Aug192009
DC Pen Supershow: A Pen-Lover’s Paradise.
Filed under Pens,Stationery by Kim at 9:57 am on Aug 19 2009
Before all the sturm und drang of Rock Camp got going, I had time to attend another fun event. Well, fun if you love pens, and look forward to looking at tens of thousands of them in one place. Yes, I am talking about the DC Pen Supershow. I’d been looking forward to this for almost a year, since it was late 2008 that I rediscovered my pen passion.
I had a little preparation for what I would witness based on my trip to the Philly show in January. That was sort of overwhelming for a novice, and this was like that show times ten. I did have a few things I was on the lookout for, but failing to find those I knew I would still learn a great deal just by walking the floor.
Telf and I started out by hitting the ink testing table. This was a delight! Though I wish they had been more diligent about replacing the rinsing water, and in retrospect it would have been smart to bring my own dip pen to use for testing. I really barely scratched the surface of testing things, and I could have spent another hour there. There were some folks who were very organized, and had full notebooks with a page for each ink! Something to consider for next year, I guess.
The result of my tests on gray inks was the most interesting fruit of that labor; I located and tried Levenger’s Smokey, Diamine Grey, and Noodler’s Lexington Grey. I don’t think that any of these will replace J. Herbin’s Gris Nuage as my favorite, but the Smokey is remarkable in its saturation and the Lexington is remarkable in its yellowed-ness. (Thanks to the Harmless Dilettante for all those amazing ink samples!)
After that, we retreated to the haven of a local thai restaurant to have fruity blue drinks and meet my friend-from-the-internet, Tom. It was a nice break and the food gave us the fortitude for the hours of pen browsing and potential haggling we might be doing after. Tom was lovely company and further proof that meeting other geeks from the internet (I hope he knows I use the term affectionately) is usually wonderful! (You can read his account and see his pictures here.)
One amusing note: I received more comments on my tattoos than usual from pen fans on this trip. One purveyor of pens commented that since he used to work in a prison, he somewhat associated tattoos on young women with criminality. I told him I appreciated his candor, but that he should perhaps get out more! The best comment though, was “I thought you had a tattoo of the design on a Danitrio!” Nope, sorry, but that would be awesome.
Instead of knocking things off my wish list, I managed only to add things. In this case they are:
- Parker 41 in Tourquoise
- Waterman Lady Patricia Ink Vue (see a stunning example here and a good history here)
- Platinum music nib
- Vanishing Point Ice Blue LE
The Waterman InkView is actually starting to seem like “the one that got away”. I saw three different ones at the show, but only one of them was green, but I had promised myself not to buy any pens over $100, and his initial quote was much more than that. But it had been restored, and I’m learning that it’s a peculiar one to restore. At any rate, he let me take a picture, so here’s the one that got away:
Note the crazy lever and how the diamond motif is repeated on the band, clip, AND lever. Why, oh why didn’t I haggle him down and bite the bullet?! That’s it, I’m emailing him right now.
1 Beckion 19 Aug 2009 at 10:14 am
This post makes me want to want pens, too!
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Kim Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Do you hand write things often? If you think you would, by all means, you can get a totally reasonable and cheap new fountain pen or you can get a totally reasonable and cheap working vintage fountain pen.
Is there a pen store in Portland? I bet there is, it would be a fun field trip! Send pictures!
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Becki Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Gah! I need to get a digital camera, first of all! =)
My dad frankensteined me a refillable fountain pen years ago, and I used to use it all the time, with purple ink. The pen is right here in the mug on my desk, and I think i have the ink somewhere. I don’t know what I really write anymore besides the occasional check, which is SAD. Maybe I need to write someone a letter!
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2 Leesaon 19 Aug 2009 at 10:23 am
Not sure how long I’m going to be able to resist buying a Vanishing Point. I LOVE my Prera and like my Cavalier, but the VP was soooooo smooth to write with.
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Kim Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 7:48 am
I’m thinking I might ask for one for Christmas.
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3 TAOon 19 Aug 2009 at 10:37 am
Kim, I prefer internet kook to geek. I’m glad you didn’t find my company that bad and you may be the first to call it “lovely”. However, I certainly can say that you and Telf were that and also fun to putter around the pens with. I’m sure you’ll get your Lady Pat some day since there’s a number of them out there. The best day to haggle is the last day of the show, btw. That’s when I haggled the price of the pen I got down.
Thanks for the blog post, it brings back happy memories.
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4 CSueon 19 Aug 2009 at 12:05 pm
I should let you rummage through our family’s old pens sometime. It’s not my specialty, so I have no idea if they’re worth anything or not.
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Kim Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I probably wouldn’t know either! I am a novice. I have a book though, that might tell us!
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5 Amberon 19 Aug 2009 at 2:36 pm
I love you for using the phrase “sturm und drang”.
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Kim Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I was worried I used it wrong.
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6 Mariaon 19 Aug 2009 at 6:38 pm
Oh wow those inks look delicious! Uh, for the eyes I mean.
I get similar comments about my labret piercing (not so much in recent years). Like your commenter who should get out more for a different perspective, I wish I could go back and retort “well you need to stop hanging out with skanky hos and get a life, if that’s your only frame of reference.”
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TAO Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I was there when that guy said that to Kim at the show. Two observations: First Kim was so well mannered and calm that she instantly gained my total respect. Secondly, I thought that I was a sheltered pen kook but if this guy never saw a full sleeve out of a prison I kinda wonder if he’s living in his Mom’s basement still.
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7 Mariaon 19 Aug 2009 at 6:39 pm
Oh oh and the gynecologist (who I promptly “fired”) who said he could tell I was “a liberal” because of my piercing. Not touchin my hoo-ha again, I guarantee.
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TAO Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I just spit my tea out laughing at this comment.
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Kim Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 7:51 am
From what I can tell, gynecologists manage to say the most ridiculous things. You would think their profession would require that they be the soul of tact!
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8 Missive Mavenon 24 Aug 2009 at 3:44 pm
Oh WOW, the DC pen show seems way more cool than the Boston Pen Show. A Diamine ink table? I am SO envious!
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Kim Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
But! You had a Noodler’s rep actually there! If there was a Noodler’s person to talk to in DC I missed it. (There may well have been, but I was SO overwhelmed!)
Next time: road trip!
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TAO Reply:
August 24th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Kim,
I thought I did see someone repping Noodlers at the DC show. In a corner of the lobby near a set of doors.
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9 Missive Mavenon 24 Aug 2009 at 7:06 pm
Okay, yes, at Boston we did have Mr. Noodler’s himself, the mad scientist fabulous ink inventor in the flesh. Noodler’s lives a lot closer to Boston than DC, and the Noodler’s table alone would have been worth the trip and the price of admission.
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