Rediscovering pens I already have
I took some time this week to update the database I use to organize my pen collection. Notably, the database sports a new column to record the last date each pen was inked. A handful of patterns emerged.
Unused pens stand out. My Pilot Kakuno was last inked three years ago. What a shame. It’s a fun, reliable M nib. And the nib’s face smiles at you. Friendly. We can all use a friendly face nowadays.
Cheery
A second pen, which was given to me as a birthday gift years ago, has yet to be inked. It’s from a maker I know little about: AG Spalding & Bros. It’s a narrow body metal pen with a M nib. The pen is not my aesthetic. But gifts should be honored. I’ll ink the AG up this week. You can find details on both of these pens over on my pen collection page.
I put a lot of ink on paper this week. This week has been the most productive – in terms of analog writing – since I started this blog. Most of my writing was process writing. Thinking on paper. The final product makes it into electronic forms for long-term storage: the Bear app, my school’s learning management system (LMS), and a word processor.
This week’s Inked Tines update includes my most recent currently inked writing tools.
Toolset
Pens. The Pelikan m805, inked as it is with Sailor’s Yozakura, was my most-fun pen and ink combo this week. The Architect nib writes more smoothly the more I clean and reink it. The nib has a multitasker grind: F architect and an EF. The black shading of Yozakura made even mundane writing more enjoyable. 3/5 full.
That scrollwork is what dreams are made of
Diplomat Aero — Empty. I dig this EF nib. It’s pencil smooth and wet enough to bring out some of the darker elements in Pumpkin Patch. Excellent accent pen. Marking, accent reading notes, some journaling.
Franklin-Christoph 46 — Empty. The wet, but sharp, F italic nib is fun for slow writing tasks like reading notes and journaling. Far too sharp for quick writing. Reading notes, journaling.
TWSBI Vac700R — Empty. I can’t get over how smooth this italic nib is. Mr. Speer (of Pen Realm fame) knows his trade. As expected, the F italic is a bit too broad for daily task management. But it’s lovely for journaling and meeting notes.
Monteverde Giant Sequoia — 1/5. The size and weight of this pen are comfortable. This pen became a go-to for journaling. And I used this pen for three days reading circle notes with my students. Brane’s wet flow compensated well for the ink’s green glitter. Absent hard starts, this is a great combination. Teaching notes, reading notes, journaling. Lot’s of journaling.
Montblanc 146 — 1/2. Oyster Grey proved a bit dry for the 146’s feed. The feed aired out after a few hours of sitting. After uncapping, the lines were a light, dusty grey; and the EF an unlubricated scratchy. Writing grew a healthy dark grey and a fun, smooth EF after three or four lines. Task management, scratch notes, journaling.
Kaweco Sport Classic — 4/5. As expected, the cartridge sat firmly without any leaks. My pocket pen throughout the week. The BB is a bit too generous for the Field Notes paper in my pocket book. Smoke on the Water led to some hard starting. The BB nib, left on the paper a moment before writing, corrects the issue. Perhaps this will be a journaling pen next week.
Notebooks. Work bujo. The first A5 Hobonichi Plain notebook of the year is dust. 10 new pages led to the end of the book: page 270. Two pages are the weekly spread. The remainder are lesson plans, meeting notes, and reading notes. My reading is preparation for a new unit on the history of race in US immigration law. Nell Irvin Painter is a fantastic historian.
Midori MD A6 Journal. 19 A5 spreads, or 35 A6 pages. Long form journaling took on a life of its own. I’ve taken to reflecting on one essay each night before bed. The result had been empowering. Poems by Walt Whitman, Jim Harrison and Danielle Doby made appearances, too.
Pocket Field Notes. Added two new pages to the pocket notebook. A week with few scratch notes is a smooth week. And this notebook has gridded pages. Wahoo.
Written dry. I wrote the Franklin-Christoph, Diplomat, and TWSBI Vac empty this week. The FC only had only a small amount of ink coming into the week. It went dry during the workday on Tuesday.
The Diplomat ran empty during a journaling session Wednesday evening. The TWSBI ate it Friday afternoon, during a roundtable activity with my students. I modeled proper note taking etiquette for them while they discussed passages from Plato’s Life and Death of Socrates. Learning to speak intelligently about primary sources is challenging.
Newly inked. Not one pen. I was patient and decided to wait for the weekend.
The Collection
Incoming / new orders. Nothing new this week. To be honest, I’m happy with my current pen and ink choices.
Outgoing / trades or sales. I have a few neglected pens marked for sale or giveaways. Details to come in a later post.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. Nearly, very nearly, finished with Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind. Not much reading happened in the realm of fiction. Unless reading Whitman and Dolby’s poetry counts.
Nonfiction. Anne Applebaum’s Twilight of Democracy is thoughtful and pointed. She walks through her understanding of how authoritarianism seeps into folks’ democratic values. And another handful of essays on constitutional theory. David Super, Tom Ginsburg and Joanne Freeman are worth looking up.
Music. Chillhop’s Winter 2020 Essentials mix. Thematically appropriate given the snowy weather this past week.
