The Anterqiue ballpoint pens feature standard ballpoint ink and a fine point and a classic retracable ball point pen design. The click end is wedged rather than round giving it a slightly more modern look but, from a distance, it could easily be mistaken for a classic.

I, of course, got a lime green model but I am sure you can find your favorite color.

I tested the Anterique on Tomoe River paper first but it extended the dry time causing the dreaded lefty-smudgy hand.

On Nakabayashi Logical Prime paper, the ink dried in a reasonable amount of time and performed well. So, the ink dry time issue was specific to the Tomoe River paper, not the ink or pen. (I used a B5 sized notebook. Gentleman Stationer stocks it in A5.)

I was impressed with overall build quality of the pen. The knock works well, there is no rattle or shimmy when writing.  The quality is surprising for a budget priced pen. Definitely worth adding to your next order from Gentleman Stationer for sure.

If you want an even more premium model, Anterique is available with a brass barrel section ($29) and a plastic clip section which look even more retro..

The refill is a standard butterfly refill — its like a D1 with wings. It would be easy to replace and Gentleman Stationer stocks them ($2.80 each).

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Gentleman Stationer for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Pen Review: Anterique Ballpoint Pen appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Musgrave Pencil Co. of Shelbyville, Tennessee, is one of very few remaining pencil manufacturers in the US. Operating since 1916, it’s still family-owned. As such, I feel an affinity for the company’s history and heritage, though not always its products. For example, the gorgeous Tennessee Red pencils in their cedar box smell scrumptious, and often I slide open the box just to inhale deeply. The pencils, however, are better for sniffing than writing. 

Clicking around Musgrave’s site one day, I did a double-take: Shown among the many pencils were two Duets Pens – bicolor ballpoint pens! What? A red/blue pairing and a red/black one (12/$11.25). Just like Ana does, I have a collection of red/blue editing pencils as well as a more general obsession with all bicolor pencils. But a bicolor ballpoint pen? That’s something I don’t see every day! And here’s what made me do a triple-take: The pens are “cedar wood cased.” Whaaaaat??

Although I didn’t really need a dozen of each color combo, which is the only way they are sold, it was a small price to satisfy my curiosity, now doubly piqued.

Before I get to the Duets, I wanted to mention that, as has been the case every time I’ve ordered from Musgrave, I received a sleeve of two of the company’s most popular pencils as a gift. It’s fun to get anything free with purchase, and these sleeved pencils are an especially nice touch that befits the company’s long heritage. 

Maybe because I use Bic Cristal and Stic ballpoints, I was surprised that the Duets came without caps. I suppose they are more pencil-like without caps, though. Caplessness notwithstanding, the Duets points do somewhat resemble Bics.

The pen body is shorter than an unsharpened pencil and slightly longer than a Stic. It weighs about the same as the Stic and is lighter weight than a standard wood pencil. As for that cedar wood casing, I was initially perplexed. At first glance, it looks and feels like plastic. When I found a rough spot next to the “ferrule” (I don’t know what else to call the collar that connects the barrel with the pen point), I gouged into it with a fingernail, and it was easy to do – it felt like soft wood. On closer inspection, I thought I could see woodgrain beneath the thin metallic-colored paint (which I daresay is the same color as Blackwing’s latest Volume 200, though not as glossy). Hmmm, it doesn’t smell like cedar at all. 

There’s only one way to find out for sure, right?

Yup, it’s real wood – splinters and all – and when I cut it open, I smelled cedar! Does anyone else think it’s odd to make a ballpoint pen out of cedar, then cover the cedar with paint? 

Now I’ll get to the critical part – the ink. For writing, I tend to prefer Japanese “hybrid” inks like Uni Jetstream that flows smoothly and flawlessly. But I also use ballpoint ink as a drawing medium, and for that, my hands-down favorite is the lowly Bic, which contains an oily, viscous ink that layers beautifully like graphite. Upon initial scribbles, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Duets ink similar to Bic’s in consistency.

That is, the Duets were similar if they flowed at all. Specifically, the red side – in both red/blue and red/black – would not flow at all in nearly half the two dozen I purchased. (Ah, so perhaps that’s the reason they are sold by the dozen and not individually: With 12 in hand, you have a better chance of getting a few pens with two working sides.) I don’t mean hard starts; I mean non-starts. Zero ink flow. I wore holes into the paper trying to get the red ink to flow. The blue and black sides flowed acceptably in all pens, especially after scribbling a while. 

I managed to find one of each color combo that worked on both ends, so I made a couple of test sketches. The good news is that the ink is very much like Bic from a drawing perspective: I can build up layers of ink in the same way I do with graphite or colored pencils. However, the red is not as smooth as the blue or black and tends to blob more. Clearly, there’s something wrong with the red ink supply in these pens. 

Though it’s strangely ironic coming from a pencil maker, I give Musgrave credit for this unique bicolor ballpoint pen (with an even more strangely ironic cedar barrel that looks like plastic). Unfortunately, it loses many points for that faulty red ink. 

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

The post Pen Review: Musgrave Duets appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Victorian Trading Company  currently stocks two pen necklaces from 1928 — the Adela Cameo Pen Necklace and the Floral Pearl Seed Pen Necklace (both are currently on sale for $39.95)

Both are slim gold tone twist ballpoint pens with a 28″ gold tone chain. The Floral Pearl Seed Pen features a decorative cloisonne rose with pearl flowers on the clip. The Cameo features –well, a cameo design on the clip. These decorative elements make up the clip but since this is a necklace pen, the clip is more for decoration than functionality. I would be worried I’d bend the decorative elements or break them if I tried to use it as a functional clip.

The pen tip retracts with a twist mechanism that is smooth and snug. The likelihood of the pen coming untwisted unknowingly is pretty slim. The overall pen shape is slender like the classic Cross Century. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the pen was entirely designed on the Cross Century chassis.

Both pens rely on the classic Cross style twist ballpoint refill. I scavenged through my refill stash to see if there were any comparable refills that could be hacked to fit into the pen but didn’t find any other solutions. Monteverde sells compatible refills in Medium and Broad in a wide variety of colors. There are other options for the Cross refill but I am confident to recommend Monteverde and Cross.

The pens have a lovely engraved pattern in the body that gives them a retro vibe.

While no one (myself included) really wants a pandemic era torso photo, I needed a model to show the length of the chain. So… no comments about the crappy, unflattering photo, ok?

I am quite short and short torso-ed and the pen chain and pen hit at my natural waist. The pen clips on with a lobster claw for easy-on and -off and there’s another closure at the back of the neck to make putting the chain on easier though I was able to just put it on over my head. I am sure it would be easy to add length to the chain or just swap out for a longer chain so long as your could add a lobster claw for attaching the pen.

In writing tests, the pens write like a standard ballpoint pen. Ballpoint pens are not my favorite writing tool as they always feel a little “skippy” to me. But I love the idea of having a pen on a chain so I might continue to research hack options so I can replace the refill with a gel pen.

Victorian Trading Company  also carries the Anna Griffen Rose Garden Gift Pen ($24.95)

This pen is a capped pen with gold hardware and a floral motif printed on the barrel.

The cap snaps tightly to post on the end which is a nice design feature. It is also a snap cap so it makes it a quick on-and-off.

The pen takes a standard Parker-style refill which means, although it ships with a bog-standard medium ballpoint refill, there are a lot more options for upgrading this pen.

Since we all need at least one ballpoint pen in our collection, these pens are definitely an option. If you like roses and gold hardware, it’s definitely fun and eye-catching. Or if you have a friend or family member who has always wanted a “nice pen” but isn’t quite ready to dive into the world of fountain pens, any of these might be good options. I would definitely include a few extra refills though.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Victorian Trading Company for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ballpoint Pen Reviews: Victorian Trading Company Pens (Part 2) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The limited edition “Claim Your Style” Caran d’Ache 849 ($40)  in vert  comes in the same molded enamel clamshell case that most 849s ship in. It makes for an impressive presentation as a gift and the price point on an 849 is such that its a great gateway pen for friends, family and co-workers.

The “Claim Your Style” series features mixed colors on the barrel, knock and clip to create fresh modern statements on a classic pen barrel. The Vert model (the Vert colorway is currently sold out but there are several other options available) features an emerald green body, electric blue clip and metallic red knock.

As with all 849 pens, the proportions are petite and similar to Caran d’Ache pencils with the hex barrel and slender width. For many, this pen might be too slim for long writing sessions but, within our community, I think ballpoint pens get relegated to filling out forms in doctors’ offices, signing receipts and the occasional dashed note so I don’t think its a deterrent that the 849 is slender and more petite overall. It makes the pen pocketable and easy to stash in a bag or purse pocket.

For a ballpoint refill, the medium blue Goliath is a super smooth refill. Not as smooth as a Uni Jetstream refill but a good option if you want to have a pen in your bag, car or on your desk that can be used on just about any surface and does not require any maintenance. It’s a pen that you can have on your desk that a co-worker can comfortably borrow without the “oh, no! I can’t use a fountain pen!” moment. And you’ll still impress them with your sense of style.

By default, the Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoint pens ship with a medium blue Goliath refill. The Goliath refill is pretty much the same as a Parker-style refill with a perfectly flat end (no fins). I swapped out the refill a couple times to see how the pen performed with a black fine Goliath ballpoint refill ($9.25 each) and a Kaco 0.5mm black gel refill. The Kaco is a Parker-style refill and seemed to fit and activate the knock mechanism just fine. The black fine Goliath refill is designed to fit so there were no issues using it either. I prefer the silky, dense black line of the Kaco refill but the roller on these refills can be hit or miss and if you get any oils on your paper from your hand or lunch, you can get skipping.

All this is to say that if you don’t own an 849, you now have some very colorful reasons to add this pen to your collection. If the Limited Edition pricing is a bit steep for you, the standard color options are available for a significantly lower price ($20 each).

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Gentleman Stationer Shop for the purpose of review. This review includes affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Pen Review: Caran d’Ache 849 “Claim Your Style” Limited Edition appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

This time our winners of the Drehgriffels are Marci and Rob:

Thank you all so much for entering and for reading along here at The Desk! And thanks again to Leuchtturm 1917 for sending us the items for review and giveaway.

The post GIVEAWAY WINNER: Leuchtturm 1917 Drehgriffel appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.