All geared up for commonplace notes
Both last week’s color palette and pen selection worked well. This week, I’m swapping only one pen-and-ink combo. Replacing a bright blue EF accent notetaker for a purple-pink version of the same. Gearing up for some commonplace notes.
My commonplace notetaking system plays with two colors at a time. Grey ink denotes passages from the book I’m recording notes on. Directly quoted in a thin F or true EF. Narrow lines allow me to comfortably fit passages that are multiple sentences snugly across only a few notebook lines.
A cycle of colorful inks denote my reflections on each passage. Reflections on what I feel the passage means, as of right now. Connections to other points or examples in the book. Connections to other thinkers’ ideas. Even connections to my own life. Bridges built in full color.
Four pairings make for great reflection notes. Pumpkin Patch and Larmes de Cassis offer bright hues. Easily distinct against Gris Orage’s depressed grey. The broad lines from the Franklin-Christoph and Nakaya ensure their subdued inks still stand out readily against the Platinum’s F.
Two paths to the same destination: easily discernible reflection notes in my commonplace notebook. Geared up.
Grey/Black
Platinum 3776 Star Wars Kylo Ren (F). Jacques Herbin 1670 Gris Orage. This F nib has become my favorite Platinum nib. Narrow F lines with a light, gentle tooth. Excellent for detailed notes and tracking tasks in Hobonichi’s minuscule 3.7 mm grid. The force is strong.
Blue/Teal
Franklin-Christoph 45 Blue Diamondcast (B SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris. Verdigris is wet with a reasonable drying time. The sharp edges of the SIG grind are ghosts — there only when you look for them. The pairing shades infrequently, mostly where the feed dries slightly towards the ends of long words. A fun reward for flexing my vocabulary. Journaling, reading notes, and commonplace notes.
Monteverde Giant Sequoia Brown (M Architect, by Kaigelu). Taccia Ukiyo-e Sabimidori. The only combo that is ill-suited to commonplace notetaking. Sabimidori’s fun color-shifting, shading, and sheen make this a go-to for journaling. The picky Kaigelu architect grind demands concentration on my writing angle. As such, this pair is my pick for slow-writing tasks and personal lists.
Earth Tones
Mythic Aeschylus Black & Red (M SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Ferris Wheel Press Pumpkin Patch. The brightest ink in my palette for the second consecutive week. Moreover, Pumpkin Patch has grown into itself over the course of last week’s writing, providing more full orange lines. The Mythic’s broad section makes for comfortable writing angles for the M SIG nib. Strong. Journaling, reading notes, and commonplace notes.
Nakaya Neostandard Heki-tamenuri (B). J. Herbin Vert Empire. A pairing for the ages. The Nakaya B nib and feed keep Vert Empire in a goldilocks amount of flow: wet enough to shade prominently and dry enough to ensure quick drying times. The Neostandard is girthy, which accommodates long writing sessions of fast writing.
Wild Cards
Sailor Pro Gear Graphite Lighthouse (MF). J. Herbin Larmes de Cassis. Cassis is dry in this Sailor feed. The result is a quick-drying pair with a healthy amount of tooth. I feel the texture of my paper — like a road with potholes. That said, the MF nib avoids any snagging, pulling or scratching. Reading notes and commonplace notes. This pair is also my pocket carry for the week due to the small dry time and compact Pro Gear body size.
