I had some money burning a hole in my pocket so yesterday we decided to make the trip to the Levenger store in the metro DC area. Since we don't get there very often, I make a little list of things that I want to look at in detail, besides going over the place with a fine-toothed comb.

The store staff is very friendly and know their products, which is nice when you want details. They also know how to leave you alone to browse. I had mentioned that it was quite a drive for us, and before I knew it I had been presented with a nice "starter" notebook in classic size and their current free gift. You're supposed to get it for spending over $75.00 I think, and I hadn't yet picked anything up, I was still browsing. It's a nice little pocket briefcase in black leather with a small sample of 3x5 cards. Not as nice as the one they sell, but still useful.

Ok, on topic for this forum...

I picked up a bottle of Cardinal Red ink. I haven't yet tried it, but all the samples I've seen show this to be a true red.

I also spent some time looking at their pens. I mainly use fountain pens, so this is what I was concentrating on. What follows are some stream-of-consciousness observations.

Decathlon pen. New model, bigger than I expected and very comfortable in my hand. Looks good too. I like this one a lot, now I just have to wait for it to go on sale, because it's mighty pricey.

Alloy pen. Ick. I love the look, but it has grip indents which are placed exactly wrong for the way I hold a pen. I pulled out my Safari to point out the differences and to show exactly what I disliked.

TrueWriter. I really, really, really want to like the Kyoto color, but every time I see it in person and close up, I hate it. Carnaval (yes, that's spelled correctly) didn't float my boat either. I like the feel of the TrueWriters in hand, but to me they *look* like cheap pens. They don't feel cheap and they write very nicely, but it's hard for me to get past the looks.

Demonstrators. Basically a transparent TrueWriter in a color that matches the ink it comes with (Amethyst, Pinkly, etc). These are fun pens and so the looks don't bother me at all. Logical? We don't need no steenkin' logic!

Metalist. These are on sale now, and can occasionally be found even cheaper on eBay. I was worried about the slight step between the body and the grip, but while writing with it I didn't even notice that it was there.

Plumpster. A fatter pen, which is more to my liking. But once again, I hate the look (blue and caramel), so I didn't even bother picking one up to try.

Bottom line, I'm going to pick up a Metalist, and probably, eventually a TrueWriter for home use.

Besides the ink, we picked up a set of pocket dividers and a pocket dock-it for 3x5's in classic size. Also got the $40.00 sampler pack which comes with a $40.00 gift card.