The currently inked invent challenge, week two
We have arrived at the second week of the 2021 Inkvent Challenge. Here’s a recap of the plan: I am challenging myself to craft a workable sextet of pen and ink pairings this week out, using only the first six Inkvent inks. The inks for days 7 to 12 are my challenge for this week, inks 13 to 18 are next week; and so on for the full four weeks.
Diamine, then, is choosing my ink selections throughout December. I am using my pen and nib choices to ensure each ink has a useful function every week — or at least striving for usefulness. Bring it, Diamine.
This week’s collection of six inks throws a few curveballs. There is no black or grey ink in my artificially-created set o’ six. Instead, I’m going dark. A shimmery blue (Storm), a blue-black shimmery sheen monster (Stargazer) and an earthy red (Raspberry Rose) form the core of my daily driver options. And I lean towards the darkest: Stargazer. Each with an EF or F nib.
The remaining three skew towards accent colors. Both Peach Punch and Candle Light are whispy and light. This makes them challenging to read, even in broader nibs. Party Time is a lively pink — perhaps as a festive marking color for student papers. All with broad nibs or wet feeds.
Grey/Black
None. Thanks, Diamine.
Blue/Teal
Loft Highworth (EF). Diamine Stargazer (Inkvent 2021, Day 12). Stargazer is a blue-black that sports a heavy red sheen and what looks like green shimmer. The dark base color makes this the most suitable color for my week’s daily driver. Shimmer encourages me to use a nib and feed that are easily pulled for thorough cleaning. The EF nib is wet enough to accommodate shimmer without clogging, but still lays down a disciplined European-width EF line. I chose the Loft because it’s new, sports a Jowo nib unit, and — honestly — because I’m excited to use my newest pen. Joy for the joyful. Task management, planner tracking, lesson plans, reading notes, scratch notes.
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SF). Diamine Storm (Inkvent 2021, Day 9). Storm is a mid-toned blue, also with shimmer. My dual interest in avoiding clogs and seeing more of Storm’s shimmer lead me to the wider Pilot SF nib. This week’s pocket carry. The SF nib is forgiving and smooth, even at the odd writing angles we use in pocket notebooks. The Pilot also offers a solid clip — which makes it at home in a coat or pant pocket. Pocket notes, lesson plans, meeting notes, journaling.
Earth Tones
Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (F Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Diamine Candle Light (Inkvent 2021, Day 7). Candle Light is a light yellow with intermittent dark shading. My m805 was the first choice for this ink as Pelikan’s feeds are notoriously generous. The intention is for the Pelikan to bring out Candle Light’s darker notes. I plan to use this pen as a liquid highlighter in reading notes, meeting notes, and in lesson plans.
Mythic Aeschylus Black & Red (M SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Diamine Peach Punch (Inkvent 2021, Day 10). Peach Punch is a second waifish and unsaturated accent color. Punch shades moderately on soft papers — think Stalogy and Cosmo Air Light. Just dark enough to be readable. The SIG nib balances Punch’s dryness. As such, this is well-suited for marking student papers and for personal writing like journaling.
Wild Cards
Montblanc 146 Le Petit Prince & Fox (EF). Diamine Raspberry Rose (Inkvent 2021, Day 8). Raspberry Rose is a wet, brown-red with excellent shading. Rose is so wet, I opted for an EF nib to keep the ink at reasonably legible lines. Consistent black shading halos your letters. It’s quite pretty. My backup daily driver in case the Loft Highworth clogs with shimmer particles. The EF line also suits this pairing to detailed writing tasks like reading notes and lesson plans.
TWSBI 580-AL Turquoise (B). Diamine Party Time (Inkvent 2021, Day 11). Party Time is a wild ink color. A punchy pink with multi-color shimmer and subtle gold sheen. This is an ink for personal writing and for process writing at work — those pages that remain on one’s desk. I turned to a B TWSBI nib to ensure there’s enough ink flow to avoid clogging issues late-week. TWSBI’s pens are also easy to disassemble for cleaning. Double-win. Journaling, reading notes, lecture notes, scratch notes.
