Ever wondered what is the difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea? Downton Abbey Cooks has the details.
When it comes to frankenpens, vintage super flex with a converter sounds right for me. What combination of old and modern features would you cobble together?
In this case, it’s a family of red inks. The colors are quite similar and I readily admit to preferring the softer, warmer side of red. Thus there is a bias in my collection that adding J. Herbin Rouge Caroubier to my color swatches made only more obvious.
Top row: Noodler’s Park Red, Rohrer & Klingner Morinda, Diamine Maroon, Noodler’s Tiananmen
Warmer weather always brightens my ink rotation. Orange, pink, and a paler shade of green add some fun to the hold-overs from early spring.
In addition, Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa is getting a run in the Namiki Falcon SB fire hose. So far – so good with that test. It’s a muted gray-purple that suits clouds more than unrelenting sunshine, but if it tames the beast, it will be a good choice.
Kyoto Levenger True Writer custom stub with Diamine Dark Brown
Clementine Retro 51 Scriptmaster II fine with Iroshizuku fuyu-gaki
Lamy AL-Star custom fine italic with Iroshizuku tsutsuji
Montblanc 220 OB with Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses
Namiki Falcon SB with Rohrer & Klinger Scabiosa
Namiki Falcon SF with Diamine Violet
Waterman Deluxe Carene Stub with Iroshizuku asa-gao
Platinum Century B Chartres Blue with Diamine China Blue
Platinum #3776 music nib with Diamine Mediterranean Blue
Spring has arrived as evidenced by the floating heads of Gerber daisies visible from my kitchen window. No need for a hint from the calendar but there is a need to freshen my ink rotation in celebration of the season. The slot for red/orange had some intense competition that Rohrer & Klingner Morinda won with Noodler’s Cayenne and J. Herbin ‘1670’ Rouge Hematite close behind. Maybe at the next fill…
Frankly, I was surprised to see how similar these pink swatches turned out. Claret, Solferino, and yama-budo are full-sized bottles while the others are samples. Good thing since all six would be redundant indeed.
My ink rotation is looking a bit somber for the almost-spring weather with its blue skies and 65° of warmth. Tuesday’s snow has melted from the surrounding mountains. One neighbor’s gardener is whacking off tree limbs while the house across the street is getting demolished in favor of a boring, modern structure. It is far too noisy to hear the birds but they are around even if drowned out by the blare of machinery. Their chatter can be heard in the early morning before the sound of man takes over so with certainty they have returned. New growth is sparse yet, but that lack of color can be remedied by some vivid hues in my pens.
Rohrer & Klingner Solferino is my annual choice for the ink that announces the retreat of winter. To complement that jolt of pink, a green is in order. For comparison, I swabbed a few available options on a sheet of Strathmore Windpower Sketch paper. None of these inks look wrong but a few look more right than others. Which green would you choose?