Pensee

Thanks.  Very good of you.  I have a very dry sense of humor though.  Get this mental picture of Erano blinking in puzzlement.

"Huh?  What kind of name is Pensée?  Those articles trending pretty good on Facebook."

Anyway, should poke around here more often.  Was going to do a little show-n-tell & ask question about paper, when I learned somethign today!

"Devil's Dictionary" is pinned, and has 108 replies with 2,805 views or "marked as read." 

By contrast, two of us have replied about FPJ with you being kind enough to rely.  (390 members have read it, or marked it as read.)

So obviously quite a few people are intersted in this fiendish feature of fountainpen fancy. 

"Two thumbs up!"      

Summer 2015 got here.  Cool!  That's more than I can say for... <cough>  never mind.

Thought I'd do a critique on this one rather than just type,  "Great issue!"  "Wow!  Really liked it!"

Back slapping is nice, but how can FPJ get better if everyone says "Great job!" 

So here's Bruce the magazine critic. 

Nice cover & seamless path to get top of Cross pen to cover part of masthead.

Content:  I count 24 pages, so what's inside counts imo.  (Also very tough because "can't please everyone.")

Having said that though...

BPS: Oh please!  I know it's all in good fun but I subscribed to learn about pens & see photos on them.  Two thumbs down... 

Interview:  Same as Black Pen Society.  Nothing against MT-Q but not sure what her work on Devil's Dictionary' has to do with pens or collecting them.  That's four pages out of just 24 I think.  Two Thumbs Down...

Engraving:  Got me to think about it, so that's good.  Turn my nose up at them, but why?  I've been conditioned to believe engraved pens aren't as desirable?  Thought provoking.  Two thumbs up!

Millenials:  I'm 50.  Initial reaction, "Ugggh!  Not another article about 20-somethings!"  Granted, they *are* our future, but like the interview-- what's that have to do with pens & collecting them?  How is that relevant to me as a reader?  Sounds like recruitment & planning for the board of directors.  Two thumbs down 

Mandarins:  Now this is what I signed up for!   If I'd have seen a pen like that, "Too bad.  Parts drawer."   Not so!  says Mr. Erano.  Two thumbs up!

Cross:  I'm biased here.  Cross set is what got me into fountain pens.  Maybe some collectors turn their noses up at them, but in the early 80's nearly everyone got a set as high school graduation gift.  Two thumbs up!

Sears:  Didn't even know about them!  Nuggets like these are why I subcribe!  Two thumbs up! 

Pen-Chant:  At first I thought this was just another business article.  "Market share!  We need to appeal to the Millenials!"   Actually it's food for thought.  How did I go from Cross to vintage pens? How do I obtain most of them?  What's the main way I have of communicating with fellow pen nuts?  Internet.  What have I been reviewing though?  A hardcopy magazine.  Two thumbs up!     

Sooo....  that's 3 of 8 articles I personally didn't find very useful.  Put another way, a little over one third of it wasn't cost effective.

Still probably renew, but will be interesting to see what others think.  Maybe I'm being too selfish or I'm a cheapskate.

fwiw!

--Bruce

Might as well wrap this one up for posterity.

Gold "scroll' pen (321783909041) went for $3,017.00

Proof you don't need a nice macro lens if you have the right product. ; )

Don't follow e-bay close as some, but inexplicable early bidding on it.  Why anyone would show their cards before last 30 sec or so is beyond me.

Anyway, know a little more about what a "12" in f.s. might cost me. 

Sticker shock -  Woah!  

--Bruce

Guess there still are some bargains out there.  Lucky "SpeerBob" got around $1,500 for me and that was for a 452   : 0 !

Congrads indeed!

Pretty cool & 'ditto' the "congrads"

Never heard "Night Float" before.  That's 3 to 11, graveyard, or something?

best

--Bruce