Original Crown Mill correspondence paper

I've been blogging for over one and a half years now, and despite being a rather seasoned pen collector for years, I never wrote any letters up untill now. I had never been in contact with correspondence paper either. My trusty Rhodia pads always did the job, so why would I buy even more expensive paper?

But recently, I started writing letters with a fellow-blogger, and I received the most amazing letter I had ever seen in my life, written on hand-laid paper of course. I did my very best to write a decent letter on my Rhodia pad, but no matter how hard I tried, it didn't even get close to looking as good as the one I received. It wasn't difficult to figure out why a silly piece of white ruled paper (no offence Rhodia...) couldn't match the luxurious look and feel of the handmade paper. So off I went to the stationery shop...

And there I found this, 'Original Crown Mill' laid paper and matching envelopes. I had heard of the brand before, but never reached out for it. Original Crown Mill is specialised in making high-quality paper, and the best thing about it: It's made in Belgium! I honestly feel somewhat ashamed for not knowing a pen-related brand situated only 50 or 60 miles away from my house!

The paper comes wrapped in plastic foil, and is protected by a hard cardboard backing to keep the sheets nice and flat. There's 50 sheets per pack, and they aren't bound together. It's a bit tricky to stash a pile of paper that isn't held together in any way, but at least you won't risk damaging the paper while removing a sheet from the stack. I don't think presentation on something else than a pen is really important or noteworthy, so I'll leave it at that (not that there is any noteworthy presentation anyway really...).

First thing I noticed: it's seriously heavy paper! at 135 grams per square meter, it's more than 60 percent heavier than most Rhodia paper. There's also a 200 gram version, which is not really meant for correspondence , but rather for cards and artsy stuff. 

Of course, the most interesting aspect of laid paper is the texture. The subtle horizontal lines give the paper it's character, and make for an interesting experience when writing. I expected the texture to be quite noticeable and annoying, but most pens work perfectly fine, only my Lamy 1.5 stub had some issues to get a consistent flow going, but it also does that on other paper.

The heavy, cream-colored paper handles pretty much every pen very well. It's very feather and bleedthrough resistant, despite its rather fibrous appearance. In the end, a permanent  marker was needed to get consistent showtrough and some bleedthrough. But as long as you only use one side of the paper, even permanent markers are still perfectly usable, it didn't even feather. Very impressive! The fibrous paper has quite a bit of texture to it, which means it's not as smooth as Rhodia paper, but it has endlessly more character and style to it! I also found out that it takes away some contrast and shading from your inks, but it gives solid, consistent performance in return. Which sounds like a fair deal to me.

I'm completely smitten! This Original Crown Mill paper really impressed me on pretty much every aspect. I never thought I'd find anything better than Rhodia paper, which- don't get me wrong- is still the smoothest of the bunch, but this is it! Writing on this kind of paper is an experience on its own, and the performance is excellent! I paid about 8 EUR/ 9 USD for the paper and another 6 or 7 EUR for the envelopes, which is a bit more than Rhodia paper, and it's only fifty sheets instead of eighty, but I'd still consider it a pretty good deal. 

Diplomat Excellence A Plus Fountain Pen

Wait, What? didn't I already review the Diplomat Excellence A before? Why yes, but this isn't just the exact same pen. Even though they are strikingly similar. The pen I'll be reviewing today is the 'Plus' version of the Excellence model, and it has some cool new tricks up its sleeve...

The Excellence A, as you can read in my review I did about it, is a great pen, and I was really impressed by the sheer quality of it. But of course, no matter how awesome it was, there's always room for more improvement! The design has remained completely the same, as well as the dimensions, which is good because I already liked it in the first place. I opted for this black laquer and chrome trims version, as -at least for now- it's only available in black laquer and gold or silver trims, or the rhombus finish. The Excellence A Plus is still a rather simple, elegant pen. It's nothing over the top, rather it's the small details and excellent quality that make this pen stand out from the rest.

Surprisingly, the spring-loaded clip doesn't add much bulk.

The main differences between the Plus and the previous version are rather subtle, but definitely noticeable in use. The clip is now spring-loaded, which makes it a lot easier to attach it to your shirt pocket. I was somewhat affraid that the clip would add a lot of bulk and ruin the classy appearance of the pen, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The mechanism is indeed much easier to use, compared to the rather stiff clip on the previous version, but it's still not ideal. The spring-loaded action is a bit on the weak side, which means you probably shouldn't do a handstand while carrying this. The clip is also made in an entirely different way, being made out of a solid metal piece, instead of the traditional pressed metal clip. It still features the raindrop design, which is a relief because I really love the way it looks!

The other change is only noticeable when you try to uncap it. It no longer sports a snap-cap, instead it received a unique quarter-turn threaded cap. It closes reassuringly, but because it only needs a little over a quarter turn, it is much faster to open than most other pens. Diplomat really did a great job on the closing mechanism if you ask me. Not only is it easy to use, it's almost impossible to notice the threads when in use! The threads are big and rounded, and the step from barrel to section has a nice rounded edge. Add these comfortable threads to a nice big grip section, and you have one hell of a comfortable writing instrument! 

Comfort really is one of the major selling points of Diplomat's offerings. Out of all pens I've used in the last couple of months, the Excellence A definitely belongs to the better category! The large, slightly bulbous grip section has a nice girth that fills the hand perfectly. The all-metal build feels heavy at first, but in the hand, it feels extremely well-balanced and it appears lighter than it actually is. It's not a huge pen, at 13.9cm (5.45") capped it's a solid average in length, but it retains most of its length when uncapped (13.2cm / 5.2"), so it's easily usable unposted. I personally prefer the balance unposted, but for those of you who want a larger pen, it can be posted quite securely while remainig rather well-balanced!

On the original Excellence A review, I mentioned the absolutely beautiful steel nib, with the Diplomat flower stamped on it. The #6-size 14k gold nib also sports the same design, but the two-tone plating adds some more depth to it. I really like the way the nib looks, but believe me, there's more to like about it than just looks! 

The Medium width lays down a true to size, wet line, and it's satisfyingly smooth. I wouldn't compare it to my Pelikans, but that's not neccesarily a bad thing. It has a slight amount of feedback, especially on lesser quality paper, which is something I personally really appreciate in a fountain pen. Being a gold nib, I expected a slightly springy writing experience, but if you're looking for a flexy nib, this one won't do the trick for you. The nib has little or no give under pressure, but I did find that the Medium was ground slightly stub-ish (Like the Montegrappa Fortuna I reviewed recently!) which gives some line variation between cross- and downstrokes. Other than that, I found it to be very capable for everyday use, it never hesitates, and the flow is rather consistent.

Yes, the section is still securely held in place with a rubber o-ring!

Diplomat once again showed what they are worth with the Excellence A Plus! I still find it almost unbelievable how little attention this brand seems to get. At these prices, and with the quality products they deliver, Diplomat can easily be counted as one of the better brands around, along with other German big boys like Pelikan and Faber-Castell! From what I found online, prices for the Plus series seem to be about 40 EUR more than the regular model, so for the laquer version with gold nib you should expect to pay around 300 EUR / 350 USD. The steel nib version will come in at about 190 EUR / 220 USD. You should keep in mind that these prices are rough estimates, so far I've seen a lot of variation between different retailers or in different countries.

Note: this pen was sent to me by Diplomat, free of charge, so I could write this review.  I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, nor was I monetarily compensated. The opinions shared in this review are completely my own!

David Hayward Design Carbon leadholders (Part 2/2)

In this last part of the installment on David Hayward leadholders, we're going to talk about something special. This 2mm carbon leadholder was really quite the surprise when I first saw it, it's the third pencil I review from David Hayward Design, though it's nothing like the previous ones. Nothing like any 2mm leadholder I've seen really!

The general design elements have remained relatively the same comapred to the bigger 5.6mm version I reviewed last week (matte finish carbon fiber and nickel-plated hardware), but the trims are polished nickel plated instead of the brushed finish on the bigger 5.6mm leadholder. The pencil has an interesting size. I've used a fair amount of leadholders over the year, and there have always been a few consistencies: 5.6mm leadholders are short and fat, and 2mm leadholders (generally drafting leadholders) are slim and long. This one clearly doesn't abide by those 'rules'! It's thinner, at 10mm instead of the 13mm on the 5.6mm hexagonal leadholder. The difference is easily noticeable when in use, even though 3mm doesn't sound like much. It's also not as long as the 'typical' 2mm leadholder, at 12.5cm, whereas most (drafting) 2mm leadholders are in the 14-15cm range. Together, these differences make for a leadholder that doesn't feel like anything else in the hand. It doesn't feel like a true drafting leadholder anymore, given the luxurious build, it's more like a general writing tool.

However, the compact dimensions don't mean it's a light pencil. Same story as with the hexagonal and carbon fiber 5.6mm leadholders: this thing is HEAVY! I don't have the exact measurements, but it feels a lot heavier than most pens, even pens that are a couple of centimeters longer. I personally like a bit of heft on my pens, though I'd rather have a heavy 5.6mm instead of this. I don't know why, but a 5.6mm benefits from extra weight, while this one doesn't. One thing's for sure, the weight doesn't throw off the balance. It's relatively short, so it doesn't feel either back or front heavy in the hand.

Build quality, as with the hexagonal and 5.6mm carbon, is superb, which is to be expected within this price category. The mechanism doesn't rattle, except when you actually shake the pencil. The carbon fiber body is built on top of a brass barrel, which gives the pencil its massive weight.

As far as appearance goes, it's pretty similar to its bigger brother, the 5.6mm Carbon. The nickel-plated parts are glossy, instead of the matte finish on the 5.6mm. Whereas the brushed look appears a bit 'rough', this combination of glossy silver and matte carbon fiber gives this one a more delicate appearance. A bit more high end -if you will. They also got rid of the rubber O-ring (Thank God!)

Apart from the obvious similarities, there's a pretty big difference when it comes to the advance mechanism. Instead of the usual clutch mechanism, this one comes fitted with a mechanical click-advance mechanism, which is comparable to normal mechanical pencils. The different mechanism makes for a completely different appearance as well, which -again- benefits the overall classier look of the pencil.

The included leads are pretty standard, something within the HB-2B range. They are smooth, and performed well. Though when it comes to 2mm leads, I always opt for Staedtler HB leads. As I said in the previous review, the writing experience with a pencil like this, lies within the choice of leads. Wether you like a certain type of leads is -as with fountain pen nibs- a completely personal opinion.

It should no longer come as a surprise that these beauties are serious business. Their retail price of around 80 EUR, says enough. Are they worth it? Well, definitely not for everyone, but isn't that the same with 300+ EUR pens? There's definitely a market for luxury pencils, every major brand has, besides its usual (fountain) pen offerings, a few luxury pencils as well.  Prices are always justifiable when you consider the handmade aspect of these pencils, and the fact that you probably won't immediately run into someone that has exactly the same one!

Note: this pencil was sent to me by David Hayward Design, free of charge, so I could write this review.  I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, nor was I monetarily compensated. The opinions shared in this review are completely my own!