A piston-heavy penscape
This coming week will see me on campus teaching: grading, drafting summer assignments and sitting in curriculum meetings. All three activities are writing heavy. Score.
I’ll also be off campus three days. Two at a desk. A third chaperoning students volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. An unusual mix of activities.
So, I need pens that are hardy enough to travel securely. And which hold volumes of ink that will survive a week of plentiful handwriting. And many round nibs to ensure I can write at odd angles, wherever I am.
Pistons. Pistons are my answer. A compliment of six piston-filler pens. Five EF/F nibs and one 1.1 mm Stub. Detailed notes ahoy. And a lot of them.
Add a lone Franklin-Christoph 45, because the exception highlights the theme.
Grey/Black
Visconti Homo Sapiens Blizzard (EF). Monteverde Azure Noir. The week’s daily driver. The round EF nib is excellent for no-nonsense detailed note taking. The magnetic cap is well suited to quick scratch notes and uncaps silently during meetings. Azure Noir dries quickly — so no smearing. TK-42-won. Meeting notes, task management, reading notes.
Visconti Homo Sapiens Silver Age (F CI, by Nibsmith). Jacques Herbin Shogun. I am duly impressed by Shogun. The ink writes reliably every time I reach for this pair, even after three weeks inked. Herbin has figured out functional shimmer ink. The soft palladium nib, with its crisp italic grind, is most friendly with slow writing. So: purposeful drafting (class letters), journaling, reading notes, and some teaching reflections.
Blue/Teal
Franklin-Christoph 45 Blue Diamondcast (F). Colorverse Extra Dimension. The stag converter in this week’s outfit. The diminutive 45 is a lovely meeting pen. The cap turns silently, making it a great fidget spinner during long — particularly passive — meetings. And the 45 uncaps quickly. Combined with the round F nib, this pairing is an excellent quick notetaker. Meeting notes, scratch notes, and reading notes.
Montblanc 146 Le Petit Prince and Fox (EF). Sailor Ink Studio 441. This pair continues on as my go-to accent notetaker. The still EF nib is tailor-made for detailed, small letters. And 441 flows well after the first two or three words — making this combo excellent for margin notes. This pair is my manuscript editor, accent reading notetaker, and student paper grader. Young scholars beware.
Earth Tones
Narwhal Schuylkill Chromis Teal (EF). Colorverse Brane, glistening. Brane is a generous shader in this feed. And the titanium EF nib continues to add fun flair and consistent ink flow to this combo. My pocket carry for the coming week. The Narwhal’s sturdy clip and narrow profile sit well in a rear pant pocket. Consistent MF width lines. Excellent for long writing sessions and brief notes. However, the cap is prone to cross-threading and so requires multiple tries to close. Pocket notes, meeting notes, reading notes, lesson plan (singular!), and journaling.
TWSBI 580-AL Lava (1.1 mm Stub). Sailor Shikiori Rikyu-cha. Two old favorites, combined, make a fun new favorite. No surprise. Rikyu-cha is thunderstorm-wet with this wide stub nib. Coated papers show off the fun color change as cha dries from green to tea-brown. Rhodia’s Goalbook paper is going to be tested this week. Reading notes, manuscript drafting, letter drafting, and journaling. We can all get along.
Wild Cards
Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (F CSI, by Custom Nib Studio). Montblanc Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Exupéry shades best at the end of a page, once the Pelikan’s feed has mellowed. I’ll try this ink in a drier feed next time to maximize the ink’s shading. That said, this pairing is fun during seated, slow-moving meetings — which allow me mental space to ensure I keep the grind at the proper writing angle. And the red-pink ink is easily scannable against Azure Noir for searchable notes. Meeting notes, reading notes, journaling.
