A kind reader sent me this Schneider Fountain Pen. Prior to receiving it, I knew very little about Schneider as a pen brand. Occasionally, I would see Schneider rollerball, gel or ballpoint pens at my local big box office supply store but I was not aware that they had any fountain pens.
Schneider is a German brand and, my best guess, is that it’s sort of the PaperMate or Bic of Germany. I don’t mean to belittle the brand. I am rather suggesting that they focus more on the standard school and office supplies, branded promotional pens and less on high-end writing tools.
Based on my research, I was able to establish that this pen is probably last year’s design in their “Voice” line. There is also a “Easy” line that looks similar in overall design besides the graphics printed on the barrel.
The pen I received came with a standard international cartridge and an empty spacer cartridge (empty with no back on it so it wasn’t simply an empty cartridge). The pen will also accept a standard interntaional cartridge converter for bottled ink.
The pen is very lightweight plastic with a slightly rubberized, molded grip section. I suspect this is definitely a “my first fountain pen” for the budget conscious. I know many German school children are required to learn penmanship with a fountain pen and I suspect if my family had grown up in Germany, we would have gotten a pen like this for my brother who would have perpetually lost his pens and not a Lamy or other more expensive pen.
The nib has some unique etched lines on it but its the nib that was really fascinating.
The nib was pretty unusual looking. On closer inspection, it looks as if the tines were folded to create a blade-like writing surface.
The view from the side is where you can really see the butter knife swoop.
When actually writing with this, I could really see the advantage of the unusual shaping of the nib. The Schneider pen writes very smoothly while maintaining line characteristics.
When compared to other pens (from left to right), the Schneider, Lamy AL-Star, Pilot Metropolitan and a Platinum Preppy, it’s pretty clear that the Schneider is a large, wide pen. It measures 6″ (152mm) capped , 5.4375″ (127mm) uncapped and 6.625″ (168mm) But it’s also very light weighing only 16gms capped and 10gms uncapped with a full cartridge.
Finding one of these Schneider fountain pens in the wild might prove challenging. The only option we found for purchasing this pen was through Amazon ($7.24). So, thanks to our kin reader Jean, I’d like to give this one away. I will clean it and send it off with it’s original cartridge to one lucky reader who’d like to try something a little unusual.
UPDATE: Regular reader Kelly (AKA Subgirl) dropped me a line to let me know that if you wanted a full dozen of the Schneider Voice Fountain Pens, iPenStore sells them for $29.99. If I thought Fountain Pen Day was going to be a social occasion, this might be a good purchase. Maybe you have friends or family members you could mail some of these pens?
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us what you did for the Independence Day Weekend. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.
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FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Thursday, July 9, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.
Tools:
- Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 6mm guide sheet
- Pens: Schneider Voice Fountain Pen with Medium Nib ($7.24)
- Ink: Caran d’Ache Idyllic Blue Cartridge ($4.70 for 6-pack of cartridges)
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We did yard-work on Saturday and sat around the fire-bowl in the evening. We also watched Hamilton (along with almost everyone else).
Our Fourth was quiet. My husband made spaghetti sauce-he always says he married me for the recipe!–for Sunday. Otherwise, we kept our greys and boxer in from the heat and noise of fireworks. Our town did 4 separate displays at the same time so folks could view them from home. They are always so pretty! I just wish we could use the soundless fireworks so animals don’t get so stressed. Our neighbor saw a terrified looking coyote running frantically during the display.
I love Independence Day, and everything it stands for and so does my entire city.
We sat out in our backyard and listened.
It was blasting all day.
We sat outside our house and listened to the constant, unrelenting barrage of fireworks. I have never heard more fireworks in my life!
Our 4th of July was spent staying compliant with the new rules of staying safe from this pandemic and listening to all the knuckleheads lighting off their illegal fireworks. Another 4th of July and our house is still standing! Whew!
Had a couple of friends over for an outside, socially distancing cookout. Made some fantastic potato salad, grilled yellow squash, and teriyaki chicken breasts!
My wonderful celebration was a 3hour zoom party with some net friends that go waaaaaay back to usenet in the 1990s. It was great to catch up with everyone. We all wondered why we have’t been getting together that way util now.
I made a matcha cake for the first time!
I had our family stay inside while the surrounding blocks were all out in force. I am really worried about the effect of the 4th, as no one had masks or was social distancing. All we can do is to do our personal best!
Went to my MIL’s house on Friday to shoot fireworks; my nearly-7-year-old had a great time with that. Then on Saturday, went to my Dad’s house for a family thing and enjoyed that too. Thanks for the giveaway!
Stated home
Watched Hamilton, picked raspberries from our yard, and obsessively followed the Leonardo MZG Primary Manipulation decisions.
I never heard of this brand. Hubby and I stayed home for the weekend. All our family live in other states. We grilled and watched Hamilton (3 times on Friday).
We spent time walking the dog, cooking hamburgers, making potato salad and watching Black Books, a British sitcom.
Just when I wrote a comment I lost the internet so I don’t think my comment got posted.
This is a new brand for me. Love my LAMYs.
Hubby and I grilled at home and watched Hamilton (3 times on Friday).
yardwork and perfecting my sourdough bread recipe during the day. Then listened to what it seems like the whole neighborhood setting off fireworks/firecrackers the whole night.
I’m not entering the drawing since I won something recently.
I just wanted to comment that I like the design on the pen body. It was very nice of Jean to send it to The Desk to try and give away. (But darn, I might succumb and buy one.)
Quiet 4th for me too. I always read the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Watched A Capitol Fourth on PBS, and then NBC for fireworks around NYC.
Worked two solid days getting the house and yard ready for a family get-together Sunday Afternoon. The grand birthday-bash. My oldest son’s birthday was the 1st, my Dad’s birthday was the 3rd and my Wife’s birthday is the 11th so every year we combine them into a single party. Turned out to be a smashing success with everyone having a great time, especially the birthday folks.
I did succumb and get the next to last one. Here is a link for the pen with purple cap in a set. Only 2 left.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07L4JMRN1/ref=psdcmw_1085704_t2_B078XF2NP7?th=1&psc=1
I stayed home and listened to the fireworks I couldn’t see. Cool nib!
Slow-cooked some ribs
I locked the door, took the phone off the hook, closed the curtains and enjoyed the quiet
We mostly stayed at home and walked around our neighborhood watching the local fireworks display. It was a pretty quiet and relaxing night, until we realized that we had planned to go swimming the next day, and we couldn’t find our suits. Cue one frenzied trip to Target minutes before it closed…
Stayed home as per usual these days.
Spent the 4th paddling in San Diego bay. It was a nice clear day – would have been perfect for the official fireworks, but they were cancelled. There were some non-official ones to watch though.
We listened to freedom ring! Seemed like a glorious celebration this year! Home of the brave and land of the free!
In the backyard, chatting with neighbours over the fence.
Spent Fourth of July watching the PBS Capitol Fourth special for the great music and then watched fireworks at the neighborhood park – felt wonderfully normal! Thanks for the give-away!
We just moved into a new house and we’re surprised by a small neighborhood of about 20 people! But it still included plenty of American flags, a few drums, and a yellow VW Thing—love those cars!
The 4th is my birthday and for once I got to do nothing but hang out and grill. No other obligations at ALL. It was glorious.
Thank you for the opportunity to win this pen! My 4th was pretty quiet. We spent the late afternoon on my father-in-law’s back porch enjoying some great food! Definitely not the celebration we’re used to.
Spent time with some friends at their house out in the country. Missouri weather played nice with low temps, humidity and a gently wafting breeze.
Conversations were non electronic. Food was not delivered and drinking was responsible. The old normal; with the exception of distancing and sanitizer smell instead of citronella smell. The temporary new normal.
Please do not enter me in the contest; I just wanted to point out that the “folded” style of nib is called a “butterfly nib”, and used to be common years ago in cheaper pens. It has a bad reputation because it meant no Iridium tipping, but it sounds like this brand has done a really good job of it. See this page:
http://www.richardspens.com/ref/gloss/B.htm
We sat on our back porch listening to the neighbors’ ridiculously loud fireworks, feeling sad for the animals in the neighborhood, and hoping none of their fireworks caught the house on fire. Good times 🙂
Didn’t do anything too special. My mom was working a contact tracer shift on the phone, so my dad made burgers. We watched Hamilton on the 3rd that was cool.
I played animal crossing, baked bread, and watched the kids down the street out on a rather impressive fireworks show (like seriously, these could have been the official fireworks for a small town).
We watched fireworks from the comfort of our back yard. I have no idea who was setting them off or where, but three different (non-sanctioned) shows went on from dusk until almost midnight.
Also, I love the Schneider pens. They write surprisingly well. I’ve gotten a couple from the iPenStore iPenBox and they always make me smile. I’ll take a dozen over a Safari any day.
I watched an air flyover at a park. I tried to look for fireworks at night. I heard more them more than I saw them.
I made strawberry jam and tomato basil sauce.
We listened/watched the many small firework shows going on around our house.
4th of July this year was bittersweet, my sister who lives in Las Vegas was not able to visit this year. I am very lucky to live in the finger lakes, we had a bbq, senior ride ( slower and the youngsters) and fire works, set off around the lake, best show around.
I spent the first part of the day finishing up some flower girl dresses for a dear friend’s wedding. Then I spent a little time in the pool. We wrapped up the night with fireworks at my mom’s house. It was a pretty relaxed day.
We stayed home and did nothing, as we have done every weekend since mid-March. So let me tell you instead about a new skill I learned today: buttonholes! I’ve made quilts for decades, and I also sew bags and sometimes easy clothes, but somehow I had never gotten around to learning how to make buttonholes on my machine. Turns out, it’s easy. Who would have guessed?