Welcoming summer with a custom and novel currently inked
I broke down my recent accumulation of Jinhao 82s into their parts. I mixed pieces and matched parts to craft two fully personalized Jinhao 82s. The process of building my own pens was immensely gratifying. As a healthy hobby should be.
One custom 82 alternates a snowy blue-white finial, ice blue body and section, snowy cap, and translucent blue end-cap. Frigid. The Lapras of custom 82s. A fitting home for last week’s Sakuranezumi converter.
The second custom 82 includes parts from three pens. A mint green finial and translucent blue body make up the bulk of this pen. The cap and end cap are both ice blue. I think the mint green makes the model. My “summer sky” colorway.
All three Pilot pens are entering their first full week in my collection. And all three offer reliable, novel writing options. We can all be so lucky.
More so, four pens enter this week already inked: the two Jinhaos, the TWSBI, and two of this week’s three Pilots. Together, I am missing only a true green ink. Enter Vert Empire. For the sake of a well-rounded ink palette.
Grey/Black
Jinhao 82 “Summer Sky” Custom (EF). Colorverse Anti-Matter. Last week’s daily driver floats on into my first week of summer break. Anti-Matter shades in gradient, even within EF line widths. Anti-Matter is a dry writer in this Jinhao feed. As such, my lines dry quickly, even on long-drying coated papers like Tomoe River. Task management, reading notes, lesson prep, and meeting notes.
Blue/Teal
TWSBI 580-ALR Prussian Blue (B). Colorverse α And. Two assets make this pairing excellent for accent notes, commonplacing, and creative writing. Andromeda’s multiple colors of shading are fun. Just the kind of whimsy I can use to drive the next bout of storytelling I am drawing up for my group’s D&D campaign. The B nib’s wide lines also sharply contrast my 82’s narrow EF writing. Excellent for standing out against the Summer Sky’s writing.
Earth Tones
Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Clear (B). J. Herbin Vert Empire. The broad lines and dusty green ink make for a calm pairing. I aim to tap this combo for thoughtful writing sessions that warrant a grounded mindset. Long rambling journal entries and considered reading reflections are in store for this pair.
Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Transparent Blue (FM). Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-yake. Yu-yake is this week’s lone brightly colored ink. The orange leaps off of the page. That easy recognition is an asset where I want to highlight tasks from meetings that need to be migrated into my agenda and for realizing editing notes in my writing, both lesson plans and storytelling. Flashy.
Pilot Custom 743 Deep Red (F). Sailor Shikiori Rikyu-cha. Rikyu-cha is an ink with multiple personalities: greens in dry-to-moderate nibs and browns in wet pairings. This 743 nib lives betwixt those personalities. Rikyu-cha is indecisive in this Pilot: with browns and greens aplenty. This is my “must get started” pairing — for tasks that need fun to get started. Moving plans, lesson adaptations, summer teaching reflections and analytic journaling.
Wild Cards
Jinhao 82 “Snow Day” Custom (EF, by Delike). Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi. Sakuranezumi is a dark, moody purple in this feed. Wet without robbing the delicate Delike EF of its strong feedback. The diminutive 82 seems a strong candidate for my weekly pocket carry. The round EF nib writes at even near-vertical angles. Perfect for pocket notebooks, reading notes, and shortform journaling (especially brainstorms).
