Double-Review Comeback Extravaganza Part II: Lamy Al-Star and Diamine Oxblood

[transcription of the handwritten text can be found below]

This pen can be had for ~$37 street.

Alongside the 2013 LE Safari

Attractive and simple bottle design.

Some shading can be seen in this photo.

Paper: Piccadilly Legallo 

 Lamy Al-Star review
Once again, this is a pen about which much has been written. Mine is a toffee-brown limited edition Al-Star with a medium nib. Overall, I think this pen is a great one for the money, and provides a good, reliable metal pen the user will enjoy.
The nib: Quite unlike the scratchy nib I got on the 2013 LE Safari, this nib is quite smooth with a bit of feedback. I kinda like that, as I can tell then that I am writing.
Grip section: the same triangular one found on the Safari and Vista. I like it, but some may hate it. ["school like" grip]
Body: aluminum--as suck, it is light and durable; however, it does scratch and dent rather easily, so I would suggest transporting this one in a pen case. I've gotten a small ding on the cap myself.
There is also an ink window on the barrel, in the form of two cutouts.
Essentially, this pen is  a larger, metal version of the Safari, and is also available in a multitude of colors, including the (for now) limited edition peral and matte black finishes.
Overall score: 4/5
+: relatively low price, good durability, smooth nib and awesome springy clip.
-: no converter included [Z24], body scratches easily, some may hate the grip section.

Diamine Oxblood ink review.
I love this ink. It looks like no other red I have ever seen, and is by far the coolest one when dry. It truly looks like dried blood! As a Diamine ink, it flows very well, and makes this relatively dry Al-Star write a bit more wet and smoothly.
Shading: I haven't really experienced any. [pictures show a bit of shading]
-Dry time: quick. -Bleed-thru: nope.
-Feathering: on cheap paper, yes [to a limited extent, not bad at all] but not on relatively good paper, like Piccadilly for example.
Waterproofness: basically none. The ink is totally obliterated by water.
Legibility: I know this is sort of a strange category, but I think it's important. This ink does not tire my eyes at all--I could read an entire book in this color.
Overall: 4.5/5
The waterproofness / lack thereof isn't the best, and feathering on cheap paper is a minor minus--but the reason you get this ink is the AWESOME COLOR. And it does look like blood when dry. Guaranteed to be a winner if you use it to write letters. [or anything else]

Double-Review Comeback Extravaganza! The Lamy Safari 2013 Neon Yellow Limited Edition and Waterman Tender Purple Ink

[transcript of the handwritten text at the bottom]

side-by-side with the Vista

like a diamond glistening in the sunlight (or fluorescent bulb)

why the tilt?

Clever design!

Bleed and show-through can be seen here...

...but in my journal they're all but nonexistent!

Here's another shot from the journal

300 sheets of high quality paper for under $10.

 Here's the text of the handwritten part for your reading pleasure:


My quick review of the Lamy Safari 2013 LE
[Made in Germany]

Today, I live dangerously by daring to write on unlined paper. Life on the edge!
What can I say about the Safari that hasn't already been said? It's a classic of Lamy's Bauhaus-inspired "function defines form" ideal, a relatively inexpensive knockabout pen which finds itself in the hands of students and adults alike.
I personally have three pens based on this design: a clear-bodied Vista, this Safari, and a coffee-brown aluminum Al-Star.
As for this pen in particular, I absolutely love the color, and the dichotomy of having such a calming color of ink in such a raucously bright and garish pen.
Performance notes will follow. -->

Lamy Safari LE 2013 (cont'd)
--> The nib.
-Well, let's start with the most important part of the pen (in my humble opinion). This fine nib, on this paper (relatively heavyweight printer paper) the nib is a bit scratchy. I know feedback and I know scratch, and I'm sorry to say that right out of the box the nib has a bit of both most of the time. A bit of smoothing, probably, could fix that, or perhaps a thicker ink [dryer ink].
--> The feed: Quick writing: [This is the Lamy Safari in Neon Yellow 2013 LE Quick writing test] No skips or any such problems!
Flow is good.
-->Body: It's got the traditional tripod grip section, and so some may hate it while others won't mind. Myself, I'm a traditional right-hander, so it's OK for me.
-Color: Well, I love it; loud and attention-grabbing, and has a nice gloss to it as well. :)
-Overall: An AWESOME PEN, get it while it lasts if you love the color! 4.5/5 (nib -.5)

Waterman Tender Purple quick review
Made in France
-This ink, in short, will be heartily recommended by myself, and, I feel, anyone who uses it. It dries to a deep, saturated color even in my fine nib pen, so in a broader pen I imagine it'd be even more vibrant.
-Flow is great--I have experienced no hard starts or skipping in this pen so far.
-On this paper, show-through is a bit pronounced, but there is hardly any noticeable bleed. [edit: there is a bit of bleed] Feathering is not an issue in my journal, a Miquelrius, although it is mild on this paper.
-Misc.: No smell--neutral. dry time: quick.
-No nib creep at all.
-relatively waterproof, but not so much that I would advocate drowning your notes.

Overall: 4.5/5 Recommend! Vikram Shah 5/17/13

3D Printed Android Robot

Here's a post I wrote a while ago, and I felt like now was a good time to notify the typosphere that I'm still here. Been brutally busy for the past week or so, and definitely not had much time to sit at all, much less update here. But, here you go! :)

I figured that this is especially relevant given Richard Polt's recent post on "3D-Printing" with a typewriter. :)
In my Intro to CAD class here at U of Illinois, we got the chance to make our very own creative design part, whereby we designed a small item in ProEngineer and had it rapid-prototyped in our Ford RP Lab. I chose to make a little Android robot, simple and guaranteed to turn out as I envisioned.

20,000!

Thanks to all of you, this blog has received 20,000 page views. I know it isn't much considering how long I've been online, but hey, it's a milestone nonetheless!
Special shout out to the typo sphere, as always, even though
I really haven't been that consistent with my typecasts lately.

College and engineering exams happen :-)

Thanks for sticking with me! When I get some time I'll post about the cool stuff that I've done/gotten in these past few quiet months.

Till then!
--Vikram

I'm still here...and the Physics of Typewriters

Hi typosphere, I am not gone...just very busy with lots of exams coming at me left and right, with requisite studying and sleeping time.

I am on break right now, and in between study sessions am cleaning out files on my computer.
I came across this short paper on the "physics of typewriters" which I wrote for extra credit last year in AP Physics C. Here ya go!

(link to dropbox file) https://www.dropbox.com/s/efqhak0vr2l7x76/The%20Physics%20of%20Typewriters.pdf

The Month of Plenty.

Just a quick observation post: I did not previously realize how many things there are formally celebrated during the month of February.

Here's the four that I've found thus far:

-International Typewriter Appreciation Month (of course)
-African-American History Month
-International Correspondence Writing Month (from http://incowrimo.org/)
-Love Your Library Month

Whoa. That's a lot of stuff crammed into 28 short days!

Vikram

Desk Pals

I forgot to mention the two plush guys on the top. The bear I got along with a Chipotle gift card as a high school graduation gift. The stuffed Android robot was on sale over at ThinkGeek, and being a fan of Android, with a Nexus 7 always at the ready, I ordered it right away.

Thank you for reading! Can't wait for ITAM in just a few days.