What’s there not to like?
All smiles over here
The collection of pens this week makes me smile. I enjoy subdued colors. And drier inks tend to have great shading. And the Petit Prince hath returned. What’s there not to like?
Four of this week’s inks are dry writers: Kaigan, Kyo-no-oto, Kyo-iro, and Lady Rose. Three of the nibs for these inks are F or EF.
The combination of drier inks and narrower nibs should decrease drying time and, therefore, minimize my smearing issues from last week — even on Tomoe River paper.
Within the six non-grey inks in pens this week, only two are suitable for accent notes. Caribbean Blue and Higashiyama Moonlight offer a shock of color that contrasts well against grey. These will be my primary note takers throughout the week.
The rest are suited to longform writing: wide or sharp nibs and subdued colors. Perfect for a week I anticipate drafting more of my own research.
Grey/Black
Platinum 3776 Nice Pur (F). KOBE Kaigan Stone Grey. My daily driver. The smooth Platinum F nib leaves a narrow EF line on the page. Kaigan is a quick-drying dark grey with minimal shading. The combination is lovely, smooth, and a narrow EF line. Perfect for task management and quickly scrawled notes. Task management, meeting notes, reading notes, lesson plans, some journaling.
Blue/Teal
Franklin-Christoph 45 Philly ‘20 (B SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Diamine Skull & Roses. The B SIG works best for tasks that entail long-form reflections as the line is too broad for easy reading within a Hobonichi’s 3.7 mm grid. So: journaling, reflections on my teaching at the end of each school day, and letter writing.
Montblanc 146 Le Petit Prince and Fox (EF). Kyo-no-oto Aonibi. The combination of Aonibi’s dark grey-blue and the disciplined EF line will make this combo a great secondary daily driver. It can take detailed meeting notes in place of the 3776 when I grow bored with Kaigan. Meeting notes, lesson plans, journaling.
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SF). Monteverde Caribbean Blue. The bright blue ink and narrow true-F lines make for wonderful detailed accent notes. This is my go-to reading notes combo for the week. Reading notes (accent), meeting notes (accent), some scratch notes – because fun isn’t a dirty word.
Earth Tones
Lamy Safari Petrol (B). Monteverde Gemstone Moonstone. Wet, dark, and broad lines. Best suited to long-form writing as the Lamy feed puts down so much ink there is no feedback at all. Smooth writing makes for excellent long-form writing sessions, without hand cramps. Journaling, letter writing, meeting notes.
Wild Cards
Diplomat Aero Sunset Orange (EF). Kyo-iro Higashiyama Moonlight. Higashiyama has lovely, if subtle, shading – even in a true EF nib. Excellent round EF nib makes for forgiving writing, even at odd angles. Together, this pair is well-suited for pocket notes. I’m trying the Aero as my pocket carry, even though the magnetic closure worries me. Living dangerously. Pocket notes, lesson plans, reading notes (accent), manuscript editing.
Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Filler (M SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Ferris Wheel Press Lady Rose. The sharp M SIG makes writing quickly a challenge. So this combo is set aside for slower, more contemplative writing. Lady Rose makes for a subtle contrast to grey Kaigan, so perhaps not an excellent accent color. Journaling, lesson plans, lists.
