It sometimes happens that you don't use fountain pens for a long time or you replace cartridges before they are emptied and think you can use the remaining ink again later (at least you think so, but you rarely do it, and if you do, you should do it quickly, as the test shows). My curiosity was piqued again and I thought it could be fun to measure how quickly ink in fountain pens (or cartridges and converters lying around) dries out.
Black isn’t that Black …
Today, I would like to introduce a few black inks. The following inks were tested: J. Herbin Perle Noire Montblanc Black (from 2019) and Mystery Black (2020) Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black Cleo Black Cross Black General ApproachThis primarily describes the writing properties and appearance on paper, including aspects like shading and ink absorption on the... Continue Reading →
The Earls pens. GvF-C Classic Anello and Guilloche.
This blog deals with two fountain pens in my collection. The Graf von Faber-Castell Classic Anello and GvF-C Guilloche Both pens represent the middle (Guilloche) and the middle to high level (Anello) pens of this brand. The Tamito is below and the Classic (without ›Anello‹) and the Intuition are the top range. Additionally, there are... Continue Reading →
Purple Rain – some purple and pink-ish inks
Today, I want to share with you some impressions on purple inks from my collection. Purple is meant in a broader sense, reddish inks with some blue additions – or the other way round. Three inks of the nowadays occurring trend of inks named after gems, are included in this review. To my feeling it... Continue Reading →
The Platinum Century 3776 Kumpoo (LE) – soft medium nib
Today I want to introduce you to the Platinum Century 3776 Kumpoo. It is a limited edition pen (2500 numbered copies worldwide). I ordered this one on behalf of a friend at a Norwegian shop which I actually never heard of before (I was quite happy to find a pen shop in a country where... Continue Reading →
The Cross Peerless 125 Platinum Medalist
The pen features a guilloched, matted silvergrey cap and barrel. Here, I must admit, that I am not completely sure whether this term is correctly chosen. Neither do I have a clue how this pattern (the "guilloche") was made (etching or engraving). The cap is quite thic compared to the barrel and most of all to the bottom part of the barrel.
Montblanc Heritage Rouge et Noir: Coral and Tropic Brown
Today I am slightly on the luxury path because I want to introduce you to the Heritage Rouge et Noir line by Montblanc. Here I focus on the fountain pen(s) exclusively (and skipping e.g. the ball pens etc.). A friend of mine lent me the Coral and I contribute with the Tropic Brown which I... Continue Reading →
Ink consumption of a fine nib versus an italic 1.1mm nib (Lamy Safari -Z50)
Lately, I recognized on my wordpress-statistics that somebody from Mexico was hitting my page by entering the search phrase „how much more ink does m nib use compared to F“. Well, he or she obviously found my page and landed on it, but two things have crossed my mind regarding this: (a) be carefull what... Continue Reading →
Ink Capacities …
Ink capacity measurements of various fountain pens and converters.
Oblique Nibs
oblique nibs
Mic comparison Microtech Gefell M930 und Microtech Gefell MT 71 S (English translation)
This is not a review, more a comparison. Just listen to the audio samples (German). I have left the recordings completely raw (except for the conversion to the mp3 format, which is unavoidable due to the sheer size of 16-bit WAV files). I am using the MOTU M2 audio interface, and I have set the gain on the MOTU M2 to about 1 o'clock position. I tried to maintain a distance of 15cm for both mics. However, I also tried the close-miking technique, where the distance was about 5cm. A pop filter was also used.
The effect of the vocal head booth for voice recordings (English translation)
For a few months now, Thomann has had what they call a Vocal Head Booth in their lineup, which is quite similar to another model, the Isovox 2 (the successor of the Isovox). As far as I know, these are the only two types of these mini vocal booths available on the market.
Vergleich der Mikrofone Microtech Gefell M930 und Microtech Gefell MT 71 S
Heute möchte ich zwei Mikrofone vorstellen, die von der Fima Microtech Gefell hergestellt werden. Nur zur Info, ich bin nicht verwandt oder verschwägert mit Angestellten der Firma oder den Besitzern. Zur Geschichte der Firma möchte ich auch nicht so viel erzählen, das kann man alles im Internet herausfinden: https://www.microtechgefell.de/ Dies hier ist kein Test, noch weniger ein Vergleichstest, sondern lediglich ein … Vergleich! Hört Euch einfach nur die Hörbeispiele an. Ich habe die Aufnahmen komplett roh belassen (abgesehen von der Konvertierung in das mp3-Format, was unumgänglich ist aufgrund der schieren Größe von 16-Bit-WAV-Dateien). Als Audio-Interface dient mir das MOTU M2, den Gain habe ich am MOTU M2 auf circa 1-Uhr-Stellung gestellt. Ich habe mich bemüht, bei beiden Mics eine Distanz von 15cm einzuhalten. Aber ich habe auch den Nahbesprechungseffekt ausprobiert – dann war die Distanz etwa 5cm. Ein Pop-Filter fand ebenfalls Verwendung. Um Raumhall und Umgebungsgeräusche zu minimieren, habe ich eine Vocal Head Booth verwendet
Die t.akustik Vocal Head Booth – ausprobiert mit dem Microtech Gefell MT 71 S und dem Røde Podmic
Die t.akustik Vocal Head Booth – ausprobiert mit dem Microtech Gefell MT 71 S und dem Røde Podmic. Mir ging es nur darum herauszufinden, ob die Kabine den verhassten Raumhall zu reduzieren im Stande ist. Um zu vergleichen habe ich einmal mit der Headbooth und einmal ohne die Headbooth aufgenommen. Also einmal mit Raumhall und einmal mit gedämpften Raumhall. Ich habe ein wirklich gutes Kondensatormikrofon verwendet und ein sehr gängiges, günstiges dynamisches Mikrofon, dass für das Podcasting optimiert wurde. Ich benutze als Audiointerface das Motu M2 und keine Vorverstärkung irgendeiner Art.
Comparison of two burgundy red inks (Monteverde and Montblanc)
This is going to be a split ink-review. The conventional part of the description of the inks with the appraisal of its properties together with writing samples and its pros and cons you find in Part I (after the introduction). A further part deals with the examination of the subtle differences both inks show. I... Continue Reading →