Pen care is self care

Low ink capacity is meditative

One of the perks to using fountain pens is change. Choosing new pen and ink combinations is fun. Cleaning and filling pens with ink is a meditative activity. Those moments offer time to stop, to breathe, and to return to living in the present. A low ink capacity, in other words, is meditative.

Of late, I turned to three TWSBI demonstrators. Each holds far more ink than a typical converter pen can. This is great for busy weeks when I’m unsure I’ll have an hour to sit down quietly to clean or ink pens. Then again, perhaps the old meditation rule applies: if you don’t have 15 minutes to stop and unwind, you should take 30 minutes.

This took less than 15 minutes

I added two newly inked pens to the five that remain inked from last week. Moving up to seven inked pens was a purposeful decision to force a longer pen care session on Sunday morning. I’ve missed cleaning and inking pens since tapping so many TWSBIs. Taking time for an enjoyable, calming activity is self-care in my book; not that I have a book.

Grey/black

Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SF). Colorverse Anti-Matter. A wet, but controlled, combination. The soft nib lends an added dimension to Anti-Matter’s already-deep shading. The combo takes quite a while to dry completely, especially on the coated paper I use. This is going to be a smeary week.

Blue/teal

TWSBI Vac700R Iris (F Cursive Smooth Italic, ground by Pen Realm). Akkerman Koninginne Nacht-Blauw #7. My partner asked to borrow a pen on Monday night. She picked this combo out of the penvelope I offered. She exclaimed “wow! This is great!” As she wrote. Enough said, I think. By week’s end, I used this combo as a daily driver when Anti-Matter’s smearing grew frustrating. The blue-black was dark enough to blend.

Franklin-Christoph 46 (F-SIG). Diamine Enchanted Ocean. I waited 60 seconds after shaking the Diamine bottle before filling my 46. The result is that Enchanted Ocean’s shimmer is only subtly present. The pair struggles with hard-starts, though, so no meeting notes. Lesson plans and journaling proved a great home-base for this combo.

TWSBI 580-AL Emerald (EF). Kyo-No-Oto Hisoku. This combo became my pocket carry. The round nib lets me write in an A6 notebook without the nib catching on the page. The bright color is also useful for highlighting notes and for marking manuscripts.

Earth tones

Esterbrook J Copper (2442). Monteverde Gemstone Moonstone. I haven’t reached for this pen in days. In fact, the combo stayed in my desk Monday through Wednesday. It takes too long to dry for timely quick notes or task management. It bleeds when marking on printer paper. It writes beautifully in my journal though.

Nakaya Neostandard Heki-tamenuri (B). J. Herbin Vert Empire. I like this combination far more than I anticipated. Shading is my favorite ink quality, so I found myself reaching for this combo often. It shades like a pro on TR paper. The pen accidentally made its way to work - a huge development, I know. Worked great for notes, lesson plans, and even a handful of meetings by late Tuesday.

Wild cards

TWSBI 580-ALR Prussian Blue (M/EF Predator Hybrid, ground by Nibgrinder). Monteverde Rose Noir. A double-ground nib fits wonderfully with how I like to write. Big, bold headings contrasted against small notes details. This nib offers both, all in the same pen. And Rose Noir behaves on every paper I use it with. Winner-winner chicken dinner.

All in the family

Currently inked