Curating towards custom
A two-day workweek looms ahead. Two days of pre-vacation teaching followed by five days at home. The split calendar affords me plenty of time for personal writing. And my personal writing tends to take two forms.
One is medium and longform reflections. Almost exclusively in my personal journal. I prefer broad and round (read: forgiving) nibs for morning-pages-esque brainstorm sessions. Two B nibs and a newly-smoothed and tuned M should carry the week.
The other form of personal writing is tiny, detailed notetaking. Tracking and planning tasks in my Hobonichi’s 3.7mm grid. Recording reading notes. Scribblings and jottings while I build out next week’s lessons and the coming week’s blog posts. Half-formed ideas live in the EF and F worlds for me.
So my needs: extra fine lines and broad lines in equal measure. I’m living the continuum this week. An EF, two F, a M, and two B.
Further, I turned to three pens from custom makers: Able Snail, Carolina Pens, and Mythic Pens. All three are large and comfortable throughout long writing sessions. All three carry my broad nib options. And all three look great.
Curated towards custom makers. 50% custom. 100% awesome. I’m feeling great about this week’s currently inked.
Grey/Black
Jinhao x159 Black (EF). Sailor Ink Studio 223. The large, soft no. 8 nib from Jinhao is everything a fountain pen nib should be. Reliable, consistent and enjoyable to write with. 223 balances grey tones with strong purple notes . A wonderful balance for keeping my attention focused on writing while staying interesting enough to keep my attention on the page. The men-in-black pairing returns as my daily driver. So: task management, meeting notes, reading notes, and commonplace notes.
Blue/Teal
Parker Vacumatic Silver Pearl (F). Akkerman Koninginne Nach-Blauw. Old school classy. The stacked look brings a smile to my face. That alone explains why I continue to reach for this pair. The lone slim bodied pen amongst a large currently inked. Detailed notes recording my own analyses of my readings, lesson plan outlines, and reading notes. Perhaps some journaling, too.
TWSBI Vac700R Iris (F CSI, by Pen Realm). Kyo-no-oto Hisoku. The week’s go-to annotation and accent notetaking combo. Hisoku’s breezy teal visually contrasts all five other colors in the week’s palette. The crisp F nib is great for detailed, precise letter work. Meeting notes, reading notes, commonplace notes and some journaling.
Earth Tones
Carolina Charlotte Matte Dragon Scales (B). Diamine Garland. A wet, resplendent pen. An sheen-monster teal ink with icy shimmer. A very different accent notetaker. The deep, red sheen renders my writing easily viewable on the page. Long dry times — due to the nib’s wetness — limit this pair to slow writing tasks. Journaling, teaching reflections, lecture notes, and holiday card writing. Perhaps some commonplace notes.
Mythic Aeschylus Black & Red (M Long Knife, by Kaigelu). Sailor Manyo Shirakashi. I re-tuned the sharp Long Knife nib before installing it in my Aeschylus. And then I rounded off the reverse grind to form a smooth, narrow EF when reverse writing. The result is a fantastic multitasker nib in a large pen. Well-suited for short, reflective notes where I aim to take my time forming letters. Longer sessions will be hit-or-miss based on my mood. Also: reading notes, commonplace notes, and holiday cards.
Wild Cards
Able Snail Classic Large Powder Blue (B). Robert Oster Cities of America Napa. The Snail marches (slithers?) on into a second consecutive week. The combination of muted Napa red and the well-tuned Bock B nib produces reliable, wide lines with gentle shading. The round nib suits longform writing — and writing that I take on when I’m tired. And the pen itself is comfortable to hold during such long sessions. Journaling, reading reflections, and some holiday letters.
