Hitting the reset button with six new inks, and Grogu
I felt myself slipping into a rut last week. The excitement I typically feel when deciding on which pen and ink combination to write with had waned. Starting to work felt like more a chore than in quite some time.
So I emptied all but one pen.
This week, my penvelope holds six new pens. Only the Kaweco remains inked — itself a brand new pen at only three days old. Novelty helps spur excitement.
The nib selection is diverse and suits well the very different kinds of writing in store for me this week. One no-nonsense round EF and a second (antique!) flex EF for my grey inks. One business and one play — primarily for reading notes.
A super-smooth and forgiving F-CSI is balanced out by a sharp F Architect within my blue inks. A round F offers a pop of purple when making accent notes. And both dry (Koiame) and wet (Rose) inks round out my earth tone options.
Fun ink choices. New pen choices. Excitement is back, folks.
Grey/Black
Kaweco Skyline Sport Fox (EF). Monteverde Coal Noir. This week’s daily driver is a pocket pen. A new pocket pen. The round EF nib will accommodate writing quickly without growing scratchy. This is my task management and scratch notes combo.
Esterbrook J Grey (9128, EF Flex). Colorverse Matter. My only flex nib. The 9128 adds softness and play to a truly narrow line. My reading notes driver for the week. And scratch notes while I set up my new iPad. And perhaps some journaling.
Blue/Teal
Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (F Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Akkerman Koninginne Nacht-Blauw. This Architect is sharp, by design. Affords easily noticeable line variation within a narrow F line. Akkerman is a mellow grey-blue with fun shading and quick drying. Excellent for reading notes, journaling, and accenting lists.
TWSBI Vac700R Iris (F CSI, by Pen Realm). Robert Oster Bondi Blue. I was disappointed that this Vac misbehaved with Birmingham’s Blizzard last week. I still have a hankering to use this pen in accent reading notes, journaling, and end-of-year faculty meeting notes. Another light blue ink was called for.
Earth Tones
Monteverde Rodeo Drive Polaris (1.1 Stub). Robert Oster Schwarz Rose. Rose is dark enough to disqualify the Monteverdi from accent notes. This wide nib is best suited for journaling this week. And maybe scratch notes during final grading, commenting, and transitioning files to the new computer.
Franklin-Christoph 03 Ghost (F SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Taccia Ukiyo-e Sharaku-Koiame. My marking pen for final projects. A dry combination that brings out the bright orange ends of Koiame’s coloring. Excellent pair for marking manuscripts, accenting reading notes, and journaling. F SIG is a tad too sharp for comfortably scrawling meeting notes.
Wild Cards
Visconti Homo Sapiens Silver Age (F). Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo. I dig a subtle pen that surprises you with a popping ink color. Enter the black and silver Homo Sapiens and Yama Budo. A round F nib will serve equally well as an accent pen in quickly written tasks like meeting notes and slower notes like reading notes. And journaling. I anticipate reaching for this combo frequently.
