If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Last week’s palette lives on — mostly. The collection of pens, nibs, and inks is already well-balanced. Why try to fix what isn’t broken.
I do, however, need a new daily driver. And I inked a new wild card — for the fun of it.
Holding to last week’s theme, the wild card gets a 1.1 mm stub to offset the Pro Gear’s multitasker grind.
Pens. This week’s kit sits at seven inked pens. Both newly inked pairings have metal bodies.
All of last week’s are acrylic. The spread of materials was subconscious, and escaped notice until this post. And is worth reflecting on moving forward.
Nibs. Access to both a narrow nib and a wide nib within each color family proved helpful.
I took the opposites one step further this week. The one-dimensional 1.1 mm stub in my Monteverde juxtaposes Gena Salorino’s versatile Z Architect grind. Together, I have both a broad-only and a broad-EF nib inked.
Not a thing broken here.
Grey/Black
Diplomat Aero Sunset Orange (EF). Jacques Herbin 1670 Gris Orage. The Diplomat’s snap cap encourages quick notes. Especially during task management and meetings. The wet feed keeps Orage’s gold shimmer flowing without issue. Daily driver. Task management, scratch notes, meeting notes.
Blue/Teal
Visconti Homo Sapiens Blizzard (EF). Monteverde Caribbean Blue. A dry and crabby combination. That said, Caribbean Blue is a fabulous accent color. The pop of bright blue is easily readable, even from a distance. Great for lesson plans, meeting notes, and journaling.
Franklin-Christoph 45 in Diamondcast Blue (B SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Kyo-no-oto Aonibi. Excellent pairing for those who appreciate shading. Sharp but smooth. B SIG is rewarding in slow writing tasks like lesson plan outlines and journaling. Lack of a clip makes this a desk pen.
Earth Tones
Lamy Safari Blue Macaron (B). Colorverse Brane, shimmer. Shades more prominently now that Brane has sat in the feed for two weeks. Shading makes this pair great for Meeting accent notes. The round B nib double-so — especially for meetings. Meeting notes, lesson plans, reading notes, journaling.
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SF). Diamine Ancient Copper. The stately black and rhodium trim continues to be a safe choice for in-person meetings. The SF nib accommodates detailed notes. Ancient Copper is just bright enough to stand out against Gris. Lecture notes, lesson plans, marking papers, meeting notes.
Wild Cards
Sailor Pro Gear Slate (Z Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi. This week’s daily carry. The dual-grind makes teaching on the go easy. I can draw large diagrams with the Z side and tiny detailed notes with the reverse. Pocket notes, lesson plans, meeting notes, journaling.
Monteverde Rodeo Drive Polaris (1.1 mm). Ferris Wheel Press Candy Marsala. Red is outside of my comfort zone. Marsala’s earthy, shady red lives on the line separating the zones. A meeting accent combo. The stub is also suited for other slow writing tasks like journaling.
