Goulet Pen's August 2011 Ink Drop - Finale

The Noodler's Blue Nose Bear ink that was one of the samples in the August Ink Drop from Goulet Pen Company is suppose to react to UV light. The card that came with the samples says to use it on ivory paper for the best effect. Unfortunately I don't use anything except bright white paper because I want to see the colors of the inks and I think white paper does shows them best.

But I do have a notebook that has some off white paper. It is the one I use for my flight log. I'm not a pilot, but I play one in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Here is what the log book looks like. I write kind of small.

So I drew a very simple one page page to test the Noodler's Blue Nose Bear. With the paper in this notebook I did notice some feathering and a little bleeding of the ink. This is to be expected with paper not designed for fountain pens. Yous can see the blue halo effect where the word 'Start” is in this picture.

Now here is the page under UV light. The picture is not the best. In real life you can make out a little reaction, but not much. It seems to be mainly the light blue halo part of the light that reacts. The scotch tape reacts more than the ink. I'm guessing that the effect would be more pronounced using a Board nib instead of a Fine one.

For those of you who want a simple maze, here is the scanned and lightly edited version.

Now I'm ready for next month's Ink Drop. If you are interested in recieving sample ink you can join the Ink Drop here.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 83

Here is the next page of my first maze. There are only 7 more pages after this one. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 83

Here is that same page down at Point Pinos in Pacific Grove again.

It is fun to walk out on the rocks and check out the tide pools. 

That's it for today.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's August 2011 Ink Drop - The Maze

For the August Ink Drop from the Goulet Pen Company I decided to draw a four page maze. The following scans make up this maze. Start on the page labeled '1' (in the bottom left hand corner) at the circle labeled 'Start'. Follow the pathways until you arrive at one of the circles labeled '2A', '3A', or '2C'. Then go to the page with the number of your circle. Look for the circle on the new page with the same number and letter as your circle. From this new circle, follow the pathways until you get to another circle, and so on. The goal is to get to the circle on page 4 which is labeled 'End'.

That's all there is to it. Simple.

So here are the pages.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

I hope that you enjoy the journey!

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 82

Here is another page from my first maze. We are running out of them. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 82

Here is that same page in the wild. This is at Point Pinos in Pacific Grove now that the sun has come out. I love the blues in the sky and sea.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's August 2011 Ink Drop - Part 5

Sailor Jentle Epinard was the last ink to be tested from the August Ink Drop. I loaded it into a Pilot Vanishing Point, the same one that I used for the Noodler's Blue Nose Bear. I paired it with Waterman Havana Brown for the maze, which I have already talked about.

Epinard is French for spinach (you know the French have a different word for everything). You would expect this ink to be very deep green and so it is. I don't know if it is as dark as spinach. I don't eat as much spinach as I use to when I was younger. They tell me that when I was 1 year old I went through a stage where spinach was the only thing I ate. So it was probably spinach that I was eating that afternoon while sitting in my high chair in the kitchen and the clothes washing machine attacked me. Well it tried to attack me. It had become off balance enough that it was rocking from side to side so much that it was swaggering menacingly towards me. Yes it was frightening and I avoid doing laundry as much as possible even to this day.

Nevertheless, the Sailor Jentle Epinard was a pleasant ink to use. It took a little longer to dry than the other inks in this month's sample. I had a couple small smears while drawing the test maze, but none on the two other pages I used it on. It seems to me that there is an olive tint to this green. It is a perfectly good ink, especially for those times that you are coloring in a Popeye cartoon. And there are probably several other times a good green ink will come in handy.

So I hope this quick review will be helpful. It is unlikely, but you never know. Here is a picture of the last page of this month's maze along with the pens I used.

I've been even more lazy than usual, so I still haven't scanned in the maze yet. I'll post the whole thing in a few days though.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 81

Here is another page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 81

Here is that same page in the wild, well, around my apartment. There was a humming bird buzzing around these flowers, but it zoomed off as I got close.

That's it!

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's August 2011 Ink Drop - Part 4

Next up for testing from the August Ink Drop is Waterman Havana Brown. This is a very fine brown a little to the red side. I put it in one of my new Lamy Safaris which has an Extra Fine nib on it. This combination worked very well. The ink flows smoothly and is a bit wet, but it dries quick enough that even clumsy as I am, I had no smearing or smudging. This ink reminds be of the “Mud Slinging” Ink Drop from way back in December which was all browns. Just where on the brown scale this ink fits, I can't say. It became clear that it is reddish  when I saw the Montegrappa Bordeaux alongside it.

The ink that I paired with the Waterman was Montegrappa Bordeaux. I talked about this ink in the previous Ink Drop post. Before starting to draw with this ink I imagined that there would be a definite difference between these two inks. As you can see in the picture there is not much difference at all. I was surprised. It is true that the Bordeaux brings out the red in the Havana Brown and the Brown brings out the brown in the Bordeaux. You must peer very closely to see where one ink ends and the other begins. No doubt if I was using broader nibs the difference would be more prononced.

In the picture the Waterman Havana Brown forms the entry nodes labeled 3A, 3B and 3C and the paths immediately surrounding them. The Montegrappa Bordeaux was used for the outer layers. The two pens that I used are there as well.

This page is not a maze by itself. It is but one page of a four page maze. You need all four pages for it to make sense. I will be posting the entire maze in about a week.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 80

It is a day late, but here is the next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version. There are only ten more pages to go!

Page 80

Here is the same page in the wild. Actually it is on the table I used when solving this month's Ink Drop maze. A copy of the first page of the Ink Drop maze is there and you can make out the highlighted pathways.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's August 2011 Ink Drop - Part 3

For the second page of my test maze that I'm drawing for the August Ink Drop I paired Noodler's Blue Nose Bear with Montegrappa Bordeaux. The Blue Nose Bear was already in one of my Pilot Vanishing Point pens, but the Montegrappa I decided to use in my Ducati Limited. An Italian ink in an Italian pen.

I already talked about the Blue Nose Bear in a previous post, but I will restate that used in a Fine nib on good fountain pen paper I had zero problems with bleeding or feathering. According to what I have read in reviews this can be an issue with larger nibs and different paper. This was actually one of Noodler's better behaved inks for my pens and paper because it dried quickly. Paired with the Bordeaux the Blue Nose Bear looks very much greener than it did with the Aurora Black.

The Montegrappa Bordeaux is a deep rose color. At first it seemed slightly wet and watery to me, but that feeling went away as I used it. There was definite shading even with a Fine nib and I would imagine that it would look great with a Broad nib. This ink took a little longer to dry than the Blue Nose Bear and as a result I had a couple smudges on the drawing. It is not a problem really, you just have to be careful where you rest you hand.

Montegrappa makes some amazing limited edition pens that cost an arm and leg to buy. Here is their site so that you can take a peek. I'm sure they are worth it, as long as they don't take my right arm. Even the production models are on the pricey side. Maybe someday I will win the Lottery and buy one of each. Until then I will have to be satisfied with the ink which is in my price range. With the Ink Drop discount I get for being a member of the club it is quite reasonable.

Anyway, here is what this page of the maze looks like with the pens I used beside it.

I will post a scanned and edited version of it after I finish constructing the entire maze.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 79

Here is the next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 79

Here is that same page in the wild down at Lover's Point in Pacific Grove. This is either a miniature statue of a giant carrying a sailboat as Gulliver may have done in Lilliput, or a near life sized statue of a boy with a toy boat. The plaque doesn't say which it is, so I guess it is open to interpretation.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's August 2011 Ink Drop - Part 2

The August Ink Drop from Goulet Pen Company is entitled “New Kids on the Block” and features inks that are either new to the market or new to the Goulet Pen inventory. They are all new to me, so I've been having a great deal of fun trying them out.

For my first test maze I paired Noodler's Blue Nose Bear with Aurora Black, both in Pilot Vanishing Point pens. These inks are very different in the quality of line they put down. From the sound of that you might think that one ink produced a “better” line than the other, but that is not what I mean.

The Aurora Black is a true black ink. It is the blackest ink that I have ever used. On the Clairefontaine paper it was a true matter of Black and White. It very crisp. It would be a great ink to use for pen and ink sketching. Or inking in a comic strip. It dried very quick and I only had one small smudge on the three pages of maze that I have used it on. It is defintely a serious ink. If you are writing a letter to the editor or to your congress person and are not the type to use a canyon, you couldn't do better than this ink.

The Noodler's Blue Nose Bear is the latest ink in the “Black Swan” series that Nathan at Noodler's is creating. The series inks are concocted to have pronounced shading. Since I almost always use pens with Fine or Extra Fine nibs I don't take advantages of this shading feature. The Blue Nose Bear does produce a very soft line. This is what I mean by saying it is a different quality line. While the Aurora Black produces a snappy crisp line, the Blue Nose Bear has a soft nostalgic look. This softness may be caused by a design feature of the ink that produces a “Halo Effect”. On the Clairefontaine paper I didn't see the feathering I have read about online. Of course that is using fountain pen paper and a Fine nib pen.

Actually I was much happier with Blue Nose Bear than with Black Swan in English Roses. This is because the English Roses took forever to dry. It was a mess to use in drawing my mazes. The Blue Nose Bear behaves beautifully. It has not smudged or smeared at all in the five pages of maze I have used it on. The color is a bit odd and maybe not the best for a romantic epistle. For a letter full of nostalgic reminisces the soft focus line would work great.

Here is the first page of a planned four page maze.

Here it is again alongside one of the pages of my current big maze that uses the same inks.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 78

Here is the next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 78

Here is the same page in the wild. This is a statue of Saint Clare of Assisi. She seems a bit taller than I would have thought. How do I know this is of Saint Clare? Well it is in Santa Clara.

And then there is this plaque on the fountain pool.

I didn't know this until just now, but today, August 11, is Saint Clare's memorial day. Here is a site that explains it.

Meanwhile tomorrow night there is a Street Dance in Santa Clara. Come one, come all!

I'll probably skip the dance. After all Saint Clare is the patron saint of television.

Here the statue is after sunset.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's August 2011 Ink Drop - Part 1

The theme for the August Ink Drop is “New Kids on the Block”. As the name implies the inks featured are ones that are new in one way or another. Some are new to the market and some are new to the Goulet Pen Company. For me personally, these inks are all new. Three of the brands are ones I have never tried. So I am looking forward to learning a lot about them.

The inks in the August Ink Drop are:

Aurora Black

Montegrappa Bordeaux

Noolder's Blue Nose Bear

Sailor Jentle Epinard

Waterman Havana Brown

Here are the samples lined up and ready for action. As usual Brian and Rachel Goulet have put together an interesting package.

For my tests I thought I'd do another multiple page maze. It will probably end up being four pages long, but I might get carried away by the color combinations this Ink Drop makes possible.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 77

It is Monday so it is time for another page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 77

Here is that same page in the wild. Again it is at Point Pinos in Pacific Grove.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

Lamy Safari

Until a friend introduced me to the wonderful world of fountain pens almost two years ago I always used fine tipped ballpoint pens to draw my mazes. The mazes are drawn with somewhat narrow passages so when I use fountain pens they must have fine nibs. Up until recently I only had five pens, 2 Pilot Vanishing Points, a Ducati Limited and 2 Noodler's fountain pens. I had done well to resist buying anymore.

Anyone who hasn't become afflicted with the fountain pen bug would think five pens is quite enough. Of course they are wrong. Five is not even a half dozen or a six pack. How can anyone be expected to survive without at least a six pack. Plus five is not even an even number. So I went ahead and bought two more pens, to give me a total of seven pens. I know seven is not even, but even is in the word. Plus seven is a prime number. Of course, five is too, but six isn't. So once you have six, you might as well get seven.

Once I had a good enough reason to get them, my choice for these two new pens was simple. I got two Lamy Safaris. They are relatively inexpensive and they have the ability to use bottled ink if you purchase the available converter. They are available in a wide variety of nib sizes, EF, F, M and B. Mine are both Extra Fine. The Goulet Pen Company sells the nibs in steel and black steel. I like the look of the black nibs.

This pen design has been around for many years. It has been in production since the 1980s. Still it is new to me as almost all fountain pens are. Here are some pictures of one of my new pens.

The O-Ring at the base of the finger grip serves as the friction point to hold the cap in place when the pen is not in use. This seems to be an efficient design feature.

The pens are made of a sturdy, but lightweight plastic. There is a triangular shaped grip which happens to fit my hand perfectly. If you post the cap it shifts the balance too much towards the rear to suit me, but with the cap off it feels terrific. I could draw all day with one of these pens. If you look at the Lamy site you will see that the Safari is listed under their “Young Writer” category. I think that just means less expensive, or less snobbish. At 55 I think I'm still young enough to use one (or two) of these pens.

The Extra Fine nib puts down a line very similar to the Fine nib of my Pilot Vanishing Points. Here is a page of my fifth maze in progress. The orange part is drawn with the Vanishing Point using Diamine Pumpkin. The blackish part is with the Extra Fine Safari using J. Herbin Poussière de Lune.

I assume that as with any mass produced nib there will be variation in the smoothness of the feel when writing. This particular pen is very smooth straight out of the box. I haven't tried my second Safari yet to see how it performs.

I will be putting my pens to work on the August 2011 Ink Drop right away.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 76

It is time for the next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 76

Here is the same page in the wild. This picture was taken on a recent trip to Monterey. This is some of the rocks at Point Pinos in Pacific Grove. It is often foggy on summer mornings here. On this day the foggy burned off around one in the afternoon. If the stays offshore you can see the beautiful sunsets from here.

People swarm to the coast to watch the sunset. So much so that it is sometimes difficult to find a place to park. They stand, sit, or jog and watch the sun plunk into the sea. Then ten minutes later they are gone. The afterglow and twilight last for almost an hour. I think they miss the best part of a sunset. We love to watch the gathering darkness.

Anyway, that's it for today.

Jonathan

Drawing the Line - 23

Early on July 17^th I had a chance to roll out another segment of my Line Around The World Project. If you have been following the progress of this project you know that it is nearly two miles long now. About a third of a mile of its length was done along the coast of Big Sur earlier this year, but the majority has been done north of my residences in Santa Clara, California.

With this segment I reach a major goal, with is El Camino Real. I don't know about the rest of the US or the world for that matter, but El Camino Real is famous to us Californians. When we are in grade school it is a rite of passage to build a model of a Spanish Mission in order to learn about the Spanish influence on this area. Every school kid learns about the string of missions, forts and other sites which were built by Spain to secure their territory in North America.

A great part of their method was to use missions and their economic structure to convert the natives. There were 21 missions along the length of California from San Diego to the Mission San Francisco Solano up in Sonoma. Here is the Wiki page that explains the mission system much better than I can. These missions were linked together by a road called El Camino Real and part of that route in its modern form is where this segment of the Line ends up.

Anyway, here is the start of roll 79.

Here is the view from the end of roll 79 looking south.

Looking north you can see I had to cross another side street.

Here is the view of the Line after crossing this small street.

Here if the view from the end of roll 80 looking towards the south.

To the left is a house and right where roll 80 ended is a window. As I was attaching roll 81 to the end of roll 80 I was approached by a guy. He seemed to be quite interested in what I was doing. He asked me what in the world I was doing and I replied, “I'm drawing a Line around the world.” This didn't seem to surprise him much, because he asked me where I had started it. Since he was a local I could answer with a street name, “Newhall Street.” He nodded thoughtfully and asked the question I think had been on his mind from the beginning, “Do you have a dollar that you can spare?”

After parting with a dollar I lost my audience. Or so I thought, for once the guy had wandered off the window in the house next to me opened. “What are you doing?,” the guy at the window asked. I think that you can guess my reply. He looked at me like I was out of my mind and I explained that I would be picking up the paper when I was done. “Good Luck,” he said, pulling the drapes closed but leaving the window open. I figured that he was going to check to make sure I cleaned up my mess.

Here is the end of roll 81 looking south.

Looking north you can see that we have almost reached El Camino Real.

And here the Line has reach the crossing. The El Camino Real is like a great mighty river, except for the fact that there is no water and you don't need a bridge or swimming skills to cross it. It is quite wide and a very busy street. Luckily Sunday morning is the best time for a crossing.

Here is the view north. Actually it is to the west, but going north on the road.

And here is the view east or south along El Camino Real. I'm rolling out roll 82 at this point.

Fortunately I had thought to bring along an extra roll of the line, because roll 82 (the fourth roll of the segment) ran out before I reached the other side of this wide road. I sat on the median strip and attached roll 83 to the end of roll 82 and made it across.

The Line turned to the north. We are on the way to San Francisco and El Camino Real can take us all the way there.

Roll 83 didn't quite make it to the other side of Monroe Street, but this is the end of this segment.

That's it for this segment.

Jonathan