It’s Gift Guide time! Ana Reinert, from The Well-Appointed Desk, is back once again to put up with our nonsense. We covered a lot of ground in this episode, so be sure to check out the show notes to play along with us. Since we ran a bit long this week, some of the gift-specific #ASKTPA had to be cut, so I answered those below.
Show Notes & Download Links
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Via Tyler:
Hi! For the upcoming gift buying episode, I was wondering what you’d recommend for a standard pen gift. Rollerball or ballpoint at any price point. You can assume the recipient is a person well-versed in pens and such. Also forgot to mention, ideally it’d be cap less and have a twist or click mechanism.
To me, a standard gift pen would be the Retro 51. Good quality, great refill, excellent price point, tons of design choices. What’s not to love?
For something classic, but a bit different, I love the Lamy 2000 Ballpoint, which is retractable.
Via Chris:
I discovered you guys in June and now I already own 4 fountain pens with a 5th on the way and about 13 inks counting those on the way. I’m looking to gift some friends (and myself) some things and I’m mostly still on the lookout for some inks. Do you know of any good budget friendly inks other than Diamine? And what blue ink would you recommend for a first blue ink? (doesn’t need to budget because I somehow managed to not get a blue ink yet.)
Robert Oster is the easy answer to this. They are some of my absolute favorites, and check in at a Diamine-like price point. Any and every color you want, they have.
For a first blue ink, how traditional do you want it to be? For a standard, any of the European manufacturers brands (Pelikan, Montblanc, Aurora, etc.) are excellent. For something with a bit more character, Sailor Blue Black is a personal favorite, and Robert Oster Fire and Ice is a modern classic.
