Currently Inked - October 22
The muted glory of randomly selected inks
Some weeks it takes quite some time to choose my pen and ink combinations. This week, I tried a new strategy. I asked my partner to pick inks randomly, using their numbers in my ink collection Google Sheet. The result was great!
I chose to go with two grey inks for my daily drivers: one EF nib and another in B – well, a B Architect. Two blues, two earth tones, and two wild cards round out the palette.
For pens, I blended trustworthy favorites with some newbies. As is typical for me, I chose a healthy mix of EF nibs and some broads.
Grey/Black
Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black (HF). Mont Blanc Oyster Grey. The simple, matte black body of this pen is comforting. The body says “get to work.” The nib is soft and puts down a clean line. A plus is that the nib reverse writes to an XXF, which I use for recording students’ grades. MB Oyster Grey is a wonderful pairing, with its great shading and purple undertones.
Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (Broad A by Custom Nib Studio). Paper Plume Oyster Grey. The dual-tipped architect grind and subtle grey and no makes this a great meeting pen combo. The B grind works well for headings and fast notes during a meeting. The reverse writes as an EF. I like this end for more careful notes, and for migrating meeting notes onto my task list. It’s truly two pens in one. What are the chances randomly choosing inks would result in two oyster greys? PP Oyster Grey adds a far cooler, darker tone to my grey ink choices – which I dig.
Blue/Teal
Karas Kustoms Winter Wonderland Decograph (EF). Papier Plume #13. The EF steel nib that came with the pen wrote far more like a M. I replaced it with a titanium EF which writes closer to a FM. The pen itself, being white, lends itself to just about any color you could throw at it. PP did a wonderful job making a mid-toned teal with excellent shading. This is my lesson planning pen.
Lamy Aion Olivesilver (EF). Platinum Blue-Black. I’m a fan of simple functionality. The Aion is precisely that: functional. The EF has fun feedback and a clean line. Platinum Blue-Black doesn’t sit well with me. It’s either too indigo or too boring, at turns. I haven’t found love with shading. This combo will be emptied come the weekend.
Earth Tones
Nakaya Neostandard Heki-Tamenuri (B). Monteverde Copper Noir. A showstopping combination. The Nakaya is a desk pen. It rarely leaves the house. The B nib brings out Copper Noir’s fantastic shading – especially on Tomoe River paper. This is a winner, through-and-through.
Lamy Safari Blue Macaron (EF). Sailor Shikiori Rikyu-Cha. Rikyu-Cha goes down green and dries brown, simulating the color of a dark tea. The dry EF Lamy nib does a great job of bringing out the greens in this Sailor ink. I’m a big fan of this combination.
Wild Cards
Kaweco Frosted Sport Light Blueberry (BB). Robert Oster Velvet Storm. This is my pocket pen for the near future. I like the convenience of the compact size. I do miss having a double nib for meetings, so I find I still have to bring the Pelikan along – which kind of defeats the purpose of a pocket meeting pen. Velvet Storm though. It’s a mellow teal with beautiful shimmer. This ink is from a sample. That may change soon.
Mythic Pens Aeschylus in Black & Red (EF). Monteverde Birthday Cake. This pen far outperforms the ink in this combination. My Aeschylus is well-sized and is crafted impeccably. The nib is wet and puts down a clean, true EF. The ink itself is well-behaved, lubricated, and a mid-level of saturation in such a narrow nib. Purple inks don’t often land with me; BC is no exception.
