A change-up, swap-up, freshen-up
A sparkling, shiny new sextet for the week. My students return to campus this week. A fresh set greets them.
Four new pen-and-ink combinations enter rotation this week. The KACO, Narwhal, Kaweco and Pilot all sport round, unground nibs. The first days of a school year a whirlwinds of activity. Quick jottings abound. And desk surfaces are not always available while writing. Round nibs are forgiving, even at odd angles.
I also swapped the EF/M ground Predator Hybrid nib into the TWSBI. This multitasker nib gives me both hairline detailed notes and broad grey marking. The benefit of three grey-inked pens from just two inked nibs. Bird, meet stone.
Summer Storm and 441 offer two distinct kinds of accent ink colors. Storm is mellow for subtle ideas. Process writing that will stand out just enough from Kaigan Stone’s dark grey.
441 is loud. For notes I know I’ll want to locate again later. Skimmable, searchable, reference-friendly.
Fresh and inky.
Grey/Black
Visconti Homo Sapiens Blizzard (EF). KOBE Kaigan Stone Gray. One of my two daily drivers for the week. The magnetic cap makes for quick and silent notetaking during meetings. The EF nib is smooth, laying down consistent dark grey lines — even over long writing sessions. Lesson plans, reading notes, meeting notes, and commonplace notes.
TWSBI 580-AL Turquoise (Predator Hybrid, by Nibgrinder). Pilot Iroshizuku Fukagawa-nezu. Nezu is a light counter-point to Kaigan Stone Grey. The tight EF side of Bacas’ predator grind affords detailed notes and task management — especially in small boxes in my weekly task list. And the M reverse side brings out Nezu’s haloing and shading — suitable for medium length writing sessions. The second half of my daily driving greys. Task management, meeting notes, reading notes, lesson plans, and journaling.
Blue/Teal
KACO Green Retro Blue/Orange (EF). Sailor Ink Studio 441. 441 leaps off my pages. And the KACO’s smooth EF ensures consistent writing. Combined, this pairing is my go-to for accent notes outside of meetings. And for marking printed documents while revising syllabi and first week handouts. Marking, journaling, reading notes, lesson plans and (to be honest) some meeting notes.
Earth Tones
Narwhal Schuylkill Chromis Teal (EF). Pelikan Edelstein Olivine. I’ve grown to enjoy the titanium EF nib in my Narwhal. Generous M lines suit medium length and long writing sessions. Further, Olivine is wet, dark and so sheens often in this nib. Excellent for the body of first week lecture notes and speech notes for the orientations I host. Also, journaling and reading notes.
Kaweco Skyline Sport Mint (B). Birmingham Stormwater Runoff. My pocket carry for the week. Kaweco’s compact, sturdy build is designed for life in pockets. Stormwater Runoff offers prominent shading and medium earthen brown-greens in this B nib. Fun and useful. B lines also accommodate headings and longform writing like reading reflections and journaling. Two lives.
Wild Cards
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SF). Robert Oster Summer Storm. A dry, if consistent, combination. Storm’s dusty purple provides an easy contrast to Kaigan Stone’s strong, dark grey. Further, the Pilot’s simple black colorway flies under the radar during meetings — especially meetings with parents who are anxious to start their children off smartly. As such, this is a great accent notetaker — especially where detailed notes live. Like in meetings. Lesson plans, reading notes, meeting notes, teaching reflections.
