Fountain Pen Ink In An Unexpected Place
06/27/2022While digging through a box of crafting supplies, an out of place bit of folded paper caught my eye. Instead of tossing it, I opened it to discover ink writing samples from July 22, 2015. Only four of the inks have seen pens in recent memory but the seal is in a nearby drawer ready for action. It is a mood seal that translates as “grow flowers to invite butterflies”. Nice thought, eh?
Think of all that has happened in the past seven years. In our hobby alone, the number of new retailers and products has exploded. Admittedly, I cannot keep up but I can admire the gumption and innovation especially in the sheen, shimmer and shine of some of the new inks. Pens have become more colorful with nibs that were once specialty becoming readily available, fude (bent nib) and flex in particular.
Stipula Verde Muschiato and Saffron are fall colors, but it might be interesting to use them this summer to remind me that cooler temperatures will arrive eventually, even if that seems impossibly distant today.
Do you still use the same inks and pens you did in 2015? If not, are there any you might want to revisit?
An Inkophile's Blog 
2015… lets see, yes and no. I still use the pens (that I still own) and some of the inks. The basic blacks and blues by Waterman and Quink are still in use. Most of the other colors have been replaced with more interesting, more vibrant colors. The choice of nibs has really increased. Adds an interesting dimension to daily writing and doodling.
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Agreed on the nibs. So many shapes and sizes are available now. An italic was a rarity when I returned to fountain pens some twenty years ago. Vibrant, intensely colored inks have taken over the market so you are in good company there.
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I have inks now that are made from wine, beer, and are perfumed. The big option then was waterproof or not. LOL
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😀
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Diamine Marine and Noodler’s Lexington Gray were two of my first inks (though I don’t remember what year I started collecting fountain pens) and I still use both of those! Though the bottles are approaching empty in both cases, and I’m not sure if I’ll replace them when they’re out, or try something similar but new.
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Lexington Gray was one of the first Noodler’s inks in my collection and Marine was a very early Diamine acquisition. Easy to understand how their bottles could be nearly empty though that is quite a feat given the amount of Noodler’s you must have used.
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I used Lex Gray as the main color for my bullet journal for many years. I no longer use a bujo, but I do still use Lex Gray a lot for my planner. Not that I’m thinking about how many years’ worth of planners I have, it’s been probably since 2015 for me, too!
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Using the same ink keeps me focused on the writing and not the process. Does that happen to you?
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A little, I guess? My main reason for using the same color for journaling has been so that the to-do list itself fades into the background a little, while the pops of more colorful monthly ink show the progress. This way I can write my list in gray, and then check items off in purple or hot pink, putting the focus on the completion instead of the list.
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How colorful!
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