Montegrappa Skulls Notebook

In November 2014, I saw a picture of a notebook which was being sold by Montegrappa. It had variously coloured skulls printed on the cover and looked awesome! I instantly did a search online but could find no information regarding the product. Very frustrating! So, I decided to contact Montegrappa directly by email to see what I could find out.

I received a very quick reply from a lady called Nina, of Montegrappa U.K. She was extremely helpful and explained that the notebooks had been produced purely for the U.S. Market (why???), but due to their popularity they had ordered a number of the for sale in the U.K. and they would be available in around 2-3 weeks. She stated that she would contact me when they were available.

It was mid December before Nina contacted me to say the notebooks were now in stock and available. Imagine my surprise when she stated that as I had had to wait longer than expected, she would like to send me one free of charge! Needless to say, I accepted her offer.

The notebook arrived on the 7th January 2015. It's an A5 sized notebook, and my first impression was that it is very similar to a Moleskine of the same size. Although this wasn't the original book I had seen online, I was extremely impressed with the version I received.

The hardcover has a leather effect, and it is embossed with the Montegrappa name and a skull. There is a black ribbon page mark, a pocket on the inside back cover and a black closure elastic runs around the open edge to stop it falling open.

It appears to be manufactured by Chameleon Like Inc; a company I know nothing about. However, the quality is outstanding. The closure elastic is tight fitting, the construction is superb and it feels classy. The pages are off white /cream in colour and lined. The pages hold ink really well, with no feathering or bleeding and no ghosting. I used a Kaweco Sport with a fine nib and Diamine Blue/Black ink to write the sample in the picture and they behaved beautifully.

The notebook is A5 sized and fits perfectly in a pocket. I haven't carried it around as I tend to want to keep it in pristine condition so it stays at home. However, I feel this notebook would take daily use in its' stride.

Although I didn't purchase the notebook, Nina's customer service was first class!  She was brilliant to deal with (the first notebook sent was lost in the post), very professional and extremely kind. I decided to write this review as a way of thanking Nina and Montegrappa for their generosity and first class service.

I cannot recommend this notebook highly enough. It's sturdy, and the paper performs much better than my Moleskine notebooks. It should perform perfectly as an EDC notebook or small journal.

My first Pen Show

I started collecting fountain pens about a year ago. I decided to look online to see if there are any pen shows in the UK, like there are in America. I was really disappointed to find out that I had missed the Bristol pen show by 1 week! I found out that the show was run by http://www.ukpenshows.co.uk and bookmarked the page (and followed them on Facebook) so that I could find out about future events. I live in Plymouth, UK, so Bristol is the closest show to me.

So today, I attended my first pen show. It was held at the Hilton Hotel in Bristol, just off junction 16 of the M5. Easy to find, easily accessible and free parking for the first 2 hours!

According to their Facebook page, there were going to be around 30 exhibitors at the event.

Unfortunately, on the day there were less than 10. The good news is that there were plenty of pens to admire, and bargains to be had (more on the bargains later).

Admission to the event was £5 per person on the door. I believe there are concessions for members of the Writing Equipment Society, but as I'm not a member yet I didn't look in to this further.

All of the dealers were extremely friendly, just like I'm used to from the members of the Fountain Pen Network on Facebook. It would appear that liking fountain pens and being nice go hand in hand!

It was great to finally meet John Twiss, of Twiss Pens ( www.twisspens.co.uk ) and see his hand made creations. I was on a tight budget, and as much as his creations are worth the very reasonable prices he charges, they were beyond today's budget. I will, however, purchase one in the future.

John Hall of Write Here Fine Pen Retailers, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was another great guy. He was selling Visconti and Omas pens (among others) and was happy for me to handle them and write with them. I purchased a bottle of Iroshozuku ink from him as I've wanted a bottle for a while now. Their website is at www.writeherepens.co.uk

Nigel of The Hamilton Pen Company was also very welcoming. He makes his own pens and they are also reasonably priced. Have a look for yourself at www.hamiltonpens.com

And now for the bargains. I've been after a Danitrio Phantas for a while now. I've only ever seen them for sale on eBay from American sellers, at anywhere between £40 and £150, plus another £45 postage/packing/tax. Imagine my surprise when I saw a brand new one, unused and boxed on a table for £5!!!!! Needless to say, I grabbed it. My thinking was that if it writes like a nail, I may be able to swap out the nib. I'm pleased to say that once I got it home, I flushed it, inked it up with the Iroshozuku ink and it writes like a dream! I also got the unbranded dragon pen that is in the pic. It was also £5, and it too writes beautifully! Lady Luck was certainly smiling on me today!

So, for my first experience, today was a great day. If you've never been to a pen show before, find your nearest one and go. You never know what you may find!