Homo sapiens sapiens

This week doubles the Homo Sapiens. So: Homo sapiens sapiens.

I swapped the round F nib that was on the Midi Silver Age for Dan Smith’s crisp F cursive italic. Evening nib swaps are good times.

Most of my work can be done in my home study. So I can accommodate a slow, deliberate writing pace. Maintaining the right angle for Mr. Smith’s nib grind against the page keeps the writing experience fun.

The Blizzard’s round EF nib remains untouched.

My goal this week is to build out the coming school year’s teaching bullet journal. I like to have a light grey and a near-black grey in EF while building the structure of my reference spreads. The contrast helps to focus attention where I want it on the page without distracting via colors.

The Diplomat Aero returns to my pen tray after six months on the sidelines. The Aero is inked with Slag Grey — a lovely near-black ink.

The remaining pen and ink combinations offer heavy shading inks. Shading is a fun property for headings in routinely revisited reference spreads. 

Three of four are ground: a B SIG, a F CI, and a F Architect. Together, these three nibs offer a spectrum of line variation. Which, again, is a fun property in frequently referenced headings.

Grey/Black

Visconti Homo Sapiens Blizzard (EF). Sailor Ink Studio 223. Daily driver. This pair continues on as my primary writer. A true European EF line — that still offers fun shading. 223 shades healthfully without adding distracting color. Combined, this combo is well-suited to building core bullet journal spreads like the annual overview and the index. Task management, bullet journal structure, commonplace notes (quotes), D&D notes.

Diplomat Aero Sunset Orange (EF). Birmingham Slate Grey. Pocket carry. The metal body and flexible clip make this pen a secure pocket carry. The round EF nib lays out a disciplined European EF line. Slag Grey writes dark, near-black, with a hint of green-toned shading at the beginnings of words. Slag’s undertone stands out against 223’s lighter cool tones. I can use both grey inks together to direct my eye within each spread. Work bullet journal structure, scratch notes, pocket notes.

Blue/Teal

Franklin-Christoph 45 Blue Diamondcast (B SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Waterman Mysterious Blue. I have deeply enjoyed how Mysterious Blue writes within my 45. A medium blue with generous shading. This pair will make lovely large headers in the work bullet journal. The wide ribbony lines also add flair to journal entries and commonplace notes. Commonplace notes (accent), journaling, bullet journal headings.

Visconti Homo Sapiens Silver Age (F CI, by Nibsmith). Kyo-No-Oto Hisoku. Hisoku is one of my favorite ink colors. Seeing Hisoku’s sullen teal in the headings of much-used spreads like my meetings log makes me smile. Bonus: the Visconti’s firehose of a feed encourages Hisoku to halo. Commonplace notes (accent), journaling, bullet journal sub-headings.

Earth Tones

Narwhal Schuylkill Chromis Teal (M). Monteverde Sweet Life Pumpkin Cake. I swapped last week’s F nib for Narwhal’s M nib. The intention is to encourage more of Cake’s shading. The pair will add an easily-scanned burnt sienna to commonplace notes and journal entries. I also intend this combo for my work bullet journal’s August monthly goals spread. Commonplace notes (accent), journaling, monthly bullet journal spread.

Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (F Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Colorverse Interstellar Space. The only earth toned ink I plan to include in core spreads for my work bullet journal. The pair is also the accent color for this week’s task management in my Hobonichi Weeks. The Architect grind allows me to write both as a F and as an XXF — helpful in the tiny Hobonichi grid. Commonplace notes (accent), journaling, bullet journal headings, task management.

Wild Cards

I’m running accentless. No purples or pinks in this week’s currently inked. Gasp you should.

There are so many lovely inks in blue and green/brown this week. Sticking to my tradition of only six inked pens.

All in the family

Homo sapiens sapiens. A little humanity is definitely a good thing.