Tutorial: DIY Raden Vanishing Point

Hello world!

Today we’re taking a break from our usual reviews for a quick tutorial! This is my first time writing a tutorial, so please let me know if there are any questions or things I could explain to make this more helpful!

Your neighborhood VP modifier,

Katherine

To start with — you pick a pen to modify.

I chose to use a Pilot Vanishing Point. I did this for three reasons — 1. they’re easy to find lightly used, though not terribly cheap (I paid $37 for one with no nib, and $60 for the other, with a nib), 2. the cylindrical shape makes it easier to get an even finish. I don’t have to worry about the curved end of most pens and, 3. the clip is removable — it’s really hard to get UNDER a clip to sand and buff if you can’t remove it. (I guess you could hope no one notices your imperfect finish around the clip, but meh)

Next — remove the clip. If you chose to go with a Vanishing Point, I found Richard Binder’s tutorial here quite helpful. I used a piece of bike inner tube and a normal pair of pliers (I’m a cheapskate who doesn’t own section pliers) to wiggle the clip off.

If you chose to use a VP, you’ll now have the rubber trapdoor exposed — I found it helpful to wrap that in a cylinder of masking tape. This means that you can hold the area and not worry about damaging the trapdoor. During my first modification, I did push the wire that holds the trapdoor in out at some point… and spent 20 minutes squinting with a pair of tweezers to get it back in. Avoid that.

And, before you start, find a way that you can dry your pen so that none of the wet parts of the finish will touch anything. For the VPs, if you find a perfect sized box, it can be balanced on the clicky part and the masking tape cone. For other pens, you may need to take a box, stick some holes in it and have chopsticks hold up the pieces. (Assuming they have closed ends)

(bottom left is abalone shell, top right is glitter nail polish)

Now for the fun part — your new finish! You have a couple of options:

  1. Glitter nail polish (I used Revlon’s discontinued Moon Candy glitter flakes. I went for something with iridescent but not opaque flakes that came in irregular sizes. I’d love suggestions for other options!) Lots of pictures of this finish are in our Decimo review.
  2. Abalone shell (like actual raden!) — I suspect you could use any number of other types of shell that contain nacre, but I don’t know how well they flake, so it’s up to you to try. Oysters and certain mussels are apparently the common sources for mother of pearl. I’m a weirdo who ate a bunch of abalones a few months ago and kept the shells, so I used abalone shell.
  3. Something else — if you do a bunch of Googling and eBaying, you can buy pre-cut mother of pearl sheets that may be actual MOP (nacre) or mica, depending on what you buy. This tutorial should work with either.

(some of the dust from my abalone shell as I flaked it with a dremel… then you get to pick through it with tweezers for the bigger pieces)

How to flake abalone (ymmv with other types of shell, but I suspect it’ll be similar) — I found it easiest to work with a dremel and dremel off pieces of the shell, bit by bit, sometimes straight down, sometimes at an angle. Then, when you have a decent pile of abalone-shell dust (most of it will be dust), pick through the pile with tweezers and put them on a piece of black paper (in my case I used a dark grey plastic dinner plate). You want to separate out as much dust as possible, since you don’t want the dust on your pen. If you don’t have a dremel, you can probabbbbly hammer it into small pieces and pick through the fragments. (I haven’t tried it, but it seems like it should work!)

EDIT: Make sure you wear a respirator while doing this! Otherwise you’re breathing in a lot of icky dust and abalone powder.

And other supplies you’ll want:

  1. Micromesh (I used a lot of 2000 grit sandpaper, but having some variety will help you achieve exactly the look you want)
  2. Tiny brushes (I stole the brushes out of my mom’s Latisse kits, but any small brushes that don’t shed bristles should be good)
  3. Polyurethane and/or Polyacylic (both in gloss finishes)
  4. (optional) Acrylic paint

A quick note on polyacrylic vs polyurethane — polyacrylic is what I initially used for both pens, it’s easy to work with — washes out of brushes with soap and water and sands and buffs quickly. However, it’s not a very hard finish. This is fine on a matte finish pen, since small dings and scratches don’t stand out. However, if you want a high-gloss, glass-like finish, you have to work with polyurethane. It smells worse, is hard to wash out, harder to sand… but is much harder (even then, it’s not as hard as urushi or many other pen finishes, I’m still working on figuring out what my other options are). Also, polyacrylic dries clear, and polyurethane has an “amber” tone — so if you’re layering over a very blue finish, it could look weird.

I found that acrylic paint mixes into polyacrylic fairly well and gives it a nice tint — I used this to hide the blemishes in the base finish of the matte black VP I started with for the abalone-finish pen. This isn’t necessary, but I imagine some cool layering could be done.

Once you have everything… (some general instructions)

  1. Do a quick layer of sanding on the original finish. I used 800 grit sand paper and just did a quick pass.
  2. Apply the first layer of the finish (more on this below)
  3. Apply the second layer of the finish
  4. Apply the first layer of clear polyacrylic/urethane and let it dry for 6-12 hours minimum. I know the can says it’s dry in 2 hours or something, but it’s probably a lie.
  5. Sand lightly
  6. Apply another layer of poly
  7. Sand lightly — does the finish still feel very bumpy? If so, repeat layering and sanding until it’s reasonably smooth, then:
  8. Buff using successively higher grits of micromesh to get a mirror-like shine or be lazy and get lucky with a layer of polyurethane being smooth and glossy
  9. And you’re done!

How to apply the glitter finish:

I used two different “colors” of glitter, one that spanned most of the body (a mostly purple/blue glitter) and a multicolor one that I focused on the middle of the pen, to give it that “gradient” look. I did a layer of the purple glitter first, let it dry, then did the second multicolor layer. Then I let both layers dry and de-gas for a day. I’m not sure if such a long drying period is necessary, but something I read on the internet (and the internet never lies) said that drying nail polish releases gasses, and you want all of that gone before you seal it further. Seems plausible. After those two layers dry, you can start step 4 above. (I think it took me three “top” coats to get the pen more or less smooth)

How to apply a “raden” or abalone-flake finish: (Even getting flakes aside, this one is much more involved)

I first did two layers of tinted polyacrylic to cover up the wear in the finish. That’s totally optional, but gave me a very even base to work with. Then, I used a small brush and painted on a very small thin patch of tinted (you could use clear) poly, then placed flakes one by one using my damp finger and tweezers. You really want just flakes on a dark surface, ideally roughly sorted by size. If you go for the gradient look, you’ll want the larger flakes toward the middle and the thin layer of poly stops being tacky enough to hold a flake in a couple minutes, so work in small areas. I found that my damp fingertip was easier to get the flake on where I wanted it, then if necessary, tweezers could push the flake around. I finished the entire pen (patch by patch) in about an hour of lots of squinting with a bright table lamp. From here, you can go to step 4 above. (I think it took me 4-6 layers to get it smooth)

Tada! You’re done. Let the pen dry for a couple days (unless you’ve actually been spacing out each layer and letting things dry reallly well), reattach your clip (I used a smidge of sac shellac) and enjoy!

 

 

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2016 San Francisco Pen Show Personal Report: Franz

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Hello friends! It has been almost two weeks since the 2016 SF Pen Show was held at the Sofitel SF Bay Hotel in Redwood City, California on August 26, 27, and 28, 2016. Oh what a great experience that was and I already miss it and cannot wait for next year.

I have never done any pen show recap/reports ever since I’ve been attending pen shows in 2014. So it took me a while to decide if I would do one this year, and if so, how would I present it? I was nudged by a couple friends to do so (y’all know who you are). And as suggested by a friend, present it in a chronological order. A fair warning though, I’m a photo-oriented person so this report will have a LOT of pictures and quite a long read. So I suggest you grab some popcorn or something. Haha!

This is the third year that the current show organizers have held the SF Pen Show. And each year, it has gotten better and better. I did have a unique multi-perspective of this show. I purchased a table to be a vendor, I am part of the SF Pen Posse, the local pen group who had a big part of volunteering to make this show a success, and the principal show organizers asked or “volun-told” me to assist with the coordinating of the paid classes, and free seminars. I’ve come to treat pen shows more as a social event focusing on seeing old friends, and creating new friends. And yes, as an attendee, seeing lots and lots of fountain pens is something I look forward to as well.

 

Thursday, August 25 – The Evening Before the Show

The SF Pen show organizers opens up the show ballroom the evening before to allow vendors to set up their table displays or just to let them know where their table will be. I arrived at the hotel around 6:30pm and saw the empty tables with just a few pen posse members hanging out. The show sold a lot of vendor tables this year. And I actually witnessed the hotel staff adding the very last table that was bought at the last minute.

The SF Pen Show ballroom empty the night before.
Lisa Vanness, Brad Dowdy, and Mike Vanness taking a sec for a quick photo as they set up their table. They're always so fun to see at the show,
Lisa Vanness, Brad Dowdy, and Mike Vanness paused for a quick photo as they set up their table. It’s wonderful to see them back at the SF pen show.

The show organizers also held a reception/mixer for dealers, and special friends that evening. It was great to mingle and meet up with old friends. After the reception, a few friends from Southern California and myself just hung out at the hotel bar.

At the reception, I got to meet Ana Reinert of Well-Appointed Desk blog, Paul from Karas Kustoms, Amanda McKay (who taught the Snail Mail class), and Daniel T. Photo by Ricky Chau.
At the reception, I got to meet Ana Reinert of Well-Appointed Desk blog, Paul from Karas Kustoms, Amanda McKay (who taught the Snail Mail class), and Daniel T. from the Los Angeles area. Photo by Ricky Chau.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Photo by Ricky Chau.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup. One of the delicious food items prepared for the reception. Photo by Ricky Chau.

 

Friday, August 26 –  First Day of the Show

The big day has arrived! The San Francisco Pen Show opened for Dealers and All-Access Pass holders at 7:00am. The general public was let in later that day at 1:00pm.

I arrived at the hotel around 7:30am and the ballroom already had a good number of attendees. After doing some of my registration desk/seminar coordinator responsibilities, I immediately went to Mike Masuyama’s table where he was already helping people with their nibs. I got to say hello and speak with Mike and his wife Emiko for a bit and got a number to be in line for nib work. I was number 19 and this was only at 8:00am. More on my nib-work with Mike later on the day.

Next stop for me was at Franklin-Christoph’s table. I was curious to see what prototype pens they brought to the show and also I was asked by a friend from Nevada to purchase a specific pen from them. Guess who I found at the F-C table? It’s Katherine! She was already being helped by Jim Rouse with her nib choice. She was at the hotel right before the show opened.

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My first pen purchase was a Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66. And it wasn’t mine. Haha! #penshowmule. It was fun sitting with Jim and chatting while he worked on that Fine cursive italic nib.

 

Afterwards, I needed to go back to the registration desk since Master Penman Michael Sull’s Basic Spencerian class was about to start. This class was sold out a couple weeks before the show with a few people on a wait-list. Mr. Sull had another class later in the afternoon called Advanced Spencerian and that was well attended too.

Pen repair classes were also held by brother and sister, Joel Hamilton and Sherrell Tyree. There were three sessions: Basic pen repair, Vacumatic, and Snorkel/Touchdown.

While classes were in session, I got a chance to walk around the ballroom, chat with dealers and attendees, and take a few photos. At this point, I was really just scoping out what interesting pens would find me. ;-P

One of the first couple people I said hello to were Matt Armstrong of The Pen Habit blog, Brad Dowdy of The Pen Addict blog, and Lisa Vanness of Vanness 1938. Matt and Brad were there to help Lisa and Mike out at their table.

Matt Armstrong of The Pen Habit blog, Brad Dowdy of The Pen Addict blog, and Lisa Vanness of Vanness 1938 were the first ones I said hello to. Matt and Brad were there to help Lisa and Mike out at their table.
Matt Armstrong, Brad Dowdy, and Lisa Vanness

In the middle of the ballroom were the tables for the 14 Ink Testing Stations that contained 686 pens with 686 different fountain pen inks free for people to write with and see how the color looks. The SF Pen Posse donated ink samples and volunteers inked up each station before the show. Each station has 49 fountain pens.

The ink testing stations weren't crowded yet.
The ink testing stations weren’t crowded yet.

First time pen show vendor, Troy Clark of Brute Force Design was there with all smiles. He drove all the way from Seattle and was one of the people I got to chat with last night as well. He gave me a nice pocket notebook. What a nice gesture. Thanks Troy!

Troy Clark of Brute Force Design. He had a nice array of pens for sale.
Troy Clark of Brute Force Design. He had a nice array of pens for sale.

Toys From The Attic returned to the SF Pen Show and they were right beside Franklin-Christoph. I first met Mario at the 2014 LA pen show and I look forward to seeing him at shows. He’s brought some beautiful pens with him.

I moseyed on over to the back wall where the Wahl-Eversharp table was and said hello to Syd Saperstein and his wife Judi. It’s always a pleasure to see them at pen shows. The Wahl-Eversharp pen company is the show’s principal sponsor and Syd is one of the three show organizers.

Since I was focusing on vintage pens this year, I got a chance to ask him about the vintage Wahl-Eversharp Gold Seal, and Doric pens. I learned a lot from him even if it was just for a quick moment. A customer walked up and asked him questions as well.

Right beside the Wahl-Eversharp table was another pen show trademark. It was Susan Wirth’s table. Susan and her team travels to almost every pen show in the United States. She loves writing with an italic nib (like myself), and almost all her pens for sale are inked up for everyone to try before they buy.

Calligrapher Deborah Basel, Susan Wirth, and John Martinson having a fun moment at the show.
Calligrapher Deborah Basel, Susan Wirth, and John Martinson having a fun moment at the show.
An interesting desk set and letter holder by Mr. Mike Conway found at Susan Wirth's table.
An interesting desk set and letter holder by Mr. Mike Conway found at Susan Wirth’s table. I wonder if there was a San Francisco Edition.

Wandering around more in the ballroom and I found Bill Weakley’s table full of beautiful Namiki, Parker, Paul Rossi, and Pelikan pens. I first met him at the 2015 LA Pen Show. I’m so glad he attended this year’s SF Show. He had a lot of pens that I wanted but were definitely over my budget. Haha!

Pens at Bill Weakley's table.
Pens at Bill Weakley’s table.

Then I saw Stuart Hawkinson and Jim Leonard whom I met at last year’s show. These are two guys who love restoring pens and like to share their experience.

Cliff Harrington
Cliff Harrington and David Isaacson
John Corwin's table with a "Flexxies" balloon
John Corwin of Flexinibs’ table can be identified with a “Flexxies” balloon.

Headed over to Ryan Krusac’s table and admired his new line of Legend L-14. Also his limited Dangers of the Deep pens were quite tempting. I’m glad he got to attend the SF pen show this year and he brought along his wife, Julia. He was at the 2014 SF pen show but was unable to attend last year.

Revisited the ink testing stations and now it’s getting busy.

Almost all seats were taken at the ink testing stations.
A quick hello from the other side. Katherine, Pam, and Nikola Pang
A quick hello from the other side. Katherine, Pam, and Nikola Pang. Pen Posse peeps!

Dan Smith arrived later in the afternoon from Iowa and he had an online signup sheet. One of his first customers was Joey Feldman from Los Angeles. It was a treat to see these guys at the show.

My Dad, Bert, visited the show in the afternoon and just wanted to see what was going on at pen shows.

Surprised to see my Dad walking towards me.
Surprised to see my Dad walking towards me.
Of course a selfie was in order. #fatherandsonselfie
Of course a selfie by the ink stations was in order. #fatherandsonselfie

While you’re at the Ink Testing Stations, it’s also a perfect opportunity to start conversations and make new friends. This was a brainchild of Ricky Chau, and the Ink Master, Loren S. since the 2015 SF Pen Show.

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Ladies: Lore, Julia, Holly, and Ana. Ink master Loren had his back turned beside Holly.

As it was getting close to the end of the first day, I was finally called for my turn at Masuyama-san’s table. I had my vintage Skyline’s medium nib ground into a smooth cursive italic. I also had my Pelikan M800 double broad (BB) nib tuned as it was skippy and had the baby’s bottom issue. I’ve had my nibs tuned and ground by this man for the past 3 years and he knows exactly how I want my nibs. I rarely give the pen back after he’s done with it the first round.

It’s also always a delight chatting with Mike and his wife, Emiko. Talked about their trips to Japan and other pen shows.

Masuyama-san was busy turning my vintgae Skyline nib into a cursive italic.
Close-ups of Masuyama-san working on my vintage Skyline nib into a cursive italic.

 

Pen Addict Meetup – After Show Event

Right after the show closed at 7:00pm, there was a Pen Addict meetup event hosted by Brad Dowdy, the Pen Addict himself, and Lisa Vanness. It was an effort to get together with the people you’ve seen around the show during the day and just plainly talk pens, paper, inks, etc. The event itself was free, and you didn’t have to attend the pen show to get in.

As you walk in, Brad handed out raffle tickets for some awesome giveaway prizes. They had some snacks as well. Alcohol was also served and available for purchase.

It was great to meet and chat with like-minded people. Around 8:00pm, Brad started the raffle and gave away awesome prizes. I do not recall each and every prize given away but here goes nothing: 2 Nock Co. cases, Lamy Dark Lilac ink, notebooks, empty Akkerman glass bottle, Joey Feldman poster artwork, notebook engraved with Joey Feldman’s artwork, and a one-and-only Pilot Iroshizuku ink bottle engraved with the show’s hashtag, #SFPenShow2016.

As the Pen Addict meetup ended, a few of the Pen Posse peeps left the hotel for dinner at Amici’s Pizzeria in Redwood Shores. Needless to say, we were all famished and enjoyed some salad, pizza, chicken wings, and more pen conversations.

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Here’s a close-up of that Iroshizuku ink bottle and box that Pam won. Even though it’s an orange ink, I was green with envy. Haha!

After dinner, we went back to the hotel bar and just relaxed. What a fantastic first day of the show. I went home shortly afterwards.

 

Saturday, August 27 – Second Day of the Show

Another exciting pen show day! For this day, the show once again opens for dealers and All-Access pass holders at 7:00am. And the general public will be let in at 10:00am. I arrived at the hotel around 8:30am so I definitely missed the breakfast provided for the dealers and All-Access pass holders. But no matter, I had a breakfast sandwich and Cold Brew coffee right before heading to the hotel.

I have to highlight the SF Pen Posse volunteers who signed up to man the registration and seminar desk from Friday all through Sunday. Without their generosity of time and effort, I’m not sure how the show would’ve turned out.

Saturday's first shift of registration desk volunteers. Lena, Laralyn, Margaret, Rachel, and Spenczar
Saturday’s first shift of registration desk volunteers. Lena, Laralyn, Margaret, Rachel, and Spenczar

Across the registration desk in the foyer was Steve Curnow’s table. This was a popular first stop for show attendees. Steve had a wide selection of notebooks, journals, and pens for sale. He also had a very limited edition San Francisco design journals at the show.

Curnow Bookbinding and Leatherwork - Steve Curnow and family were at the show everyday.
Curnow Bookbinding and Leatherwork – Steve Curnow and family were at the show everyday.
Steve Curnow's limited edition San Francisco design journals.
Steve Curnow’s limited edition San Francisco design journals only sold at the SF Pen Show.

In the beginning of this report, I did mention that I was a vendor as well. Well the whole day Friday, my table was unused and empty. On Saturday, Edna, my Mom, arrived at the show and was selling some handmade earrings, and necklaces. Also, I let my friend from the Pen Posse, Fred, sell his SF Pen Show shirts at my table. I intended to sell pens but I just didn’t have the time to sit at my table so I just laid out three pens in the middle with price tags. Katherine also placed her wooden pen blocks she made a few months ago for sale.

Fred from the Pen Posse was selling SF Pen Show shirts, and my Mom, Edna, was selling some handmade jewelry. In the middle were some pens I was selling.
Fred had a handful of SF Pen Show shirts, and Edna with her handmade jewelry.

Tania at the Franklin-Christoph table had a free moment and we took a hand-comparison selfie. We’ve known each other online for a couple years now and we’ve always joked about our hand size difference.

The Franz bear paw against Tania’s hand. Photo by Tania

I walked around the ballroom once again but this time, I reached the other side of the room which was dubbed, Anderson Alley. Brian and Lisa Anderson returned this year and enlisted the help of Jason, and Ana. They brought a lot of items from their store in Appleton, Wisconsin. I always find it a treat to get to chat with the Andersons during the shows.

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The Anderson Alley was well-lit, and well attended.
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A selection of fine Sailor fountain pens.
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Brian and Lisa Anderson

I then saw one of the most knowledgeable pen person that I know. In fact, he has written quite a few books on pens including Fountain Pens of the World, and Fountain Pens of Japan. It’s none other than Mr. Andreas “Andy” Lambrou of Lambrou Pens (formerly Classic Pens). His pen selection is quite exquisite and he collaborates with very artistic people like Mr. Paul Rossi, and Mr. Ryan Krusac, and others.

Andy Lambrou speaking with a show attendee.
Andy Lambrou speaking with a show attendee.
Some gorgeous acrylic blanks that Andy brought to show and explain the pen-making process. Photo by Ricky Chau.

More wandering around…

Parker 75 pens found at Lee Chait's table.
Parker 75 pens found at Lee Chait’s table.
Mark speaking with Detlef Bittner of Bittner Pens.
Mark speaking with Detlef Bittner of Bittner Pens.
Cindy Bittner of Bittner Pens.
Cindy Bittner of Bittner Pens.
Regal Pen Company
Regal Pen Company

I got to speak with Cliff Harrington about vintage pens. Cliff always has very rare (and can be pricey) pens. And he also has a wealth of pen knowledge to learn from. As I stopped by, I learned more about Waterman pens, Wahl-Eversharp pens, and Carters pen. He showed me a nice and rare Waterman Ideal Doll pen. As far as I know, there were only two of these pens at the SF pen show.

I found myself back at the Wahl-Eversharp table admiring the modern Decoband Gold Seal Oversized pens. And I had to take a photo of both Syd, and Judi.

The NibSmith still hard at work at his table. I actually signed up for his Saturday schedule on his website but because it got busy at the registration desk, I had to give up my spot for other people to have the opportunity and time to sit with him.

The NibSmith tuning a Pelikan pen.
The NibSmith tuning a Pelikan pen.
Show and Tell: A Waterman Lady Patrician pen and pencil set that my friend, Gale got at the show.
Show and Tell: A Waterman Lady Patrician pen and pencil set that my friend, Gale got at the show.

I stepped out of the ballroom to make sure all registrants got to attend Amanda McKay’s Kick A$$ Snail Mail class, www.letterletter.com.

This class was the most attended and it was full with 30 people in the class. I’m one of the people that just sticks a stamp on an envelope, address it, and send it out. So I found this class quite helpful when I had a chance to sit in a little bit and learn from Amanda. There were a lot of questions asked with regards to Amanda experience on how the US Postal Service handled her well-designed envelopes.

 

Planner Meetup – Mid-Show Special Event

Right after Amanda’s Snail Mail class was the planner meetup hosted by a few SF Pen Posse members. This is something new for the SF pen show and it was intended to be an informal hangout for people to learn about the different planner notebooks, strategies on how to use planners effectively (or ineffectively), and also to share stickers, stamps, and washi tape. This meetup was well attended. Three tables were occupied and lots of conversation happened. Tiffany from the Pen Posse gave me a roll of washi tape with a fountain pen design. Thanks Tiffany!

Quickly scoped out Joey Feldman as he was painting his poster artwork for people who bought at the Vanness table.

Should we call this the Purple Pen Posse? Margaret, Edna, and Edith
Should we call this the Purple Pen Posse?
Margaret, Edna, and Edith

Back in the ballroom, door prizes were being raffled off. Including a very nice Pelikan M205 in Transparent Blue sponsored by Dan Smith, The Nibsmith.

Syd and Judi raffling off door prizes.
Syd and Judi raffling off door prizes.
Curtis at Dan's table. Along with winning the pen, Dan included a free nib tuning, or a grind of choice.
Curtis at Dan’s table. Along with winning the pen, Dan included a free nib tuning, or a grind of choice.

On Saturday, the show ended at 7:00pm. I had the pleasure of having dinner with my Mom, Andy Lambrou, and his associate Margie. We immediately left the hotel and proceeded to the city of San Mateo where the Vietnamese restaurant named Ben Tre was located. I brought Andy to this place last year and he wanted to come back. Needless to say, we had an enjoyable and relaxed dinner.

 

The Royal Deuces – After Show Live Band Event

From the restaurant, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed the music of the Royal Deuces band. This is their third time to perform at the SF Pen Show. A lot of fun was had at this after-show event!

When the band was done, conversations still went on. Nikola Pang was there and was writing people’s names to give out. He wrote my name down and gave the card to me. Thanks Nik!

After some time, the room slowly emptied out and I went home.

 

Sunday, August 28 – Third and Final Day of the Show

Time flew by quick! There was an overall feeling of happiness and a bit of sadness because we knew that this special event would be coming to an end.

I arrived right before 10:00am when the show opened to the general public. After helping out at the registration desk for a bit, I did my rounds of the show once again.

I bid my friends Mary and Jon goodbye as they had a long drive to Southern California. It’s always a delight to see them at the LA and SF pen show.

Mary, and Jon S. Photo by Ricky Chau.
Me with Mary and Jon. Photo by Ricky Chau.
The traditional selfie with Sam Fiorella finally happened and Frank joined in!
The traditional selfie with Sam Fiorella finally happened and Frank joined in!

Rick Propas, The PENguin, always brings a beautiful array of german pens. Namely Pelikan and Montblanc.

Rick Propas with customers. Phillip always helps him out at his table.
A beautiful flock of vintage and modern Pelikan pens at Rick's table.
A beautiful flock of vintage and modern Pelikan pens at Rick’s table.

More wandering…

John Corwin of Flexinibs was talking with Julie who flew in from New York just for the show.
Holly discussing pens with Mody of Regal Pens
Dan of Karas Kustoms testing out some of the pens they brought to the show.
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Karas Kustoms pens
My friend Frank came to the pen show to check it out. I think some watches found him.
The ink testing stations are still popular even on the last day.
Pen Posse peeps Gabriela, Miyuki, and Tiffany
Pen Posse peeps Gabriela, Miyuki, and Tiffany

There were more door prizes raffled off. One of them was a TWSBI pen sponsored by Sunny Koh of Straits Pens.

Wandering around the room, I found Dale Beebe’s table of Pentooling.com. He had lots of pen repair tools and fully restored pens for sale.

Right beside Dale Beebe was Teri Morris’ table, Peyton Street Pens. They’re located in Santa Cruz, California and is a part of the SF Pen Posse as well.

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Sunny Koh of Straits Pens was a show sponsor and is also a frequent visitor of the SF Pen Posse. He brought pens , lots of Pelikan, Pilot, and limited edition inks from Japanese pen shops. Straits Pens also has an exclusive Noodlers ink called, Pacific Dawn at the Golden Gate which was launched at the SF pen show.

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Walked away from the show to have a cup of coffee at the hotel bar with my friend Frank before he left.

Show and Tell: Parker Vacumatic Maxima in Grey Pearl =)

After Frank left, I went back to the ballroom to see more people and help pack up for the show. I saw Ana getting a pen tuned by Jim at the Franklin-Christoph table. #lastminutepurchases

“The SF Pen Show is ending… NO!!!”
Ana and Jim. I finally got a photo of Jim smiling at the camera.

And that’s the last day of the pen show folks. It’s 4:47pm and the doors close at 5:00pm.

The watch face says, “Correct Time to buy a Parker Duofold”. So true especially when you’re in “Pen Show Time Zone”.

 

Post Pen Show Activity

As the show closed at 5:00pm, a few pen posse peeps took responsibility of the ink testing stations. After all, the ink testing frenzy isn’t over and it will continue to be used at pen posse meet ups in the next coming weeks. #inkcrazypeople

We met up at Amici’s Pizzeria once again for dinner and discussed the events of the show including details for next year.

Some Pen Posse peeps: Amer, Brian, Christina, Margaret, Gary, Ricky

Back at the Sofitel hotel after dinner and just hung out with pen-minded folks. Terrific time to keep on having conversations and do some show-and-tell of what they acquired from the show.

SMILE! =) Holly, Lisa Vanness, Lore, Matt Armstrong, and Edna

Final Thoughts

Pen shows are such a fun event to attend. Most especially when it’s local in your area. The 2016 San Francisco Pen Show was such an enjoyable weekend filled with beautiful pens, lovely inks, terrific special events, and most especially, generous and kind people. It was magnificent to see old friends get-together and see each other once again and I appreciate the chance to form new friendships. I look forward to this show every year.

A HUGE Thank You to Ricky, Todd, and Syd for continuing to organize this show. In addition, to all of the people who have contributed  to its success, I thank you as well. To the awesome SF Pen Posse, thank you for all the effort and the volunteer work. Without you guys and gals, well, it wouldn’t have been as fun.

Well, until next time. Thank you for sticking to the end of this long report. I hope it wasn’t dragging and also that your snack was enough.

If you attended the SF Pen Show, feel free to leave a comment for any of your thoughts about the show and also what you bought!

 

“Pen shows are about the people and the stories between each other. The pens start the story and the people get closer.”

 

Sunset sky for August 28, 2016. A lovely way to end a superb weekend.

 

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2016 San Francisco Pen Show: What are you looking for?

 

The SF Pen Show is less than a week away! There will be dozens of vendors, ink stations with over 600 inks & classes and meet ups.

What are you looking for at the show?

 

Katherine: Well, to start with – I’m SUPER excited for the Planner meet up I’m hosting with Pam on Saturday. I’ll be bringing my planner & lots of supplies to show off, see what other folks are doing and hopefully swap some supplies. I’ll also have some (probably 20?) goodie bags, so drop by and say hi! 🙂

On the buying side — I’m primarily looking for interesting pens, but don’t have a well-defined wish list. My focus is going to be on picking up a reasonably priced Omas (fingers crossed), and perhaps a new flex pen or nib (I have one with a nib I like, but a body I hate. hah!). I’m also very much interested in pens made with interesting materials (I do love those vintage celluloid pens!) and nibs (I’ve recently been very curious about hooded and inlaid nibs). So we’ll see what turns up!

I have a rough budget, and if I don’t use up all/most of it, I’m going to buy a Pilot Custom 823 with an FA nib after the show. I thought of buying it before the show and having the nib ground, but this will be an interesting way of judging whether or not I really want a pen at the show. This is my second time at a pen show and I’m a little wary of getting carried away — my first show was a year ago and SF was just overwhelming! All I bought was a converter.

Pam: I am trying really hard to be disciplined at this year’s pen show after this past year of pen gluttony. Thank you for the strong work in pen-abling Franz and Katherine!  Therefore, if all goes to plan, I will be purchasing more inks than pens.

I am going to be making friends around the Franklin-Christoph table. Definitely looking to purchase a pocket 66 (in ice finish or a prototype material) and a Model 45 (in antique glass, if available at the show).
My Inky wishlist includes Bungubox Omaezaki Sea, Pelikan Turquoise, J. Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey, and Sailor Yama-Dori.

Additional pen lookout for a Pilot Capless with a special alloy nib, Pilot m90, Pilot myu.

Lastly, but definitely not least, to meet planner/pen-minded people and make more planner/pen friends!! Especially at the planner meet up!

Franz: Awww man! I’ve been so excited for the SF Pen Show ever since the 2015 show ended. On the final day of last year’s show, they already knew the 2016 show dates and I couldn’t wait.

To answer the question of what I’m looking for at the show, I’m looking for a pen (or two) that will grab my attention and won’t let me go home without it. I don’t really have a specific list of pens to acquire but I do have a couple pens that I wanna see how it feels “in the hand”. For vintage pens, maybe a Wahl-Eversharp Doric or Gold Seal, or maybe a nice Parker Vacumatic, or a safety fountain pen. For modern pens, I want to hopefully see the Visconti London Fog in person. That pen has been popular among the online pen community for a couple of months now. Then perhaps a Pelikan pen I’ve never seen in person before. I’m also looking to sell a couple pens at the show. I haven’t decided which ones yet but maybe a couple vintage Parker pens, a couple Pelikan pens, and just other pens that other people will enjoy writing with and perhaps become part of their own collection. Hmm.. this is becoming a lengthy explanation of a very vague point. Sorry.

Now onto what I’m REALLY looking for at the show. I’m looking to reconnect with old friends I’ve met from the past pen shows (SF and LA), and also to meet new friends either just from the pen show itself or meet a few Instagram (IG) friends in real life (IRL). True story: I actually met Pam and her friends at the 2015 SF Pen Show while I was helping out at the registration desk. So there you go, with each pen show I attend, I am blessed to chat with people and gain more knowledge about this great hobby of ours.

I will try my best to post photos on Instagram during the pen show. The Instagram tag used is #sfpenshow2016 and #sfpenshow as well.

 

We’re looking forward to all the fun things planned like the free seminars, the planner meet up, the letter writing social, and many more. Even after the show closes, there is a Pen Addict meet up on Friday at 7pm. And then on Saturday night, the Royal Deuces band is performing live music at 8pm.

So if you’re able to attend the 2016 SF pen show on August 26, 27, and 28, please do and we hope to meet some of y’all! Thank you!

 

P.S. If you will be attending, what are you looking for at the San Francisco Pen Show?

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Behind The Hands (BTH)

It has been about a month since the launch of our blog!  It’s high time that we introduce ourselves a little bit more and get to know you all, our awesome readers.

What do you do and how does that affect your pen choices?

Katherine: I work at Sift Science as a Solutions Engineer and team lead. I work pretty closely with many of our customers, so I’m constantly on the phone, in and out of meetings and generally running around. As a result I tend to carry a notebook and prefer pens I can get to easily (not looooong unscrews) so I can jot down quick notes easily. My office is pretty close to paper free, so I bring my own notebooks to work (currently a Travelers Notebook and a Nanami Sevenseas Crossfield) and, of course, supply my own pens and ink.

Franz: I work in a bank as a customer service manager. I am that person who goes around the office to meet a client, or assist a co-worker. And the job requires me to be able to jot down notes or sign my name multiple times in one day. Before I got into fountain pens, I used to be that guy who kept on asking, “Do you have a pen?”. Now, I have a backup pen (or two) just in case I left my main pen of the day on my desk.

As for pen choices, as long as it is comfortable, the cap doesn’t take forever to unscrew, and it writes okay on cr-opy paper. I tend to choose either fine, or medium nibs on my pens as a compromise between Tomoe River paper for personal use and the copy paper used at work.

P.S. Now, I am that guy who tries to spread the joys of writing with a fountain pen (Penvangelism).

Pam: I am a pharmacist at a hospital.  I work both in the pharmacy itself and on the patient units.  At work, I have been called the “pen pusher.”  I have introduced Jetstreams and Pentel Energels to my colleagues in the hospital.  Sadly, our supply closet is still filled with generic, gummy, ballpoints.

The only paper available is cheap copier paper.  Luckily, I really enjoy EF and F nibs.  They work pretty well on the cheap paper and I prefer pens that are really fast to deploy for quick notes given how healthcare can go from 0 to 60 in a couple second flat. A finer and stiff (steel) nib really helps keep my lines consistent due to my small handwriting as well.

What was your first fountain pen?

Katherine: Ha. I had a cheap, bright yellow Sheaffer as a kid. I was about 9 when my mom got it for me, complete with a bottle of Skrip blue with the old-style side pocket to make filling easier. I loved the pen, but generally made a mess. Fast forward many, many years and I rediscovered fountain pens by buying a Pilot Metropolitan off Massdrop. It’s hard to believe, but I bought my Metro and a bottle of Noodler’s HoD because it was CHEAPER than the number of gel pens I was going through.

Franz: It was an onyx Cross Aventura with a medium nib and I still have it. As I wrote with it, I found that the writing was too bold and that it almost bled through the paper. I was a little bit turned off at first but I think I loved the idea of writing with a fountain pen more so I kept on it.

I later found out (probably the next day) that there are different types of paper and more fountain pen friendly paper exists, I also found that writing with a fountain pen does not require bearing down on the pen with pressure like I would on ballpoints. And so the pen addiction began.

Pam:  A green/grey Kakuno, F nib (of course).  That was soon followed by the Pilot Petit and the Metropolitan.

The Cross Aventura: Franz's first fountain pen
The Cross Aventura: Franz’s first fountain pen

How do you carry your fountain pens?

Katherine: I typically carry mine in either a zip pouch from Franklin-Christoph or a three-pen sleeve I made out of a piece of fleece. The former gives me more flexibility with pen sizes (it fits ALL of my pens). The latter gives me more protection from leaks, and if I want to bring multiple pens, stops them from rubbing together. Sometimes I’m lazy and just clip my pen to the inside of my notebook and throw it in my backpack… but I’m pretty sure this is how I end up losing a pen and try not to do it too often.

Franz: It has been a while now since I’ve been using a 4 pen leather case to carry my pens to work. I got this from the Andersons’ table at the 2014 LA pen show. This is my go to case and it’s just perfect for me.

More recently though, I’ve been slinging a bag that contains the 4 pen leather case, and a Nock Co. Sinclair. Also in the bag are a couple notebooks, and a planner. I guess I went from carrying four pens to ten (or more). Don’t judge… ;-P

Pam:  I have been using the Lihit Lab Smart Fit Actact Open Wide pen case. I also keep pens with my Hobonichi Weeks and Hobonichi Cousin. Interestingly, I have been carrying more pens since meeting Franz and Katherine.  Interesting indeed…

Franz's 4 pen leather case. It can carry 5 pens as well.
Franz’s 4 pen leather case. It can carry 5 pens as well.
Pam's Lihit Lab case
Pam’s Lihit Lab case

Dear reader, answer us this, what was your first fountain pen? 

 

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Hello & Welcome!

Hello world!

This is our first post — the only people who will likely read it at first are Pam & Franz as they see their WordPress invites and go “what the heck is Katherine doing?!”

The goal of this blog is for us to review and share our opinions on fountain pens & associated things. I’ve found that my hands are MUCH smaller than average and many pen reviews call pens I think are totally normal “small” and pens that I can’t use comfortably “perfectly sized”. So here we are, I figure I can’t be the only one — and I’ve dragged two friends into it!

So welcome to my (our, because everything is better with friends) corner of the internet. And, bring on any & all feedback!

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