My improved pen show kit includes mnml stickers
I visited this year’s DC Pen Show on Saturday and Sunday. There are already quite a few accounts of the show itself. Both wonderful descriptions and thoughtful evaluations.
My focus skews toward the current evolution of my pen show kit — which I call my floor kit. The pens and notebooks and bags I used to navigate the large, wild aisles of the DC Pen Show.
And the benefits of traversing the show aisles with great friends. A topic my great pen friend, and Pen Twin, has offered to share thoughts on in a guest post later in the week.
The floor kit. Avocado for scale.
My A5 Rickshaw bag offers an excellent balance between storage space and small footprint. The small footprint is key for avoiding knocking into people while traveling narrow showroom narrow aisles.
For holding the three p’s: pens, paper and purchased ink. (That last p feels forced.)
I also carry a pin on my Rickshaw’s strap with the blog’s logo on it. For giggles.
A six-pen case from Franklin-Christoph dominates the inside of the Rickshaw. This held three inked pens — for sharing with pen friends. Four unlinked pens destined for nib work. And one empty slot which eagerly awaited a possible new acquisition. So: eight portable and protected storage spaces.
I stuck my B5 Life Noble Note journal behind the penvelope. This notebook came out often during the show. I used the LIFE paper to test pens and inks from both vendors and friends — all on one common paper that I know I enjoy.
More significant than settling into this working floor kit: I had stickers made. Fancy shiny stickers. Stickers I gave out to folks who recognized me and mentioned this blog. Half the roll is now gone!
A lot of us appreciate a grey ink
Most fun of all was connecting with people. Introverts can find struggle with introductions. The stickers made for wonderful conversation starters. It was so much easier to get to know folks once we’re already chuckling.
Putting faces to the names and monikers of folks I read regularly was an absolute blast.
This year’s DC Pen Show was the first show experience where I felt fully on my feet. Having the right floor kit helped me to focus on the most rewarding part of the show: meeting up with — and getting down to scribbling with — cool people.
This week’s Inked Tines update includes last week’s currently inked writing tools.
Toolset
Pens. No single pen stood out this week, beyond my excitement over my new Nakaya nib grind and new Carolina Pen Co. pen.
Loft Highworth (mnml EF) — Feed. My daily driver. The combination of large pen and narrow EF line makes for comfortable detailed notetaking. Task management, reading notes, scratch notes, lesson prep notes.
Pelikan m805 (F CI) — Feed. Stellar pairing of wet feet and dry ink. Pelikan feed kept Hisoku shading prominently, even after a whole page of writing. Journaling, lesson plan notes, reading notes.
Monteverde Giant Sequoia (M Architect) — 2/5. The Kaigelu-ground architect is very sharp, limiting this pair to slow writing tasks: reading notes, analytic reflections, and letter writing. Some journaling, too.
Nakaya Neostandard (Mini-Naginata) — 1/2. A sentimental pen that now houses three personalities: B for journaling and longform writing, F for analytic reading notes, and EF for detailed notes. Koiame shades subtly, adding a fun variance while I write, which keep me reaching for this pair.
Carolina Pen Charlotte (B) — 2/3. Yomogi is wet and sheens strongly in this B feed. The broad B lines worked well for quick notes during meetings and journaling. The reverse side of this B nib also offers a smooth EF line — excellent for detailed reading notes. Digging this pairing.
Sailor Pro Gear (Z) — 4/5. Smooth forgiving writer. Well suited for long writing sessions and brain dump lists — both situations in which I tend to rotate my pen. And rogue silver shimmer lent a dreamy glimmer to Sakuranezumi’s dulcet, moody purple. Journaling, lesson prep, meeting notes.
Notebooks. Journal. I’ve separated out the pages used for scribbles, test writing and playing around with inks during the pen show from the pages I used for reflective journaling since.
I took on twelve adventuresome pages of reflective journaling, brainstorming, and list making. Three pages of lists and brainstorming and nine pages of reflective journaling. It’s great to be writing again.
I tapped the Sailor (Yozakura) for a two-page spread that houses a brainstorm. The forgiving Zoom nib wrote reliably, even as my mind wandered and I rotated the pen to odd writing angles.
A previous fill of some shimmer ink left glittery surprises
My new Carolina Pen Co. Charlotte wrote out a two-page analytic reflection. The B nib brought out Yomogi’s excellent shading. The reverse writing offered smooth EF lines for detailed notes on a few points within my reflection. Love a multi-tasker nib.
Celebrating lines of all sizes
I tagged the Nakaya, Sequoia and Sailor for the remaining entries. With the Pelikan running dry over the course of transcribing Mary Oliver’s fantastic poem “The Waterfall.”
Written dry. Summer months are easy on my ink levels. Two pens are down to their feeds: the Pelikan and Loft Highworth. But both continue writing on.
Dedication comes in all colors, even black
Newly inked. No way. No need. An excellent currently inked kept me writing with a smile.
Contented
The collection
Incoming / new orders. I welcomed a Charlotte in Dragon Scales by Carolina Pen Company. I was so excited to find a matte-finished pen in my color scheme that I forgot to ask Jonathon Brooks what model the pen is.
“Pen of Dragons” was not the model name
I also bought a wonderful new grey ink with warm undertones from Bungukan Kobayashi called Sohayanotsuruki. A Google translation of the included insert evokes a legendary sword or sword-wielder as the inspiration for this ink. The warm, metallic undertones do evoke the feeling of living steel.
Looks sharp
Sohayanotsuruki is made by Sailor. Information online is threadbare. However, I found a YouTube unboxing that includes the ink in a larger Trip to Country collection.
All told, Sohayanotsuruki shades playfully, writes consistently, and dries quick. Excellent qualities for an ink I aim to use in task management and daily drivers going forward.
The great majority of my pen show budget target nib work. One grind. Three professional tunings and repairs.
New life, old nibs
CY at Tokyo Station Pens ground my Nakaya into a mini-naginata. One pen becomes three with this multitasker grind. Low writing angles produce the same consistent B lines I’ve grown accustomed to from this Nakaya nib.
My more natural high writing angle produces a consistent, generous F line. And reverse writing produces similarly smooth EF lines. Narrow lines which open this Nakaya up to work as my daily driver.
Many faces to this mini-naginata
Damien (All in the Nib) and Gena (Custom Nib Studio) saw to tuning a trio of EFs: the Pilot Custom 74, Visconti Homo sapiens, and my mmml branded Jowo. Of which, only the mnml has since been inked.
I couldn’t put my Loft Highworth down last week. My planner is awash in grey ink as a result of the fun pencil-like feedback this nib now has. Cheers, Damien. You’ve made one happy scholar.
So many scribbles, so much curriculum prep
Outgoing / trades or sales. My Faber-Castell Ondoro remains out on loan to one of my local pen group’s members. They’ve shared interest in buying the Ondoro.
The Ondoro is a pen that looks uncomfortable, with its prominent facets and sunken section. Contrary to looks, the Ondoro is comfortable. Cozy in the hand and a reliable writer.
I smell a potential pen adoption in the wind. Huzzah and hurray.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. I picked up The Pariah by Anthony Ryan on recommendation from Apple’s ebook store. Dark and gritty high fantasy. It’s a quick read with strong pacing. A combination well-suited to slow summer afternoons.
I’m already 77% through the book after one week. 226 iPad pages down. A sign that I needed a straightforward fantasy story this August.
Plus: Alwyn, the main character, is a scribe. You get me, Apple.
Nonfiction. My attention to teaching prep consumed any potential nonfiction reading time this week. Such is life. An adventure without regrets.
Music. I found myself smitten with Sammy Rae & The Friends last week. Summery, happy, fun, and down-to-earth. They’re a collective that exude having fun making music. Excellent for cheery summer half-days.
“Kick it to Me” and “Jackie Onassis” are standouts for me.
And evidence of having fun:
