Fountain Pen Ink In An Unexpected Place

While 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?

On My Desk – July 2021

Five fountain pens were my tools of choice for July. It was a stub and fude month with a varied assortment of inks. Iroshizuku and Herbin contributed two each with a Diamine ink for the fifth. The Delike New Moon fude got the most love and a review should be finished in a couple of days.

Not pictured is the pink Tombow MONOgraph 0.5mm mechanical pencil with Uni Nano Dia HB lead. Its companion is a MUJI hard type, black plastic eraser.

In the category of non-writing tools are a Metro Stylus, a Silver Black Velvet 3/4″ flat brush, and a Princeton Neptune 1/2″ square wash brush. A cinnamon oatmeal cookie scented candle, an e.l.f. cooling under eye refresh rollerball plus four rolls of washi tape round things out. Oh, and lots of photos so I am never alone.

What’s on your desk?

Autumn Inks

Inks are Noodler’s Kiowa Pecan and Sailor Tokiwa Matsu. Pens are a Platinum #3776 Century medium from Luxury Pens and a Lamy Studio fine.

A List Of My Favorite Noodler’s Inks

Did you know that Noodler’s Ink has a new website? So many colors!

I have used their inks for close to fifteen years starting with Black then moving on to Legal Lapis Blue from Pendemonium. Eventually, someone on Fountain Pen Network talked me into buying Apache Sunset and I was hooked for life.

After perusing the new website, making a list of my favorite Noodler’s inks struck me as a fun exercise especially comparing my choices from a few years ago to what is on my list today. It was a challenge to pare down to twenty but I did. Classified as they are on the Noodler’s site:

Blue

• 54th Massachusetts
• Ottoman Azure
• Eel Turquoise
• Dostoyevsky

Black

• Noodler’s Black
• Lexington Gray

Brown

• Kiowa Pecan
• Golden Brown

Green

• Army Green
• General of the Armies
• El Lawrence

Orange

• Habanero

Pink

• Ottoman Rose
• Georgia Peach

Purple

• Purple Martin
• Nightshade
• Eel Cactus Fruit

Red

• Antietam
• Cayenne
• Tiananmen

Which Noodler’s inks would be on your list?

Time for a big thank you to Carol at Luxury Brands who has kept me well supplied during the last few years. My list would have been much shorter if not for her generosity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Autumn Ink Palette Inspired By Van Gogh

My favorite season has returned though where I live, you wouldn’t know it was autumn. One way to compensate for that deficiency is to let my ink and pen selection represent the color variety that the local flora does not. Could my current maximum rotation of five pens do the season justice? After extensive perusing of ink swatches, I was not satisfied with any combination and put aside the project for another day.

Then I noticed a book of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings, a gift from family earlier this year. Why not consult a master? Eventually, I settled on his painting, Rocks with Oak Tree, and found a few inks in my collection that approximate the colors.

• Herbin Ambre de Birmaine
• Iroshizuku yu-yake
• Iroshizuku ina-ho
• Herbin Lie de Thé
• Noodler’s Dostoyevsky
• Waterman Florida Blue

The two pens already on my desk were filled with Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu and Diamine Violet so adding six more would be too many. Three inks were returned to the shelf, leaving a manageable number.

This group will do nicely for visual variety and writing pleasure.

• Iroshizuku yu-yake
• Herbin Lie de Thé
• Noodler’s Dostoyevsky
• Diamine Violet
• Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu

 

These inks may not reflect the season so much as Van Gogh’s color choices, but that’s fine since they will provide sufficient variety to meet my current writing needs. As the holidays approach, yu-yake and Violet will be replaced by Diamine Emerald and a bright burgundy to carry me into the new year. At least that is the current plan. I am quite fickle when it comes to ink, so don’t hold me to it. I am after all an inkophile. Aren’t you?

These items are available at Amazon.com. For qualified purchases, Inkophile receives a small commission at no additional cost to you.

• Van Gogh His Life and Works in 500 Images by Michael Howard
• Herbin Ambre de Birmaine
• Iroshizuku yu-yake
• Iroshizuku ina-ho
• Herbin Lie de Thé
• Noodler’s Dostoyevsky
• Waterman Serenity Blue (formerly Florida Blue)
• Diamine Violet
• Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu

 

It’s Fountain Pen Day!

Fountain Pen Day is a time for celebration, but also a time to appreciate my collection. Four years on, these pens remain favorites. Perhaps I am not as fickle as I thought. Do you have pens that remain in use despite acquiring new ones? Which are your favorites?

 

A Palette Of Inks

Three years ago I put together a spring palette of understated inks. No dual-toned, sparkly colors in this lot. Just gentle, soothing shades.

As this year’s flowers fade and the pastel petals float away, this palette is the final link to spring. I want to hold on to that as the summer swelter looms. I loathe the heat and appreciate the cooling, soft colors and minimal maintenance these inks require.