That’s a mighty bold kit for such an EF-loving writer
I created me some novelty. Added ripples to my rhythm. Populated my penvelope with bold nibs. This week’s currently inked sextet heavily favors wide nibs.
Three B nibs and a funky wide M constitute a veer away from last week’s EF-dominated kit. The change has me excited again to start writing tasks. Starting is my primary obstacle. And the newness of so many B nib choices has me eager to scratch words and thoughts and lessons out on paper again. Success.
I placed one B or M nib in each color family. Further, two are inked with muted colors that suit somber meetings well: the Lamy and it’s Azure Noir and the Carolina’s Yama-dori. The other two sport bright orange and purple — excellent choices for accenting notes of all kinds.
New and mighty.
Grey/Black
Mr. Cypress Cone Micarta (EF). Sailor Shikiori Chushu. Chushu is a murky purple-black in this feed. The combination is firehose wet — which surprises me given Chushu’s penchant for modest ink flow. This is my daily driver pair for the week. Near-black lines and true-to-size EF lines. Task management, meeting notes, lesson plans, reading notes and scratch notes.
Lamy Safari Dark Lilac (B). Monteverde Azure Noir. Azure Noir lives outside of the box — a blue-black with delusions of blue. Further, Azure’s dulcet tones are great for fast-moving serious meetings that require a serious ink color and a wide, forgiving writing experience. My fast-paced meeting notes pair. Also: journaling.
Blue/Teal
Carolina Charlotte in Dragon Scales (B). Sailor Jentle Yama-dori. I’ve noticed that Yama-dori has begun sheening more strongly in the weeks since I originally inked it in the Carolina B nib. Lines are red sheen with spurts of lovely teal-blue at the beginnings of letters. The large size of the Charlotte model sits comfortably in-hand over long writing sessions: manuscript drafting, journaling, teaching reflections and lesson plans.
Earth Tones
Nahvalur Nautilus Primary Macchiato (Mini-Cutlass, by All in the Nib). Diamine Olive Swirl. A sharp grind like this Mini-Cutlass exposes beautiful line variation — even in narrow EF-esque line widths. Yet, I need to consistently use a disciplined writing angle to keep such a sharp grind writing enjoyably. So: slow, detailed writing tasks for this combo. Accenting task management, reading notes, analytic teaching reflections, and analytical journaling.
Hongdian N23 White Rabbit (Long Blade M, by Hongdian). Monteverde Copper Noir. The Rabbit is back. Hongdian’s Long Blade is friendly with Copper Noir, leaving loud shading in just about every letterform. The orange color stands out well against Chushu, resulting is readable accent notes in reading notes, meeting notes, and also in my journaling.
Wild Cards
Able Snail Classic in Powder Blue (B). Pilot Iroshizuku Edo-Murasaki. This particular B Bock nib brings out Murasaki’s haloing. I’m all smiles when I write with this combo. So this pair is destined for joyful writing tasks: journaling, manuscript drafting, and reading notes.
