2/05/2023

Wordsworth & Black Fountain Pen Set, Medium Nib, Silver-gold

This is a beautiful elegant gender-neutral fountain pen. It comes in a very giftable faux-leather box with a pack of complementary cartridges in black & blue ink. The instructions booklet is quite useful and very nicely printed on quality glossy paper. The pen comes with an inverter (rechargeable cartridge), but I always prefer the pre-filled cartridges. These are easy to insert; however, you have to wiggle them a bit before they click in. The fountain pen looks expensive and the metal body is made of good quality metal. Most importantly, it writes beautifully without spitting any ink. My only 'but' is it's a bit heavy for my hands. For the rest, it's is a great pen at a great price.

2/01/2023

Studio Series Artist's Tiles: White (75 pack)

I'm most disappointed with this pack of tiles supposedly 300 gsm good for dry and wet media. I normally use 300 gsm watercolour paper for my mixed media and this is a bit thinner than that, so I wonder whether the gsm on the label is a printing mistake.

The cards are smaller than average, about 3x3 inches. See my photo against a 4x4 grey tile.

I've done comprehensive testing on the paper, and it confirmed my first impression. You can see the photos I've uploaded for everything I say.

Re markers, it's good for my Sakura micron, for my fountain ink permanent ink, for my FC pitt pen, for my Fude brush pen and my Townbows. None of these bled. I tried one of my AS pigmented inks, one drop, and it worked well (the yellow stain on the photo) but my Liquitex acrylic ink (not on the photo) didn't spread well and the light rubbing with my finger sanded the paper a bit. I also applied my red Stabilo All pencil and then used a water brush to spread the colour and it didn't work well and sanded the paper a bit. Alcohol markers and inks DID bleed, as per my photo.

I did a simple abstract exercise using water-soluble crayons, which require barely any water, adding some pitt pens and non-soluble crayons. The paper doesn't have enough hold for the colour and the process of using these materials to be done without tearing or sanding. Needless to say, the paper buckled and deteriorated. As this test was done without gessoing the paper beforehand, I tried again and I did gesso the paper this time.

Gessoing the paper certainly helped with mixed media and acrylics and the results were definitely better. Paper curled a lot, though, and there was tearing and sanding in certain parts. I was careful with the paper due to the fact that I know isn't good quality after the first test.

I find the advertisement notes on the packaging misleading and inaccurate, as per the testing I've mentioned above, proven by my photos. The paper is not good for wet media or mixed media or anything that requires a bit of work on the paper.

Comparisons are unavoidable. I recently reviewed some paper tiles with, supposedly, less msg and they stood anything I did to the paper without any damage, so it makes me wonder.

This paper tiles have been a waste of money and time, as I do mixed media no zentangle or colouring, I'll have to use these tiles for something else, and I won't buy them again. The paper is good for pencil, most markers and, archival ink. It is not fit for wet media, alcohol marker, alcohol inks or anything that requires a bit of work on the paper, slight rubbing etc..

1/29/2023

Scotch Precision Scissors 7 Inches (17.8cm) 1447 Grey/Red

This a good quality pair of scissors. I find them very good for general use and crafting. I have used them for cutting fabric as well as thick cardboard and paper, and they work great. I love the 7-inch size as they are not too big or too small and, personally, I find them to be more versatile than bigger scissors, especially for people with small hands like me. The tip is not pointed and they lack precision in that regard. When craft junk gets stuck on the blades, I clean them with generic household cleaning wipes and no fuss. I don't use them for tailoring or major sewing projects, so I cannot comment on that, but I prefer my small scissors for sewing than these ones. Overall good value for money and great all-purpose scissors.

Tree and Squid Blue Metal Fountain Pen Medium Nib + Ink Converter

This is a very contemporary cool fountain pen. My photos don't really show the lovely blue colour of the pen and the cute octopus logo.

This fountain pen is very enjoyable to use as it doesn't weigh much, so writing is comfortable and flowing. My wrist moves naturally, so my handwriting comes out as it's usually is, something that doesn't happen that easily if the pen weighs a bit. The nib flows on the paper and the ink comes out naturally and neatly, producing a very lovely handwriting.

The pen includes a converter, i.e. a rechargeable ink cartridge, but I'm using it with spare standard ink cartridge that I had at home. I was able to fit it in without problem.

I didn't expect the pen to come in a gift box due to its price. It comes wrapped in a plastic cellophane bag with the octopus logo on it , which is OK if I gift it to a child, not so much to an adult.

Overall, very pleased with the pen.

1/22/2023

HP Ink Cartridge 804 Colour Ink Cartridge

I'VE used this colour cartridges for a couple of years now using a HP average printer. They're fine for every day printing works, like texts and basic diagrams or drawings. However, they're OK for printing images or artwork even if I select the best quality setting in my printer. Yielding is rather poor unless I use the cartridge just for everyday purposes, which doesn't require big amounts of coloured ink to be used, then it's OK.

Uni-Ball Signo 1mm Gel Pen - White (UM 153) (Pack of 3)

This is the best fine point white marker I've used so far. I have two similar fine-point white pens from other brands and they fall behind this regarding the 'ink' quality and how the ink reacts when used on acrylic painting.. I've tested this Uniball against the others on black paper, as per my photo, and this one is my fav. Lines are full, neat and clear. The ink flows effortlessly on the paper, more so than the other two brands that I use, and I don't have to keep pumping the ink out every time I write. Great price for a 3-piece pack set, too

Hongian Matte Black Forest Fountain Pen Extra Fine Nib set

This is a good fountain pen, elegant and very comfy in my hand. It's not too heavy and it has a wonderful nib. It's also easy to open and close. It comes with an inverter, meaning a reusable charging cartridge, but you need a bottle of India ink for this. This pen needs non-universal cartridges; ones that have a wider mouth and they're not that easy to get, so that's a bit downside for me. It makes a good everyday fountain pen. The metal container box is average, not especially nice for gifting, but handy to keep and carry the pen without worrying about spills.