We are excited to announce that the Commonwealth Pen Show has been expanded to 2 days!  We will be at the Holiday Inn Bunker Hill located at 30 Washington Street in Somerville, MA on Saturday and Sunday, Sept 17-18,  Show hours are 10-5:30 on Saturday and 9-3 on Sunday.  Admission is $10 for one day, $15 for both days.  Please come by our table and say hello ..read more

We are making progress getting thru the Covid-19 pandemic as more of us are now fully vaccinated.  With the onset of the warm weather we hope to resume “normal” activities.  One of those activities is an in-person pen show.  We are debating what to do about our local show and I have mixed feelings.  On the one hand we cancelled last years show so it would be great to hold the show this year.  On the other hand, we face some serious challenges.   Do we allow a lot of people to crowd into a small space?  And what about people handling pens?  There is ..read more

​As we approach the end of a very challenging year, it is a good time to reflect on the good and bad during the last 12 months.  I attended 1 meeting of our local pen club in mid-February and then came the lockdown.  A few of us have been meeting via Zoom every few weeks albeit in smaller groups.  1 of the club members lives close by and we met for coffee outdoors during the summer.  Of course, we brought pens with us to discuss and swap.  Once the number of cases rose in the fall we went back to Zoom.  In a way we’ve had more contact during 2020 than we do with o ..read more

​I recently heard that Parker is reissuing the iconic “51” sometime early in 2021.  Immediately the conversation began regarding the filling mechanism, the cap and the clip.  This got me thinking about where we’ve come from with the “51”.  It went on sale to the public in 1941 and was a departure from the other fountain pens available at that time with its hooded nib and sleek design.  The original “51” used the vacumatic filling system and the clip of the Parker Vacumatic, a popular pen in its own right.  By the late 1940s an aerometric filling system was introduced a ..read more

​Jinhao fountain pens from China are very popular and when I saw this one, I had to buy one because it resembles a vintage Parker Duofold “Big Red”. I ordered a Jinhao Century 100 acrylic fountain pen in “reddish brown” via eBay.  The total for the pen and tax (free shipping!) was $15.94 USD, a very nice price point.  I placed the order on June 19th, and it arrived on July 10th – not bad for a shipment from China.  The pen arrived in simple packaging which is fine for me because once I take the pen out of the packaging it is either put away or thrown out.  It measures 5 7/1 ..read more

Kaweco fountain pens are very popular and I thought it was time to try one.  I ordered a Kaweco sport fountain pen in green and a package of 6 cartridges via Amazon.  The total for the pen and the cartridges was $27.22 USD, a nice price point.  The pen arrived in simple packaging.  It measures 4 1/8 inches capped and 5 ¼ inches with the cap posted.  Once the cap is posted it fits my hand nicely.  I’ve had the pen for a month, and it is very comfortable writing with it.  (For comparison I put it next to a Parker Duofold Juniorette.)  The pen came with a ..read more

​I want to start by wishing everyone well during this trying time.  While we are all heeding the warnings regarding washing our hands, social distancing and staying at home as much as possible, we can take some time to indulge in our hobby.  There are many fun pen related things to do: 1. Catalogue your pens – It’s good to know what you have, and you may uncover some pens that you forgot you had.  Some keep their pen records in a notebook, others use an electronic database – use whatever works for you. 2. Clean and test your pens – I periodically go thru and flush my pens with water.  This pre ..read more

​Once you start collecting pens of any vintage you will be face with storing them when not in use.  Given that we spend our hard-earned money on these pens we want to store them in such a way that they are protected from potential damage.  How to store our treasures?   One way would be to keep them in their original boxes.  That works for new pens, however, vintage pens and gently used modern pens often do not come with a box other than what they were shipped in when purchased.   I have seen some beautiful wooden boxes built especially for storage of pens.  Some have glass so you can easily se ..read more

​More and more I speak with people who write in a journal daily.  I recently spoke with someone who writes in journal as part of a college course she is taking.  One of the people in our local pen club writes in a journal daily and uses a variety of pens each filled with a different color of ink.  I take a journal with me when I travel to record my experiences.  This goes for both business travel and vacations.  Recently I needed surgery and spent 4 days in the hospital.  I started a journal to keep a record of my experiences and have continued to do so while I am at home recovering.  I have a ..read more

We spend a lot of time discussing and blogging about fountain pens and ink.  An important aspect of our hobby is finding paper suitable for fountain pen ink.  What are some of the qualities of pf paper that make it fountain pen friendly?  The color of the paper maybe be important depending on the color of the ink you are using.  White paper is very popular because of the nice contrast of the ink against the page.  The thickness of the paper is important because we don’t want feathering or spreading of the ink thru the fibers of the paper.  Along with feathering, we don’t want the ink to bleed ..read more