August 2017

This is a review that I’ve been working up to for a couple of months. In that time, I’ve used up the entire volume of ink that this thing holds. It’s got a fine nib, and that’s a lot of use for me on a single pen. This is one of those pens that I just kept reaching for. [click here to continue reading]

Montegrappa has mastered the art of the licensed pen with the Game of Thrones collection. They created four pens to represent major families represented in the series: House Stark, House Lannister, House Targaryen and House Baratheon.  From the packaging to the aesthetics of the pens, Montegrappa managed to do high-end licensed pens right.

I was lucky enough to get to take the House Stark ballpoint and the House Lannister rollerball out for a test drive. [click here to continue reading]

The Iron Throne Pen is limited to 300 fountain pens and 300 rollerball pens in sterling silver with vermeil accents. The number 300 depicts the year of settlement of the last of the Targaryen kings in 300 AC. There will also be 7 fountain and rollerball pens made of solid 18k gold to represent the 7 kingdoms of Westeros. The fountain pen is piston-fed with an 18k gold nib engraved with the images of the coveted throne.

At the cap’s top, surrounded by the swords’ hilts, is the Game of Thrones logo. The pen’s barrel is fashioned in precious metal with the lost-wax casting technique. The barrel represents the saga through symbols evocative of the houses of Westeros. Details of the pen, from the Targaryan dragons to the Lannister lions, are enriched with flaming white celluloid.

To represent the intricacies and complexities of the Iron Throne itself, Montegrappa’s artisans have fashioned a cap formed of overlapping swords representing the seven kingdoms. Their hilts rise above the cap’s top to create a crown, the pommels and blades running the length of the cap itself. Standing proud is a sword that serves as the pocket clip, its hilt bearing a fiery red ruby.

The U-Boat Classico Tungsteno continues to grab attention through a bold statement of luxury. The polished tungsten case – mind you, at 50mm –  is hard to miss, as its personality is typically an extension of its environment.

There’s a confidence that comes with strapping an oversized Italian beast, that isn’t your typical glitz. The Classico shines in its own light with illuminated numerals cast over an Arabic numeral dial and vintage leather strap.

There are moments to “suit up” with your Sky Dweller, but not tonight. Tonight we’re in Montreal, The Hub, Ocean Drive or wherever your passions drive you.

Click here to view the technical details

I fell in love with the Aurora 88 Minerali Azurite the moment I saw it at the Chicago Pen Show. It was a very early preview, and I wasn’t able to share it at the time. I got the go ahead a few weeks back and shared it on Instagram, and now the same pen has returned to my hands for this review thanks to Kenro Industries.

When talking about this pen on the podcast I mentioned how if I were designing a pen for me that it would look a lot like the Minerali lineup. All five of the upcoming models have a clear demonstrator barrel with one of five color accents – Azurite, Diopside, Amber, Cinnabar, Amethyst – and each are limited to 388 units. [click here to continue reading]

“I have always drawn, ever since I was a child. Then a few years ago I discovered fountain pen inks and their fluidity, so my creative journey (which has included sculpture, painting, three-dimensional paintings and video art) shifted focus to the distinctive mark generated by the fountain pen, Italian-born artist, Celio Bordin, explains to Kenro Industries’ Bryan Hulser. Bordin “discovered the Aurora fountain pen in an old stationery store in a remote village in Piedmont, Italy.” Hulser of Kenro Industries, became acquainted with Bordin, online, and recently had the opportunity to visit him and watch him perform in his studio in the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles (DTLA). Though Bordin expresses himself in line drawings that are created with vintage Aurora Magellan fountain pens on stretched canvases, they are performances nonetheless. Watching his process is every bit as mesmerizing as regarding his finished products.

Hulser watched as Bordin balanced one edge of his stretched canvas atop an orange traffic cone, while the closer edge rested against his thigh. He placed the fountain pen filled with custom pigment he mixed himself on the surface of the canvas and he waited. He waited for the emotion to rise within, and then his fountain pen nibs took off at a frenzied pace, as if it had a life of its own. At first glance, this self-taught and critically acclaimed artist, seems to be chaotically scribbling across the canvas. The scratching sounds of his nib against the rough surface of the canvas fill the air with a frenetic rhythm, reminiscent of Itzhak Perlman playing Paganini Caprices 01/05/24. Where Paganini pushes the violin, a classical instrument, to its limits with his compositions and Perlman pushes it to its limits with his skill; Bordin does both with this vintage Aurora fountain pen, known for its refined lines and sophisticated character. And when he’s done, a face has emerged from the chaotic tangle of inked lines. He refers to these faces as “presences,” and upon closer inspection, the eye focuses on smaller faces within the larger one. The images are beautiful and haunting.

Against the gritty backdrop of LA’s Downtown Arts District, with his vintage Aurora Magellan fountain pen in hand, Bordin finds inspiration; and, just as the gentrification of the abandoned industrial area has brought new life to the place, Bordin’s intense energy breathes new life into a vintage pen. His images, the complex layering of lines, thin and thick, light and dark, speak to the gritty, messy stories of life. The strength of past lives comes through in his haunted images, and the sturdy nib, which is ready to withstand, the intensity that Bordin wields. His art speaks well to the history and culture of this area and perhaps humanity, the rise and decay, the fall and reemerging of community and life. There is something apocalyptic yet magical in his energy, tools, and process. The energy is palpable. Not in words, but in images woven from the pigmented thread of his emotions and story that flow through the nib of his fountain pen.