There was an excellent story recently in the Sunday Times which highlights the development and history of Faber Castell. Who will be celebrating their 250th anniversary next year!

Count Anton – Wolfgang Lother Andreas von Faber Castell had a point to make. He planned to make it by throwing bundles of the pencils produced by his family since 1761 from the top of the Eiffel Tower, to prove not a single pencil would break. To read the full article a copy can be found here.

Faber-Castell is the world’s largest pencil manufacturer producing a staggering 2,000 million wooden-cased pencils a year. They employ over 7000 people and sell their products in over 100 counties.

How do you fancy getting your hands on a limited edition fountain pen that will be one of only fifty pens made with an RRP of £290.00 We know it sounds too good to be true but take our word you really can.

The Writing Desk who specialise in selling fountain pens & ink are offering it as a prize to celebrate ten years in business and all of us at Tiger Pens would like to wish them a happy anniversary.

The Fountain Pen that they are giving away is a Conway Stewart Belliver Limited Edition fountain pen with the serial number 10 and is one of only fifty pens made.

Conway Stewart is a British luxury pen manufacturer who has been making pens by hand since 1905 using traditional techniques & high quality materials.

To enter this draw, all you have to do is place an order at the Writing Desk between 08:00 BST on 14th July 2010 and midnight BST on 31st August 2010 and the winner will be picked at random.

The good news for our overseas readers is that the competition is open to both UK & overseas residents so what are you waiting for. I am just popping over to buy some more ink now and keeping my fingers crossed.

You might remember we mentioned the Pentel movie ticket giveaway earlier this year. Well, it has started and anyone who buys Pentel pens and other products in the UK and Ireland has a chance to win free tickets.

The contest is a little convoluted, but did we mention the free part? OK, here’s what you have to do:

Buy a Pentel product and find the sticker off the package. Scratch it, and underneath, you’ll see a code. Go to the Pentel giveaway site and enter that code (you’ll have to register the first time). Then, you get to play an online scratch-off game. The prize for winners is a pair of tickets that can be used at theater chains like Empire and Odeon.

According to Pentel, they’re good for any movie, any day, any time.

The contest is running for the rest of 2010….for you pen addicts, that’s lots of pens, pencils and markers, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to win.

And, if nothing goes your way in that contest, Pentel is running another one. Called the “Pentel Shootout Challenge,” it’s a little online soccer game. The top scorer gets an alarm clock that looks like a clapper board (you know, one of those things movie-makers hold up in front of the camera and snap when they say, “Action!”). But the real prize may be for the 10 runners-up: a Pentel goodie bag.

So there you go, two chances to get FREE stuff. And free is always good.

Speaking of free stuff, readers, make sure you stay tuned to Tiger Pens because we’re going to announce our own giveaway sometime in the next few days. We’ve got a great prize for one of you.

But more on that later.

Welcome to the 11th Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper, created by Nifty at Notebook Stories. Below you’ll find a collection of submissions on all kinds of great writing-related topics, from fountain pens to quality notebooks.

As always, this month’s posts are brilliant, containing bits of information, thought-provoking analysis and fun for all of us who are dedicated to our writing instruments. Be sure to visit all of the excellent pen and paper blogs and let the penthusiasts know how much you appreciate their work.

Now, let’s get to it.

Editor’s Choice

Tom at Goldspot Pens makes the argument that handwriting is not dead by pointing out that it is…and is leading us to a dystopian future of nebulously managed information. Absolutely spot on.

Dave at Seize the Dave gives us a detailed review of the new J. Herbin 1670 anniversary red ink, Rouge Hematite. In addition to some outstanding handwriting in his review, he tells us that the ink is the colour of blood, and is, in fact, so named.

Pens

Heather at A Penchant for Paper explains why she’s just not that impressed with the Zebra Sarasa 0.4mm Olive.

Dowdyism at The Pen Addict gives us his detailed and thoughtful review of the new Uniball Uni-Ball Fanthom Erasable Gel 0.5mm. Check it out before you decide to replace your FriXion.

Julie at Peaceable Writer shares her secret: the reliable workhorse Autopoint Big Cat fountain pen that she uses when she doesn’t want to attract attention to her writing instrument.

Inks

The ever-aesthetic Margana at Inkophile reveals that turquoise is the colour of the year, with a list of great inks to celebrate, including her favourite, Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku.

Note Booker, Esq. gives us a look at the samplers of fountain pen inks he received from Pear Tree Pens, from Diamine Umber to Rohrer & Klingner Leipziger Schwarz.

Cheryl at Writer’s Bloc presents the results of an interesting little experiment she conducted mixing J. Herbin Gris Nuage with various other colours to create her own subtle shadings.

Pencils

Lito at the Palimpsest introduces us to Rubinato  CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements pencils. You should see these pencils, they’re gorgeous.

Notebooks

Julie at Whatever shows her ingenuity by hacking the Levenger Circa System Junior Size notebook into her own specially organised planner for tracking inks and letter-writing.

Diane at Pocket Blonde visited the National Stationery Show and presents us with news and photos of Ecosystem’s new notebooks. “The only negative is that they won’t be for sale until the Fall.”

Alberto at Lung Sketching Scrolls provides an amazingly detailed review of the art-worthy Maruman S163 Croquis Pocket Sketchbook.

Cynthia at Journaling Arts takes us inside Daycraft’s Vogue 2010 planners, including both the daily and weekly versions.

Nifty, the notebook expert at Notebook Stories, gives a detailed review of an Ecosystem Architect notebook. Her take: Meh, not bad. But not a Moleskine, either.

So that’s it for this edition of the pen carnival. Don’t forget to send in your submissions to next month’s Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper.

Special thanks to Nifty for allowing us to host this month. We’ve certainly enjoyed it!

Pens can be a little messy, especially if you’re an absent-minded doodler or have kids. Getting those stains out can be a frustrating process involving everything from hair spray to lemon juice.

That’s why we were intrigued a few months ago when the Stain Hotline, a company in Michigan, offered free bottles of its ink remover called Ink-B-Gone. The product is supposed to remove just about any kind of ink – including Sharpie permanent marker – from walls, furniture and leather.

You can see video of the ink stain remover in action at the Ink-B-Gone site.

Unfortunately, the giveaway was over before we could tell you about it. Now, it’s back…sort of. Stain Hotline sells the remover for US$14.99. During the giveaway, you can get a 1-ounce bottle by registering on the Ink-B-Gone website and paying US$4.95 for shipping and handling.

We were a little skeptical of the fee for a FREE item, but operations manager Wendy Blankenship tells us that supplies went so fast during the last giveaway, with no shipping fee, that the company was able to send out only 1,000 bottles. This time, they’re giving away 5,000, she says.

(They’re only shipping to US addresses.)

We can’t tell you yet whether Ink-B-Gone works as well as the videos show, but Blankenship is sending out a bottle for us to review. As soon as we’ve put it through some tests – like getting ink off a white wall, a tile countertop and out of a T-shirt – we’ll post the results.

Meanwhile, if you decide to try it for yourself, send us a note to let us know how Ink-B-Gone worked for you. We’d love to discover something that works better than the usual ink stain removal trial-and-error.

The people at Pilot Pens – makers of some of our favourite writers – are sponsoring a charity event later this month for the Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust. The goal is to bring a cancer hospice for children to the Berkshire area, so that families don’t have to travel nearly to London for regular treatment.

From the ADCCT website:

Alexander House will be a home from home environment  providing respite and quality time for the whole family, palliative care, specialist respite care, 24 hour emergency care, advice and bereavement information and support for the family.

(The trust is organised by John and Fiona Devine, who lost their 4-year-old son Alexander to brain cancer in 2001.)

A team from Pilot will don yellow T-shirts and walk a seven-mile course around Cookham on 20 June to bring attention to the children’s trust, then will hold a raffle the next day. The team also has a page on JustGiving.com where people can donate. They’ve raised £105 so far and are trying to hit £5,000.

We spoke to Carmel Fogarty, a senior credit controller at Pilot who is heading the fundraising, about donations for the raffle. She said any nice, small items will do, and that people already have sent in things like pens, bottles of champagne, and cutlery sets.

So why are we telling you this? In case you want to help, of course.

To donate money, simply visit the Pilot Pen page at JustGiving. Or, to send something for the raffle, ship it to Carmel Fogarty at this address:

The Pilot Pen Co (UK) Ltd
4 Dukes Meadow
Millboard Road
Bourne End
Buckinghamshire
SL8 5XF

Today we are delighted to announce that the Tiger Pens store is now open!

It has taken a few months to arrive but now we are here and looking forward to welcoming customers to our huge range of pens and pencils, a range that will continue to grow over the coming weeks.

A closer look at the store will show that we are currently stocking the complete ranges from Pilot UK and Uni-Ball together with a selection from other leading brands such as Pentel and Berol. You will also find the excellent markers from Sharpie as well as Edding specialist pens and markers.

Our range also includes the worlds favourite higlighters which are of course  Stabilio Highlighters they were first made in 1972 and still one of the best around. Over the next few weeks the store will grow to include the complete range from all of the leading manufacturers including Paper Mate, Staedtler and Zebra .

Having arrived, it is worthwhile telling why we are here and what we hope to achieve with the store. Like so many people we have bought pens and pencils for years but have been frustrated by the times we needed a particular model for a job and could not find it at the local stationery store. Have you found a Kura Toga pencil widely available? Thought not – most shop assistants think it’s a martial art! Similarly, if you look at what is on offer from the main online office product and stationery retailers, it is quite easy to get a red, blue or black pen or if you are an auditor, a green pen but apart from that you have no chance of getting that brown or violet version that you need. On top of that, most of these companies require you to buy a box of ten or twelve!

We decided that the rules of selling pens and pencils needed to change and that is why we are here. Our intention is to ensure that whatever colour or model of pen or pencil you the customer wanted, we would make it available and at an unbeatable price and not only in a box of twelve. If you want a single pen, then feel free to buy a single pen.

Like any new store, you might find a few gaps as we grow, but if you want something that is not on display currently, please contact us and we will do all we can to find that product for you. As the shop grows, more ranges will be added as well as fountain pens, ink and the odd notebook or two maybe.

So, welcome to Tiger Pens store, do take a look.

Mistakes can easily be erased having put pen to paper thanks to an exciting new writing instrument launched by leading stationery brand uni-ball.

By using the cap on the Fanthom rollerball pen to rub out handwritten notes the need for messy correction fluid and tape has come to an end. A result that also gives more space in the pencil case and office desk drawer.

Available in six colours, the Fanthom delivers a smooth medium line that bonds to the paper even when the original text has been erased.

Stuart Barker, marketing manager at uni-ball, said: “The Uni-ball Fanthom produces truly magical results by making notes disappear before your very eyes. We have achieved this by creating a special ink that that disappears at a constant temperature.

The pen is the latest addition to our innovative portfolio and is sure to be a hit with the crossword enthusiast, teenagers and children who are looking for a stand-out item to include in their pencil case.”

Available from June, the Fanthom will be sold loose and in a variety of single, twin and ripple pack formats.

Tiger Pens is excited to be hosting the 11^th edition of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Carnival it is a collection of the best blog posts from the previous month related to pens pencils and notebooks.

More information about the Carnival can be found over at Notebook Stories who are the original creators of the Carnival.

Use this form to submit your blog post to be included in the 11th edition of the Carnival and we look forward to your submissions.

Submissions must be made no later than 5pm EST on Sunday 6^th June 2010

We’re all excited today because our little blog – barely six months old – was mentioned in a story about Skilcraft ballpoint pens on the front page of the Washington Post. Of course, it was a very brief bit at the end of the story, but it’s still a big moment for us.

Back in February, we posted a little piece on the US government pens assembled by blind workers. Ylan Mui, a business reporter at the Post, saw it and interviewed us about the pens (and did a great job digging into their history). She wrote an interesting and entertaining article, and it ran in the paper this weekend.

A few highlights:

The unassuming pen stamped with the words “SKILCRAFT U.S. GOVERNMENT” in white letters has endured despite quantum leaps in communications technology that have rendered lesser tools obsolete. Taking over from the fountain pen, it has withstood the advent of the rubberized “comfort grip” and the freely flowing gel ink, not to mention computers, instant messages and smartphones. The U.S. Postal Service alone orders 700,000 a year.

Annual production at the Greensboro, N.C., plant has dropped during the past two decades from 21 million pens to about 4 million, but it remains a bestseller among Skilcraft’s office supplies.

And…

Part of the pen’s cult appeal comes from its writing capabilities. Among other things, the original General Services Administration requirements for items FSC 7520 (the ballpoint pen) and FSC 7510 (the refill) dictated that:

• The ink cartridge shall be capable of producing under 125 grams of pressure a line not less than 5,000 feet long.

• Blobs shall not average more than 15 per 1,000 feet of writing, with a maximum of 25 for any 1,000-foot increment.

• Writing shall not be completely removed after two applications of chemical bleach.

We told her more than she probably wanted to know about the differences between ballpoint pens like these and gel and liquid ink pens, and about how the Skilcrafts were used in the US military, but most of that didn’t make it into the paper. What did, however, was a description of how the Tiger Pens blogger made toys out them as a kid.

(He) said many kids showed up at school with the pens, and they quickly figured out how to reconfigure them into pellet guns, pinging one another with ink cartridges.

“It’s one of those things that you just sort of take for granted because there’s so many of them,” (he) said. “You don’t think about the history that’s behind them.”

We swear we’re all grown up now and hardly ever abuse pens that way anymore.