A new, varied and balanced currently inked collection
August heralds two major changes for the writing I take up. First, I have new writing options available as a result of my adventures at the DC Pen Show. Whee.
Second, the first week of August also begins three weeks of half-days prepping for the coming school year. Scratch notes accompany redesigned class webpages. Quick, and often short, jottings. Lists, half-formed ideas, and css.
Lesson reflections help me think through changes to activities, assignments and how I cover class content. Long form writing recorded through extended writing sit-downs.
And reading notes aplenty come out of exploring possible new readings for my classes. Tiny margin notes, chapter keywords, and sometimes commonplace notes.
Three distinct kinds of writing. I’ve chosen a wide variety of nib and ink pairings for this week. Five functional accent ink colors comprise this week’s palette: three cool tones (Hisoku, Yomogi and Sakuranezumi) and two warm tones (Moonstone and Koiame).
My daily driver is an EF, accompanied by three medium-width lines (the Pelikan F CI, M Architect and Mini-Naginata) and two broad-width lines (the B and Z nibs).
New, varied, and balanced. Every option a prepping scholar needs.
Grey/Black
Loft Highworth Ocean Teal (mmml EF). Bungukan Kobayashi Sohayanotsuruki. This nib is fresh off of Damien’s table (All in the Nib) at the DC Pen Show. He deftly tuned my EF nib to write disciplined EF-width lines with pencil-like feedback. The Highworth’s contoured section helps me write small letters quickly — a must for both scratch notes and reading notes. And Sohayanotsuruki offers fun shading to keep my work feeling fresh and entertaining. My daily driver this week.
Blue/Teal
Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (F CI, by Custom Nib Studio). Kyo-no-oto Hisoku. The lone returning pen-and-ink pair this week. The generous Pelikan feed ensures Hisoku shades and halos throughout my words. The large 805 Pelikan stays comfortable in my hand during long writing sessions. Reflections, reading notes, and journaling.
Carolina Pen Charlotte Dragon Scales (B). Sailor Manyo Yomogi. Yomogi is wet enough to pool in this new B nib, resulting in consistent red sheen that halos around the outside edges of my letters. The massive Charlotte is comfortable to hold, especially during long writing sessions. Reverse writing leaves a consistent, true-to-size EF line suitable to reading notes. Multi-taskers of the pen case, unite.
Earth Tones
Monteverde Giant Sequoia Brown (M Architect, by Kaigelu). Monteverde Gemstone Moonstone. The sharp Architect grind requires careful, intentional writing form. Most suited to slower, reflective writing. The reverse XXF line writes consistently in the margins readings I print myself. The grind is ill-suited to the soft papers in trade-printed books.
Nakaya Neostandard Heki-tamenuri (B Mini-Naginata, by Tokyo Station Pens). Taccia Ukiyo-e Sharaku-Koiame. CY’s excellent Naginata grind converted my Nakaya into three pens: a M-width longford writer, a F-width fast writer, and a forgiving EF-width notetaker on reverse. Koiame’s bright orange hues make for excellent accent notetaking: reading notes, commonplace notes, reflections, and journaling.
Wild Cards
Sailor Pro Gear Blue Train (Z). Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi. Sakuranezumi shades generously and halos infrequently. Combined with this Sailor Zoom nib, dusty purple and near-black purple grace my pages. A welcome variance through long writing sessions. The Zoom nib forgives odd writing angles, which makes this pairing perfect for reflective writing where I may lose myself in my thoughts and forget about my pen’s angle to the page.
