The Parker 51 is one of the most famous pens of all time. Even today, over 50 years after this fountain pen first went on sale, the pen is sought after by collectors and mint models can go for hundreds of dollars. The Parker 21 looks almost exactly like the Parker 51, but sells for a fraction of the amount.
What’s the difference between these two vintage fountain pens?
Continue reading “Parker 51 vs. Parker 21: What’s The Difference?”
The Rotring Newton is often confused with the older, more desirable Rotring 600. Both are great pens and they are remarkably alike, but they are distinctly different models and while the Newton echoes the design of the 600 it is not a Rotring 600. Sorry to say it, but there is no “Rotring Newton 600,” that’s just something people write in auctions.
Does any of this matter though? Are we just splitting hairs? Or is there a real difference between the Rotring 600 and the Newton pens. Let’s find out.
Converting a fountain pen to an eyedropper is a quick and fun job… so long as you choose the right pen! It’s quick to do, quite cheap, and you can often double, or even triple, your pen’s ink capacity.
Continue reading “Best Fountain Pens for Eyedropper Conversion (And How To Do It)”
Lamy makes a few different fountain pen converters and it’s not always clear which one you should buy. Lamy doesn’t offer much guidance on this, but don’t worry, it’s easy to figure out which one you need.
Continue reading “Which Lamy Fountain Pen Converter Do I Want?”
Few people would argue that one of the main draws to fountain pens is the amazing variety of inks on offer. This selection can quickly go from an allure to a curse when the paradox of choice sets in and you are presented with literally hundreds of shades of blue, all of which are relatively affordable and easy to access.
If you don’t quit fountain pens right at that moment you are presented with an interesting dilemma: how can I test inks? Taking things to their logical conclusion, we here at Unsharpen further asked, “How can we test fountain pens inks cheaply, efficiently, and accurately?”
Here’s what we’ve found…
One popular question we get with people who are interested in pen mechanics is: Do any rollerballs use fountain pen ink? The answer is yes, but fewer than you’d expect. Here are a list of some of the top rollerballs that can be filled with fountain pen ink.
Continue reading “Rollerball Pens That Use Fountain Pen Ink”
If you have ever written on a receipt you’ll know that it’s a particularly annoying surface. Receipts have a combination in slippery paper and a small surface area that is quite a challenge. In fact many pen types will completely unacceptable with receipt paper. So what pen should you get for filling out your tip, total, and signature?
Pilot’s Iroshizuku is a line of high quality fountain pen inks. They are some of the best priced, best performing inks sold today, but with 24 inks in the line it’s hard to try them all.
Well, we bought all the inks and are going to review the full family below, with commentary on each of the 24 Pilot Iroshizuku fountain pen inks.
There is a good chance that some time in the past year you’ve run into a pen made by Kaco. Despite a general unfamiliarity with the company, they are been making many rather good pens lately.
So… who is Kaco, where are they based, what’s their website? We had many questions and wanted to learn the basics about this pen company, whose pens we’ve been enjoying for some time now.
You’ve almost certainly heard of Moleskine notebooks, and you probably have owned at least a few of them, but have you spent any time learning about the company behind this iconic paper product?
Continue reading “What’s The Deal with Moleskine Notebooks?”
Zebra’s Emulsion ink is a bit of an enigma. Most companies neatly categorize their inks ink “ballpoint,” “gel,” and “rollerball” and some even throw in “hybrid” but Zebra ended up with “emulsion.” Does that mean something specific? Is it a translation quirk or brand name? Let’s dig into it a bit.
Lamy’s modular fountain pen nibs aren’t particularly complex, but there are some basics concepts to know if you want to get the most out of them. Additionally, there are some long lists of details you might want to refer to that aren’t worth memorizing but will help you with your purchase.
This article will help you get your head around Lamy’s steel and gold fountain pen nibs.
There are few writing experiences that are more satisfying than a great gel pen. The right gel pen is buttery smooth, has an ink color that really pops, and is a pleasure to write with on all sorts of different paper. Gel pens are truly one of the best and most versatile ways to write on almost all paper types.
The re-release of the Rotring 600 ballpoint in 2018 was a historic moment for pen collectors. The Rotring 600 ballpoint returned to the market, to the excitement of everyone who didn’t get one in the late 1980s or early 1990s (or didn’t spend a fortunate on Ebay).
Since that point Rotring did little with the 600 and 800 ballpoint (the 800 being the re-release of the Rotring 600 gold edition), but that could be changing early next year.
Continue reading “Rotring 600 Red, Blue, and Green Editions Coming Soon”
Have a mechanical pencil (also known as an automatic pencil) whose lead won’t come out? There is a good chance that your pencil is jammed! This can be annoying, but it’s usually easy to fix. This guide will help clear that jam and get get your pencil back in working order.
Continue reading “Pencil Lead Won’t Come Out? How to Fix a Jammed Mechanical Pencil”