We did it gang - we hit maximum peak weirdness this week! As if a podcast about pens wasn't weird enough, we ramped it up with discussions around pen shooting, pencils from India, and bamboo pens. Plus, I show you how not to eBay.
This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:
Harry's: An exceptional shave at a fraction of the price. Use code PENADDICT for $5 off your first purchase.
(Ron Gilmour is a fountain pen enthusiast, would-be calligrapher, and librarian. You can find him online at Twitter @gilmour70 and Instagram.)
In the introduction to this series, I mentioned that one of the drawbacks to the various sac-filling pens was ink capacity. Because you need room for the sac itself and whatever is compressing it, there's a limit to how much ink you can get into a sac-filling pen.
In the 1930s, Parker came up with an interesting solution. What if suction could be created in the entire pen barrel rather than just the sac? They replaced the sac with a flexible diaphragm at the rear of the pen. When the diaphragm was pushed inward by a plunger, air was forced out of the pen. When the diaphragm was released, ink was taken up. A breather tube was added to prevent ink taken up by one stroke of the plunger from being squeezed out by the next stroke. This innovative mechanism, eventually dubbed the "Vacumatic," allowed a far greater portion of the barrel to be filled with ink than any sac filler.
Another drawback of sac fillers was that it was impossible to see how much ink you had left. (Sheaffer tried to make lever-fill pens that would allow this, but were only moderately successful.) The smart people at Parker realized that once they had eliminated the sac, all they had to do was use some transparent material in the body and the ink level would be easily visible.
And that brings us to the pen's aesthetics. An innovative filling system and a visible ink supply were great, but the Vacumatic might not have been the success that it was if not for another factor: it was gorgeous. The alternation of solid and transparent bands of celluloid still turns heads today. (A friend refers to my silver Vac as "your Matrix pen.") The striking, arrow-shaped clip is a design element that Parker still uses on their pens today. The total package is an Art Deco masterpiece.
The "alternating bands" pattern, available in several colors, is the most common, but there were a number of other patterns, especially on the "junior"-sized pens. See, for instance, Brad's drool-worthy "Golden Web" Vac that he bought at last year's Atlanta show.
Furthermore, Parker in Days of Yore was known for their excellent gold nibs, so a great writing experience is almost guaranteed, barring a damaged nib. I've owned several vintage Parkers (Vacumatics and others) and they have all written smoothly and consistently.
If you're the collector type, Vacumatics are a lot of fun because of their seemingly endless variations. When you take into account the different sizes, colors, clips, cap bands, presence/absence of an end jewel, etc., one can happily collect Vacumatics for decades and never see the end.
When shopping for a Vac online, make sure that the pen you're considering is a usable size for you. The Vacumatic came in a wide variety of sizes, some of which are very small, which might not be your thing. You can't depend on model names: both of my Vacs are "Majors," but they're slightly different sizes. Make sure the seller provides measurements, or at least a picture that shows scale.
Also be aware that like sacs, Vac diaphragms are flexible parts that can break down over time. Make sure the pen you're buying has been tested and actually fills.
If seeing the ink level is important to you, make sure that you buy a pen with good barrel clarity. Many vendors will provide back-lit photos to demonstrate this quality.
Nibs on vintage Parkers, and many other vintage pens, have no visible size indication. Most reputable sellers will give you a good indication of nib width in their description: "Writes a wet western fine" or similar. It may be helpful to ask for a writing sample on a known paper marking (e.g., Rhodia grid) to help you judge the nib width.
Given the large number of variations mentioned above, prices will be greatly influenced by the rarity of the particular combination of features on a pen, along with condition. For a functional, but not cosmetically perfect, Vacumatic in one of the more common models, you can expect to pay about $100-150 US. Prices can get significantly higher for rare colors and patterns, for pens in pristine condition, and pens with unusual nibs.
Filling a Vacumatic is simple, but may take a few seconds longer than some other mechanisms. First, remove the blind cap at the back end of the pen to expose the plunger. Submerge the nib completely in the ink bottle. Depress the plunger. You should hear bubbling as air is forced out of the pen. Release the plunger and hold the pen in place while ink flows into the pen. Repeat this sequence (press, release, wait) until you no longer hear bubbling when you depress the plunger. Wipe the nib and section with a paper towel, replace the blind cap, and you're ready to write.
So here's the bad news: Vacumatics are a pain to clean. You can expel ink from the pen by depressing the plunger slowly. Then you can suck water into the pen and slowly depress the plunger to expel that. Repeat this until a) the water comes out clean or b) you're hungry, your thumb hurts, and you just don't care anymore.
Do yourself a favor and use easy-to-clean inks in your Vacumatic.
The Parker Vacumatic is one of the most iconic vintage American fountain pens, and is also a beautiful and practical choice for the modern fp user. They are more expensive than some of the other models we will look at in this series, but the combination of exquisite celluloid, large ink capacity, sturdy construction, and high-quality gold nibs makes them a good buy. Try finding that set of features in a modern pen for under $200 US.
(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
For a product that has such a long name, the Clairefontaine Basics Life Unplugged Staplebound Notebooks Duo are a pocket-friendly notebook worthy of respect. I've long been a fan of Clairefontaine paper, and this newest addition to my collection is a new favorite. A 3.5" x 5.5" notebook filled with creamy, white Clairefontaine 90gsm paper is hard to beat.
When I picked up these notebooks to try, my goal was to find something in the pocket notebook category that could handle fountain pens with ease. Well, these notebooks hit the mark perfectly. Let's take a look at the specifics and then look at how they perform in real life.
These notebooks share the same measurements as Field Notes, but their about the same thickness as two Field Notes books. This is good and bad: It's good because you have plenty of paper to use, but it's bad because it means you can pack one less notebook in pockets and sleeves that normally accept two notebooks. Not a big drawback, but just be aware that it might require you to change your carry a bit.
The covers are a thick material that have a textured exterior. It's a strong material, and I'm not worried at all about these things falling apart after daily pocket abuse. The front has a subtle Clairefontaine logo embossed in the lower right corner, and the back cover has a SKU and barcode, as well as some info about the book. Apart from that, there are no other markings on this book — just 96 empty lined pages.
The notebooks are assembled with two staples. I have my doubts about the longevity of this binding system, but time will tell. They feel strong, but I know that Field Notes can get a bit weak at the staple areas, and they have one additional staple over the Clairefontaines. Either way, they seem strong enough for normal use.
As I mentioned briefly before, the paper in these notebooks is exactly like the paper you'll find in any Clairefontaine notebook. That's something I love about their notebooks. Once you've tried their paper in one format, you've tried it all. It's predictable, and it's dependable. Now, if you don't like lined paper, you're out of luck because it's all they make.
As for the paper, it's splendid. It handles inks so well, and it's always been a favorite of mine from day one. The lines are spaced at 7mm, which is similar to a "college rule" in the U.S. The lines are a faded light blue color that's easy enough to ignore if you want to draw or think outside the lines. It's 90gsm paper, so it's bound to handle most pens with ease. It isn't sketching paper, so anything else (like markers, watercolors, etc.) will probably be out of bounds. For writing, it's fantastic.
The paper does a very good job of minimizing show-through on the opposite page. The only way I was able to make it show up in the pictures was by putting the notebook between my camera and a bright light source. Under normal conditions, it's nearly impossible to detect any show through unless you're using an extremely wet nib.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with this notebook. It's a familiar size, familiar paper, and excellent price. At less than $7 for a pair, it's quite a good deal considering how much paper is included. It's become a favorite for me when paired with a Fodderstack XL and a favorite pen. This makes a great mobile writing kit.
These notebooks are available from JetPens in a variety of sizes and colors. For this review, I used the 3.5" x 5.5" Red/Green combo, but you can also get them in Black/Tan. Or, if you want something a little larger, there's always the 5.75" x 8.25" versions in the same colors. Those cost a few dollars more (still less than $10) and are an equally excellent deal.
These are currently my favorite "disposable" journaling notebooks. They don't break the bank, but they still feature some stellar paper inside. Now all we need are some more color options!
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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