Going greyscale for everyday writing
My most frequent writing tasks are updating my weekly task list, processing lesson plans, and note taking during meetings. Weeklies are made all in grey ink. But notes and process writing are bicolor: a grey ink for information, and an accent color for new tasks and commentary.
Black is an accent color for two of the three writing tasks this week. Most of my writing will still happen in grey. Black will help tasks standout, and serve as a greyscale accent color. Lesson plan outlines and reading notes will still rely on true accent colors to highlight interpretive notes.
Black is the new black
More specifically, task management and daily driving falls to a black ink in the Montblanc. Most note taking for lectures and meetings will be in grey, with stark black for accents.
The remainder of this week’s color palette is heavily influenced by last week’s muted collection. Two unsaturated teals instead of true blues. Two purples, one deep purple and another a dusty purple-pink. And a muted brown with terrific shading.
The black and grey inks are in EF nibs as they are intended for daily driver tasks. A 3.7mm grid Hobonichi demands tiny writing. Two of the remaining color families are split, one broader M or BB and one EF or F. And Pumpkin Cake tests out my newest (and smoothest) B nib.
Evidence of excellent smoothing
Grey/Black
Montblanc 146 Le Petit Prince and Fox (EF). 3 Oysters Hun Min Jeong Eum Black. The MB EF handles 3O — an incredibly wet ink — very well. The result is smooth writing and a true EF line. 3O dries slowly, leading to smearing on frequently-revisited pages. Task management, meeting accents, lesson plans, journaling.
TWSBI 580-ALR Prussian Blue (EF/M Predator Hybrid, by Nibgrinder). Colorverse Matter. Matter takes a day or two to fully saturate a pen feed. Until then, Matter is scratchy and thin. Just dark enough to stay readable in the narrow EF. A readable, light grey. Spread structures, tasks, scratch notes, reading notes, lecture notes.
Blue/Teal
Kaweco Classic Sport Blue (BB). Diamine Smoke on the Water. The BB keeps this hard starting combo bearable. Resting the nib on paper for a two count gets ink flowing again. The feed easily keeps up with the BB line. Hard starts relegate this pair to only slow writing tasks. Journaling, letter writing, lecture notes.
Nagasawa Profit Black Proske (MF). Papier Plume Ink No. 13. A dry, scratchy combo. A light hand leads to darker, wetter lines. The brightest I’ve seen 13, which makes it a wonderful accenting pairing. Dry means a quick dry time, too. So this is a great pair for my pocket carry. Pocket notes, reading accent notes, lesson plans, lecture notes, journaling.
Earth Tones
Lamy Safari Blue Macaron (B). Monteverde Sweet Life Pumpkin Cake. Wet and well-behaved. Pumpkin Cake’s rich brown-orange compliments the green undertones in Matter. I’m excited to use this combo for accent notes during meetings. Journaling, lesson plans, meeting accents notes, reading accent notes.
Wild Cards
Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (F/Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Sailor Shikiori Yozakura. An excellent pairing. The FA side of the ground nib is just wet enough to encourage Yozakura’s shading. The EF side shows off a bright, pale purple-pink. A fantastic accenting pen, especially for meetings, due to the multitasking grind. Reading accent notes, lecture notes, journaling.
Pilot Kakuno Grey (M). Noodler’s Purple Wampum. A “fire-hose” pairing. Wampum feathers on many solid papers, even my Rhodia scratch pad. So this combo is relegated to jobs housed in the Hobonichi: lesson plans, lecture notes, accent meeting notes.
