An old Inkophile post on blotter paper still get lots of attention so when I saw ipenstore.com had some to offer, I thought you should know about it. Unlike the usual advertisement, Rosetta Blotter Paper Sheets are blank. That might not seem important, but I do like seeing the smears, smudges and dots of ink unadulterated by ads and such.
Note that a blotter will last a very long time. Find one you really like since you could be partners for life.
Recently, Rodney sent a letter affixed with sealing wax, a delightful surprise. Admittedly and not for the first time, I almost succumbed to yet another hobby. Then I ran across GeekTells post about his descent into the cauldron. Is resistance futile?
A Comparison of Two Namiki Falcon Nibs
Ink, pen and paper:
Sketching Kit:
Watercolor Supplies:
Accessories:
Want to purchase any of these items? Here ya go!
Ink, pen and paper: Pilot BBk, Noodler’s Black, Diamine Mediterranean Blue, J. Herbin Cafe des Iles, Sailor Tokiwa-matsu, Stipula Calamo Sapphron, Stillman & Birn Zeta Sketchbook, Tomoe River Paper from Paper for Fountainpens, Quo Vadis Plan & Note journal, Pilot Metropolitan, Platinum #3776 Century M, TWSBI Diamond 580 1.1, Staples Arc, Traveler’s Notebook 013
Sketching Kit: Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils, Pentel Hi-Polymer Eraser, Prismacolor Kneaded Eraser, Lowe-Cornell tortillions, Stillman & Birn Epsilon Sketchbook, Faber-Castell Sharpener
Watercolor Kit: Martin Mijello Airtight Watercolor 18-Well Blue Palette, travel box, Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook, Arches 300 gsm watercolor paper, Schut Aquarelbloc 300gsm watercolor paper, Monaco Travel Case, Traveler’s Notebook 012
Brushes: Silver Brush Black Velvet Script #4, Round #8, 3/4″ Flat, Escoda Versatil Rigger #10, Isabey Petit Gris #0, SAA Gold Round #10
Tube paints for a watercolor mixing triad: Daniel Smith Cobalt Blue, Winsor & Newton Aureolin, Winsor & Newton Permanent Rose.
Watercolor Metal Travel Box with colors especially good for mixing: American Journey Aureolin, American Journey Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Winsor & Newton Winsor Red, Winsor & Newton Permanent Rose, Daniel Smith Cobalt Blue, American Journey Phthalo Blue, Daniel Smith Phthalo Green (BS)
Accessories: Coccoina glue stick, American Crafts washi tape, Bigelow Earl Grey Green Tea, Numi Chocolate Pu-erh Tea, Sadaf Special Blend Tea with Earl Grey.
The Pentel Touch Sign Pen (SES 15C) with a flexible nib is amazingly smooth on Tomoe River paper. That means the Midori Traveler’s Notebook (013) is a good mate. Note there is ghosting as happens with most pens on such thin paper. Bleed-through only occurs when I overwrite to darken the color. Otherwise, there is none.
My review from a few weeks ago was on Moleskine, but I wanted to show how well the Touch Pen and Tomoe get along.
The full set of pens is still on my list, but for now, the black, sky blue and yellow ochre make a nice trio. At least one of them will work on every paper in my stationery collection. That makes my three pens practical as well as a lot of fun.
Do you hoard ink and use as little as possible? Miser or not, most of us want to get best value from the precious fluid. To facilitate that goal, Ink Miser has developed two products: the ink-shot inkwell and the intra-bottle inkwell. They debuted several months ago and have been mentioned a few times on Inkophile. If you aren’t familiar with them, let me introduce you.
The ink-shot inkwell makes it easy to fill a pen from a very small amount of ink. That makes even the most poorly designed ink bottle irrelevant. In addition, it is a useful container to hold pen cleaning fluid. My old-timers, er, vintage pens, are pleased to have a tiny spa with supporting sides for their delicate bones. Pampering does not necessarily mean spoiled and I am hoping to reap goodwill from such special care.
The intra-bottle inkwell raises the ink level closer to the bottle opening. For Noodler’s fans, it might rank as an essential tool since it makes filling from a partially full bottle easy.
Originally introduced in black, they are now available in a transparent version. Both Ink Miser inkwells are useful devices for an Inkophile though be prepared. They are a bit like chips. One will never be enough.
Luxury Brands has the details here.
Office Supply Geek weighs in on the Ink Miser.
Pentel has a real winner for calligraphers with the Touch line of felt tipped pens. That is something I already knew from YouTube and Instagram videos before I got my hands on one. What was a genuine surprise is how little effort it takes to make a mark with a Touch. Just skim the paper with the pen and bold lines result. Banish hand fatigue though writing large is the best I could do.
The two on my desk came from a local art store and are not equal. They were in an open display and one tip has suffered mild abuse making delicate lines elusive. The other pen has a dream tip that glides effortlessly. It is an absolute delight to use for lettering though I have no hand for true calligraphy. You should see the colorful notes all around my desk. They draw my attention to what must be accomplished today and that is a good thing.
Worthy of note is that the Touch pen did not feather and produced only a few tiny dots of bleed-through in my new squared Moleskine journal. Ghosting was its only flaw, no surprise on Moleskine. That brings up the Moleskine caveat: Their journals are possessed by fickle paper so your results may not be comparable to mine. Even printer paper suffered zero bleed-through and less ghosting than the Moleskine. My other journals handled the Touch without complaint.
The Pentel Touch is a fun-to-write-with pen that comes in a variety of colors. There are two versions so look for the brush tip if you want the one reviewed here. Amazon offers individual black and blue pens among other colors as well as a twelve color set. Local stores did not stock this pen except for the one, distant art store where I purchased my first two. The full set is on my wishlist because the Touch is so much fun to use. Plus it has all those colors and I am always a sucker for color. The notes around my desk will never look the same.
When space is scarce and tiny tools are in order, the Zebra Mini Ballpoint could be the perfect fit.
At 3.25 inches closed, this pen can fit in the smallest of spaces. It extends to a useful length of 4.25 inches when it is time to go to work. Pair it with a mini journal for a truly pocket-sized traveling companion.
Zebra Mini Ballpoint (BA55):
Sometimes really small is just right.
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