Tag Archives: Manuscript

Dodecagon and on and on

A little bit of history  One of the most frequent questions we get asked here at the Inkdom’s secret bunker is what can be sensibly procured for careless beginners with small-ish hands. We don’t want to put them off with a lousy writing experience, but then again we’d rather it didn’t cost a fortune when the pen is sat on, melted over a Bunsen burner or lost on the school bus. Venerable British firm Manuscript, which has been supplying study desks since the days when that ink-well hole was in every-day use, turns out to be still in the business of providing a solution. Of course we had to give it a try!

How it looks  The Dodec has a slim barrel with, as the name suggests, twelve sides. The plastics in use range over sky blue turquoise, magenta, black and transparent finishes. With knurled grip sections the overall look is economical and functional, which is pretty much the Dodec proposition in a nutshell. There’s no mistaking it for a boring old ballpoint, though.

How it feels  Light and easy to handle – as long as you don’t grip that non-slip section too tightly. The nibs feel positively laser-guided on the page, though; there’s no tactile clue as to how astonishingly inexpensive the Dodec is.

How it fills  This is a straightforward cartridge filler, for most purposes. The dimensions are built to a budget and the barrel is actually too tight a fit for a standard Schmidt converter. However, the long ‘international’ cartridges sold by Waterman and Pelikan fit perfectly and allow for a useful squeeze when the nib has run dry – which can happen occasionally.

Crucially, how it writes…  Now here is where it gets more complicated than might have been expected from the tiny price tag. For Dodecs sport two completely different types of nib! The ‘handwriting’ nib is essentially a folded or butterfly design, which writes amazingly smoothly without employing a harder metal on the tip. It’s a great introduction to what a proper fountain pen feels like, and in the unlikely event of wearing it out a replacement is very, very affordable. The italics, meanwhile, are of the classic ‘crisp’ variety and come in a dizzying range of sizes which encourages experimentation – they’re fun to use but can also produce seriously impressive results too.

Pen! What is it good for?  The handwriting pen is obviously great for beginners but often impresses even grizzled gold nib fanatics, so it serves as everything from first fountain to everyday shopping-list-compiler. The italic nibs are made for having fun with, but even proper calligraphers approve. The Dodec is built down to a budget and this occasionally shows up as inconsistent ink flow, but reseating the friction-fit nib and feed when required is a very simple job. In return, you can afford to abuse them a bit and innovate. 

VFM  Shop around and you can often pick these up about £1.50 a go. You’d be hard-pressed to find a decent ballpoint at that sort of price – if such a thing even existed, of course. That’s hard to argue with, really.

The only way is ethics  Made right here in Blighty and using fairly minimal packaging, there’s not much to worry over and a fair bit to feel good about.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost…  The rest of the Manuscript range is probably worth a look instead. Some people do prefer the rounder, less nobbly ‘Classic’ from the same stable, which is similarly stonking value.

Our overall recommendation  A Dodec costs less than a something a barista could make for you once upon a time, and you’ve had a year off from that so, seriously, what are you waiting for?

Where to get hold of one  The handwriting and italic versions of the Dodec can often be found in ‘thrift’ outlets like Boyes and The Range, as well as from educational stationers in bulk. If that doesn’t appeal, plenty of online retailers and art supply shops stock a full range and you can even buy them from Manuscript direct. Try an online search for ‘Manuscript Dodec’ and you may be pleasantly surprised.

This meta-review references:

Thanks to  Manuscript for kindly furnishing us with samples to show what the Dodec can do.

Manuscript Lettering Pencil

A little bit of history:  The Manuscript Pen Co Ltd are based in Shropshire, where they have been producing nibs and calligraphy pens since 1856. Despite their vintage they evidently love coming up with new products and this holder with interchangeable leads set is one of their latest.

manuscript pack

How it looks:  The big pack arrives in one of those tricksy-to-open plastic blisters, packed with everything that you need to get cracking on your pencil calligraphy; a lead-holder, five different lead colours (including graphite) for you to play with and a nifty glass ‘sharpener’ to help you keep a good edge on your leads. There’s also a more select pack for those who just want a lead-holder and some italic graphite.

Crucially, how it writes:  Uniquely! When have you ever seen big wide italic lead before? It takes some getting used to, and perhaps as a factor of the rectangular manufacturing  process the graphite/crayon is remarkably hard. While our reviewers had fun with it and it DOES work, some felt that their own calligraphy skills were not good enough to show the product off to its best advantage. The coloured lines produced were quite faint. So, while it could be fun for kids, a concern might be whether the results will look smart enough to encourage them to take calligraphy further. However, a good calligrapher could create something special with this.

scribble.jpg

Lead! What is it good for? It’s an innovative product that offers a less messy way for beginners to try their hand at calligraphy. It could be especially fun for children and using the coloured leads instead of inks means that parents can relax without worrying about their soft furnishings being ruined.  In the hands of a good calligrapher, the results from this pack could be a contemporary blend of the rustic and the stylish.

manuscript colour

VFM: At the moment, a version of this product can be purchased from John Lewis for £20.00. We think that’s quite steep for a pencil, but also not crazy money for a product as unusual as this.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost: then why not try calligraphy with an ordinary pencil? Any pencil that is blacker, rather than harder (ie B rather than H) will be fun to try calligraphy with. Try anything from 2B to 5B or maybe 6B. But watch out for smudges! The softer the lead, the more smudges you can make, so protect your paper as you work. Or just let the kids go crazy – the choice is yours!

Alternatively, it is possible to buy the italic leads on their own from Manuscript direct, and they should work with any 5.6mm lead-holder you already have.

Our overall recommendation:  The Manuscript Calligraphy Lettering Pencil is a fun and innovative product for a style of writing that has remained popular for hundreds of years.  In the hands of a good calligrapher it could perform marvels – but we think caution is advised for beginners, as if your lettering skills aren’t that wonderful, the initial results may leave you less than enthusiastic to pursue calligraphy further.

See our reviewers’ individual reviews:

Manuscript ML1856 fountain pen meta-review

A little bit of history  Manuscript is a British company which has been around for over 160 years – since 1856, in fact, which is where this pen gets its name.

How it looks  Hotttttttttttttttttttt. The Clumsy penman tested the ‘Molten Lava’, as you can see below – but we think these these pens look hotter than molten lava. Manuscript pulled the boat out when designing these. We have been fortunate enough to review the Purple Mist, Molten Lava, Turquoise Ocean & Northern Lights pens. In addition to this, there are three other colour-ways available: Red Storm, Oyster Mist and Midnight.

However, not every aspect of the aesthetic was loved by everyone.  The clip has two circles, echoing the dual crown of the cap’s top (which is a reminder that Manuscript has been going so long that they used to supply the kings of both Spain and Portugal), but the shape of the clip itself seemed a little gimmicky.  As Laura put it, “don’t dress a model in Primark clothes.”

How it feels  Across the Inkdom we all agreed that the pen was lightweight but strong. Being made of the Italian resin, we felt confident that the pen would hold up. Daniel with his “weird grip” was still able to use the pen, despite his fingers touching the threads; thankfully they’re not sharp and are comfortable (as far as threads go). However, some concerns remained as regards the clip which seems rather stiff, albeit usable. The pen sits in the hand very well; posting is just about possible, but awkward, and doing so will make the pen too long for most tastes. The size of the pen allows Manuscript to appeal to most writers as it isn’t too large, but it isn’t a pocket pen either.

Right from the get-go with the packaging of the pen you get the impression of a ‘premium product’. It’s not a conventional pen box, with the pen standing up as opposed to laying flat, but still wonderfully presented.

How it fills  Cartridge/converter. This makes it easy for the user to change inks if need be, but it’s also not difficult to refill every so often (though does make it a little bit more tedious than, say, a piston for constant ink usage, but easier for maintenance and cleaning). Daniel did question the possibility of it being converted into an eyedropper as he tested the pen with water and it seemed to be sealed, but we’re not advocating this unless Manuscript advise it!

Crucially, how it writes…  There are both flat and round nib options for the Manuscript 1856: two stubs (1.1mm & 1.5mm) and a handwriting nib. All nibs are steel and are from JoWo in Germany.Most of our reviewers found the steel nibs satisfactory, albeit a little bit dry at first in one case. Overall, the writing experience was rated as pleasant by the reviewing team. The only thing that the italic nibs aren’t great for are reverse writing, as Daniel discovered. The #6 JoWo nibs write a fairly wet line and the feeds keep up well. Pen! What is it good for?  Manuscript seems to be, as a brand, synonymous with calligraphy, certainly for beginners here in the UK anyway. The 1.1mm and 1.5mm italic nibs means that you can get a little stylistic with your writing, particularly when considering scripts such as gothic.

Of course, if calligraphy isn’t your thing then you can always opt for the plain round ‘handwriting’ nib, which is more conventional.

VFM   While the majority of our findings are quite positive, we did have concerns here when the pen was first released; simply put, this is a good a pen, but it wasn’t £125 good, and there were custom-designed pens from John Twiss and Edison available at similar price points. We felt that it should have gone to market at £75 – and eventually, two years later, that’s where it ended up. At the £75 ‘street price’, it’s great value. 

Bottom-top: Laban Mento, Manuscript ML1856 & John Twiss custom pen

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost…   The Edison Pearlette and Collier are similar in both aesthetic and close to the original ‘official’ price. Another option might be a Laban pen; these pop up at pen shows (here in the UK at least) with a similar design but run to about £60; close to the ‘street’ price.  For the original £125 you could also get a Platinum #3776, and while these lack the hand-made aesthetic the gold nib goes a long way to make up for it. Mr Pen’s English Curate, which we reviewed in 2016, is made in the same workshop (formerly of Sigma fame) but a lot more reasonably priced.Our overall recommendation  While we loved using the pen, the price point just didn’t justify it until that was reviewed; there were too many alternatives which were similar to the ML1856 but better quality/feel for the same price or others that might sacrifice ever so slightly on the feel but were much more affordable. We like the direction Manuscript is heading in, but our recommendation was to wait until the value issue had been rectified before pulling the trigger.

Where to get hold of one  There were few stockists of the pen at the original official price (La Couronne du Comte and Cult Pens being first out of the blocks), but the ML1856 is now available at a sensible price direct from the manufacturer.

This meta-review references: 

Northern Lights

Thanks to: Manuscript for providing three of these pens for review purposes. All views expressed here are our own both within the meta-review and in our own individual reviews that we have provided; the pens were sent to us in exchange for an honest review. Manuscript, to their credit, were completely fine with that, and not withstanding our reservations about some elements of the package were still keen for us to give one away; a great attitude, we think.

Give-away (Now closed!)  To bag one of these, we asked readers to let us know what they thought the crowned heads of the Iberian peninsula would have used an ML1856 for, if they’d been available before the revolution – what sort of correspondence would be flying between Lisbon and Madrid with the aid of such serious nibbage?  Answers in the comments box…