The water apparently evaporates from Ancient Copper quite easily and leaves the pigments as a furry-mould like residue. You can remove it by wiping or adding distilled water to redissolve it.
Recently i got the Visionnaire (Kickstarter) Pen. Packaging was rather nice, and I (who never had a pen more expensive than 5€. At least none of which i knew) am very happy with the finishing and quality. It has a nice weight to it and writing feels really nice. Obviously i don't have any comparison in this price-range but i definitely don't regret supporting the project.
Nice as it appears...perhaps the first few minutes of this podcast would shine a light on the rather dubious ethics of that kickstarter. http://5by5.tv/penaddict/80
The Visionnaire is an annoying project, but equally, I paid £25 for a pen including international shipping. I wasn't expecting a miracle, and that's what I got. Luckily, my pen works fine with no flaws. However, I feel the marketing was over the top and borderline deceptive, which is where the anger is coming from. People thought they were getting a $500 pen for $40, which is ridiculous.
Thanks a lot for that background information. I checked the images at alibaba and there's no doubt the pen in question is a 100% copy (whoever was first). I know, I shoud feel stupid now, but i can't stop grinning - Morgan Combes pulled off quite a show
I've come to the conclusion that all kickstarters are destined to cause some degree of anger and controversy, because where conventional projects are privately funded and then recoup their costs through sales to paying customers (who don't feel they can complain so much if they get it and don't really like it - caveat emptor, shop smart, etc.), kickstarter campaigns ask for the money first, making contributors feel like they're investing or commissioning, rather than just buying, which raises expectations and creates a sense of entitlement. Then if it isn't quite what they hoped for (which logically should have been an acknowledged risk in the first place, because it's charity, not comission), they feel let down and even betrayed. I think if I had an idea I wanted to get off the ground now a kickstarter is the last thing I'd try, for this reason. It can't be worth the grief and backlash that comes with it.
Yeah, it's an issue with kickstarter for sure. Sadly the only way to get the backing via KS is to introduce the expectation. Backing a product on KS is rarely a business decision, whereas the process should be very rational (like more traditional forms of funding) and far away from the emotional drivers that so many KSs appeal to. I guess that's why KS is different, but there really is no emphasis of "buyer beware".
I do think a lot of people who get involved with stuff on kickstarter just see it as 'buy this awesome new stuff we haven't made yet', and those running them don't do much to dissuade that opinion, i assume because it would come off as them being quite negative about their own product.
Hmm. What's in here? Well, it's a pen. Here's the nib. It's a Namiki Falcon! P.S. I know my attempts at flex lettering suck horribly.
I need a new notebook for work. I've been using a moleskine for the last couple of years, but i'm well into the last signature so i'd like to get something new for the new year. i'd like better paper, and i've tried clarefontaine paper in a rhodia notebook, but the notebook itself is too small for work. The one i'm using is roughly 8"x10" and soft cover, which i'd ideally like it's replacement to be but i'm not against hard cover if it's the right size/price and has better paper. Any suggestions?
yeah, looking at those, just struggling to find one that's soft cover and bound at the side rather than the top. I can find loads of stuff which meets some of my requirements, if i find the perfect notebook i might have to get several for future years.
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Rhodia-Webbie-Webnotebook.html That or the Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks are what I tend to veer towards for proper notebooks.
I have an A5 ruled one in black, but it's hard cover. i can see loads of 'soft touch' covered notebook, but does that mean they have a soft (flexible) cover, or just a soft touch finish (which my existing rhodia has) on an otherwise hard/stuff cover?
so while browsing notebooks, i've ordered another lamy, another converter, and two or three bottles of ink. Thanks, payday induced desire to spend, please stay away from amazon/the mech keyboard thread.
Got a cheap Mabie Todd Blackbird off ebay that needed a little work. Clip and lever polishing, nib smoothing and a fresh sac. Writes wonderfully now.
