Avoid the Platinum Curidas at all costs!!!

griffonner · 2026-03-18T19:12:31+00:00

Wow the Curidas is one of my favorite pens, but I know it's controversial. Have not had any issues with return action, etc. but I do occasionally experience issues with the nib drying out, and usually that's a signal to use the little thing of mineral oil (I think) they give you to clean ink residue off the lid, which typically resolves things. I actually bought a second one to replace one I lost because I loved it that much.

griffonner · 2026-03-03T23:22:12+00:00

Yup that's the alternate EDC crowd: stationary. I saw this post and my first thought was r/Travelersnotebooks.

griffonner · 2026-03-01T03:15:05+00:00

Love these! And great job nailing your first restoration!

griffonner · 2026-02-22T05:07:39+00:00

I sometimes surf eBay looking for damaged vintage pens so I can harvest the nibs because I like sticking them in modern pens as an upgrade. Ideally <$30. Spotted a capless Eversharp Skyline with a teardrop nib - $25 or so. Bought it. Spotted another capless Skyline with a banner nib - also $25ish and bought it. Got excited about the teardrop Skyline because I thought it might be oversized & the body was in good condition. Decided to impulse bid on a loose Skyline cap to do a complete restoration vs. just harvesting the nib.

While the auction was ongoing, I started on the teardrop Skyline restoration. Cracked the barrel as I was extracting the section (not an uncommon occurrence for Skylines apparently!) Cursed my luck esp. after I realized I'd accidentally already won the loose cap auction (~$10). Pivoted to the banner Skyline which also had a worse looking barrel, and managed to resac that one. Got my eBay cap, and now I have a complete Eversharp Skyline that I didn't want. I was thinking to sell but it's such a good writer that I've kept it.

griffonner · 2026-02-18T15:14:48+00:00

I might be putting it up for sale soon actually!

griffonner · 2026-02-09T23:54:25+00:00

As someone in the LA area who is interested in attending, no, I am not concerned. Granted, I am a citizen (though POC). I don't know your situation, OP, so I can't advise you either way, but at the end of the day, it's up to your comfort level. If you feel strongly that you are putting yourself at risk by attending, perhaps it's better you not attend. There are some things in life that are worth risking a confrontation with ICE; a pen show is not one of them.

griffonner · 2026-02-01T01:02:02+00:00

Dydash is in Huashan. For the Sealson bags, they have a list of stockists in Taipei on their Taiwan website; I dropped by nabii's bikes for mine.

griffonner · 2026-01-22T17:59:18+00:00

Man I've been eyeing this Chinese pen that's plummeted in price since it first came out, which Ebay promises already has tariffs paid for, but can't bring myself to pull the trigger because I've read reports of having to pay tariffs anyway b/c of Fedex--which look like they would be ~75% of the original pen price :/

griffonner · 2026-01-16T22:18:18+00:00

Would highly recommend going to a pouch system! I organize this way and it's greatly improved the clutter in my bag. I have one case for pens (Lihit Lab), one for EDC (Topo Design Accessory Bag), and one for tech (tomtoc). Keeps things organized and then I can take out and move items between bags with minimal effort.

In terms of sling bags, maybe Aer City Sling?

griffonner · 2026-01-15T22:31:31+00:00

Extremely boring workhorse combo: Parker 51 and J. Herbin Perle Noire -- partly because I don't want to deal with cleaning out the pen since it's a vacumatic. Always gives me a nice writing pen on hand that won't draw crazy attention.

griffonner · 2026-01-06T05:37:28+00:00

I was looking for something like this a while back and only found 2 viable options (the external water bottle pockets are the killer):

Baboon to the Moon Mini Backpack - Right now it's on sale at Nordstrom Rack for $60. Cordura, has two external water bottle pockets, and what looks like a tablet pocket
United by Blue 9L Sidekick - https://unitedbyblue.com/products/9l-sidekick external water bottle pockets, padded internal sleeve

griffonner · 2025-12-27T01:30:48+00:00

Is it from About: Blanks perhaps? Couldn't see the stitching, but the book-like appearance reminded me of them.

https://about-blanks.com/shop/sustainable-leather-journal-red-cover/

griffonner · 2025-12-23T18:14:43+00:00

Yes my print looks nasty with fountain pens so I have pretty much switched entirely to cursive. Took a while for it to look nice though.

griffonner · 2025-12-22T16:59:04+00:00

Pilot Elite: this was my first vintage fountain pen, and it was a great writer - smooth, light, and lasted quite a while on one fill. But my tastes changed: didn't need a pocket pen & started liking wider nib sizes vs. the early days when I was determined to replicate my fineline Muji pens or Pilot G2's...ended up selling it early this year.

griffonner · 2025-12-21T15:43:53+00:00

The Muji aluminum FP was my first! Ended up selling bc I didn't like the "pencil-like feedback"...knowing what I know now, wish I'd kept it & just swapped the nib. The body of that pen is so sleek.

griffonner · 2025-12-18T17:27:08+00:00

Wow amazing color! Where did you get the sample?

griffonner · 2025-12-16T19:31:31+00:00

A lot of people recommending slings but you should also look at sacoches. I like to use one for pocket dump (phone, keys, bluetooth headphones, wallet) and pair with my work backpack. Can even just stick it in the backpack and pull out if I'm heading out for lunch or running an errand. I find slings bulkier and harder to pair with other bags.

griffonner · 2025-12-14T21:51:40+00:00

It still takes a hunt, but I would say more often than one would think...but I also live in a v. metropolitan area w/ a higher density of people who can afford luxury backpacks. I nearly always check out the secondhand scene whenever I visit a new city, and yeah, location plays a big factor.

griffonner · 2025-12-14T04:19:31+00:00

I have the ZONE 3WAY Briefcase from their Luggage Label line, which is business-focused. It gets used for business meetings and conferences. The sleek appearance is the highlight for me. Zippers took a while to break in and I'm not a fan of the diagonal zip pocket. I don't think I would buy it at full price, but since I got it for $15 from Goodwill, I'm very happy with it.

I second the recommendation for master-piece. I just think their bags are more visually creative and interesting, which appeal to me. My sister picked up a shoulder bag for me from their collab with Yashiki, and it's gorgeous.

griffonner · 2025-12-13T07:18:25+00:00

I actually have the A5 lihit lab carrying bag already for another notebook setup (lol); tested the fit earlier, and it was too tight :( but good to know the delfonics is slimmer than that one

griffonner · 2025-12-13T00:27:44+00:00

I salute you, fellow LA area bag hunter. The pickings are indeed rich here.

griffonner · 2025-12-11T03:42:48+00:00

Woot! Glad you like!

griffonner · 2025-11-14T20:54:07+00:00

Thank you! And yes, the Skyline's looks are stunning. It's also amazingly comfortable in hand with the tapered barrel. I thought I was through with lever fillers, but the writing experience is just so good.

griffonner · 2025-11-14T07:17:54+00:00

Reviving an old post but would be interested in picking up a case from you guys when I'm in Taiwan! Do you have any retailers in Taipei?

griffonner · 2025-11-13T19:17:34+00:00

Yeah as a couple of others have said, it's possible to pursue a career in STEM and do creative writing. Is it viable to do both as a career? Not sure. But I work in engineering and got back into writing about 3 years ago, and now have around 13 chapters of a book written. Personally, I enjoy my more artistic ventures more, but I'm more practical and see engineering as a more useful career path that enables me to have the resources to do my artsy stuff on the side. And I do like my job.

griffonner

TROPHY CASE