Currently Inked - November 18
Keeping it cool
This week’s smaller arrangement lives well within my comfort zone. The inks are mostly cool tones and half the nibs are EF or F. Of the remainder, all but one are reversible grinds. The collection gives me the option of an EF or B with almost any pen.
Two greys, three blues, two earthy colors, and a pink. Nearly all of the tones are unsaturated and cool. Dusty blues and greens are easy on the eyes. I find unsaturated colors calming; and we can all use a little comfort nowadays. I’m quite at home with this week’s currently inked.
Three pairings carry over from last week: the Pro Gear, Pelikan, and Nakaya. The rest are new to the rotation. And, frankly, this week’s combination of pens worked well with one another.
Grey/Black
Pelikan m805 Stresemann Anthracite (B Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Sailor Shikiori Chu-shu. I’m a sucker for a grey ink with blue or purple undertones. A quick-drying ink like Chushu works incredibly well for my weekly tasklist. I can make a note and quickly turn the page without coming back to a smeared checklist. Combined: this is a daily driver worth repeating. I’m using it for everything.
Delike New Moon 2 Green (EF). Birmingham Slag Grey. This is my pocket carry for the week. It’s relatively inexpensive, so I won’t worry about breaking it. The New Moon 2 takes four turns to uncap, so it won’t become uncapped and weep ink into my pockets. And it has a smooth round nib, so will lay down a reliable line on oddly angled pocket notebook pages.
Blue/Teal
Sailor Pro Gear Slate (Z Architect, ground by Custom Nib Studio). Colorverse Warped Passages. The wet reverse EF is still one of my favorite “nibs” right now. A neat, thin line with a smooth writing is an experience to behold. The Architect grind also shows off WP’s fantastic shading. Versatile and fun make for an excellent combination.
TWSBI Vac 700 R Iris (F Cursive Smooth Italic, ground by Pen Realm). Akkerman Koninginne Nacht-Blauw #7. The Akkerman is wetter than I anticipated. The ink still dries quickly enough that I can use it for everything from lesson plans to task tracking. The CSI grind is round enough that I can write quickly, too. I used this pen for just about everything: lesson plans, a handful of quick notes in meetings on students’ research projects, and a lot of journaling.
Earth Tones
TWSBI 580 AL Emerald (EF). Kyo-No-Oto Hisoku. Put simply: Hisoku is only of my favorite inks. It shades well, behaves on the paper I use most, and works well in both dry and wet feeds. This combo started out as my pocket carry but was too wet for the pocket notebook I’m halfway through. The TWSBI transitioned into a first-class marking pen and note-taker from Wednesday on.
Nakaya Neostandard Heki-tamenuri (B). Diamine Eau de Nil. A journaling-only pen. The wet Eau de Nil shows life on the Tomoe River paper in my journal. And the B line takes up a healthy amount of space on the page. So I get to see the fun qualities of Eau de Nil and enjoy a fun nib. Win-win.
Franklin-Christoph 31 Smoke & Ice (M Stub Italic Gradient, ground by Jim Rouse). Monteverde Sweet Life Pumpkin Cake. A dry combination. The edges of the SIG nib stand out as I write. However, it’s played very well on uncoated copy paper. And the large section makes longer writing sessions enjoyable. It’s relegated to marathon meetings and journaling. Three stars out of five.
Wild Cards
Mythic Aeschylus Black & Red (EF). Monteverde Emotions Gratitude. A fitting choice of ink for Gratitude Month. The EF nib has just the right kind and amount of feedback. The pen is understated enough to make it into student meetings without derailing dialogue. Gratitude performs well, but it’s not my kind of shade.
