Monde des Stylos

My most recent acquisition of a fountain pen is the Montblanc Writers Edition, Homage to Victor Hugo fountain pen. Seeing the pen in-person at a pen boutique, I just could not resist asking to look at the pen in-hand to feel its weight and balance. I usually will not ask for permission to touch and hold a pen at a pen boutique unless I am quite sure I am going to purchase it. And this was one of those instances. Falling in love with the pen at first sight! Holding the pen in my hands, I could felt the built quality and more importantly,  its perfect balance in my hand. Its length, weight and heft just seem right for me. Deciding in my mind that this is a confirmed buy, I proceeded to examine the pen in greater detail, the finishing, the cap, the clip and the nib to ensure that there no blemishes and that the pen is in perfect condition. There were no blemishes, the pen was perfectly new and pristine. I took out my credit card, authorized the purchase at the store's point-of-sale te...

Montblanc's latest Masters of the Art series features the Homage to Henri Matisse with a collection of pens, each designed to feature different creative elements of the well-known French visual artist. Personally, I am particularly drawn to the Limited Edition 4810. I love the blue on white colour palette used in its design. It just screams art and style to me! If I have the budget for this pen, I will definitely buy it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, my hobby budget has already been designated for other pens that I currently have on pre-order. Maybe one day, I can finally own this pen. Until that day, I shall just have to lovingly admire this beautiful pen from afar. For those with the budget, do go get this pen right now. I am sure it will not be hanging around Montblanc pen boutiques for long especially as it is a limited edition item. Masters of Art Homage to Henri Matisse  Limited Edition 4810 (photo from Montblanc's Newsletter) Masters of Art Homage to Henri Matisse Colle...

2025, a year of collection and journaling in review... This year, I have moderated both my collection and journaling habits. Collection-wise, I have stopped buying a pen just because the price was right. Instead, my pen purchases were more on what I really like as long as the prices were reasonable enough for my budget. From January to December, I had added three Sailor King of Pens (KOP) to my collection. These are two Pro Gear KOP limited editions ; the Sailor X Satelite Crayon Project Eleuthera Island and Teatime Around the World "Matcha" as well as a 1911 (a.k.a. Pro Fit) regular edition. I bought all three of these KOPs at discounted prices and really enjoyed using them.  SAILOR King of Pens (KOP) Pro Gear X SATELLITE CRAYON PROJECT, Fountain Pen  of the Seas, Eleuthera Island, 10-9691-448, (21K), M Nib A Platinum 3776 Century Kanazawa Gold Leaf "Matsu-Tora" with fine nib and a Platinum 3776 Century "Hong Kong - 香港限定" special edition  with medium nib...

While I have not been updating this blog much recently due to a heavier than expected workload in my day job, much has been happening in my journaling activities as well as in the wider community. For a start, Pelikan Hub 2025 was on 24th October 2025, a little over two weeks ago. In the South East Asia region where I live, we had the inaugural Malaysia International Pen Show (MIPS) held on 27th and 28th September in Petaling Jaya , just next to Kuala Lumpur . The first ever Singapore Pen Show will be happening on the last weekend of November, but I will have to skip this event in my home city because I will be overseas during that weekend. In addition, the Tokyo International Pen Show (TIPS) is currently happening this weekend, 1st to 3rd November 2025. I attended last year's edition of TIPS and it was my first time attending a pen show. What an eye opener! On a personal note, despite a promise to myself to buy less and instead spend more time enjoying the writing instruments t...

This Montblanc Orient Express fountain pen was my first ever Montblanc pen which I purchased in June 2023, slightly more than 2 years ago.  Limited to an edition size of 1883 worldwide, this pen was released on the 140th anniversary of the celebrated luxury train service, the Orient Express in the year 1883. Part of Montblanc's High Artistry series , the pen comes in a beautiful box set that includes a bottle of similarly coloured ink and an A4-sized notebook. Montblanc Meisterstück Fountain Pen, (18K) Medium Nib,  High Artistry A Journey on the Orient Express Limited Edition 1883 Coffret Set Using the base body of the Montblanc M eisterstuck 149, the blue coloured  resin was a delight to behold when held in my hand. The nib is large and produces a constant flow of ink as it glided across my journal. What a delightful tool to write with!  The large 18K gold nib is engraved with an Orient Express emblem while the cap bore a laser-engraved of another Orient Express e...

My fountain pen journey has taken me from a few entry-level pens to pens that cost a lot more money to buy. Cost is of course relative and when I mention the term "cost a lot more money", I am referring to myself and my pens and stationery budget. Thus, while I may consider a certain pen to be very expensive, it may be considered just an entry-level pen to others. Similarly, a pen whose cost I consider to be entry-level may instead be a grail pen for others. Thus, depending on our personal budgets, cost is rather relative. Every year, I set aside a small amount of money to fund my pens and stationery hobby. This is my so-called pens and stationery budget. Of course, I must admit that I have consistently broken this budget by spending more than the amount of funds I had initially allocated for the year. That being said, being over budget had often resulted in me pulling back on more purchases for the year and that I think, at least indicated that the pre-set budget had done it...