Strolling into week four of the inkvent challenge
Christmas has come and gone, offering up a balanced set of six new inkvent inks to play with. This week’s six inks fit snugly into my comfort zone: two blue-greens, two earth tones, and two accent colors — a purple and a pink. Bwaha. Bwahaha.
A quick recap is in order before I dig into the new currently inked. This is the fourth and final week of my 2021 Inkvent Challenge. The challenge is to cobble together a functional collection of pens and inks using only the Inkvent inks for days 19 to 24.
Diamine, in other words, has chosen my ink selections all December. This challenge is clearly an unfair ask for the Inkvent calendar. But I’m having a good time exploring inks I would not otherwise put in a pen as a result of the challenge. That is a definite win.
Both grey and black inks are absent again this week. Black Ivy is clearly the darkest. Daily driver discovered. Yuletide is closest to blue this week. I chose a B nib to accentuate the contrast between Black Ivy and Yuletide’s teal hue.
The two yellow-oranges (Brandy Snap and Wonderland) are starkly different colors. I chose an EF nib for both to facilitate a comparison between the two inks.
The two accent colors are also wildly different. I chose the TWSBI as a pair for Pink Ice largely due to the fun matchup between the hot pink and TWSBI’s Iris finish. I balanced the week’s lack of broad nibs with a Zoom nib — with end-of-year journaling in mind.
Lastly, I inked three more pens — one for each of the Colorverse inks my partner gifted me for Christmas. I chose three pens with sentimental value: the Loft as it’s my first custom-order pen (a self-gift), the Visconti as it was a gift from my parents, and the Nakaya as it was a gift from my partner. Gestures matter.
Grey/Black
Loft Highworth in Teal Ocean (EF). Colorverse α UMa. A light, dusty grey with infrequent shading. Strong purple undertones drag UMa into readable territory. Moderately wet, well-behaved on both Stalogy and Tomoe River, and quick drying. A solid accent against Black Ivy in my planner. The EF nib is wet enough to ensure some shading is viewable. Task management, scratch notes, reading notes, margin notes, some journaling.
Blue/Teal
Visconti Homo Sapiens Silver Age (F CI, by Nibsmith). Colorverse α And. A dusty, grey-blue with strong shading. Ink, meet wheelhouse. The muted blue tones offer a noticeable contrast to Black Ivy, especially in my Visconti’s broader F nib. Both the crisp CI grind and And’s penchant for feathering on Stalogy paper make this combo best suited for tasks I write on coated paper. Reading notes, lesson plans, journaling.
Platinum 3776 Laurel Green (B). Diamine Yuletide (Day 24). Yuletide is another of my standout favorites from this year’s calendar. A teal with noticeable shading and subtle sheen. The Platinum B nib brings out Yuletide’s green side, which reads nicely against Pilot’s hairline EF lines. Reading notes, journaling, lesson plans, lecture notes, thank you notes.
Earth Tones
Pilot Custom 74 Forest Green (EF). Diamine Black Ivy (Day 22). Black Ivy is a green with deep red sheen. It’s wet with a modest drying time. I prefer a narrow line in my agenda. Narrow lines accommodate small, deliberate notes for events and tasks. My Pilot 74’s EF nib offers the narrowest line in my collection. And both ink and pen are dark green. Booyah, daily driver. Task management, reading notes, lesson plans, some journaling.
Nakaya Neostandard Heki-tamenuri (B). Colorverse α Psc. The third green ink this week — and one that enters from outside the inkvent challenge. Psc is a whispy, muted green with moderate shading. A wetter Organics Studio Walt Whitman. The B nib ensures the green hue is readable on the page. This is a journaling pairing. Worried this combo will be too dusty for reading notes or lesson plans.
Lamy Safari Terra (EF). Diamine Brandy Snap (Day 21). Brandy Snap is a dry gold brown. It shades so fantastically that Brandy is a golden brown at its darkest and a honey at its lightest. Brandy’s quick drying time suits it for quickly jotted pocket notes. As such, I chose a Lamy Safari to shepherd Brandy around this week. However, the EF nib should test just how dry I can make this ink while remaining usable. An inception of challenges.
KACO Green Blue (EF). Diamine Wonderland (Day 23). Wonderland is a bright burst of orange. The sun exploding onto your paper. The pop of color easily stands out against this week’s otherwise muted palette. This is an accenting pairing. The main use is reflections and analysis within my reading notes. I went with an EF nib as line width isn’t needed for Wonderland to stand out. Weeks off from work give me far more time to catch up on research. And possibly some journaling.
Wild Cards
TWSBI Vac700R Iris (F CSI, by Pen Realm). Diamine Pink Ice (Day 20). Pink Ice is a strange one. Hot pink with silver shimmer. The shimmer makes lines sparkle, yet they remain strongly pink colored. Smartly chosen shimmer color, Diamine. I leaned onto my Iris colorway TWSBI. The shimmer is fun to watch in the Vac’s clear barrel. And the wet feed keeps Pink Ice flowing sans clogging. Another true accent pen: slow, deliberative reading notes and journaling.
Sailor Pro Gear Graphite Lighthouse (Z). Diamine Festive Joy (Day 19). Festive Joy is a mid-toned purple with minimal shading and a wink of sheen. You’re fairly sure the sheen happened, but it was subtle. The dark color requires a broad nib to contrast strongly against Black Ivy. I tapped a Sailor Z nib for the job. The round, forgiving bulb of a nib will handle quick journal entries comfortably. Journaling, lesson plans, some reading notes, thank you notes.
