The Fountain Pen Hospital is having a Holiday Festival of Writing this weekend at its showroom. They are offering free gifts to the first 100 visitors of each day, and specials on most brands of pens. If you still need to find gifts for those special people in your life, this may just be the place to do it!

I am not sure how I did not know about this, but another artisan is combining my two favorite topics, watches and pens. Barry Gross, a craftsman and woodworking artisan created a line of pens that is truly unique and eco-friendly. Old mechanical watch parts, including fly wheels, cogs, and other items from old watch movements, are glued into place over the body of the pen. Once the parts are glued into place, the pen body and cap are coated over a three day period with a non-yellowing acrylic and polished to a smooth finish. The result is a pen with three-dimensional depth to its design. Barry Gross calls the line of pens his Eco-Friendly pens. The watch parts pens join other pens in the Eco-Friendly line, which includes pens crafted from recycled beer caps, cold computer circuit boards, and fountain pen nibs.

Barry Gross is an artisan with over 30 years experience. He works with wood, and pens, and has been featured at pen shows and in pen magazines. His work is amazing, and his watch parts pens are a must for collectors and watch enthusiasts!

The Fountain Pen Hospital is having its Annual Holiday Expo December 3-5, 2009, from 9am to 5pm. This expo is quite an event, hosting representatives from over 25 manufacturers, and showing thousands of new and vintage pens. If you happen to be in New York City over the first weekend in December, check it out! The Expo is at the Fountain Pen Hospital’s showroom located at 10 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007. Wish I could be there!

The Delta Pen Company has a new collection for the holiday season. The Dreidel Collection is a tribute to the story of the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah, and the children’s game of dreidel (Yiddish) or sevivon (Hebrew). The game is played with a four-sided top, emblazoned with letters on the four sides, and candies or other items that are gambled with. Each player spins the top, and either pays in to the pot or receives from the pot based on the letter that shows up on the top.

The Dreidel Collection comes in two varieties, crafted of Italian resin with solid 925 sterling silver trims. The Sevivon (meaning spinner in Hebrew), comes in a Limited Edition of 358 pieces. The Celebration edition is limited to 48 pieces constructed of celluloid with vermeil trim, and a sapphire on the top of the cap. The fountain pen is a lateral lever fill with an 18kt gold nib. The pens are available in black, rose, white and blue. The dreidel is hidden in the top of the pen cap.

Delta Pens are distributed by the Yafa.

We all have secrets. There is one pen designed to hide them for you.

The Delta Pen Company, designed a pen with a secret compartment in the cap. The Scrigno Collection comes in midnight black, violet, and white hand-turned resin, with a larger barrel for the pen body. The compartment in the cap is large enough for notes or an additional pen refill. The compartment is made from food-grade steel, so it can even be used for pills. The fountain pen comes with a fine, medium, or broad nib, and there is a rollerball version, too.

Have something to hide? Try the Scrigno!

It is said that a fine wine matures and gets better with age.  I wonder of that holds true for pens as well.

Pen manufacturer Omas, in partnership with Château Lafite Rothschild, has released a limited edition line of pens crafted out of the wood from the oak in Château Lafite Rothschild wine casks.  The unique pens have an oval shape to the body, imspired by the shape of the casks they are cut from.  A diamond stylus engraving of the Domaines Baron de Rothschild logo is on the nib of the fountain pen, as the seal of the new venture.  The nibs are crafted in 18k gold, and the top of the pen is deep red enamel, to signify the bordeaux wine of Château Lafite Rothschild.

1797 is the vintage of the oldest bottles preserved in the Château Lafite Rothschild cellars.  To honor this, Omas issued 1000 fountain pens, and 797 roller ball pens. To write with a pen like this, while enjoying a good glass of wine, would be a wonderful experience!

To celebrate the history of the technological marvel that is the Vanishing Point Pen, Namiki has released a red version of the original Vanishing Point pen. The red pens are available with medium point nibs, gold accents, and 18k nibs. Only 2000 of these red beauties are available, so collectors may want to jump on this one!

I have never been good at calligraphy. I do not have the hand control to form the letters perfectly, and my normal handwriting is too irregular. However, I do like writing with calligraphy pens, even if my writing is not up to par. Just using a calligraphy nib makes my handwriting look a little better than it really is.

Several pen companies offer calligraphy sets that will make anyone’s handwriting look a little better. Sheaffer offers several kits for all levels of calligraphy skill. Speedball offers a smaller selection, but excellent quality nibs for practice and other types of calligraphy pens as well. There are kits available from Manuscript, and Faber Castell, as well.

For those looking to create art, or just play like you can (like I do), look for one. It is a great way to have fun with your handwriting, or learn a prettier way to write!

The August issue of Pen World Magazine has a great article about Noodler’s Ink. Noodler’s Ink is one of the top-quality ink brands in the world. It is made entirely in the United States, and is one of the most economical inks available today. It is non-corrosive, which is very important when filling older or antique pens, and the quality is very easy to see.

I use Noodler’s Ink, and prefer it for my pens. I love the color choices Noodler’s offers–over 65 different shades, including seven highlighting shades. The company even has a fraud-proof ink that can’t be erased from documents with bleach or ammonia. All of the inks are developed in small batches, which ensures the quality of the inks. The inks are all made from quality components, and the production is limited to the components at hand. Again, this is to ensure quality–substitutions are never made for the components of the inks. Nathan Tardiff, the owner of Noodler’s Ink, would never discount the quality of his product.

It is not available everywhere, but I suggest seeking Noodler’s Ink out. If you local pen shop does not stock Noodler’s, ask them to. You won’t regret it!

Diplomat Pen offers a pen that it claims has perfect balance. The Diplomat Balance line of pens is supposed to weighted and balanced perfectly for writing. Coming in fountain, roller ball, and ballpoint pens, the line is beautiful to see. Coming in blue (shown), white, and black, the pens do look like they would be well balanced and easy to write with.

The Balance fountain pen comes with either a bold or medium nib, limiting its range just a bit. Some, like me, prefer a fine or extra fine nib in a fountain pen. However, the ballpoint and rollerball pens can be changed from the medium point that they come with to a fine or broad point.

Diplomat Pens has been creating and manufacturing precision writing instruments since 1922. The company’s history is long, and the writing instruments it produces are works of art. I have written with several Diplomat pens, and love how it feels. I think I need to invest again! Diplomat Pens are available at My Diplomat Pens.