Pens in Use - February 23, 2024

[@GetReal521]

Another fun and informative discussion on your pens and inks. This episode on buildings and historical structures, and LED was quite interesting. I appreciate you taking the time.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I'm glad you enjoyed! Especially getting that far into it!

[@donhall-aquitania1025]

Birmingham Pen Company still sells Nemosine #6 nibs. Their 0.6 mm and 0.8 mm stubs are my favorite.

[@marilyngardner4269]

I think Jason may have been referring to the Reentry (flamed) finish on the nib. I believe those are no longer available.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I was referring to the Re-entry nibs. They are very unique. Of course, Nemosine nibs are good anyway, but not quite as unique.

[@Juan_C84]

Another great assortment of pens and inks. As far as turquoise inks go, Lamy Turquoise is a great choice. I have Iroshizuku Ama-Iro and Birmingham Pen Fountain Turquoise, both great turquoise inks as well. I’m a fan of historical buildings and the preservation of them. It’s the craftsmanship and attention to detail in these buildings that catches my eye. Also, the fact that they still stand after several hundred years is a marvel in construction and design. Another great video. 👍👍

[@WaskiSquirrel]

You're right about the charms of older buildings. I see another wrinkle here in North Dakota: declining population. Rural areas just don't have the population to fill the empty buildings, and it keeps shrinking.

[@123draakje]

Thanks for the video! I put ink from hard to use ink bottles in the twsbi diamond inkwell. it is a very versatile inkwell and can be used with twsbi pens as well as other brands. I also try to use up my ink before buying a new bottle (I have way too much ink). I like getting updates on your progress on using up ink bottles. I live in Europe and I am glad that many old buildings are preserved. Where I live, many old buildings like churches and old schools are getting new uses.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Good point on the TWSBI ink bottle. I do own one. And I have an empty Akkerman bottle. A few of these inks could be in better bottles! Also a good point on finding new uses for old buildings.

[@123draakje]

@WaskiSquirrel The Akkerman bottles are great and very useful. It's a good idea to refill those bottles. I think I have 10 bottles of Akkerman ink (I live in the Netherlands, so it's easy to find for me), but they are not empty yet. I will definitely use those bottles again!

[@Johan-vk5yd]

Thanks to your videos I was able to react quickly to an online auction of a Pan Senior, and snatched it at an excellent price. I like the springy nib very much, but also the look and feel of the celluloid body. I recently became aware that new buildings and constructions make a major contribution to the excessive consumption of energy globally. In the current economical paradigm, the true cost of fossil fuel transport and mining and processing new materials are not taken sufficiently into account. In the eighties tearing down old houses rather than modifying them to better fit modern standards, was more of a rule, than it is now, as awareness is slowly dawning.

[@marilyngardner4269]

Preserved old bridges are wonderful when they become part of bike trails created using the "rails to trails" concept. We have some where I live, and there are some beautiful covered bridges you can visit in New England. Of course, that doesn't work if the rails are still in active use. We also have some beautiful old schoolhouses that have been converted to apartment buildings. The one you showed that got torn down due to bat contamination is gorgeous.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Well said! Mr. Pier Gustafson introduced me to some amazing parks in Minneapolis that included old bridges. A beautiful park! There area a lot of gorgeous old schools in North Dakota that have been abandoned. Sadly, due to population decline, even building apartments makes no sense. So they just fall apart. I used to photograph a lot of these old schools. One thing I love about New England is to see all the surviving old buildings. In North Dakota, nothing is much older than 100 years. I'm helping to preserve a church built in 1914, but it's a wood-frame church and was not particularly well built. A lot of our old buildings were temporary with the plan of something better to come, but those better days never arrived.

[@sathishrao7926]

I’ve Turquoise and Violet - both from an Indian brand called Bril. I’m seeing a Norwegian Fountain pen for the first time ! I’ve seen centuries old monuments and temples beautifully preserved by State and Federal Governments here in India. For instance, a couple of weeks ago I visited a temple built in 12th century, still in pristine condition ! A few months ago, I was at a site which has been declared as UNESCO world heritage site with the monuments built between 13th and 15th century. There are many such monuments throughout the country which are also major tourist attractions. At the same time, there are quite a few structures and buildings which are more recent which are in a dilapidated state due to no maintenance. I guess a lot of factors including historical significance, cost of restoration & maintenance, possible ‘return on investment’ are taken into consideration before deciding whether to restore a monument/building..

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Here in the US, an old building is 300 years old. In North Dakota, 100 years is an old building. A lot of those old buildings were poorly built with the idea of replacement. I live in one! The original residents of North Dakota used temporary housing because of their nomadic lifestyle. European settlers initially built dugouts and sod homes. Later they built wood-frame homes like mine. These were replaced in the 1920s and 1930s, and again in the 1960s and 1970s. My house snuck by through all of that. The other problem we have is that North Dakota is very rural and suffering a population decline. The result is that a lot of buildings are abandoned and there is no one to take care of that. That's what is going on with the 1912 high school in the neighboring town.

[@davidanderson3425]

Without wishing to tempt fate it has been several years since my last power cut. I seem to remember the last time was due to vandalism of some sort to a nearby electricity sub-station. I hope authorities in the US have the good sense to preserve old buildings wherever possible. They are a visible part of American history without which you would probably only have photographs as a memory of their existence. My own house isn't terribly old but I believe it was built around 1899. The road where I live dates back to the 1870's before which I think it was all farmland. The maintenance of older properties can be a headache at times but some modern homes I've seen feel somewhat flimsy by comparison. I agree with you 100% about the need to be able to "change your mind" or viewpoint on any given topic. The younger me is definitely a different person to older me.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Where I live, the trouble with preservation is that a lot of rural places are losing population. There is nobody to put in those old buildings, so they end up falling into disrepair. I'm working on a few road trip videos that will illustrate the problem (and a few solutions). I live in an older house that survived when all the neighboring houses were torn down and replaced. So it's a little piece of history, but hardly impressive. And you're right about modern houses: so many are cheaply and poorly built.

[@jimkrieger776]

Good video, especially after the pens and inks. Also saw a while back a walk around the town, a look at (and in) the school and at a house, yours if I recall correctly. It's interesting to see a part of the country I've never visited and get a sense of the mood of the place. About old houses: I've been to Washington Irving's home and estate, a few times (though never by his invitation), and found it magical. Houses and buildings with historical or cultural interest should not only be preserved, but also revered, as they contain the presence of people who have made us who we are.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

You're right: these homes, especially of important people can be quite interesting. Lawrence Welk's old homestead has been preserved here in North Dakota. And there is a place in Bismarck where they are creating a town of historical buildings rescued from all over the state. I like to see them saved and given new life in their original location.

[@MattJWoz]

Enjoyed this whole episode of PiU, but came here to say that I saw the same video you mentioned about the blue LEDs. It really was a fascinating story! I had never looked into them much in the past, but I never would have guessed that the blue LED would be so much harder to make than the others. The video is worth a view for sure, in case anyone reading this might be looking for an additional reason to give it a go. It's not short, but it's really interesting. Thanks, Waski, for another fun and thought provoking episode all around!

[@WaskiSquirrel]

That LED video is very much worth watching, even at its length. Even if the science is complicated, the actual reality of how science works and the lack of reward is important!

[@MattJWoz]

@@WaskiSquirrel Agreed!

[@MrAndrew1953]

The Lamy turquoise is okay. I have stopped trying to get rid of it. I have two platinum music nibs and I’m surprised at how stiff they are. How does Diamine Autumn Oak differ to Ancient Copper? Could you fit a Noodlers Charlie pen down the neck of that small bottle? My old primary school that I was a student at(grades 1-6) in 1962 in grade 2, was over 100 years old then. I haven’t been past it for years but I know it was heritage listed. Though it was built out of local stone it was hot in summer. Still fit for purpose?

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Ancient Copper is a darker colored ink and does not shade as much. Yes, I think a Charlie would fit in that bottle! What is nice about the present day is that these old buildings can be better climate controlled with modern heat pumps and ductless units. That's how my classroom got climate control: it is west-facing on a parking lot, so very brutally hot in the fall and spring.

[@TheGovernor-qt9uu]

Very enjoyable video, as always! :) Regarding the old buildings, I have to say I'm in favor of preserving them for as long as possible. Where I'm from, there are a lot of beautiful neoclassical buildings built when my country was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Unfortunately many of them are in bad shape due to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 90s. Others have just been slowly deteriorating over the many decades. When they get too bad, they're usually taken down and replaced with ugly, modern glass monstrosities. Such buildings are often still surrounded by other old buildings which have still not been taken down and it really looks horribly out of place then. A couple of years ago they started restoring them rather than taking them down which I think is the right thing to do. A lot of people still live in those buildings so they are literally living history. They look amazing, and if we were to take care of them a bit better they could last for many more generations. In my view, they're not ours to destroy unless we have to for safety reasons. They were there before us, and with some luck, they will be there after us. My dad works in this exact field. He works for a government organization meant for protecting and preserving these old buildings (and renovating/restoring them when necessary), so he'd probably have a lot more to tell. I probably inherited some of my love and respect for them from him. Thanks for the videos Waski! I always look forward to watching them :)

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I lean toward conservation as well. One thing about North Dakota is that it was only settled relatively recently, so the old buildings tend to be mostly poorly built in a hurry. That makes them difficult to preserve. I know because I'm helping to preserve a church built in 1914. So many problems there!

[@TheGovernor-qt9uu]

@@WaskiSquirrel That does complicate things, but I hope you all manage to find a way to save it :)

[@impish22]

I actually love noodlers ink. There are three colors that I particularly enjoy, Army Green, Golden Brown and Rome

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I enjoy Rome Burning. An ink that changes color with the addition of water is a lot of fun.

[@OdE-ObjectosdeEscrita]

I enjoyed this video a lot and when you ended it I was wishing it was longer. I know it is long enough for KZbin standards, but I really enjoyed it. I also have too much ink. And I am reducing the collection (am I?) through a stratagy quite similar, but not completely the same as you. So there are turquoises that I love andmany of them are not easy to find. But if my turquoise ink collection came to zero today I would mostly be interested in Leonardo Officina Italiana Turquoise (not so immediately available everywhere), but mostly in Sheaffer Skrip Turquoise: safe, inexpensive, easy to clean and widely available. About old buildings, that is a complex discussion. I think that our views may be culturaly very different as an American and European. Our building heritage is very different. Even in Europeian countries it is different between countries that were involved in WW2 and the others that weren't. I would say: preserve. It is history, culture and the mood... Maybe it needa to be modified in some parts or it may need to stop being used for the original objective, but they can maybe adapted for a new use, with careful and documented modification. Thanks for this great video. Each time I watch your videos I have the will to resume the activiy in my channel also.

[@davidanderson3425]

"Each time I watch your videos I have the will to resume the activity in my channel also". Then we can only hope WaskiSquirrel makes lots more videos for you! I miss your Friday night pen thoughts and other videos.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I hope to see you back on your channel soon! Life gets in the way sometimes, and it got in my way this month, so I understand why it can get difficult to make videos. You mentioned two Turquoise inks I've never tried. I don't need more temptation! But I think the Lamy Turquoise will be available enough to satisfy me. You're right about old buildings. And what is old in North Dakota is about 100 years old. Even in other parts of the country, 300 years is old. Europe is even older. I lean toward preservation. But I also know that some old buildings here were not built to last long: they were built with a plan to replace them with something good. The old church I'm helping to preserve is a wood building that was built 110 years ago. And it replaced a sod structure. But, to preserve an old building preserves history, and we have the technology now to preserve them in a non-invasive way. The trouble where I live is declining population. We don't have people coming here. That 1912 high school will never house students again. There are not enough people left to fill it. So what happens? There is no good answer.

[@ibpopp]

That's a very interesting phalanx of pens in today's show; love those vintage nibs. What a design blooper with the Herbin bottle! My suspicion is that the designer got a bonus rather that a KITA. As for all the bottles with only a little ink, I admire your patience; my remedy is to pour them all into one bottle and call it "Drekkersblau." Preserve, restore or demolish? William Morris started that discussion in the 1850s, and no-one has every finished it. So much depends on money, and rural communities don't have a lot of that magic substance. It wouldn't be so bad if only the replacements were not so d----d ugly. As for your last point about "news stories" and ill-considered commentaries: Thou shalt not bear false witness; folls rush in; and, don't believe everything you read in the papers. Great show, many thanks, cheers from The Koalas.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I know the J. Herbin bottle was marketed as something to give to someone you love. I really don't know why I bought it! But I do like the ink in it. My think with ink is to keep it unmixed. I like to enjoy them to the last drop, the same way I enjoy a lot of things. My elderly car will be with me until it kicks up its wheels and dies...and it's currently 24 years old. You're right to catch onto the nuance of rural communities. Here, they have declining population and lack of money. You're right about replacements, but for a lot of these rural communities, nothing is being replaced, just abandoned. Thank you for all the comments! I'm enjoying a warm winter this year, so I feel almost koala friendly!

[@MissMarilynDarling]

I find that by adding water to the noodlers inks it actually drys faster I know its wierd but thats what I do :)

[@davidanderson3425]

Does adding water affect the original colour of the ink at all?

[@MissMarilynDarling]

@@davidanderson3425 not by much it takes a lot of water to change the color because it is so concentrated to begin with :) hope that helps

[@davidanderson3425]

@@MissMarilynDarling Many thanks for your answer.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I've heard of that. I haven't tried it.

[@ShaifN]

I like the inkt in the Pelikan M1000. Mine is filled with Montblanc Amethyst Purple almost the same colour.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

That's good to know about an alternative. Thank you!

[@archivist17]

I've finally got myself a Lamy 2000. I get it now! 😄

[@amyfeigt6715]

Me too! Just got one last week & ❤!

[@davidanderson3425]

Hi archivist17, can I ask what nib you chose? I bought a Lamy 2000 about a year ago. Mine has a medium nib which I love. There is definitely something very special about the Lamy 2000 and it's one of my favourite pens.

[@archivist17]

@davidanderson3425 Mine's a Medium, too. I'm very conservative in my nib choices ( and in nothing else 😄), and I don't like Fines. I'm getting used to the nib singing, and just want to write with it all the time now 😀

[@davidanderson3425]

@@archivist17 Good choice, glad you're enjoying it.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I'm glad to year you're enjoying it. I haven't yet used a medium nib on this pen.

[@johntoledo4438]

Hmm, what is the difference between the Nimosine reentry nibs and the Nimosine nibs they sell since the two brothers decided to just work together on the Birmingham Pen Co? I thought they were just the same Jowo nibs that they do a little extra tuning on and provide in 0.6 and 0.8 stubs. I didn't realize they had another type.

[@marilyngardner4269]

Reentry nibs had the "flame" finish to add colors to the nib.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

The Nemosine Reentry nibs are the same nibs, but they had a flame finish on them.

[@thereisonlythecave]

Interesting topics, I am in favor of preserving old buildings since they are physical manifestations of our history. By the way, I was wondering why you decided to sell the Pelican 800 and keep the 1000. Aren't they the same, besides the size? Thank you for the videos, I think you have one of the best fountain pen channels on KZbin.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Thank you so much! And I agree: I am sympathetic to the old buildings. I am helping to save one right now. As for the Pelikan pens: I prefer the size of the m800. But the nib on the m1000 is truly unique. That's what made it the winner in my eyes.

[@nicholasadams1283]

Think. Find out the facts. Maybe then stay silent. Thanks for talking about our historic buildings. Our house is 1783-we have kept changes to a minimum. (As if we could afford them.) It has taught us how to live.

[@glennkelley6096]

Generally I prefer conservation. Having said that if you know what to look for you can see where my barn,built pre 1870 has been renovated at least 5 times . There was a mayor of Toronto that once said he was all for preserving old buildings but we don't have 300 year old buildings so it was ok to tear down the 150 year old ones. Pennsylvania has a law that developers have to preserve the original buildings on land they buy. I think the age of the building is a factor and that there also has to be a minimum amount of land around it set aside.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I too prefer conservation. But I also know that sometimes building new makes more sense. Here in North Dakota, a lot of the older buildings are poorly built and were meant to be temporary. My house is an example of this, though it somehow survived. So I'm trying to keep it alive. And, here, the problem isn't development. The small towns are emptying out, and there is no one moving into and maintaining the old buildings, so they fall into ruin. That bridge happened to get into the news because it was in a city.

[@MissMarilynDarling]

my favorite turquoise is monteverde caribbean blue

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I think that replaced their original Turquoise ink, another bottle I need to use up!

[@joeykremple]

Such lovely outro music, waski. What is it? Always brightens my mood

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It's called "Sayonara" from the Camtasia Audio Library: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIPYlWarhM-BeqM

[@fransbaert4666]

I'm a long time fan of 'Pens in use'. The Moster-Penkala story touched me and I found more about it on internet. I was surprised that you sold the Pelikan M800 which I find easier to write with than the M1000. On the topic of a bridge that has to be taken down to allow for bigger trains. It made me think about a project near my home town of Hasselt in Belgium, where they decided to lift up a huge bridge so that bigger containerships could pass under it. This will help to keep containertrucks off the roads. A feat of engineering that was also fun to watch on a regular basis. All the bridges on the Albert Canal were either lifted up or demolished for a new bridge when necessary. Enclosed some film material that I thought you would find fun to watch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZLKgn6BqLV9bck and also: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5jVg62XlqaKa5o

[@WaskiSquirrel]

The story of Moster-Penkala is quite interesting. The Penkala half was quite an interesting man! I'm always a fan of keeping traffic off roads, which makes me a fan of railroad as well. There are no container ships to worry about, and the old bridge will remain in place until the new one is ready to take ov er. I think it would make an interesting walking path across the river...except the replacement of the Memorial Bridge is already a walking path across the river. Truss bridges are historical, but who then maintains it? And who builds the infrastructure at each end and what does it connect with? The videos were interesting, especially the one where they brought in a completed bridge to span the gap. Here's a bit longer video about a bridge in North Dakota which was the first bridge to connect the eastern and western halves of the state. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYaxkImOmq6EmrM

[@fransbaert4666]

Thank you for your reaction and for the video with the beautiful collection of old bridges in your state. Some day I have to visit North Dakota. I want to see the prairie, and now the bridges as well! @@WaskiSquirrel

[@paulherman5822]

Great selection of pens as always, and I agree with the decrease of inks. I'm there, myself, and I'm really disliking some more modern inks, if they don't play well with most types of paper. Getting back to "the classics."😁 Restoration of old buildings I have been interested in, for years. Growing up near Coldwater, Michigan, several of the Queen Anne "painted ladies" that feature in books on vintage homes regularly are from there. Funny that the onetime richest family in town lived in the old "cathouse," the Gold House, to me.😂 There's the Wing House, originally built in the 1870s, that the second owner was Lucius Wing, a close friend of the then Michigan governor. Probably why the town was a 19th century vacation town for the wealthy (the Chain of Lakes in the area probably helped, as well. 😉) The Wing House is still 90% original in furnishings, even. Took until the 1940s for an indoor bathroom was put in, and the kitchen to get moved to the main floor, out of the basement. And the original La-Z-Boy factory in Monroe, Michigan, my current area? Got turned into low income housing, keeping a lot of the industrial details. My church, same one General Custer was married in has added on, in the 1950s and 60s, and they put in a small elevator in the 70s. Other than utilities updates, it looks like when George and Libbey were married. Original church building? Nope. That was a log cabin from the 1820s, and long gone. Think this was built in the 1850s. But I could be wrong. Right across the street from one of the early University of Michigan buildings, which is the Monroe County courthouse today. Wasn't a lot of vintage interest in preserving old buildings and sites. The main battlefield for the Battles of the River Raisin in the War of 1812 was a commercial papermill until about 15 years ago. Some is genuine concern for restoration or general preservation. Some, like the Independent Fundamental Baptist church in Dundee, Michigan were "we need a building, this suits us (was originally a Methodist church building), so we'll keep it up. " Whatever works. 😉 Harder in the United States, as so much is built of wood, to preserve as well as plenty of the European Union. But most of my examples, outside of the Queen Anne homes, are brick. Brick or stone is the easier medium for preserving.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

You brought up a good point about the wood structures. The old church I'm helping to preserve is wood. That's also why there are so few original homes in my town: most were small wood structures like my own house that were never meant to last forever, just until the owner could build a proper house. "Old" in North Dakota is only about 100 years old.

[@paulherman5822]

@WaskiSquirrel I remember when I started working in Milan, Michigan, around 2000. To spite a competitor in real estate, the other realtor got the town to start their "historic district" in downtown. Nothing was 100 years old there. Oldest was 1905. A homestead on the outskirts of town was one of the few older than 100 years old buildings. And not included in the "historic district." Became a living history museum about a decade later. There's also reconstruction. There's a rebuild of a Colonial era trading post and ribbon farm on the River Raisin, outside of Monroe, Michigan. All wood, like the original, and on the edge of the river's flood plain, so it has taken regular restoration and maintenance.

[@MissMarilynDarling]

You need an ink meiser I dont have one cause I use a dinky dip or a sample vile to fill from when levels are getting too low I use ink syringe

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Good idea. I do have an ink meiser somewhere.

[@nicksg3002]

Hi, sorry I'm catching up with your videos. Not related to historical buildings but I want to share that I was in a "hunting buy house" in Pahrump,NV and oh boy how hard is to find them with no repairs. I'm talking about over $5k plus repairs for $280k houses. Let's don't mention those less than that because the repairs are endless. Manufactured houses are predominant and the land is muddy so leveling foundations are the predominant among repairs. County recommends inspections every 3 years but apparently very few does. In NV i f you move from urban to rural and if your income is low, you apply and can get up to $25k non-reinbursed after living 3 years in the housr you bought. Sounds awesome? I lost this opportunity thanks to a broker who believes Democrats must be punished so she didn't handle all my documents on time... suing her will cost me and seller of the only single-residency with less repairs I found wouldn't have waited and my lease contract expires soon. I'm finding hard to be in the congrats mood. About blackouts, these is a common issue in Third World countries around the year. About teachers from the Philippines, yes you're correct: it's healthy to learn from a foreigner point of views and my son's best E.S. teachers have been from Philippines both academically and humane factors because they teach from humbleness, gratitude and true commitment. Take care and thank you. You're a great teacher as I always learn in your channel.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

A big part of me is fascinated by Nevada. There are several spots there which I would love to visit! I've even looked into an encore teaching career in Nevada. It's such a fascinating state! Where I live, very little aid in housing is offered. And the politics are decidedly one-sided. I'm glad to read of your positive experience with teachers from the Philippines. I think we could benefit a lot here from some overseas experience.