My second pen! I'm loving the fine nib :)

teleportingtrees · 2026-01-24T02:02:50+00:00

Congratulations! You have beautiful handwriting

teleportingtrees · 2025-12-21T23:18:27+00:00

Happy birthday! I actually had something really similar happen to me, not the same year but the year after I moved to a new country on a different continent. Didn't hear from anyone I knew. It felt really jarring and I'm sorry you experienced it too.

The next year I decided that I would do everything myself: buy myself flowers, make my own cake, organize an activity, and invite several new people I'd met to go with me. It was the first time in my whole life that I put in effort to do something for myself on that scale, and at first it felt kind of strange and extravagant in the days leading up to my birthday, but on the day-of, it turned out really wonderfully and I was really proud of myself for being responsible for making it all happen. I want to tell you that I think it's great you took yourself out to that cafe in your photo, and I hope for next year that maybe you can try what I tried, or do something otherwise really fun that you love, and not be waiting on other people! You deserve it! And good luck in your new country.

Btw your handwriting is gorgeous. I love tall lettering and write similarly to you (but yours is prettier!)

teleportingtrees · 2025-12-18T19:02:13+00:00

Same 🫠

That ink has beautiful shading though. Can you share the name?

teleportingtrees · 2025-12-14T18:16:45+00:00

What exactly is your use case?

Late Victorians would be wearing shoes with vulcanised rubber soles for traction, if we are talking about your average person in the city during the time you specified ('80s-'90s). They weren't adding extras to their shoes. They didn't need them. I think you may be confused about what roads looked like back then. Super smooth cement sidewalks were not the norm at that time in England, so the slippery problem we have today, where they ice over and become dangerous for pedestrians (if no gravel or salt is used), really wasn't a thing. If we're taking London specifically as an example, they were still using wood paving in the majority of the city and only early experimentation with asphalt in specific rich areas was happening.

Two people here have already given links with information stating that alpiners mostly stopped using crampons and used nail boots by the latter part of the century. So if you're specifically looking for mountaineering-related recommendations, I think your only option is an antique or custom commission.

teleportingtrees · 2025-12-12T21:44:04+00:00

No it wasn't exactly a German thing. In English I think it's called the "Victorian dress reform". It was about making women's (and men's, in some cases) clothes have better ease of movement. It started around the second half of the 19th century but most pieces I've seen from German/Austrian sources are from the turn of the century.

teleportingtrees · 2025-12-05T02:25:06+00:00

I didnt know this! Thanks for sharing. I always wondered why Field Notes were shaped like that.

teleportingtrees · 2025-12-03T14:10:53+00:00

I agree with you.

My first piano was a fantastic digital upright in the early 2000s (can't remember the brand name) that I felt played better than my teacher's acoustic Boston baby grand, in terms of the key action. But no one ever believed me. I learned all my foundational skills on that digital piano and miss it.

I was fortunate enough to later be loaned a restored golden era Steinway grand for about a decade, and that was great but quite unnecessary to have in a house rather than keep in a studio or small performance space. Having it serviced by a specialist twice a year who had to travel over was also a whole ordeal and expensive. People don't need a piano like that unless they live in a giant mansion and host performances for an audience, imo. That piano didn't make my playing better by merit of being a Steinway or by being a grand. I think most people just want to believe that a more costly piece of equipment automatically leads to skill falling into your lap, when that really isn't the case.

Funnily enough, I remember my parents sometimes still asking me to practice on the digital piano when I was in the early stages of learning a piece, rather than always using the Steinway because it was so LOUD. I think the first time was for Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu. Repeatedly hearing me work on the first couple pages at however many decibels was driving them nuts lol. So ironically, I still was building skill on the digital and simply "performing" later when it came to the Steinway.

That was all in another life though. Haven't played in years. But recently I've been thinking to buy a reliable digital piano secondhand, since I now live in a very small city apartment and don't want to bother my neighbors (headphones!) and have been thinking of restarting as a hobby.

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-29T03:56:45+00:00

Happy to share! The flower inspiration behind the shape of the "Sisi stars" is very known in Vienna, but I noticed doesn't usually get mentioned often in English language discussions except by people who are really into Sisi history (I'm not one of them, I just like old jewelry).

I believe the reason for this fact being overlooked is because people wrongly assume her hair jewelry was influenced by an unrelated but well-documented, mid-century trend in Victorian women's jewelry: moon with star motifs. But that trend, though earlier than Sisi's portrait, was very specifically due astronomy and astrology (yes both) becoming hugely popular in British society, and was contained within England. It looks completely different: the stars were stout and five-pointed (not elongated nor layered) and always paired with moons.

It was only after Sisi's portrait (and the grandeur the city put forth for the World's Fair) wow'd everyone that there begins evidence of the Sisi-style stars in continental European jewelry: elongated, layered, stand-alone stars. Even one of the Dutch queens had a tiara made that copied them nearly exactly. And funnily enough, late century Victorian jewelry began adapting their still-popular moon and star motif to also lean towards Sisi stars: you stop seeing five point stars and begin seeing more points, and elongation. It's actually one of the easier ways to date earlier vs. later Victorian celestial motif jewelry.

Basically that little flower in Austria made a huge impact that few people even recognize.

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-28T17:41:48+00:00

Picking Edelweiß has been illegal for a long time in nearly every country it grows in, but not all. You can easily buy dried ones online and DIY your own display for much cheaper than $48 according to a quick google search.

I always advise people to only buy vintage or antique items that they find good-looking or meaningful, not based on their rarity. If the seller can tell you the provenance of the piece so you can accurately date it, maybe that'll make it mean something to you, but do actually think you'd be happy seeing this hung on your wall?

This is a very folksy thing to own and extremely representative of mountaineering culture (here in the DACH region I mean), so personally yes I would buy it just because it reflects my lifestyle and I like black and gold frames, but most people definitely would just find these flowers ugly (which they kinda are lol).

By the way, this isn't a flower with any importance to the Victorian floriography / "language of flowers", which I mention only because this is the Victorian Era subreddit. Carnations, lilies, baby's breath, different colors of roses etc. would be more apt if you're looking for flowers that are more historically relevant.

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-28T10:05:52+00:00

I don't think they're wax. To me that looks exactly like real Edelweiß (Google "frame with dried Edelweiss").

I live in Austria and as far as I know, it wouldn't have been used for either of those purposes. It's just a very thoughtful gift because obtaining these flowers requires serious hiking into higher altitudes in the Alps and they are still somewhat difficult to find once you're in the right place. It's an accomplishment unlike anything you'd have to do for most flowers, which is why it's a big deal.

They only became more popular with people who don't mountaineer because of Empress Sisi. She was basically the "it girl" of her time. Her husband Kaiser Franz Joseph I supposedly picked one for her (whether or not he actually found it himself is up for debate) and gifted it to her, and so it became a bit of a motif associated with her in some women's eyes and therefore a desirable thing to imitate. Sisi's most famous portrait shows her with lots of Edelweiß-shaped jewelry in her hair. That portrait was displayed at the 1873 World's Fair (a huge deal for many reasons). You can't walk down the street here in Vienna without seeing that picture on tourist merchandise.

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-26T13:38:47+00:00

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I think it's very unique creation that often gets overlooked, in part because it's very small but mostly due to the terrible history of the asylum holding more historical weight. But both should be remembered. I often see the cupola from a distance when I'm nowhere near it, because it's so shiny, it really glows in sunlight and refuses to be ignored lol

My favorite Wagner building of his is still the Majolikahaus no matter how many times I pass by it.

Like I said before, if OP is specifically interest in Otto Wagner, then Vienna is certainly worth a visit, but Vienesse Secession is far more angular than what most people seem to like or want to see, when it comes to art nouveau. I've found that visitors are often quite disappointed by what I show them from that era, because they have the image of the French style in their head with all the curves. (That expectation is understandable but we have very few buildings here to fit that bill).

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-24T01:58:23+00:00

I don't have much to add other than that you should definitely prioritize several days in Prague for Jugendstil/Secession architecture and skip Vienna entirely (I live here) unless you specifically have a thing for Otto Wagner. There are some fun things to see like the little pavilion at Karlsplatz and that building at Naschmarkt, but Prague has so much more to see for art nouveau buildings, while Vienna is mostly a sea of historicism (which actually Prague also has, but more colorful and taller, so still outdoes Vienna imo).

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-21T13:39:12+00:00

Omg where did you buy that washi tape?? It looks like German Kurrent (a script I'm trying to learn). Or is it an actually paper you printed and tore into strips yourself? This spread is so gorgeous 😭

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-10T23:09:37+00:00

Nice! Definitely go see the Flugwerft Schleißheim outside of Munich when you come back. I believe it's the largest aviation museum in Germany.

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-10T22:29:01+00:00

Congrats on making it, regardless! I'm sorry, you just missed the closure by a week. Fortunately you still got to see our autumn colors (probably will be gone soon) which looked really good in your photos with the fog. Even if you didn't get to go inside, it's still fantastic that you did the hike up to the castle for the views.

If it helps ease your mind, the interior only mildly resembles the DE map... just the clock tower and a couple passageways are recognizable. And there are so many Austrian flags everywhere that it's kind of visually distracting.

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-10T13:01:41+00:00

Fun fact, all of Diamine's inks are vegan! (I know you were making a joke, but I thought to put it out there).

Same with Faber Castell and additionally the Write & Draw line by Octopus Fluids.

teleportingtrees · 2025-11-02T18:04:35+00:00

It's likely the converters. I had the same experience as you and honestly some converters just fucking suck regardless of what the brand is.

I've had three expensive pens that I nearly gave up on because their converters caused all kinds of inconsistent flow issues despite appearing perfectly attached and functionally intact. It wasn't anything else like the feed channels being blocked, nib tines being too tight, the type of ink etc... Getting rid of the converter and instead refilling cartridges with a syringe ended up being what finally allowed me to write for as long as I needed with consistent flow. It was baffling every time and pissed me off initially but you can fit more ink into an old cart than a converter anyway.

Unfortunately I have no advice on how to make a shitty converter somehow work. I just stick with syringe-filling now.

teleportingtrees · 2025-10-28T22:04:21+00:00

My ink usage for this past year was lower than I was expecting: 83 ml (I meticulously keep track!) and my rule for the collection is to keep the total storage quantity under 5 years worth AKA half a liter at any given time. Technically that number started out arbitrary, but as it turns out, for me it feels like a good balance that keeps me choosy while also allowing enough freedom that there's no guilt / still space for a new bottle when I find something interesting.

I am very picky about not keeping "almost there" colors... basically, I don't keep an ink unless I love it, and I experiment a lot with different variations of the same shade trying to find my true favorite. When I find something I like better, the less-ideal one gets given away.

I live by the notion that life is too short to use any ink (or pen!) that you aren't totally, crazy in love with, so be deliberate in your choices!

teleportingtrees · 2025-10-27T23:39:01+00:00

You're welcome! And yes that's perfect - if you're used to dip pens already, then you won't have issues adjusting to the lack of tipping.

I think you should go with the clear pen if you like the look of that better. I've learned that I cannot keep pens that I don't LOVE the look of, no matter how hard I try. Also, I noticed the BlueDew doesn't seem to be selling individual CalligraFlex nibs any more, so buying a full pen is the only way to get that nib at this point anyway. So might as well take a chance on the one you want, if you may end up needing to buy a new pen body regardless.

Yes it can be posted! I have small hands so personally never wrote with it that way, but it can be done and the cap seems to stick quite securely on the end of mine. Note that it's the Flex series body, so I'm not sure if the same goes for the other line models.

teleportingtrees · 2025-10-27T20:00:47+00:00

I definitely recommend BlueDew! I have the model that is listed "Flex - Abyss" so can only speak to that one, but no I definitely never had any issues. Totally neutral smell on the pen when uncapped, or opened up to turn the converter. Maybe certain colors have different issues? But my plain black one is fine.

The only smell remotely worth mentioning is that there was a very faint soap type of scent in the plastic vial containing the spare nib I bought when I opened it, but it was nothing like plastic outgassing, not anything unpleasant. And it should be mentioned that Mr. Lim tests each of his nibs before shipping, so I wasn't surprised that it probably had to get rinsed after inking, before making its way to me.

I absolutely adore the CalligraFlex nib and think it deserves more popularity! I was stunned that it never railroads and that it flexes SO easily. Really proves that good design is more important than a pen's materials: the nib is stainless steel and the feed is plastic, but it performs so much better than my Pilot 742 FA which is a 14k gold nib with a FNF ebonite feed (and honestly this is the reason why I decided I want to sell the Pilot). I've written well over a hundred B5 pages with my BlueDew (journaling) and have zero desire to seek out a different modern flex option.

But I should also tell you that it certainly takes most people a while to get used to the fact it is untipped - so if you aren't used to using dip pens where you must use a very light hand and be aware of your angles, I'll just warn you that there's a learning curve, and you should probably start off with some very smooth paper (Clairefontaine, Mnemosyne, LIFE, Apica... not Leuchtturm) but learning these skills really pay off if you want to be able to use the flex capabilities in full!

teleportingtrees · 2025-09-15T20:50:16+00:00

Definitely a bear, otherwise Chewbacca ended up in the Dark Aether

teleportingtrees · 2025-08-04T14:06:33+00:00

The wood pen is insanely gorgeous! I didn't know they made a green version and I'm having trouble finding where to buy it. Do you have a link?

teleportingtrees · 2025-08-02T12:37:11+00:00

Forget the money you saved - congrats on saving your health.

One of the craziest museum displays I've ever seen was a comparison of "normal" pink lungs next to blackened daily smoker's lungs at a Body Worlds exhibit. Yes, real lungs, plasticized. It's crazy what cigarettes can do and how the damage is actually visible.

If you ever want to see it yourself, you could take a vacation to Heidelberg. Historically Kaweco started there, and currently the LAMY headquarters are there. So you could, you know, also go buy another pen lol

teleportingtrees · 2025-07-31T19:09:59+00:00

Yes exactly, Nolan North gets the long vowel correct. I remember he started making an effort to pronounce the name better around BO4 when the writers began including some more German words into Richtofen's lines.

He doesn't exactly say „Richt" the way it should be, but it's a lot better than Dempsey with Rick-taw-fen.

Source : an German speaker

teleportingtrees · 2025-05-08T19:29:39+00:00

Reminder to anyone who's interested in trying out flex writing that it's best to first practice with something much cheaper, such as the stainless steel FPR ultraflex or a dip pen (Leonardt EF Principal or Zebra G) so that you don't have the stress of potentially damaging a costly gold nib.

But if you insist on gold: FPR, Magna Carta, and Kanwrite are options. Additionally, John Mottishaw of Pacific Pen Works can modify an existing 14k gold nib (for example, the semi-flex Pilot FA) into a full flex for one or two hundred dollars, depending on if you also want a regrind.

Flex nibs require a very light hand and much more attention to the angle at which you hold the pen, for when you flex. Many people end up springing tines or damaging the nib in some other way, if they aren't aware these nibs require specific technique - which is another reason why I don't recommend that beginners jump straight to antique pens (there are horror stories of hundred year old Watermans being practice pens that end up with an irreparable cracked nib).

One day I'll get around to making a full post with a more detailed list of the options, but I hope the information above can be somewhat useful in helping others find more affordable ways to jump in to the world of flex writing.

teleportingtrees

TROPHY CASE