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reprieve
August 11th, 2013, 09:48 AM
I just returned home from the 2013 D.C. Pen show, and it was grand! I was there almost all day on Friday and (very early) on Saturday morning. I got to talk to some of my favorite pen people, see thousands of neat pens and pen paraphernalia, and spend some quality time exploring one of my favorite cities.

Here is a list of my loot:

An Edison Menlo pump filler (http://edisonpen.com/index.cfm/2013/8/1/Introducing-the-Menlo-Pump-Filler) in Tortoise Lucite, with a steel medium nib. Brian Gray tuned the nib to be juicy with just a hint of feedback, and it is indeed an excellent writer. I love the size, the shape, the balance, and the filling system. The tortoise lucite material allows you to see the mechanics of the pump filler; it's a pseudo-demonstrator that looks more like fossilized amber than plastic.

A Pelikan M400NN in tortoise (http://www.thepenguinpen.com/pelikan/detail/tort400nn.jsp) with a nicely flexible fine nib from Rick Propas.

A large, lined TWSBI notebook (http://andersonpens.net/paper/twsbi/twsbi-notebook-large-lined) from Anderson Pens. Also from Anderson pens, bottles of Sailor Sky High, Sailor Ultra Marine, and Iroshizuku Yama-guri. I almost bought a lovely grey Esterbrook from them, but I had to show some restraint!

An couple of Rhodia dot pads and a purple Clairefontaine 1951 carnet from a friendly North Carolinian art supply shop (whose name I have now forgotten--sorry!).

A handbook journal with watercolor paper (http://www.amazon.com/Global-Art-Materials-Watercolor-Landscape/dp/B003CTJFDE/ref=pd_sim_ac_6) from the National Gallery of Art's museum store. I left my ink journal at home, and so I picked this up on Thursday morning so I could play at the giant ink testing table. The paper takes ink wonderfully, and it is very nice to write on with both flexy dip pens and fountain pens. The writing feel of the watercolor paper was a nice surprise; I will be buying more of these notebooks from Amazon.

I spent an obscene amount of time at Sarj Minhas's table. He was incredibly kind, and he let me ogle some fairly rare pens. I was sorely tempted, but I had already spent most of my budget and had to walk away empty handed. Next time I will stop at his table first!

Here is a quick photo of my loot (inks not pictured):

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2864/9484829771_b6fd4b1de6_o.jpg



What followed you home from the D.C. show?

jde
August 11th, 2013, 12:01 PM
Beautiful pens! When I saw you were going to the DC show, you left me looking forward to seeing what you splurged on! Alas no pen show for moi. But this is about you!!

Isn't the tortoise lucite a great material? Cool to see it on the Menlo! (I've got that material in a custom Edison. Love it.)

Lovely photo, reprieve. Thanks for sharing!

ethernautrix
August 11th, 2013, 12:14 PM
Very nicely done!

Sarj is one of my favorite pen people - Sarj and Jas. They are lovely people.

quinden
August 11th, 2013, 12:55 PM
Awesome haul, reprieve! I've had my eyes on one of those Menlos as well :)

fountainpenkid
August 11th, 2013, 02:29 PM
Sadly, nothing went home with me from D.C. Friday was nice but I didn't manage to meet anybody from the forum(there weren't that many people there), and I only was able to spend about four hours at the show. That said, my family and I had a great time in D.C. reprieve, that is one nice haul!! Enjoy!

earthdawn
August 11th, 2013, 04:00 PM
Great haul !!!

I hope you get a review up of that Edison...

The Pelikan looks really nice.

Sounds like you had a great time there.

Congrats of the goodys

Robert
August 11th, 2013, 04:23 PM
Iroshizuku Yama-guri is my favorite brown ink - - it will go quite nicely in those new tortoise pens!

penultress
August 11th, 2013, 05:02 PM
Wow, we were thinking alike! That Menlo in tortoise lucite is on my wishlist after seeing it in person! I envy you! I'm not able to pull the trigger on an Edison just yet.
Also, the brown Pelikan 400NN with a flex nib is one I would go for. I have 2 modern Pelikans that I love but a vintage one would be a great addition.
I also picked up a TWSBI notebook from the Andersons. The reviews are great, so I had to have one!

I picked up all vintage pens: a Majestic from Pendleton Brown, a black Morrison from Mike Blum and a black Moore pen with a wide gold band from John Corwin. All with flexy nibs!
Besides my purchases: Richard Binder put a nice crisp italic on my Parker 51. This pen was my Dad's and it wrote nicely after not having seen daylight in 25+ years, but it wasn't interesting. It's now a beautiful writer! Ron Zorn re-sac'd and replaced a broken nib on another Moore pen I had and now it has new life!

I had a great time meeting new people and talking pens. It was a great first DC show for me!

TMac
August 11th, 2013, 05:29 PM
Reprieve, I'm speechless and more than a little jealous. Great haul. Looking forward to some reviews of the Edison.

Jon Szanto
August 11th, 2013, 05:46 PM
Lovely choices. As others have said, an Edison is one of the few modern pens that I have on a short list to add, and this model - and your choice of material - is perfect. My wife has an identical 400NN Tortoise, and ever since I got it for her I've been jealous! Congratulations on what looks like a lovely time at the show!!

Tracy Lee
August 11th, 2013, 06:01 PM
I picked up a few things - but meeting folks and then hanging out last night with some awesome geeks and the Anderson's was just fantastic. So, this is the pen I picked up, a Delta with rose gold furniture and a big stub nib. It is also a 0/18, totally amazing find at Pen time from Bryant Greer:462646274628

And a pen stand I had to have, pictured here with my Jupiter:
4629

A bottle of Diamine Umber, and a tiny rocker blotter I simply had to have, hand made in Italy:
4630

Paper from a new place here in the US, being launched at the show:
4631

And met the Goulets in the lobby, they brought gifts!
4632

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Bogon07
August 11th, 2013, 06:44 PM
Great haul Tracy Lee. Nice selection of goulet samples too.
Have you decided which colour will have the honour of christening the new Delta ?

Tracy Lee
August 11th, 2013, 07:10 PM
Great haul Tracy Lee. Nice selection of goulet samples too.
Have you decided which colour will have the honour of christening the new Delta ?

Via Twitter, the vote was a gray, like Iroshizuku Kiri-Same. I have a bottle home. I'll let you know what I do! :-)

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

writingrav
August 11th, 2013, 07:11 PM
Terrific Tracy. I'm really jealous but happy for all of you at the show.

dr.grace
August 11th, 2013, 07:30 PM
Lovely choices. As others have said, an Edison is one of the few modern pens that I have on a short list to add, and this model - and your choice of material - is perfect. My wife has an identical 400NN Tortoise, and ever since I got it for her I've been jealous! Congratulations on what looks like a lovely time at the show!!

I agree, that Edison is stunning. I also have a 400NN tortoise, which I love (although I swapped the original nib for a Binder Condor).

Tracy Lee
August 11th, 2013, 07:35 PM
Sadly, nothing went home with me from D.C. Friday was nice but I didn't manage to meet anybody from the forum(there weren't that many people there), and I only was able to spend about four hours at the show. That said, my family and I had a great time in D.C. reprieve, that is one nice haul!! Enjoy!

I looked for you, was really hoping to meet you!!!

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

reprieve
August 11th, 2013, 09:02 PM
Isn't the tortoise lucite a great material? Cool to see it on the Menlo! (I've got that material in a custom Edison. Love it.)

I saw your blog post about your custom pen. It is gorgeous! Tortoise lucite is a stunning material no matter the pen shape. :)

reprieve
August 11th, 2013, 09:04 PM
Sadly, nothing went home with me from D.C. Friday was nice but I didn't manage to meet anybody from the forum(there weren't that many people there), and I only was able to spend about four hours at the show. That said, my family and I had a great time in D.C. reprieve, that is one nice haul!! Enjoy!

I loved how "quiet" it was on Friday. Just a bunch of pen people talking and having fun. It was great! That is what makes pen shows so special--the people. The pens are just a bonus.

reprieve
August 11th, 2013, 09:07 PM
I picked up a few things - but meeting folks and then hanging out last night with some awesome geeks and the Anderson's was just fantastic.

Congrats on your haul, Tracy! It sounds like you had a wonderful time. Your new Delta is gorgeous!

How do you like the Write notebook?

Frank
August 11th, 2013, 10:01 PM
Great find(s) for both of you! Congrats!

:)

blopplop
August 11th, 2013, 10:40 PM
Hey Frank,

Were you there? I was looking for you.

Dave

bluefeathers
August 12th, 2013, 02:54 PM
It was great meeting some of you there! And Penultress, thank you for letting us try your Nakaya (i'm still dreaming of it). Nice Tortoise, reprieve! You scored one of the prettiest tortoises at Rick Propas' table! It was incredible having so many pens to look at and try, but I managed to stay on task enough to find my first vintage Montblanc 234 1/2, Ferrari da Varese's Yesterday, which I never imagined owning. I also got an Omas pen case, a sampling of nibs for a dip pen, and a free bottle of CS green ink.
All in all, it was a good day! :) Here's a pic of the Varese:
4679

Tracy Lee
August 12th, 2013, 02:57 PM
That is a BEAUTIFUL pen!!

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

bluefeathers
August 12th, 2013, 03:00 PM
Thank you, Tracy, I think so to! When I first saw it online, I was transfixed by its beauty!...

reprieve
August 12th, 2013, 03:07 PM
It was great meeting some of you there! And Penultress, thank you for letting us try your Nakaya (i'm still dreaming of it). Nice Tortoise, reprieve! You scored one of the prettiest tortoises at Rick Propas' table! It was incredible having so many pens to look at and try, but I managed to stay on task enough to find my first vintage Montblanc 234 1/2, Ferrari da Varese's Yesterday, which I never imagined owning. I also got an Omas pen case, a sampling of nibs for a dip pen, and a free bottle of CS green ink.
All in all, it was a good day! :)

The MB 234 1/2 is a wonderful introduction to vintage MBs; it is the pen that got me hooked on vintage nibs. Congrats on the Ferrari da Varese Yesterday. I remember seeing that pen--it is gorgeous! How does it write?

bluefeathers
August 12th, 2013, 03:15 PM
Thanks, reprieve! I have a feeling I'll be hooked in no time. I only wrote a few words with the Ferrari da Varese so far, but it writes *very* smoothly, not as wet-flowing as a modern Pelikan, but just enough to glide.

bluefeathers
August 12th, 2013, 09:32 PM
It was great meeting some of you there! And Penultress, thank you for letting us try your Nakaya (i'm still dreaming of it). Nice Tortoise, reprieve! You scored one of the prettiest tortoises at Rick Propas' table! It was incredible having so many pens to look at and try, but I managed to stay on task enough to find my first vintage Montblanc 234 1/2, Ferrari da Varese's Yesterday, which I never imagined owning. I also got an Omas pen case, a sampling of nibs for a dip pen, and a free bottle of CS green ink.
All in all, it was a good day! :)

The MB 234 1/2 is a wonderful introduction to vintage MBs; it is the pen that got me hooked on vintage nibs. Congrats on the Ferrari da Varese Yesterday. I remember seeing that pen--it is gorgeous! How does it write?

Well I wrote a page tonight, or tried to anyway, and it turns out there's a major problem with skipping. I don't know if it's the nib or the feed, or both, but I could not write a 'c' or 'e' on first try, and the pen skips on every type of stroke, and then suddenly gives way completely. I'll have to take it to someone to look at. Don't want to hijack the thread, but if anyone knows someone in nyc who is good with repairs, please send me a message!

JoeFromNashville
August 13th, 2013, 06:12 AM
That MB is gorgeous. Fountain Pen Hospital does repairs in NYC, from what I can remember (I lived there for a few years a while back), but your best bet (and certainly, your best value for the money), is to send it to Mike Masuyama. He'll turn it around within 2 wks, more likely 10 days. He did mention that he's moving to California in the coming weeks, so I'd e-mail him first. Mike fixed 5 pens for me at the show, including one MB, and they all write amazingly now.

I had a great time at the show as well. Picked up two Parker Vacs (Silver and golden brown), a Franklin-Christoph 03 prototype with a medium stub, a Sterling Silver Parker Sonnet, a Sheaffer Legacy Heritage, and a gray Sheaffer Snorkel Set. Also picked up 4 unrestored esterbrooks out of one of those "grab bags" that were sitting on a few tables, with some sacs to restore them. All in all a good show.

Frank
August 13th, 2013, 09:47 AM
Hey Frank,

Were you there? I was looking for you.

Dave

Dave!

I did not get there till about 11:45 (Should have been there at 11:00-traffic!).
I was there till 5:00, but I know you were probably gone by 1:00!

:)

bluefeathers
August 13th, 2013, 10:53 AM
That MB is gorgeous. Fountain Pen Hospital does repairs in NYC, from what I can remember (I lived there for a few years a while back), but your best bet (and certainly, your best value for the money), is to send it to Mike Masuyama. He'll turn it around within 2 wks, more likely 10 days. He did mention that he's moving to California in the coming weeks, so I'd e-mail him first. Mike fixed 5 pens for me at the show, including one MB, and they all write amazingly now.

I had a great time at the show as well. Picked up two Parker Vacs (Silver and golden brown), a Franklin-Christoph 03 prototype with a medium stub, a Sterling Silver Parker Sonnet, a Sheaffer Legacy Heritage, and a gray Sheaffer Snorkel Set. Also picked up 4 unrestored esterbrooks out of one of those "grab bags" that were sitting on a few tables, with some sacs to restore them. All in all a good show.

Thanks for the recommendation and tips, Joe. Sorry I wasn't clear, it's the Yesterday pen that has a problem with skipping, though as it turns out, my MB will also need some repairs. I'm glad to know FPH did repairs; it's so convenient. Maybe I can convince them to help me out. Nice pens! The Franklin-Christophs were very tempting :)

penultress
August 13th, 2013, 05:03 PM
That's a gorgeous pen! I was looking for you before leaving but you must have been busy with your purchases! Hope to see you at one of the meetings!

bluefeathers
August 13th, 2013, 06:34 PM
That's a gorgeous pen! I was looking for you before leaving but you must have been busy with your purchases! Hope to see you at one of the meetings!

Yes, I will make it to one of the meetings! Sorry I didn't see you on Sunday (and yes, I was running around frantically trying to see all the tables I hadn't seen on Sat., trying vintage and buying pens! still recovering, lol...)

Mags
September 4th, 2013, 05:00 PM
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/05/7una9a4a.jpg

I picked this up from Messr Anderson. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/05/jequdu7a.jpg
This cover and Visconti I had to have when in DC.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/05/atadu6e9.jpgmy son was so well behaved he was given the green light and purchased from Bryant of Chatterly's this Delta with a fusion nib.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/05/qebuqede.jpgPendleton stopped by to say hi to us ink junkies on Friday night. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/05/a6adyqyv.jpg we all had a great time in DC but missed bringing my wife due to her hospital shifts in the ICU.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/05/2yvyteza.jpg oh yes I changed my nib while in DC to a broad nib.


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jfsisler
September 4th, 2013, 06:38 PM
WOnderful photos. How's the Edison working? I ordered a Beaumont last week so I'm assuming in another week or so I'll have it. I love the idea of the journal pen holder as I write in a journal that has no pen loop or anything like that. Lovely family photo!

Mags
September 4th, 2013, 07:35 PM
The Pen from Edison performs very well with a steel nib no less. Thank you for the kind compliments.


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dobemom
September 5th, 2013, 12:42 PM
Nice goodies! Thanks to all for showing us you new gear and congratulations on finding things you really loved. Tortoise anything works for me, The Conway Stewart set is great and that pen stand is really nice.