How did three pens spend a lonely week resting, unused, in my penvelope?
I only ink six to eight pens in a given week. In part, I enjoy the feeling of using a pen enough that it empties. Limiting myself to six options encourages me to tap each of my pens for meaningful amounts of writing — in a typical week.
Another part is that I adore my Franklin-Christoph Penvelope Six. I live out of the pen case. And I enjoy it enough that I’ve adapted my workflow around its intended use case and limitations. Six pens because there are six slots in the case.
One, two, three … six
This weekend, I find myself wondering how I came to ignore three of last week’s six pens across the entire calendar week, from Sunday to Sunday? Seriously. I only used three of my six pens. Wild.
The early, first-draft response: mental hurdles that live between me and the penvelope. I have two cognitive hurdles to overcome for me to substantively use my fountain pens.
First, I need the right tool for the kinds of work in front of me. A Sarasa is my best stationery friend if I’m to spend a day completing forms over carbon paper. Colorful inks and grey for reading. Broad nibs for reflections and lesson plans. Prior proper planning.
I also need to remember that I have a pen-and-ink pairing available for use. I tend to reach for what I can see around me, especially in the chaotic moments of fast-paced meetings and avalanches of students’ questions. I only use what I remember I have in my bag or on my desk. And often, too many choices leave me blinded to what I can see right in front of me.
So, the answer to the question how did three pens go unused last week? is that my hurdles tripped me up.
I stuck heartily to the Sailor Graphite Lighthouse as the EF nib and grey ink suited almost every scenario: meetings, lesson prep, and task management. I ignored fun options like the Franklin-Christoph 03 because I forgot it was an option.
No offense …
Two ideas come to mind as I reflect on how I might overcome the hurdles of fit and memory: thoughtful preparation that results in breadcrumbs to my writing options. Breadcrumbs that live within view. Breadcrumbs I’ll leave to explore next week.
This week’s Inked Tines update includes last week’s currently inked writing tools.
Toolset
Pens. My most frequently and heavily used pen-and-ink pairing from last week is easily my standout combo. The Graphite Lighthouse Sailor Pro Gear Consistent, pleasurable writing in a true-to-size Japanese EF line on coated papers like Tomoe River. Oyster Grey spreads to a European F line width on non-coated papers like Kokuyo’s THIN. Daily driver tasks: task management, meeting notes, reading notes, lesson prep, and some scratch notes. 2/5 left.
Nahvalur Schuylkill Chromis Teal (EF) — 2/5. This combo writes wonderfully. However, I simply didn’t reach for the pair last week. Curious.
Jinhao 9019 Transparent Green (F) — 3/4. My go-to note annotating pair. The combo shines on absorbent papers where it writes smoothly in a true-to-size F line. The 9019 hard starts on coated papers like Tomoe River. Meeting notes, reading notes, margin notes, and some scratch notes.
Franklin-Christoph 03 Antique Glass (F CI) — 4/5. A second week of minimal use for this pair. Each part, individually, is excellent: from nib to pen to ink. Struggles to grab my attention from my penvelope. Curiouser.
Able Snail Powder Blue Classic (B) — 4/5. Deep, murky blues are now scrawled all over my annotated readings, care of this Able Snail. However, the Graphite Lighthouse so dominated my writing last week that this Able Snail simply hadn’t the time on-desk to spend much time greeting paper. Curious-est.
Sailor Pro Gear Bora Bora Waters (B) — 4/5. The lone journaling writer from last week. A playful ink like Seki keeps my attention and interest over long writing sessions. Journaling and brainstorming for my work bullet journal. The Pro Gear’s B nib has a fabulous tactile feedback that draws me back into writing. Swim on, young Bora.
Notebooks. Work bujo. Kokuyo Century Edition Dot Grid (A5). I lived across eight pages over the course of last week’s meeting-palooza. The week’s work-based scribbling culminated on page 26. Eight pages in all.
The first seven pages of last week’s notebook usage are meeting notes. My daily driver dominates throughout. Five of the week’s eight pages of notes are exclusively Sailor’s EF lines in Oyster Grey. Simple, direct, organized notetaking.
Organized and messy coexist in my notebooks
Two other notes spreads are also written in Oyster Grey. However, I ran through them a second time with my Jinhao 9019 in hand. Ancient Copper’s orange stands out easily where I marked tasks warranting follow-up.
Teamwork makes the skimming work
The final page is a brainstorm of revised tasks in final preparation for students returning to our classrooms this coming week. A true brain dump. My other inked Sailor brought some whimsy to the party with Seki’s fun chromoshading.
Journal. Kobeha Graphilo Grid (A5). A light journaling week. I sat down on Thursday evening for last week’s solo journey into my journal. My reflections spanned one page of writing.
A single page written with Sailor’s fantastic B nib. Sailor’s Seki ink lights up the page with purple and taupe-grey and hints of sporadic green. The combination is simultaneously subdued and lively. A subtle game.
A game that makes for one shady-looking rainbow
I chose the pairing because of the novelty with both my new B nib and my new ink. I wrote a full page because the combination is a fun experience. Sandy feedback and lines at the beginnings of lines and smooth pools of wet purples and greens at the ends. Both ends of the spectrum.
Written dry. All six pens write on heartily. Praise.
Newly inked. My palette is bringing me joy. I honestly didn’t feel a need to ink up more pens last week.
Planning gone right
The collection
Incoming / new orders. I have had the pleasure of frequent new pen days and new ink days throughout August. Last week offered a welcome respite from new acquisitions. Time spent with the stationery already on my desk is time well dedicated.
Outgoing / trades or sales. No movement here, again. Continuing to repeat iterations of this sentence reminds me that I have three pens packed and ready for sale — and which simply need to be posted.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. I was sorry to see Becky Chambers’ A Closed and Common Orbit come to an end. The final half (well, 42%) of the novel was paced quickly. Sidra’s identity development was magnetic and thoughtful. She defined for herself what it means to be a person and what it means to have purposed in life, juxtaposed alongside those you care about.
All of my reading took place on my phone’s Books app. I enjoy having my fiction in my pocket, wherever and whenever I have a craving to read further. And without adding any weight to my daily carry.
Nonfiction. I realize only now that I’m reviewing my reading activities last week, that all of my non-fiction work focused on reviewing and transcribing texts I’ve already annotated.
In particular, I transcribed two history chapters from photocopies into Google Docs. Text in a word processor can be “read aloud” by my students’ computers. Modern OSs’ dictation software is a lifeline for students who struggle with divergent literacies and large workloads at the same time.
And my students can still practice annotating in the margins if they follow along in their own analog copy. Best of both worlds.
Is this “reading?” Not strictly. Is it worth doing? Indubitably.
Music. I chose a soundtrack with energy for last week’s planning and prepping. Sigur Rós is my go-to choice for work music with a kick. Lo-fi with a hefty dose of slapping my desk to keep me awake.
ÁTTA, the band’s latest album, is suitably delicate and energetic at turns. A great balance for keeping me focused while in a co-working space where my attention can wander easily.
Bló∂berg, the second track, is my recommendation for those who would like to bravely try on Sigur Rós for the first time. Excellent music for a tea and book learnin’ atmosphere.
