The Bounty On My Desk
08/25/2011Sometimes it’s good to appreciate the amazing choices we have. So today I took stock of the bounty on my desk and found plenty to make a pen person smile.
Next to my right hand, coffee mug, and mouse are ten fountain pens, three felt tips, a brush pen, a mechanical pencil, and one highlighter. Does that seem like a lot? You should see the mountain of art supplies that hogs the left side of my workspace. Pens are small, tidy things in comparison. Paper is the biggest space invader but that’s another story.
Inkophile Pen and Ink Samples for August, 2011
The first three pens get daily use and I am content with each. The newest addition is the Namiki Falcon SB which is well-matched to Stipula Verde Mushiato both in flow and shading. The Levenger True Writer Masuyama Cursive Italic is perfect for brown ink but the Namiki Falcon SF gets to change its colors frequently. Its ink will be determined by what is missing when the other pens have been filled.
The three pens not pictured in the sample are due for cleaning and replacement by old favorites like my Sailor 1911 EF. That one works brilliantly with Noodler’s Red-Black and is an easy choice. The Sapporo F might get a fill of something turquoise or possibly one of my 1976 Pilot Elite “Socrates” pocket pens will get Diamine Teal. All three pens are good for long sessions and disinclined to clog even if unused for days at a time.
Sometimes I like to dig deeper in my pen drawer for older pens that deserve some playtime. The navy gray Parker ’51’ Aero F looks like a good mate for Noodler’s Zhivago and the Pelikan M250 Fine Stub has had a thing for Diamine Emerald for years. The dimensions of these two are slightly different from the other pens so that helps reduce hand fatigue on those days that seem to have no end.
Lastly it’s time to go back to black. Either the Limited Edition Sailor Hougado Deep Moss Black or Noodler’s Black but the pen has yet to be determined. The Lamy Safari OB and the Pilot Custom Black Stripe F are good candidates for a rich, dark ink. Again maintaining a variety of dimensions will determine the winner.
So that’s my latest pen and ink rotation.
Putting aside everything on my desk but the fountain pens and the written sample, I looked for a common thread to this rotation. Danged if I can find one save the pleasure in using a fountain pen and the colorful line it produces. That’s pretty simple but it does make me wonder about other fountain pen people. If you are a member of that club, what drives your rotation?
An Inkophile's Blog 
Your penmanship is stunning! I recently picked up Montblanc purple and it was a love at the first sight. It is in one of my recent rotations as well.
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I so love fountain pens. I’m such a geek.
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I’m not posting a writing sample right now but I too am thankful for my odd assortment of fountain pens, and having another avenue to read other’s comments and express myself (when I feel like it 🙂
Fountain pens, their distraction, and pleasure, along with my guitars, keep me sane (well I guess my wife and family help with the saneness as well). Without going into details, I have some mental illness. I look at it as the Bible’s Apostle Paul did, that if the Lord would remove this thorn in my flesh, then praise Him; if He doesn’t remove it, then praise Him.
My humble group of pens includes:
1. Italian Stallions
+ 2 Stipula Vedos, both with stock steel stub nibs, piston fillers, one blue one ruby, these are little work horses. If you want an inexpensive piston filler, give one a shot.
+ 2 of my very favorite Stipula Eturias with 1.1 mm nibs – an Alter Ego and an Amber
+ Omas herd: vintage Ogiva (c. 50’s) piston filled italic medium nib; old style Milord piston filled, stock medium nib (one of the few stock nibs I own); Revelations LE celluloid with stock stub – Omas’ stock stubs are among the world’s best IMHO; Society fp with stock broad nib ground to a nice italic broad by Greg M. piston filler; paragon celluloid LE in the saffron pattern with, you guessed it, a stock Omas stub nib.
+ A Delta Stantuffo II in the same pattern celluloid as the Delta Caruso (of course a stock Delta stub).
+ A Delta Windows Demonstrator in the spring pattern, button filler, stub nib.
+ A Tibaldi Iride sort of Frankenstein with a Bexley stub nib as a beak. Super writer.
+ Visconti Cosmopolitan LE stub palladium nib.
+ Visconti Kaleido Voyager with a stock broad nib, ground and tweaked by Greg to a nice italic stub.
2. German Tanks. Two MB 149’s. One is a stock black with a wonderful OB nib tweaked by Greg M. The other is a Rossi “poor man’s Hemingway” with a BB nib also tweaked by Greg. If you haven’t seen one of these just imagine the Hemingway colors without the price tag.
3. Last but certainly not least is a really nice Bexley Corona, their newest addition, which is a piston filler. I fit this one with an 18K Conway Stewart italic broad nib. Lovely, lovely.
As for inks, I’m pretty much a Pilot Iroshizuku user now.
So, that’s it for now. Thanks for listening and blessings.
Jim
Tucson
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That’s quite a rotation, Jim. Easy to see Italian pens have your favor and good sized nibs at that. Your collection is one to be admired. I love stubs and italics but am a bargain shopper. On occasion a used pen will come along but that’s as good as it gets for me.
Since you have so much experience with stubs, may I ask a question? Which of your stubs has the most definition?
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Thanks for this post! I often wonder what other fp enthusiasts have in their rotation and how they choose. And writing samples are always a pleasure to see.
I have a lot of my pens inked for drawing right now. Some with waterproof inks and some with inks that shade nicely when lines are brushed over with a waterbrush. (I even have some waterbrushes filled with inks instead of water…)
My writing pens are – like yours – an assortment of nib types and colors that work well together. This allows me to change styles quickly, according to my purpose or my mood…or, simply to match the outfit I am wearing 🙂
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What a great group of pens and inks. I love my Falcons, too.. Have to use the SF’s because I write so small. Thanks for all the ink suggestions, too. You just make me want to buy more ink.
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My rotation:
1) My Lamy Safari (M) always sits by my desk at work for jotting notes. I used it a lot before but after my boss broke the cap so it won’t stay in place (oops), it remains by my desk.
2) Pelikan M600 with a forgiving cursive italic nib from John Mottishaw. Love this pen!
3) Aurora Ipsilon Deluxe (F) is my journal pen.
4) Platinum 3776 music nib. This one is great to play with so I carry it around.
I show an annoying tendency to want to color-coordinate my ink and pen color.
I don’t have inked my Pilot Prera (M) because it’s a bit fine for me. I used it for grading or marking up papers. Also the Levenger Verona (M) because, while pretty, it’s a bit boring. And the Sailor Sapporo music nib because it’s cool but the Platinum is cooler.
I am trying to keep my pen total down but I am eyeing the Namiki Falcon. Someday, I will probably get a Nakaya urushi pen too but not soon.
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Love the magenta color!
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