Introducing the Exclusive Goldspot + Jinhao 599A

Hi Pen Pals,

If you've ordered from us in the last few weeks, you may have noticed a little surprise in your package of pen goods. The Goldspot elves have been toiling for many long hours picking, packing and shipping your orders. We all wanted to say "thanks" for your support with a special gift we sprinkled in a number of our shipments.

Meet the Goldspot Pens + Jinhao 599A Demonstrator Fountain Pen

For those who are unfamiliar with this model of fountain pen, it is originally produced by Jinhao, a well-known Chinese pen manufacturer that has a reputation for inexpensive, quality pens. The model may look familiar to those who know the Lamy Safari / Vista pen line.

Our variation on this pen is that the Jinhao branding has been removed and replaced with our own. The Goldspot Logo is written on the barrel and the Goldspot "G" is engraved into the stainless steel nib.

In case you've never written with a fountain pen before, we've made this handy video to give you an overview of the Jinhao pen, complete with instructions on how to fill it, write with it and proper maintenance to ensure you'll be enjoying this pen for years to come.

Check our video on Discovering the Jinhao 599A Fountain Pen on YouTube.

Happy Writing!

Writing with a Sailor Zoom Nib

Sailor Pen of Japan hand-crafts a wide array of specialty fountain pen nibs. Only a small set, including standard writing points like fine, medium and broad, are distributed to the USA. Part of this core nib offering is the Zoom nib. Whereas the other writing nibs could be matched with a Western counterpart, the Zoom has no familiar analog.

Think of the Zoom nib like the zoom tool, it can either thicken or thin the line width by the angle that the nib meets the paper. For a double-broad, wet line, keep the nib at an acute angle to the paper. For a medium thickness, change the pen angle to about 45 degrees to the writing surface. To get a dry, thin line, flip the nib upside down.

In our short video demonstration, we show how the Zoom nib works simply by changing the way you hold the pen. It's like having 3 different point sizes with one pen!

The Sailor Zoom nib is offered in both the 14kt or 21kt style, depending on the model of Sailor pen you choose. The pen in the demonstration is the 21kt Sailor 1911 Large nib. The regular Pro Gear model also has the 21kt gold nib while both the 1911 Standard and Pro Gear Slim sport the 14kt gold.

If you have any questions regarding this nib, or with Sailor pens in general, please feel free to leave us a comment below.

How to use a TWSBI Diamond 50 Ink Bottle

The other day, I was trying to explain to my Dad why I was so excited that we were getting the new TWSBI Diamond 50 Ink Bottles. He owns a Diamond 540 fountain pen, but he didn't quite get it. In his words, "Wait, a $25 ink bottle and it doesn't come with any ink!?"

So I had to demonstrate why this bottle is so cool, yet functional, especially for someone that owns a TWSBI Diamond 530/540 pen.

Highlights from the video:

• Taking apart the Diamond 50 ink bottle and explain the idea behind the design.
• Filling the ink bottle with your choice of fountain pen ink.
• Filling your fountain pen the conventional way, using either a converter or piston mechanism.
• Filling your TWSBI fountain pen using what I refer to as the "express method."

This is my first full "pen demo" video, and I did shoot (& edit) it at 2am this morning. Please be kind. :-) We hope to do many more of these in the future, especially short (1-2 minute) videos for RefillFinder.com. If you like this and would like to see more videos, please feel free to request a specific pen or topic.

Jac Zagoory Champagne Pen Demo

Hey Pen People, I just wanted to share this demonstration video we uploaded this morning of a Jac Zagoory Champagne ballpoint pen ($29.95 at Goldspot.com). I saw this at the National Stationery Show in NYC last month and thought this was the coolest thing ever when Jac showed me the *POP*. The potential for fidgeting is endless!!