Strong or week? The Baron Fig Mastermind Week Pad

My job involves sitting behind a keyboard. Happily, I'm largely responsible for planning my own time, and I run multiple projects simultaneously, with distinct tasks that fill a traditional Monday to Friday working week. All of which is to say: I live and die by my to-do list. I have a very particular habit: every …

UKFP Uncapped: 26th August 2019

One of my favourite parts of the week is seeing the wonderful weekly posts that other pen bloggers put out. The Gentleman Stationer. Refill and Misfill from the Pen Addict. Link Love from Well-Appointed Desk. Trail Log from fpquest. Fountain Pen Love. Tom Oddo's Ink Flight. I don't want to repeat their exhaustive work, but …

State of the blog: what’s coming next

Time to catch my breath It's been a busy few weeks here at UKFP. In the past 30 days I've posted reviews of the new Estie, the Kasama Una, the Karas Vertex and the Montblanc Agatha Christie (as always, you can find a list of my reviewed pens here); inks from Anderillium; paper from Lamy …

The prettiest Estie yet?

You may remember I reviewed the Esterbrook Estie way back in October last year. It was a strong entry to the pen market from the reborn Esterbrook brand, and I was impressed not only by its clean and comfortable design, but practical features like the sealed cap and vintage nib adaptor. The pen I reviewed …

Anderillium Inks: the Cephalopod series

I already posted a quick introduction to Anderillium Inks, but here's a bit more detail about each of the colours, and most importantly, a few comparisons so you can judge what you're getting against some more familiar inks. Each of the inks is pH neutral, water-based and water-soluble, and hand-made in-house in Florida. The colours …

Esterbrook Pen Nooks: bringing some pizzazz to pen storage

I was really excited about the Pen Nooks when Esterbrook parent company Kenro shared images of them with me a while ago. It's always good to see a new entry to any market, and I hoped these products would be a fresh competitor to cases from the likes of Nock, Hurlestone and Franklin-Christoph. And phwoar, …

Snippets: Lamy notebooks, Anderillium inks, Pebble notebook and more

I became a dad (again) at the weekend, so my "free time for blogs" bucket has felt pretty empty the last few days, and I expect that state of affairs to continue. But a few quick updates to make you aware of: Lamy notebooks: worth a buy Write Here sent me a couple of the …

12 blues I’ve stuck with

A commenter recently asked whether I still reached for a particular blue ink, more than a year after I reviewed it. The answer was 'no', but it got me thinking about which inks I do still regularly reach for. Even after I cleared out a load of 70 inks earlier this summer, I still have …

The Kasama Una isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly different

I'm always on the lookout for something new. That's why I got so excited by the Karas Vertex recently — it went back to the drawing board and gave us a design different to any other pen on the market. It's the same reason I just plonked down £400 to import a Kasama Una from the …

A personal journey with the Montblanc Agatha Christie Writer’s Edition

I had high expectations coming to the Montblanc Agatha Christie. Over the past 25 years it has gained an almost legendary status (and associated price tag) even among Montblanc Writer's Editions, surpassed perhaps by the Hemingway only. But for me the expectations came from something rather more personal. My daughter is named Agatha, and specifically …