, but I had no choice. For those interested in buying it on eBay I can tell you that it was about 210€ and as I live in Sweden I got to pay around 50€ more in VAT. Price wise I would say the pen is worth every cent and more, If you only are getting one pen (and don’t want a flex nib), this is the one.

One thing to note is that this pen has a built in filling system instead of the more common converter (in which pens you can also use cartridges). That means that this pen can contain more ink, but it’s also harder to clean. The special filling system also need you to unscrew the back of the pen a few millimeters if you are going to write more than a few notes. That can probably be annoying for some people but I don’t really care. One thing I like about the pen is the weight and size. I would call this the perfect size for both small and large hands and I can write for hours with it.

Last but not least, let’s talk about the nib as that is what actually does the writing and probably is the most important part of the pen. I’m not going to get too “geeky” but let’s start with a couple of words about nibs for you beginners out there. A nib is often described as being smooth or writing with a bit of feedback. A smooth nib is one that you almost can’t feel when you write with it, it just glides over the paper. The writing feel of a nib that has a lot of feedback could more be described as the feel of when you write with a wooden pencil.

This pen has a nib that I would call the golden mix of the two, it is super  smooth but with some feedback so you actually can feel that you are writing. Another thing I like about the nib is that it’s pretty big so it flexes a bit for some line variation and a great feel. The shape is also quite long and slender so you get a perfect view of what you are writing, perfect for sketching.

There you have it, that is why I love this pen.

Futagami Frame Bottle Opener

Who can say no to cheese and beer?

I may have a bit of an obsession when it comes to bottle openers and most people would probably say that I own way too many. Actually, they would probably say I'm crazy, but I just like bottle openers. The thing I like is that in its core, the bottle opener is such a simple thing, but it can still be designed in so many different ways and no opener has the same feel as another. So when I find a new opener I like I just can't help myself, I need to buy it!

My latest purchase was this opener that I got a couple of weeks ago while I was visiting Gothenburg. I first saw this opener online in December last year, but have waited until I could have a look at it for real before I bought it. A couple of weeks ago I finally got the chance to do so at the store Artilleriet, and I bought it immediately! Even though it was quite expensive at around 51€ (63$).

The opener is named Frame and it's made by the Japanese manufacturer Futagami. The quality of the opener is amazing and the design really speaks to me. But I do like Japanese design overall as most items have a design that really puts focus on the usability. A bit like the classic Bauhaus school of design.  Do I need to say the the opener also opens bottles like a dream?

As a last note, it's not strange that the quality of this opener is as good as it is, as Futagami is a company that has made brass items since 1897. The Swedish readers may know of Skultuna and Futagami is like the Japanese Skultuna. I recommend everyone to have a look at their site, because they have so many beautiful things. 

I love Ink bottles

One of the things that I like the most about fountain pens is that I can buy nice looking ink bottles to put on my desk. There are just so many beautiful bottles that I often buy new ink just to show them of as decoration at home. Of course I also try to find an ink I like and “need”, but the bottle design actually comes first sometimes.

Just take a look at the bottles above!!

 

De Luze XO Tres Vielle Reserve Cognac

Cognac was the the first type of barrel aged fine spirit that I really liked, and it is what got me interested in all the wonderful alcoholic beverages in the world. It is still one of the types that I enjoy the most and also pour up a glass of the most often. It’s probably tied in the top with whisky and bourbon.

One of my latest acquisitions for my drink cabinet is this De Luze XO Tes Vielle Reserve, so I thought I should write a couple of sentences about it. For those who don’t know, cognac is almost always a blend to speak whisky terms. That means that you take different cognacs from different years and blend it together for the perfect taste. This particular cognac is an XO, which means that all the different spirits that it’s made of have been aged for at least 6 years in oak barrels. According to the maker though, most of the components supposedly have been aged for around 20 years and the oldest ingredient is from 1980.

I do like this cognac quite a bit, it’s not the best, but it is really good, especially for the money (I paid around 35€ for a 50 cl bottle). The taste is sweet, but not to sweet, it has a bit of spiciness and a hint of dried fruit. The one thing that I don’t like that much is that it has a very prominent taste of oak, it’s not to bad, but a bit to much for my taste.

As said, a good cognac that I would buy again.

My favorite beginner fountain pen

This is the Kaweco Sport and it may be my number one tip for anyone who wants to buy their first cheap fountain pen. It is cheap, it has a great 30's design, it writes well and it comes in a bunch of different colors so there should be one that matches your style. If you like it you can even get a couple of pens in different colors to match your different outfits.

Sure, it's not a super classy pen, but for a first fountain pen I would say it's perfect because of the reasons mentioned above. Another great thing about the pen is that it's made of durable plastic and has a secure cap so you just can throw it in your bag without thinking to much about it.

My Kaweco Sport on the pictures has a nib in the size fine which is perfect for taking notes in small notebooks or if you generally write small. I would however say that for most people a medium sized nib would probably be better as it writes more like most "normal" pens. A broader nib also shows of your ink of choice way better so if you like showing of all your cool ink that is also a better choice.

But now to the "bad" part. As the pen is so small it is made for using cartridges of ink and not ink from bottles. The boring thing about that is that cartridges really limits what ink you can use. You can buy what is called a converter to the pen, which lets you use ink from bottles, but the converter is so small so you will need to refill the pen quite often. But for a first pen I would recommend cartridges anyway as they are easier to use. Even if I really would like to recommend bottled ink just because of the pretty bottles you can put on your desk.

Las but not least, the pen also comes in a very cool looking retro tin box.

One of my favorite cigars

The Diplomaticos No.2 is one of my absolute favorite cigars and one of the few I would buy a whole box of. First of all, as a disclaimer, I'm a big fan of cuban cigars overall and I rarely smoke anything else. They may have some quality control issues sometimes but there is something special about them that I like, both flavour wise and "feeling" wise. 

The Diplomaticos No.2 isn't a cheap cigar, but for what you get it gives you amazing value for your money. At least I think so and I pay around 13€ a piece when I buy singles. I would highly recommend anyone to try this cigar as it's well balanced taste should be nice for both experts and beginners alike. 

It is as said a very well balanced cigar. It has a nice body, some earthy notes and just the right amount of spiciness according to me. Also it has a hint of sweet milk chocolate to really round of the taste. I recommend you to try it, but remember that it is quite a big cigar so you need to have the time to sit down for at least 1,5 hours.