A little smearing isn’t the end of the world, but still

Last week’s mix of black and grey inks carries over for task management. I’ve become a fan of having both black and grey inked up. A greyscale accent color is distraction-free, and still easily scannable. And that is a winning combination for me.

However, the 3 Oysters black and Montblanc pairing takes minutes to dry on Tomoe River paper. It’s not a good pairing for the paper I use for work. Consequently, my weekly spread has a constellation of smears and cross-page pollination.

Moving forward, I’ll have to select either black inks that dry more quickly or stingier feeds; especially for tracking tasks.

I tripled my usual blue fare this week. Including both a saturated and unsaturated blue is par. Hisoku was invited to the party because it balances out an unusually wet Bock EF nib.

Higashiyama serves a similar purpose. I chose the dry ink to make the Lamy B nib more manageable with my small handwriting. I write small enough to feel at home with EF or F nibs.

All together: I have three subdued EFs and four accents of varying nib sizes: B, Zoom, F Architect, and EF. This is one teacher who will not get bored this week.

Grey / Black

Montblanc 146 Le Petit Prince and Fox (EF). 3 Oysters HMJE Black. The EF keeps even wet ink EF. Well done, Montblanc. HMJE offers a lovely sheen once dry; emphasis on “once dry.” This combo results in a long dry time, especially on coated paper. The Prince is a challenging choice for quick-writing. Task management, scratch notes, journaling.

TWSBI 580-ALR Prussian Blue (EF/M Predator Hybrid, by Nibgrinder). Colorverse Matter. My primary notetaking pen for the week. The ink dries quickly and shades generously. The multitasker nib offers a medium-wet M line for headings and quick in-meeting notes, and a true EF for just about every other task. The EF is a bit too dry for longer writing sessions, so I have this as my pocket carry. The EF works well on my Field Notes paper. Pocket carry, task management, meeting notes, pocket notes.

Blue / Teal

Franklin-Christoph 03 Ghost (EF SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Colorverse Warped Passages. The EF SIG nib is a true masterpiece by the late-great Mr. Rouse. It does take discipline not to rotate the pen though: so slower writing tasks will best suit this combo. WP is bright enough to offer a pop of color to reading notes and lecture notes without distraction. The feed keeps the EF true to size. Reading notes, lecture notes, lesson plans, journaling.

Sailor Pro Gear Graphite Lighthouse (Z). Jacques Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Népal. Kyanite is a bit wet for the Pro Gear’s feed. We’re in BB territory. Excellent pairing for headings and for fast meeting notes, both of which entail larger lettering. Journaling, meeting notes, lesson plans.

Karas Kustoms Decograph Winter Wonderland (EF). Kyo-no-oto Hisoku, 7. This combo lives on the extremes: hard starts followed by a generous MF line. The broader Hisoku lines are excellent lesson plan accents as they’re readable from a distance away and contrast sharply against grey/black inks. My primary accenting combination. Lecture notes, lesson plans, reading notes, journaling.

Earth Tones

Lamy Safari Terra Red (B). Kyo-iro Higashiyama Moonlight, 4. This Lamy B nib brings out fun shading in Higashiyama. B round nibs are well-suited for messy in-meeting notes. They write at just about any angle, and write large enough to be seen from a distance. My primary marking pen as orange is red-adjacent enough for grading and not-red enough to induce panic in my students when they see all of my writing on their work. Marking, meeting notes, journaling.

Wild Cards

Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (F Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Sailor Shikiori Yozakura. This pairing remains a sincere favorite of mine. An excellent accenting pen, especially during meetings. The multitasker F Architect is my nib of choice for planning-meetings which are often balanced between detailed notes and broader tasks that need to be migrated into my task list afterwards. Meeting notes, journaling.

All in the family