New Era

Yesterday afternoon began a new era for me. I was notified that due to mandatory cost reductions at the company, my position was eliminated, and yesterday was my final day of employment. I have back pay, plus accrued but not used paid time off, plus expense reimbursements, all of which should be paid by direct deposit not later than Friday.

I have notified several contacts outside the company with whom I have had good working relationships, and two have responded and requested a resume to forward to someone they know has an opening.

Any reviews of pens, guitars, or coffee that I do prior to getting another job will be on pens, guitars, or coffee that I already own, as there is no money to buy anything but essentials until then, and, while I might consider another pen essential, I am a definite minority in my family in that regard, and I do have them to look after.

Donnie

Arkansas Pen Show etc

I am trying something new, in an attempt to fund my fountain pen hobby/addiction. I will attend the Arkansas Pen Show March 7-8 in Little Rock, with an assortment of new pens purchased for resale, and used pens which I seldom if ever use. I will also see some friends I met at the Dallas Pen Show last fall, and make some new friends.

I have also affiliated with Musicians Friend, so if you are contemplating a purchase from them, please access their website by clicking on the Musicians Friend icon on this blog. If you make a purchase this way, I will earn a small commission on the sale.

A sort of mini-review of the Hero 616 Fountain Pen. The Hero 616 is similar in design to the Parker 51, in that it has similar shape, hooded nib, and aerometric filling system. It is an inexpensive pen, and not as heavy duty as the Parker 51, so there probably will not be 60 year old Hero 616s commanding prices over $100 in the distant future. That being said, it is a good, low cost introduction to the Parker 51 style pen. Although it is the same length, the Hero 616 isnot as heavy as the 51, at .55 oz, rather than the .80 oz of the 51. The one I have used for several months writes a smooth, fine, wet line, as do the two I recently sold to a friend from church. he purchased the first as a Valentine's gift for his wife, as the pen she already had left too wide a line, and she liked it so much he purchased one for his daughter.

I have green, maroon, and black pens available for purchase for $15.00, including uninsured shipping to US/UK. You may email me at pensguitarsandcoffee@gmail.com for payment information.

Until later. . .

New Pen Review!

Today I will review a great, low-cost pen. It is a Reform 1745. Reform was a German pen maker, which competed pretty much head to head with Pelikan, until Pelikan triumphed and Reform went under. In addition to the 1745, which is a piston filler, occasionally surfacing you might also find a Reform Bremen, which is sort of like a dressed up Sheaffer No Nonsense with a nicer nib. There are a few other Reform models which sometimes surface on eBay as NOS models. The one I am reviewing came to me NOS, with the sticker still on it.



The pen is 12.95 cm (5.1 in) capped, and 14.88 cm (5.86 in) posted in length, and the diameter is 1 cm (.390 in) at the body, and .86 cm (.340 in) at the section. It is a small pen, but not uncomfortable to my large hands (I can span 11 white keys on a piano between my thumb and pinky). The pretty plain green and black gives the pen a businesslike appearance.



The nib, you ask? I was told it is a medium nib; however, the line it writes is smooth, wet, and the same size as my Phileas F and my Pelikan M200 F. And, not only is the nib smooth and wet, but it also has a bit of flex. It is no wet noodle, and you will not get huge shading or line variation, but there is some, which is definitely not common at this price point. The nib unscrews from the section, like a Pelikan nib, but a Pelikan nib does not fit. I have not tested my Reform Kalligraph to see if its nib will fit, because the pen is appreciably larger, and the nib would seem outsized on this smaller pen.



I do not have any way to measure the ink capacity of the pen, but, being a piston filler, it hold appreciably more than your average universal converter. It seems to hold more than my Parker 51 Aero also, and those are noted for large ink capacity.

If you think you might like one of these, I have 6 available, at a cost of $17.50 each, which includes uninsured shipping to the US or UK. You can email me at pensguitarsandcoffee@gmail.com for Paypal instructions, or to check shipping if you are not in US or UK.

Back in the Saddle

I have not posted since August, 2007, when my youngest grandson got out of the hospital, and life overtook my family. One of my New Year's resolutions is to faithfully post at least weekly on my blog.

I will review a pen today, to start off the new year. The pen in question is a no-brand name Chinese Pen, which I call the Young Engineer. It is about the size and shape of a stick ballpoint, which is usually purchased in boxes of a dozen. But the size and shape are where the resemblance ends.

The black matte pen, with a silver colored grip portion, is made of metal, most likely brass. Unscrewing the barrel reveals a nonremovable aerometric filler, which is attached to the section which contains a true XXF/needlepoint nib. Several people commented, upon first seeing the pen, if it was an Xacto knife, due to the sharp point on the nib. The pictures do not really do the pen justice, as they were taken with a Canon Powershot 540, which was never intended for macro photography.

How fine a line does the nib write? An Asian Fine nib is usually equivalent to a western XF. This is an Asian XF, which is truly an XXF. I have linked to a scan of a comparison between a Waterman Phileas F, a Parker 45 F, and the Young Engineer, on a Planner Pad Notes on the Run 3 x 5 card, with 6 mm line spacing Here.

A fellow employee who works in accounting fell in love with the pen, and asked me to get her one. I got several, and have sold a few, and have 8 remaining. If you are interested, they are available for $30, including shipping. To purchase, send me an email to pensguitarsandcoffee@gmail.com, and I will set one aside for you, and give you payPal instructions.

I have recently acquired several different types of pens to resell, which I will review on the blog, and provide opportunity for you to enjoy your own.

Have a safe and happy new year!

Donnie