Stained Fingers On Thursday - A Review of Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün Ink

I never expected to like this ink, as much as I do, but I have come to realize just how fantastic it is. In fact, it might be the first ink that I have had in two different pens at the same time! The colors are definitely slightly darker than the scan shows. How do you feel about it?

Pardon the misspelling of "Klingner."

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Tea Forte's Tango Green Tea

Steeped in a Tea Forte Café Cup, with the spent tea pyramid resting on a Tea Forte tea tray, all the pieces were set to provide an enjoyable tasting experience of this mango flavored green tea. Impeccable as always, the packaging of this individual tea pyramid infuser bag was clean and sharply presented. After heating the water to the proper temperature, I proceeded to steep the tea for only two minutes before moving on to tasting it. The aroma is light, and the mango smell is lighter yet. My guess would be that the green tea base is a sencha or something akin to it.

The tea itself has light forward notes with a strong finish. The mango is present but not very prominent. Overall the tea is not very impressive in its taste. Not wanting to judge it by first try, I steeped a second cup. This time, I left the tea pyramid in the water for three minutes. The mango flavor is now a lot bolder and broader. It complements the green tea far more than during the first infusion.

Overall, I think this is not one of Tea Forte’s better blends. However, for lovers of fruit flavored green teas, it may be worth giving this one a try. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 76/100.

It is possible that this tea has been re-branded as Tea Forte's Green Mango Peach.

This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
This tea is no longer available from Tea Forte.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Pilot Purple Ink

And now for something different! This purple in particular is not available (literally) outside the Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens. 

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - Shanti Tea's African Carnival Herbal Blend

Ah, this tea smells tasty. The aroma of the dried leaf is very fruity, if also a bit floral. There are some spicy tones as well. It would appear the mixture is composed of rooibos, rose petals, and perhaps some dried citrus, among other things.

For my first infusions, I steeped a teaspoon and a half of this for five minutes in a cup of just-boiled water. The Shanti Tea website does not give many details regarding this tea, but judging by the fact that it has rooibos, I decided on the tea measurement and steep times. The steeped cup smells of sweet fruit, with big hints of apricot and citrus of some sort. The impression of the first sip is...subdued. Quite a bit of lemon and orange flavors, but not a lot else that stands out. More sips bring out the rooibos and mixed fruit flavors. They blend quite well, and the tea makes for a pleasant evening cuppa.

On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea a 68/100.

This review was unsolicited an uncompensated.
Photo credit to Shanti Tea.
This tea may be found and purchased from the Shanti Tea website, here.

InCoWriMo 2014 InComing!

Yes, notice the pun in the title of the post? Please, hold your applause, for InCoWriMo 2014 is almost here!

For those of you, who are unfamiliar with InCoWriMo, this International Correspondence Writing Month involves hand-writing some piece of correspondence, be it a post card, letter, brief note, etc., and delivering (mail, FAX, hand-presented, etc.) it every day in the month of February. Are you up to the challenge?

For more information and resources, head over to the official InCoWriMo website, here!

Looks like I might need to refill my pen, before I start writing...

A Hero-ic Endeavor - My Attempt at a Collection

Some of you may recall that I previously mentioned my great enjoyment of the products of the former Shanghai Hero Pen Company. In fact, Hero pens are probably the only brand of pen that I specifically "collect." In my quest to collect each of the existing models of Hero pens, I have learned a lot about the construction, quality, usage, and history of these inexpensive, yet popular, Chinese fountain pens.

Part of the intent in writing this post was to create a listing of sorts for all of the future review posts of Hero pens. I will endeavor to keep the list, found below, up to date, as new reviews of Hero pens are posted. The other portion of reasoning for creating this post was simply to post pictures of pens made by the Shanghai Hero Pen Company. Eventually, I may add a section on the history that I have learned or a link to a post on such a topic. If you have further ideas, regarding this endeavor, please feel free to share them!

List of current Hero reviews:

• The Hero 001 - 360 Degree Fountain Pen
• The Hero 616 Jumbo Fountain Pen
• The Hero 59 Fountain Pen
• The Hero 91 Fountain Pen  

List of current Wing Sung reviews:

• The Wing Sung 233 Fountain Pen

List of Hero-related posts:

•  "I Need a Hero"
• Awesome Pen Mods - Hero 616 Vacuumatic

Edit April 6, 2014: The information from this post has been moved to a more permanent page, here.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Parker Blue Ink

I received a cartridge of this nice ink with my Parker Urban. Enjoy!

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Mark T. Wendell Tea Company's Hu Kwa Formosa Lapsang Souchong

Hu Kwa is purported to be the top-notch Lapsang Souchong from Taiwan. Steeping one cup at a time, I use one teaspoon of leaves per cup, and I steep the tea for five and a half minutes in just-boiled water, as per Mark T. Wendell Tea Company's website. The dry leaves have a very strong smokiness to them, as is normal with Lapsang Souchong. However, with this one, there is a slight undertone of sweetness that can be noticed in the dry leaves. The aroma of the steeped tea is also quite smooth. Past experience with Lapsang Souchong has exposed me to some that were so rough as to suggest that perhaps one should be sitting outside on the ground around a campfire while drinking them, not sipping this noble drink in a more civilized setting.

The five and a half minutes is up, so I decant the tea to remove the leaves and allow the tea a minute or so to cool slightly (scalded taste buds do not make for accurate tea tasting). Heavily smoked is a good descriptor of the taste, but not overly smoked. That strange line of sweetness that went through the scent of the dry leaves is still present in the tea itself. The smoothness of this tea made it quite enjoyable to drink. Smooth and not thick. This tea deserves an 87/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Photo credit to the Mark T. Wendell Tea Company.
This tea may be found and purchased from the Mark T. Wendell Tea Company website, here.

A Review of the Hero 91 Fountain Pen

First Impressions (7)
The gold bands look clean, the clip at least appears to be quality, and the body is very rounded. Taking off the cap, I note that the nib looks huge, though it narrows to what looks like a very fine point. The plastic body looks really cheap.

Appearance (6)
Starting at the end of the cap, I notice that, while most of the black plastic is glossy, the very end is actually a matte black. If it was for contrast, it was poorly done. The clip band is very thin, and the cap rings are consecutively bigger in two sizes, moving away from the clip. The look is nice, but oddly Hero has placed a dark, metallic ring between the two gold cap rings. It is really only noticeable, if one looks very close. The body is plain, and the same glossy plastic tapers just slightly toward the rear end, where another gold ring sits. This time, the small piece of plastic on this (rear) tip of the pen is the same glossy plastic.

The grip section thankfully uses the same glossy black plastic with a gold band to separate it from the body and a gold band (that is thicker) to separate it from the nib. My biggest gripe, aside from the single use of matte finish, is the inconsistency in band width. Of the six gold rings on this pen, including the clip ring and nib ring, none of them are the same width.

Design/Size/Weight (8)
The Hero 91 uses a snap cap, which is fairly easy to get on and off. The pen itself is larger, but not huge, and the grip is a consistent, tapering slope with no finger guides or sharp angles. That said, the step down from the body is fairly small/short but sharp. My thumb partially rests on it, when I hoold the pen, and it is noticeable, though not uncomfortable. For an all-plastic (except the converter) pen, the Hero 91 has a nice, moderate heft. Combined with the size, it allows for good movement of the pen and good control, while writing.

Nib (7)
The nib on the Hero 91 is large like the pen, all gold-colored, and simply designed. The fine nib probably equates to a Western extra-fine. While certainly no glider, a few weeks of use revealed that this pen is far from a scratchy nail - smooth enough to take care of business without providing too much feedback.

Filling System (7)
Okay, here we have one of Hero’s standard aerometric filling systems. Thankfully, this one is removable, which makes cleaning far less of a chore than otherwise. I would have preferred a piston-converter, but at this price, one can hardly complain. The aerometric works decently well.

Cost and Value (8)
Taking into account the larger body, grip, and nib, this pen is not for everyone. However, at $7 US, I found it to be very reliable and a great value.

Conclusion (7)
(7.16 actual)
Unless one absolutely does not like the design or color, this pen is a great value and certainly a winner for sub-$10 US Chinese fountain pens. Give it a try, as there is little to lose.


This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
The Hero 91 may be purchased from iSellPens, here.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Noodler's Heart of Darkness Ink

Here is a fun ink! I know, it is black, and thus it might not seem fun, but this is a really black black!

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Tula Teas' Four Seasons Oolong

Another day, another interesting oolong to try. This Taiwanese oolong is purported to be incredibly flavored, with evolutions of flavor at every steeping. I start off by rinsing, then steeping this tea first for two minutes in boiled, but not boiling water. This first infusion smells sweet, slightly tart, and, in general, fruity. I often find that the leaves, after steeping, have a different aroma than the liquor itself. In this case, the smell of the leaves is far more buttery and creamy, in contrast to the liquor's fruity notes. This infusion is super smooth, tastes very clean and fresh, and is reminiscent of apples.

Infusion number two, steeped for another two minutes, leaves the leaves smelling more vegetal than before. The flavor of the tea has evolved. Still fruity, there are now spicier notes of cinnamon, as well as floral tones that I had not noticed before.

Steeping this tea for a third time, letting it infuse for two and a half minutes. Still containing notes of cinnamon, the mild fruitiness is quite delectable. Four Seasons is a great name for this tea, as it evolves and changes like the seasons of the year, with every infusion. I highly recommend this tea for lovers of oolong, and I would give it a 91/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Tula Teas' website may be found, here. This tea may be found and purchased their website, here.

A Review of Review of Blue Q’s Tea Tumbler with Stainless Steel Tea Strainer

When this tumbler first arrived, I was a bit surprised at how small it was. With the double-walled design, intended to keep your tea hot as long as possible, the interior volume is quite smaller than it appears. After several weeks of use, I have determined that there are three primary ways in which this tumbler can be utilized.

First, the strainer can be removed from the mouth of the container, the tea bag or leaves put inside, water poured into the tumbler, and the strainer replaced. This allows tea to be steeped indefinitely, and tea to be sipped while the leaves are still inside the tumbler. This works well if you are drinking a tea that is unaffected by long or indefinite steep times.

Second, the tumbler can be used as an on-the-go container for prepared tea. Simply remove the strainer and leave it at home, and the tumbler could be used for keeping tea, prepared in a pot or other vessel, hot on the way to another location.

Third, in the case of a lack of another brewing vessel, this tumbler can serve for that job too. Remove the strainer, put in the tea, put in the hot water, replace the strainer, wait for steeping to finish, and then simply pour from the tumbler into cups for serving.

My experience with these three methods was varied. With the first method, I found that, because the leaves or bag float loose inside the container and are not held back from the strainer, they would often float forward with the steeped tea and block/clog the strainer while I tried to drink. The second method worked out fairly well. My only complaint was that it seemed as though the tea still cooled off a bit fast, despite the double-walled design. But the double-walls did insulate one’s hand from the heat of the contents. In the third case, this worked only slightly better than the first method, running into the same issues, yet being a little more controlled for pouring, as I was attempting to pour into a mug that I could see rather than my mouth.

Overall, while I appreciate the design of this tumbler, I am not sure that the functionality is quite at the best point yet to make it worth a purchase. For overall usability, I would rate it a 6.5/10.

Yet Another Writing Sample (YAWS) - Field Notes "Night Sky" Ink Tests

For the first YAWS of 2014, I wanted to share these ink tests, which were compiled over a period of three months (during which this particular Field Notes notebook was in use). At some point, I will write a big post on Field Notes and how I use them, but for now here are samples of various inks, pens, and nibs on the paper from a "Night Sky" edition Field Notes notebook.

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.

Stained Fingers on Thursday - A Review of Montblanc Midnight Blue Ink

The review speaks for itself in this case.

This scan was done on an HP Deskjet F4280 at 600dpi.
Note: Because these scans are done with a light emitting printer, actual colors will, more likely than not, be slightly darker than they may appear, here. The colors shown, here, are probably a bit more reminiscent of what the ink would be like under a bright light or if it were held up and viewed with a light behind it.