The blog since 2013
262 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."
March 19, 2021 · Ink Reviews
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…
March 12, 2021 · Pen News
Click this photo for one of the most beautiful images of a sunrise you’ve ever seen: a sunrise over Antarctica by Nandi Kovats. Time and again I talk about how blessed I am to know so many interesting people. Today I want to introduce you to my old friend Nandi Kovats, an Antarctic adventurer and…
February 18, 2021 · Original Stories
I wrote a story featured in the February 2021 issue of Pen World Magazine. We have been given permission to reprint it here. Check out the February 2021 issue of ‘Pen World’ Magazine! They loved our blog post about Parker’s Vice President of Foreign Sales Frank Matthay and asked us to write a more pen-centric…
February 1, 2021 · Original Stories
Four Guys Walk into a Bar by Art Cerf Sunset au Groton…Connecticut. As usual just a pretty picture to enjoy with the story. A priest, a rabbi, a TV evangelist and an agnostic walk into a bar. Sounds like the beginning of a great joke but in truth, it’s the beginning of a story. The…
January 18, 2021 · Original Stories
We need more serenity in our lives. Enjoy this sunset over the Thames River in Connecticut. Teetering on the brink of a new civil war, perhaps it is time to use the Dr. Martin Luther King jr. holiday to reflect on fulfilling his dream in a whole new way. In his quest for equality, fairness…
January 12, 2021 · Original Stories
The Price of Guilt By Art Cerf Here’s the first snowfall of the year in Connecticut. It has nothing to do with the story. We just think it is beautiful and as good a way to illustrate this story as any. Mike and Jill had been married for almost two years and still behaved like…
December 9, 2020 · Pen News
The holiday postal rush is on! Our primary postal service remains the United States Postal Service. You still have plenty of time to order inside the United States for delivery by Christmas…and the end of Hanukkah. Overseas customers must ship by FedEx if they have any hope of their order arriving by Christmas. These are…
November 24, 2020 · The History of Pens
Happy Thanksgiving from the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in Groton, Conn. Thanksgiving hasn’t been this chaotic and stressful for everyone in America since at least World War II…possibly since the 1919 Spanish Influenza pandemic. There’s the Covid-19 pandemic, political turmoil, recession, open-rampant-growing racism, civil unrest and climate disaster for many recovering from wildfires and hurricanes.…
November 14, 2020 · Ink Reviews
With four moves in 2 years and a ton of other life changes, we were slow to test the new Lamy Crystal fountain pen inks to see how they would handle ultraviolet light and aging on paper. Luckily, we were able to start our three-month test this July. We actually let the test run about…
November 8, 2020 · Original Stories
The Hit Business By Art Cerf Here’s a tufted titmouse on my roof. It has nothing to do with this story, but I love these little songbirds. Elliot Myers was a second-rate song writer and a third-rate musician. On the dark side of 30, he lived in his mother’s basement and had no job other…
October 30, 2020 · Original Stories
There are so many beautiful scenes to photograph in Connecticut in the fall…especially a stone wall leading to oblivion. “Wheee!,” cheered Jane, clapping her hands for encouragement. “Look at that little girl run.” Vick looked up from the papers he was grading and smiled at his mother-in-law. “She’s adorable.” There was nobody else in the…
October 23, 2020 · Original Stories
Here’s a Fowler’s toad lurking in the grass…or is it? Enjoy our modern fairytale. Ilke and Streusel were walking through Germany’s dark, primeval Black Forest. They had been lost and wandering for days. “Ilke,” her little brother called. “I’m hungry. Why did our evil step-mother send us on this horrible quest to find dingleberries in…
