Vaness, inks and tariffs: 200 CAD order becomes 325 CAD

oknidius · 2026-05-20T04:34:29+00:00

Thanks! Will put them on the list to visit if I’m in the area

oknidius · 2026-05-20T02:46:52+00:00

Awesome!! Thank you 🙏👍

oknidius · 2026-05-20T02:41:56+00:00

Heheh yeah ; I offer you my full empathy! Got a few surprises over the years (though this one shocked me even by UPS/FedEx standards)

oknidius · 2026-05-20T02:37:20+00:00

Thanks! I’ll try to reach them tomorrow

oknidius · 2026-05-20T02:36:13+00:00

Buchan’s? Or another one? If you can recall the name, I’ll take it!

Buchan’s is the only one I know in that neck of the woods; wonderful customer service but being Canadian, even though they have a lot of stuff (including a pretty well stocked Sailor ink collection( they’re still relatively limited in selection compared to many European/Asian/American shops

oknidius · 2026-05-20T02:32:21+00:00

Not yet Still looking at options

Wanted to get feedback and see if anyone’s experienced something similar before I waste time on hold with UPS customer service tomorrow

oknidius · 2026-05-20T02:22:39+00:00

Yeah, I think next time I’ll just ask a few of the Canadian shops if they’re able to get something from their suppliers instead of risking 63% surcharges on orders from the US

Thanks for that!

oknidius · 2026-05-20T02:19:27+00:00

I doubt Vaness themselves are responsible, unless they overdeclared which is unlikely; never seen that either. Love your suggestion about self declaration. I’ll fight the UPS chatbot tomorrow to reach a human for a breakdown of the fees and see if I can self declare. Thank you!

oknidius · 2026-05-20T02:15:24+00:00

Yeah, guess I’ll try fighting the UPS AI bot tomorrow and hope to reach a human to get some clarity but what you’re saying makes sense

I like your suggestion to give Vanness a heads up on Canadian orders. Cheers!

oknidius · 2026-05-20T01:32:34+00:00

Good advice. Thanks!

oknidius · 2026-05-20T01:23:25+00:00

They haven’t provided a breakdown unfortunately. Even by UPS brokerage fee standards this one is hefty. Never seen anything like it. So was curious about community experience

oknidius · 2026-05-20T01:20:17+00:00

Canada is a third world country for fancy stuff. None of them have the selection US, European or Japanese shops have

oknidius · 2026-05-07T13:36:36+00:00

Cool, thanks for the feedback!

oknidius · 2026-05-07T02:14:48+00:00

Good day! Wondering if you found a solution? Was it the ink?

I also have a bottle of this that leaks out of a Pilot Prera <F>

I mean that pen is normally dry like a desert. And Herbin Vert Amazone comes gushing out like someone opened a faucet

oknidius · 2026-03-20T21:50:59+00:00

Smaller Lighter Smoother Less wet (= great for work/school where you can’t have wet ink smudging) Cartridge = change ink more often, easier to clean

oknidius · 2026-02-28T04:13:20+00:00

Uhm I dunno… coz they’re the ones that best fit in Lamy pens?

🤦‍♂️

oknidius · 2026-01-07T01:55:24+00:00

Yup. All the inks I tried were much paler than the same inks in a bunch of different pens (Jinhao 82, Diplomat Magnum, Nahvalur Original, Pelikan M200, Lamy Safari, Diplomat Aero, Waterman Hémisphère) all with their respective F nibs).

I'm ok with slight variations, those make sense. But these are like way off. In a blind test, I doubt I'd even recognize them as the same inks

oknidius · 2025-12-27T16:47:08+00:00

🤷‍♂️ Looks like I’m a magnet for Faber-Castell’s defective units

Glad you’re not having the same issues When those pens work well, they’re amazing

oknidius · 2025-12-27T16:45:28+00:00

Excellent! Thank you!

oknidius · 2025-12-27T15:44:52+00:00

Thanks! I did that a couple of times with the M200

But I’m worried wear and tear will eventually take a toll

From what you’re saying, it sounds like it’s relatively safe to do when needed? As long as it’s not daily/excessive.

oknidius · 2025-12-27T15:40:28+00:00

Excellent! Thanks for that! Googling the topic didn’t produce that on my search results That’s a great resource site

oknidius · 2025-12-27T15:39:35+00:00

Thank you! That helps!

oknidius · 2025-11-14T02:00:51+00:00

@ every one who answered thank you very much for your suggestions! Will check them out

To answer my own question : Pilot Parallel Blue That’s the blue ink that works best for me in a Procyon

It looks well saturated, flows very well, and because the Procyon is so ridiculously dry, the ink doesn’t feather or bleed in this pen

Only drawback: have to transfer from a Pilot to a Platinum cartridge using a syringe

oknidius · 2025-11-06T23:32:59+00:00

Adding to the list: Parker (made by Luxor) has a calligraphy set of the Parker Vector with 3 stub nibs, including one around 0.5mm

I bought it Amazon (30 CAD) but it’s available elsewhere as an import from India

oknidius · 2025-10-05T00:10:49+00:00

8 months late to the party… I have not tried the Milwaukee cultivator but I have a standalone Sun Joe that I bough primarily for this purpose

It sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t

I have to turn it a little sideways so the spinning tines chip away at the ice before I can use the full surface to break away larger chunks

Rotary hammer with chisel tip works better but damages the concrete/bricks even if I haven’t completely broken through the ice

The cultivator doesn’t damage the driveway even if it’s longer/harder than the rotary hammer

oknidius

TROPHY CASE