Nothing Shy About This Lot

Warmer weather always brightens my ink rotation. Orange, pink, and a paler shade of green add some fun to the hold-overs from early spring.

In addition, Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa is getting a run in the Namiki Falcon SB fire hose. So far – so good with that test. It’s a muted gray-purple that suits clouds more than unrelenting sunshine, but if it tames the beast, it will be a good choice.

• Kyoto Levenger True Writer custom stub with Diamine Dark Brown
• Clementine Retro 51 Scriptmaster II fine with Iroshizuku fuyu-gaki
• Lamy AL-Star custom fine italic with Iroshizuku tsutsuji
• Montblanc 220 OB with Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses
• Namiki Falcon SB with Rohrer & Klinger Scabiosa
• Namiki Falcon SF with Diamine Violet
• Waterman Deluxe Carene Stub with Iroshizuku asa-gao
• Platinum Century B Chartres Blue with Diamine China Blue
• Platinum #3776 music nib with Diamine Mediterranean Blue
• Namiki Falcon SF with Diamine Kelly Green

A Dozen Links From Around The Web

This ought to keep you out of trouble for awhile…

• Facebook Scam Alert – What Really Happens When You “Like”
• Creepy ghost town emerges from sea in Argentina
• Spontaneous Order Experiments Take Hold in Detroit
• Rants of the Archer: It’s Carnival Time!
• New York man finishes writing out entire Bible by hand (Now that’s dedication.)
• 20 ways to keep your internet identity safe from hackers
• Paper Salads
• Win a Danitrio, a Montblanc, or a Conway Stewart
• Sunshine Pen Pals
• Feelgood stories from The Guardian: a daddy, a sea lion, and quadruplets
• 7 Signs of a Bad Doctor
• The 16-Year-Old Who Changed Medicine Is Out to Change It Again

Links For Handwriting, Calligraphy, And Pen Junkies

This is a rarity. All nine links are pen and handwriting related. How totally on topic!

• JBBPensPaper (calligraphy items on Etsy)
• NYT: Kate Gladstone on Handwriting Matters; Cursive Doesn’t
• Gentian adds an ink reservoir to a dip nib
• Italic handwriting and calligraphy lesson (h/t Kate Gladstone)
• Yikes! Look at the price tag on the Sailor Kai!
• Mommy Kat and Kids has a pen giveaway but hurry to enter. It’s ending in two days.
• PerthNow: Tech-savvy kids can’t push a pencil
• Mattias: Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen (He’s the artist who introduced me to the Namiki Falcon.)
• Leigh Reyes on taking better pen photos

It’s Getting Old At Inkophile

Can you believe it? Inkophile is five years old today. You thought it was older? Yeah, it seems like it has been around forever. The number of page views per month has more than doubled in the past year and I hope that indicates a sizable increase in the number of people who have grown to love fountain pens as much as it represents repeat visits from my steady followers. A larger community will expand the marketplace and in turn increase the available products. That would be a very good thing.

Looking back at new acquisitions this past year, the Platinum Century B nib and the Platinum #3776 music nib were very welcome additions to my collection and handily won slots on my top five pens list. Noodler’s Purple Martin was a surprise addition to my favorite inks while Stillman & Birn moved onto my favorite journals list. The Epsilon and Zeta Series are good with pens while the other journals are lovely with watercolors, not that you can’t mix them up any way you want. For lined paper that works well with fountain pens, the Miguelrius notebook is getting a lot of use. Two inexpensive finds at Staples were the Arc Collection and the filler paper from Brazil. Both made fast friends with a variety of inks.

None of this discounts some of my continuing favorites like Rhodia and Clairefontaine paper, Levenger True Writers, Namiki Falcon soft fine nibs, my Waterman Carene stub from Leigh Reyes, Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses, Diamine Mediterranean Blue, J. Herbin Lie de Thé, or Montblanc Racing Green plus so many others.

My other favorites are Inkophile visitors. Without you, this blog would have been put to rest a long time ago. You are the best!

Most viewed Inkophile image:

Related Inkophile links:

• Platinum Century B
• Platinum #3776 Music Nib
• Noodler’s Purple Martin
• Stillman & Birn
• Miguelrius
• Staples Arc Collection
• Staples Filler Paper
• Rhodia paper
• Clairefontaine paper
• Levenger True Writer
• Namiki Falcon SF
• Waterman Carene stub
• Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses
• Montblanc Racing Green

Looking For A New Pen And Ink Playground?

With Fountain Pen Network down for the past week, some people are itching to chat with like-minded folk. In the past few years, several pen boards have emerged, any one of which might be a worthy second home for you.

All have pen threads but not all have threads about ink. FPGeeks Forum has had quite a few posts over the past few days, so if you need an ink fix, that might be a good place to start. Check the Pen Community section in my sidebar for a few more boards.

Another place for pen conversation is the fountain pens group on Google Plus. On Twitter I have a list of pen people that you can follow. So explore your options. There certainly are plenty of them.

Links From Pens To Fish To Cursive

Don’t even try to connect the dots but do enjoy this fresh batch of links…

• Word. Notebooks (According to a company rep, the printer says the paper is FP-friendly.)
• Writer’s Bloc Top 10 Fountain Pens
• New Rhodia Products in 2014
• Siamese Fighting Betta Fish
• Wonder Pens in Toronto
• Kate Gladstone on mandating cursive in North Carolina schools
• Edison Pen Company: Learn How To Tune Your Nibs

A Spring Bouquet From Levenger

Levenger has a new True Writer with a color scheme based on Redouté’s flowers. It is called Bouquet and certainly suits the season. It also works well as a gift for Mother’s Day. If I owned one, it would be a sure bet for green ink but there might be a pink lurking in my collection that would be a cheerful alternative. Fun either way.

Now if only the Tiffany styled Arrondissement Ballpoint came as a fountain pen, I might splurge on a new pen for myself.

Arrondissement is a municipal district of certain cities, esp Paris. I don’t know what that has to do with the pen but the colors are very attractive.