The blog since 2013
261 posts since September 2013 by Nathaniel Cerf: how to start collecting, what happens at the repair bench, inks under the sun, fake Montblancs, and the pens of presidents and writers. "It is a space dedicated to pen lovers old and new."
Preston, Connecticut, is home to several abandoned asylums for the mentally deranged. They make Arkham look like a pleasure zone. This story has nothing to do with asylums but it is an awesome photo for Halloween. Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, this shall be Art Cerf’s last “Decameron 2020” story. Perhaps he will come up with some…
People often ask what my favorite ink brand is, and, more-and-more it is Diamine. Just like the Beatles, Diamine is based out of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. However, they beat the Beatles to the scene by 100 years in 1864. In all of my experience with the ink, so far, it has been very…
We love the United States Postal Service. It is cheaper and faster at sending pens across the country and around the world than any of its rivals. After the early pandemic problem with international mail, everything is going great! (It also is one of the only governmental services mentioned and mandated by the U.S. Constitution.)…
One of the many great aspects of marrying a scientist is the gadgetry. Intrigued by my ink-fast tests with UV light, Dawn decided to get a professional pH meter to test our ink for corrosiveness. If you remember basic chemistry from high school…which I barely do…you will remember that we have acid on one side…
Peanut Scurrying into the town of Mouseville, a little grey traveler named Erasmus visited in hopes of seeking shelter from the rain. Yet, on the streets Mouseville, between the basement and first floor of a century-old Sears Craftsman home, all was not well. Oh sure, there were the happy signs of chewed on wood debris…
Bad Blood by Art Cerf Spring Peepers have nothing to do with this story, but we just like this photo. Stories about him have been around as long as people have told stories…the undead, Nosferstu, Dracula. Perhaps the origin of the name came from Vlad Dracul…Vlad the Impaler, a man with so much blood on…
I feel that the harsh news must be tempered. I LOVE Pelikan pens. It is my favorite modern pen brand. I LOVE Pelikan’s Edelstein inks. They are so vibrant and beautiful. I had extremely high hopes for testing them and having far better results than standard Pelikan inks. (I wrote a travel journal at 17…
This is one of the most convincing fake Montblanc fountain pens we have ever seen. After 14 years in the pen business, I have just encountered one the very best fake Montblanc pens I’ve ever seen. It came with a collection of vintage pens for appraisal. I had been told it was a Montblanc rollerball,…
Invasion by Art Cerf Emerging from a fog, the New London Lighthouse symbolizes all of our emergence from the fog of pandemic. The troops were nervous but well prepared…insertion at 0900 hours. Intel had warned the enemy might already be in the area, so they must be prepared to fight from the instant they land.…
Here are two 5″ X 7″ pen catalogs from 1994! I was intrigued by the Menash catalog as I don’t know what became of that company. Leaving the pen-collecting life behind, a friend of mine has given me his stash of catalogs and advertising from 1992 through 1994. Its contents blew my mind. Most of…
Cheating Fate by Art Cerf Fate travels on the wind and a whim. Birds are returning for Spring, and we thought you might like this Chickadee, even though it has nothing to do with this story. It gives a New Jersey auto mechanic tens of millions of dollars in the lottery and a block away,…
We tested these 8 Bic Cristal pens to see how ballpoint ink holds up to 6 months of sunlight. Blue, Pink, Green, Black, Grass-Stain Green, Purple, Turquoise and Red. During my last visit with Ink-Fast Donn at the D.C. Pen Show in 2019, he said he was starting to test ballpoint inks to see how…
