Swapping nibs, tinkering, and customizing
The newest pen in my collection is the Monteverde Giant Sequoia. I ordered it with a silver-colored steel F nib, which works just fine. The coloring of the pen, with its streaks of black and golden brown, calls out for a black nib. As it so happens, I had a black nib sitting in an uninked Franklin-Christoph 31.
Jowo nibs – which both Monteverde and Franklin-Christoph use – are commonly friction fit. This means you can (oh so carefully*) pull them out to swap them from pen-to-pen. So long as both pens use a Jowo nib and have feeds that are the same dimensions.
The new pen and nib combination is wet, behaved and adds whimsy to a beautiful pen. I’m happy with the result.
This week’s Inked Tines update includes my most recent currently inked writing tools.
* NOTE: I should say that swapping nibs can break your pen if done improperly. It may also violate some manufacturers’ warranties.
Toolset
Pens. The Visconti Homo Sapiens was a standout this week. The round nib brings out the extremes of Andy Warhol. Surprised how much I like the pop of bright purple. Lesson plans, journaling, and a letter.
Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black. Empty. Fantastic all-purpose pen as it’s medium-sized, light, and writes smoothly on every paper I’ve tossed it at. Scratch notes, lesson plans.
Mythic Aeschylus. 1/5. Daily driver. The large size and light weight were enjoyable. Had to chase the pen across the desk a few times as there is no rollstop or clip. Task management, scratch notes.
Monteverde Giant Sequoia Brown. 1/2. Adding a M-SIG nib has been a serious upgrade. Reached for this pen consistently for slow writing tasks. Journaling, outlining, drafting notes, lesson plans.
TWSBI 580 ALR Prussian Blue. 1/2. Pocket pen this week. Staple for meetings due to it’s dual-purpose nib: EF/M. Meeting notes, lesson plans, journaling.
Lamy Safari Petrol. 4/5. Worked surprisingly well on bad paper. Green shows far more on bad paper than on coated paper like Tomoe River. This “EF” puts down a M line. Worked well for accents though. Scratch notes, lesson plans, reading notes (accent color).
Nakaya Neostandard. 4/5. Stayed home this week. Nakaya feed handles the silver shimmer well. Journaling, outlining notes.
Sailor 1911 Mid-Size. Full. Did not get around to smoothing the nib. Once the nib is corrected, this should be a fun pairing to explore. No use.
Notebooks used. Work bujo. Added nine new pages this week. The notebook is nearly complete at 235 pages. Two are dedicated to the weekly spread. A couple of lists, notes from two meetings (programming for our honors program and a virtual open house with prospective families), and lesson plans round out the remaining pages.
10 new pages in my journal: a Midori MD A6. The paper quality and minimalist aesthetic make me want to journal – even more so than usual. The jury is still out on using the notebook vertically.
Most of my reflecting has focused on nonfiction legal essays; mostly focused on constitutional law given ongoing events in the US.
Pocket notebook. I ran out of pages on Monday. I ordered another 3-pack from The Pen Thing on Friday evening. I’m looking forward to a curbside pickup on Sunday.
Taking notes on my phone all week has been quite a change. I make notes in Bear and forget them afterward. Writing by hand will certainly continue next week.
Written dry. Only one: the Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black. It ran dry Saturday morning while planning out my goals for the day.
I spread my writing out well across all eight pens this week. Next week should prove more exciting on the empty pens front.
Newly inked. None.
The Collection
Incoming / new orders. Two new notebooks arrived from a small Japanese Etsy shop on Wednesday. They sport Cosmo Air Light paper, and a preprinted light-grey dot grid.
Cosmo Air Light does for shading in liquid inks what Tomoe River paper does for sheen. Minus the thin, crackling see-through nature of TR. But plus a subtle toothy texture. You feel CAL paper as you write.
CAL paper is also thicker. So notebooks won’t be so incredibly thin as with TR.
Outgoing / trades or sales. Not this week.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. I’m nearly done with Stoker’s Dracula. About 100 pages are left. The hunt for Dracula himself has just begun.
My spouse and I are also reading Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind together. We started last spring while locked down separately. It was a bedtime ritual that we could share, even while apart. Reading one another chapters from NotW The pacing is slow at a chapter every couple of nights.
Nonfiction. I’ve been reading a lot of Magliocca of late. He has been thinking through the ins and outs of employing the 14th Amendment to disqualify former President Trump from holding office again.
Listening. Ólafur Arnalds has been playing throughout the week. It’s easy to work alongside music that’s designed to sit up just noticeably in the background.
