What’s in a name?
There has been a development this week. An “a-ha!” moment, if you will. Looking more closely at pictures online led me to suspect that the TWSBI I bought last January as an “Emerald” special edition may, in fact, be the older “Turquoise” model.
Left to right: a Turquoise LE, my TWSBI, and an Emerald LE
My turquoise realization (which would make a great new age band name) hasn’t changed my feeling about the pen. The color suits me. And I like this pen. So: how much impact should the name have? Should having a Turquoise 580 feel different than having an Emerald 580?
I am a sucker for a good theme, especially with inks. The space and scientist themed names drew me into the Colorverse. Matter and Anti-Matter were some of my earliest ink purchases. Organics Studio’s Walden Pond made it to my ink wishlist last holiday season because of the green ink’s titular connection to the bearded poem-man. Quite a few of OS’s masters of writing series made it into my collection, in large part because of the writers who were referenced in their ink names. Ink names have clearly influenced me.
Not so much with pen names. Brad and Myke spent a large part of a recent Pen Addict episode critiquing Sailor’s Loch Ness pen color for not fitting its name enough to resonate with them. My experience with ink names helps me empathize. But I have not yet had a similar experience with a pen and its name.
This week’s Inked Tines update includes my most recent currently inked writing tools.
Toolset
Pens. The clear standout combo has been the TWSBI 580 ALR, inked with Rose Noir. Settling into a pen-ink pairing that looks great and performs fantastically in a narrow line and in a broad line made writing enjoyable. The pairing worked well on printer paper, making it an excellent manuscript annotator. This pen was also my go-to choice for meetings by week’s end.
Esterbrook J Copper — ??. I like a pen with some history. The antique rolled steel nib is fun and reliable. The combination of a sac filler and MGM made a pooled wet, broad-ish line. Journaling and headings. Small notes were a challenge to keep legible. Combo took far too long to dry.
TWSBI Vac700R Iris — 3/5 used. This pen and ink has worked for every job I’ve thrown at it. Meeting notes? Sure thing. Journaling? Fun times. Pocket carry? The grind does require you to write carefully, otherwise the edges of the nib will catch on the page.
TWSBI 580 ALR Prussian Blue — 4/5 used. The perfect marking combination. I used it for reading manuscripts throughout the week. Wet enough to write without issue and show fun shading. Used the EF side of the ALR’s double grind almost exclusively when making reading notes. The M side worked well for headings during meetings.
TWSBI 580 AL Turquoise — Feed only. This EF nib is one of my absolute favorites. Pencil-like feedback and a controlled line. Wet enough to keep dry inks like Hisoku tamed. Used this for accent notes, journaling, and my pocket EDC. Five stars. The day this feed runs dry will be a sad day indeed.
Nakaya Neostandard Heki-tamenuri — Empty. I don’t bring this pen to work. Remote teaching all this week brought work to Nakaya. The B line is too thick for planning spreads. Wrote well in meetings and for journaling.
Diplomat Aero Sunset Orange — Empty. Snap cap works well for taking notes quickly. The clear EF lines and quick dry time were perfect for keeping up my task lists. Hard started quite often. Disliked needing to overcome the consistent hard starting before I could write. Wrote well once DSS flowed.
Notebooks. Teaching remotely results in a lot of note taking. Even small tasks compound into multiple steps, each of which needs a shorthand note to build on over the course of the week. A result was seventeen new pages. The work bullet journal is now at page 180.
My Musubi journal is about 2/3 filled. Twelve new pages this week. Mostly reflections on life and family dynamics. I’m looking forward to more targeted reflections on some political philosophy I’ve been reading this coming week. Jacques Ranciére is the man. A copy of Disagreement has been sitting in and on my desk all week.
Written dry. I wrote two pens empty this week: the Nakaya and the Diplomat. The Nakaya survived long bouts of journaling for two weeks. Staying home over the holiday and this past week ramped up my writing significantly. The Nakaya ran empty on Thursday evening.
The Diplomat Aero was a mixed experience when inked with Diamine Sparkling Shadows. The ink would evaporate, causing hard starts nearly every time I grabbed the pen. I had resorted to scratching on a post-it until the ink flowed again before writing in my work or personal notebooks by Tuesday. But I write with my daily driver pen most-often. The Diplomat ran dry halfway through Friday’s classes. I turned to my Baron Fig Squire to finish out the week.
Newly inked. Franklin-Christoph replaced the section on my 46. I’m surprised they retained a handful of blue diamondcast material for repairs. My fully functional 46 returned from its overnight trip Wednesday afternoon. F-C is a wonderful company to engage with.
The 46: Now with a shiny new section
I tagged a F-SIG nib into the game. The arrangement worked well for journaling, lesson plans, and for taking notes for this blog post. Diamine Enchanted Ocean is a lovely color. It is just mellow enough to feel professional and just shimmery enough to be fun.
Oooh … aaahhh
Collection
Incoming / new orders. My 2021 Hobonichi Weeks arrived on Sunday. I’m still experimenting with planners and have yet to find one that fully suits me. This year marks a shift out of the Jibun Techo’s vertical weekly system into a horizontal weekly-based system.
I’ve learned that I need a planner designed to keep tasks arranged by day. Meeting times and appointments work best for me in an electronic calendar – because automated alerts are fantastic. Apple’s Calendar app saves the appointments that the Jibun Techo’s hour-by-hour organization is designed to serve. The Hobo Weeks seems built to address the work I need a planner to carry.
Great page design – printed with a grid size built for EF nibs.
Outgoing / trades or sales. My local pen group meets virtually on the first Friday of every month. We hosted a virtual ink swap this past Friday. I swatched a handful of inks to send to new homes: Monteverde Gemstone Sapphire, Monteverde Emotions Gratitude, J. Herbin Perle Noir, J. Herbin Ambre de Birmanie, and J. Herbin Larmes de Cassis.
Swabbed for swapping
I would much rather my inks were enjoyed in a new home than were sitting, lonely, on my shelf.
Currently listening
Chillhop Music’s Essentials Winter 2020. Fantastic lo-fi playlists with quirky themed cartoon animations.
