From Tea to Ink In Just Ten Links

Need a break from the holiday stress? Here ya go!

• 35 Most Creative Tea Infusers (h/t Chris Meisenzahl)
• OpenCulture.com: Sir Isaac Newton’s Papers & Annotated Principia Go Digital (h/t PeaceableWriter JD Eames)
• Writer’s Bloc: The Clairefontaine Clairing notebook has a revolutionary disc binding system.
• Fountain Pen Geeks: Thanks to the Waterproof Notebook I Can Take Notes While Scuba Diving
• Brain Pickings: Edward Gorey’s Letters(h/t Lady Dandelion)
• Mattias Adolfsson: A night at the opera (Great use of a fountain pen.)
• Gentian puts walnut ink to good use.
• Book Of Joe: Oxymoron List
• Writer’s Bloc: What is fountain pen friendly paper?
• Just Putzing Around The Kitchen: Frozen Hot Chocolate (h/t Oops. Forgot where I saw this one first.)

Platinum Mix Free, The Perfect Custom Ink

Finding the perfect ink just got a whole lot easier with the release of Platinum’s Mix Free set. Make a simple blend of two colors or go all mad scientist and whip up a complex brew with this chemistry set for inkophiles.

Knowing my penchant for ink, samples arrived two days ago, a gift from The Pear Tree Pen Company. Nine colors, reducer fluid, empty vials, syringe, plus an empty ink bottle to house my signature ink is a lot to review so this product’s tale will get told in stages.

One major caveat before you view my images. The color reproduction is not as accurate as it should be. The ink’s real colors are clear and lively if not vivid. Gentian’s images show that well. Even the image from Platinum in which the bottles are pictured is more true for the base colors than mine. On my monitor the Platinum color chart is less accurate but you would be mixing those colors to your specifications anyway.

Bowing to Gentian for color representation, what remains is how well these inks stand up to use. While each ink is slightly different in performance, none should disappoint unless you have a pen with special needs. Flow and lubrication are average so a very dry writer may not be a great match. In this respect I found Mix Free to be similar to other Platinum inks.

There was no bleed-through or show-through on either Rhodia or Clairefontaine paper. However, there was feathering on Moleskine and to a lesser degree on cheap paper and envelopes. Coverage is good with some degree of shading but no outlining. The images tell the tale.

Except for the samples written with a True Writer, all other writing was done with a dip pen. The Brause has become a particular favorite and will most likely find its way into future reviews.

Can’t wait to create new colors? Check out the Platinum Mix Free Ink Recipes at FPN. AltecGreen jumped right in with a huge selection. There are even some images of what the reducer/dilution fluid can do. Just the right stuff for an inkophile.

Platinum Mix Free Ink Samples

Platinum Mix Free Ink Written Sample

Platinum Mix Free Ink Aurora Blue Sample

Platinum Mix Free Ink Aqua Blue Sample

Platinum Mix Free Ink Aurora Blue Water Test

Platinum Mix Free Ink Aqua Blue/Silky Purple Fusion

Platinum Mix Free Ink Color Circle

Can You Link Tea To Haiku To Moleskine?

This list of links is a real potpourri from food to haiku to Moleskine art. The last link is to a poll about cursive so do make your vote count.

• Many suffer from the incurable disease of writing – maharg
• 429 ‘skines by Ziza (I love his use of color.)
• Haiku of the Week
• The June Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper Hosted by Note Book, Esq.
• Provençal Vegetable Soup or Soupe au Pistou (Basil in summer? Yum!)
• Blue Moon Tea (This is my U.S. source for British tea.)
• UnCollege
• Loose Sheets of Paper from WritersBloc
• Christian: Curtains for cursive? (Inkophile was the first voter!)

Links to Artists Who Put Pens to Good Use

Need a mid-week boost? Mostly pen use related links this time but a few other tidbits as well.

• Notebook Loves Pen has some beautiful and artistic journals here, here and here.
• Leigh Reyes – Ink ménage à trois
• Javi Alfonzo – Calligraphy Collaboration
• Mia and the Calla Lilies
• Writer’s Bloc has Clairefontaine French Ruled Notebooks (my fave for practicing calligraphy)
• Platinum Mix Free Ink will land in the U.S. soon.
• Have you met Quora?
• The Pen Addict has a new gig.
• Are you a fan of fountain pen artist Mattias Adolfsson?

Links to Brighten a Winter Weekend

There is a mishmash here but definitely themed for the coffee drinking writer…

• Exaclair catalog for 2011
• Twitter-Enabled Coffee Pot
• Moleskine Meets Pac-Man
• Steampunk Pen
• Noodler’s Ink 2011 artist prize
• Pocket Blonde hosts the January Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper
• LaPlumaFuente: a Pilot fountain pen and a 1,5mm Pen
  Kalligrafiefüllhalter
• THEREALQUILLSKILL: Rhythmic Calligraphy
• LaPlumaFuente: Wing Nibs – Montblanc fountain pen

Inkophile’s Favorites for 2010

Some new, some old, here are a few of my favorite things…

• Rohrer & Klingner Ink – Two colors have been in my cabinet for years so this was not a brand new find. However, when Pear Tree Pens began to offer it this year, I started to expand my collection and am happy to report R&K has earned several places in my regular rotation. Solferino, Verdigris, Alt-Goldgrün, and Magenta are my current favorites but Morinda and Blau Permanent are not far behind. The palette is a well-round offering with something for every need. At $12.50 for 50ml the cost is in my acceptable range especially considering the quality.
• Iroshizuku remains the ink that tops my guilty pleasures list. For color and performance this one is hard to beat. Ku-jaku joined my collection this year and instantly won a place on my favorites list displacing several turquoise and aqua inks.
• J. Herbin Ink continues to be my mainstay. There isn’t a dud in the bunch plus they are exceptionally easy to clean from a pen. Lie de Thé is my favorite and most-used brown with Poussière de Lune in my rotation nearly as often.
• A sample of the Rhodia dotPad (courtesy of Karen at Exaclair) quickly earned a place in my paper arsenal along with anything from G. Lalo now that I’ve tried various weave samples from Jean Elie at Pen and Co.
• For calligraphy or flex nib practice, Clairefontaine French-ruled paper rules here. Thick, juicy ink lines dry slowly but it is definitely worth the wait.
• This was a lean year for me when it comes to new pens but a Noodler’s Fountain Pen was a nice addition to my collection. I am fond of ebonite so that added to its appeal.
• Courtesy of the generous Peggy Love (who also insured I have a lifetime supply of Apica Journals), I got my hands on a trio of Levenger True Writer Rollerballs with Fiber Tip refills. They won’t replace my fountain pens but they certainly are convenient and very easy on my hand. These pens are useful for writing situations that include frequent stops and starts since they do not have to be capped as quickly as a fountain pen. I have enjoyed filling pages with doodles and even managed a bit of line variation by playing with the angle at which the nib contacts the paper. A girl’s gotta have fun, you know?
• An old favorite has taken up residence in the number one position in my rotation and it isn’t a fountain pen. Shocked? Well, sometimes you’ve just got to go with what’s convenient and a mechanical pencil is hard to beat. No uncapping, no flow issues, no muss, no fuss. While I only use it for notes to myself, that is what I write most often so why not use the best tool for the job? Besides anything that works on a Post-It gets high marks from me. After trying several mechanical pencils, I’ve concluded that my old Autopoint Jumbo All-American Pencil, with a 0.9mm HB lead, is just right. Because the wide lead does not dig into paper, it erases easily. Unlike my other MPs, the lead has never broken. Not once! While that is in part attributable to the chunky lead, it is also a result of the design of the pencil. Years ago I bought the ivory and the red. The former blends in while the latter stands out. Both are winners in my book.

 

Inkophile's Favorite Products for 2010

 

So that’s my list of new or rediscovered items for 2010. Unlike in years past my regular rotation remained the same led by a Sailor Sapporo, a 1911 and a couple of Pilot Pocket Pens. The Pilot 742FA and Montblanc 220 OB are off for repair so we shall see how they work out on their return in January. There is one Lamy Safari with a custom cursive italic nib that is always inked with Montblanc Racing Green. It remains my #1 writer though I wish the nib had a snazzier body. Two Namiki Falcons with soft fine nibs are always close at hand and a Levenger True Writer is usually inked as well. That makes my core rotation total seven pens, give or take a True Writer or two.

Inks come and go but I am consistently pleased with Waterman Blue Black in my vintage pens especially those with flexible nibs. At the price point and with its easy availability, WBBk is an excellent match for pens that go through a volume of ink. It is also a good one to include with a gift pen. It won’t cause damage and it writes well from any nib. If the recipient loves it, a new bottle can readily be found.

Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Quo Vadis Habana, and Apica continue to be my favorite brands of paper. Triomphe and G. Lalo are excellent stationery though often I use a lined Rhodia pad for casual letters. For variety I have a few pads of Japanese paper that are lovely with even the roughest nibs. Lastly my stock of the long discontinued Exacompta Black Block is waning so I don’t use it as often as I would like though it has a softness that suits me perfectly. If you run across this one, do let me know. I would love to add a few tablets to my reserves.

So that’s my list of favorite things. Rumor has it that Santa just might have on his sleigh one of the new Noodler’s flex nib pens with a bottle of Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses. Yeah, I know. That’s a mouthful but can you picture that pair? The demonstrator (clear) model with plum ink should be lovely. Hopefully, it gets delivered to the right home. I don’t think any of my neighbors would appreciate this dynamic duo but I could be mistaken…maybe…

A Few October Links

More reading…

• Writer’s Bloc: Environmentally Friendly Writing Tools
• Writer’s Bloc: Should Children Learn Cursive Handwriting?
• Bookseller.com: Faber unveils digital alliance
• Calligraphy DVD by Caliken
• Leigh Reyes: Stub and Music Nibs
• Got a blog? Make it pay with Powells.com Partner Program
• From JournalingArts.com: Gigante Embossed Leather Journal
• Fountain pen links from Amateur Economist
• For the watercolor journalist: Gentian Discovers the Pentalic Aqua Journal
• Julie at the Whatever blog has found a new ink called Wancher Original Inks