Or perhaps, more accurately, how many ways should “mint” be defined?  The answer to the first question seems to be an infinite number while the answer to the second (and correct question) is one.

It’s really quite simple.  “Mint” when used as an adjective to describe something offered for sale, like a pen, means “new”, “unused”, and “perfect condition”.  Mint means that  the pen has never had a drop of ink in it, through it or on it.  It might have been tested with water to make sure that it operates properly but no ink.

Just take a look on a few pen discussion boards in the “for sale” section and you will see that it is obviously not so simple.  People love to use the word (almost as much as “rare”, but that’s another topic for another day!) to get your attention and hopefully buy the pen(s) that they are trying to sell.  Once they have your attention, that’s when the meaning gets modified (read: twisted) to suit their particular circumstances.  When I say “modify” what I really mean is that’s when they pull out the weasel words and thus begins the slippery slope.  You know what I am talking about - ”mint but its been dipped … a few times” or “mint but its had just a few cartridges (or converters) run through it”. 

The best ones, of course, come from the wild west of capitalism, Ebay.  In fact, those are the ones that inspired me (read: pi$$ed me off) to write this.  Here is one of the latest (after I have corrected the spelling and grammar) - “MINT CONDITION…(please note I use the word “MINT” meaning that in my opinion it is excellent and shows little usage wear, if it wasn’t for the slight split in the cap …  If you look at the picture of the cap by the split it maybe missing a very thin gold band as well…”.  The vendor seems to think that if they clearly explain THEIR definition of ”mint” or provide what they think is full and fair disclosure, they have absolved themselves of their irresponsible use of the word to begin with.  C’mon folks, get with it!

“If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck”

NOT 

“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.”

Although I occasionally chuckle at some of these descriptions that are so off the wall, I am so frustrated by the time they have wasted by getting me to look at an advertisement that is false.  When I clicked on their link (or whatever) and read their ad, I was interesting in reading about and possibly buying a mint pen, not one that has been used as a tester by their entire family and is now missing a few parts, has a few scratches, bent nib, etc…

You get the picture.  We’ll tackle “rare” another day!

The great people at the Fountain Pen Network (FPN) have created a few inks of their own (in association with the ink wizards at Noodler’s).  To date, the FPN has created three inks to be exact - Galileo Manuscript Brown, Dumas Tulipe Noire and the just released Van Gogh Starry Night Blue.  I ordered a number of the blues and one each of the brown and tulipe noire, however, I have not yet received the brown.  In any event, here is a scan of the blue and tulipe noire.  The people at FPN are so artistic that they even created the labels for the bottles!
 

The first two scans are of the blue - one of handwriting with a Sailor King of Pens Professional Gear with a Togi nib and the other a swab using a Q tip. 

 
 
This is a scan of the tulipe noire scan, swabbed with a Q tip.

A review by one of our members, KR, on a lovely (dare I say ultra-kewl?) yellow Omas fountain pen that she recently acquired.

Unfortunately I am unable to paste the review directly into this post; however, you can review it by clicking on the following pdf file: emotica-review .

One of the curiosities of collecting pens, especially vintage pens is that many of them outlast their users. One of the members of the London Pen Club passed away on May 18th, of cancer. Dave Berko was a collector of Vacumatics but there was no other writing instrument that escaped his collection if the chance arose. Many years ago, Dave found a Vacumatic Maxima/Oversize at a flea market. When he inquired of the price he was met with the return query as to how much were vacumatics going for. Ever careful to hear and respond to the question posed, Dave said that “Vacs were going for between $70 and $80.” The seller asked if he would pay $75 for the pen. “Yes” was the simple reply. He took possession of the pen, ran outside and jumped up and down with glee unable to restrain his happiness at getting his “Vac Max” at such a price. Since then he has continued to collect pens far and wide. Having lived for the past few years in California his search area for pens expanded and just recently he found, within about a 3 week period, two mint Parker Duofold Seniors, one black the other a “Big Red”. What a find.

Dave has kept in contact with his friends in the London Pen Club, of which he was still a member, throughout his time away from London, Ontario Canada and was hoping to pay us a visit this summer. His spirits in the last email we received from him (less than a month ago) were high and he was looking forward to getting together with the club again and sharing some pen experiences as well as bringing along at least one of those mint Duos. Of course the Vac Maxs would come.

Those two pens represent a bit of Dave. He was a guy who lived life to the fullest, who took joy in searching for what was new/mint in life, like those Duos but at the same time valuing those things which were most meaningful to him - his family and his friends … like his Vac Maxes.

Dave will be missed by all those who knew him but his spirit will live on - just like those old pens.

These are some photos of mint pens that Dave was nice enough to share with DR and the rest of us. He sure knew how to find ‘em.

Set of mint vacs

Mint black Duofold

Mint Big Red

Wherever you are Dave, we hope all the pens are mint and you can fill them with whatever colour you want (including Baystate Blue!!).

Brown and green inks aren’t as sexy as some of the glam colours, like blue!  I have attached several scans of brown and green inks that you don’t normally see everyday.

Whenever I have the time to surf the net, there are around ten internet sites related to fountain pens that I always check first. I am not saying these are the “best” - there are a lot of other good sites out there that I visit regularly - but these ones provide me with what I am looking for when I am in a hurry.

What do I look for? Well, I try to keep up to date with new “stuff” - the latest fountain pens, inks, and paper as they become available. One of the easiest ways is to subscribe to different newsletters that some sites provide. I can also share these newsletters with others in our pen club - if I see something that might be of interest to everyone. I also want to find out what is going on in the pen community - what are people talking about, reviews and comments on new “stuff”. And I am always on the lookout for a good deal on a great pen.

So, here are my top internet sites (in no particular order). If you know of others that are worth a look, let me know.

Fountain Pen Hospital

I always check their New Arrivals and Super Specials tabs and their free catalog and annual calendars are a must have.

Oscar Braun Pens

Pam’s service and prices are legendary - I always check the specials in order of Newest. When I get nostalgic, I click on the Old School format!

Pendemonium

Sam aka “The Pen Goddess” is also well known for her fantastic service and Pendemonium carries just about everything you are looking for, especially ink and paper. Read the News and Updates page first and don’t forget to subscribe to Inky Greetings.

Swisher Pens

Swisher Pens has always been one of my favourite retailers. I have always received polite and prompt service. They have been a leader in developing their own inks. For some reason when they updated their website, it takes f o r e v e r to load and sometimes, well, I just don’t have the time to wait. If you are patient enough, check out the bottled ink and the clearance section.

So, here are my top internet sites (in no particular order). If you know of others that are worth a look, let me know.

Discussion boards are great sources for what’s happening with pens and great deals on pens from honest and knowledgeable sellers.

Pentrace - PenMarket aka “The Green Board”

I cut my teeth on Pentrace, both the discussion board and the penmarket. However, after a while, the discussion board aka “The Yellow Board”, seemed to be filled with constant bickering and vitriole so I stopped reading it. They know have registration which has likely helped - even though I have registered, I have still not read the yellow board. Instead, I always check the green board to see what the folks are selling. This is a great place for pens or even if you want to research prices. And virtually all of the people are top-notch.

Fountain Pen Network

After being disillusioned with the Pentrace yellow board, I found and joined the Fountain Pen Network. What a breath of fresh air. Friendly and knowledgeable people. I just wish I had more time to check out all the Forums. When pressed for time, I check out the Chatter Forum or use my assistant to skim what has been posted since I was last there. If you love fountain pens, you simply must join. And don’t forget to donate once a year or so to keep it going.

Ebay

Yes, Ebay can be a bit like the wild west but there is a good market for pens and “stuff” - look in the Collectibles category under Pens & Writing Instruments. If you want to filter out all the junk, like the cheap pens and refills, you need to create an Advanced Search that is customized to your interests (while filtering out the junk).

Remember that it is caveat emptor; however, if you are very careful and only buy from reputable sellers with a healthy dose of feedback (and read the feedback!!), you should be okay.

The Writing Desk (UK)

The Writing Desk has one of the most complete selection of fountain pen inks that I know of, anywhere, period, full stop. Best of all, they have two cool tools to help you choose. You have your choice - you can view up to 3 colours side by side in their Ink Colour Comparison Page or you can display their bottled ink by colour in their Colorama Page. If you have a bit of time on your hands, you can view something in excess of 240 colours.

Remember, I am not saying these are the “best” - there are a lot of other good sites out there that I visit regularly - but these ones provide me with what I am looking for when I am in a hurry.

Some recent items involving fountain pens that at least I found interesting:

Fascinating facts, figures and insight into the “stationery” business

http://www.prweb.com/releases/stationery_products/paper_ribbons_cards/prweb781914.htm

The new Lamy line-up for the year - check out the ultra cool Lime Lamy Safari!

http://www.lamy.com/products/new_products/index_eng.html

I was able to obtain a couple of the Lime Lamys from a Limey on Ebay.  I have not yet to see it available in the US or Canada.  When it does arrive, it will be hot.  And although it is not listed here, I have also seen a lineup of Lamy’s pens in Raspberry at Art Brown -

http://www.artbrown.com/Lamy-Rasberry-Fountain-Pen–P18324C1213.aspx

Also of note is the new (triangular shaped) ball-point, the Noto. 

One of our members recently brought home a Montblanc catalog from Germany.  Although I have not seen it, I understand it contained a number of diamond encrusted pens.  To wit:

http://www.tradearabia.com/news/MEDIA_140613.html

A fascinating blog on fountain pen restoration:

 http://munsonpens.wordpress.com/

“A blog devoted to writing, grammar, good manners, and basically trying to save Civilization, one punctuation mark at a time.”

http://punctualityrules.com/2008/03/28/how-to-improve-your-penmanship/

The how to improve your penmanship is just one of many useful posts on this blog.  Check it out!

Oh, the Parker 51!

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/blogs/dave/guest-column-collecting-the-parker-51-a-classic-vintage-pen/

Short demonstration on YouTube on refilling a fountain pen ink cartridge using a syringe and blunt needle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbIoMEPyg5U

Esterbrook history, for you JP:

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/SPECIAL23/106290002/-1/special23

Ah, spring has finally sprung - the “freshness” of renewal and new arrivals.  A spirit of optimism and hope prevails as the seasons change from dark to light.  Enough already, I am not a poet (although my feet may show it, they are Longfellows!). 

Back to pens - what has recently arrived in the mail or is on the wish list  to dream or lust about or maybe just the thrill of the hunt - ebay, discussion boards, antique shows and shops or best of all, a heavenly pen show.  Or maybe, just maybe the children or spouse of a member will find this page bookmarked or left on screen so that they could check out this list as a shopping guide for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthday, anniversary, or just because day.

Here goes:

 ”Oh, the LPC meeting you say?  Ah!  Follow the ink drops that direction.  You’re close when you smell the coffee & Noodler’s.”

Courtesy of our good friend and member, KR.