Posts Tagged ‘Sailor ink’
07/20/2023
After months of testing nibs and writing reviews, the crew on my desk exploded into a massive invasion. Eighteen is simply too many so now it’s back to a smaller group of pens and inks. Last summer two bent nib pens were all I wanted, but this year I added fines and extra fines. I’m calling them my six pack.
These are the ones that made the cut:
- Jinhao 82 EF Transparent Gray and Diamine Twilight
- Jinhao 82 F Transparent Grey and Diamine Violet
- Delike New Moon 2 Bent Nib Green Marble and Diamine Eau de Nil
- Delike New Moon 2 Bent Nib Blue and Waterman Mysterious Blue. Sailor Sky High when refilled.
- Jinhao 82 F Ivory with Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses
- Jinhao 82 EF Transparent Coffee with Sparkles and J Herbin Lie de Thé
Twilight and Eau de Nil are likely to get the most use. Do you pare down for the summer? If so, what made the cut for you this year?
Posted in Fountain Pens, Ink | Tagged best fountain pens, Delike Fountain Pen, diamine ink, Jinhao 82, Platinum #3776 music nib, Sailor ink, Sailor Shikioro Ink | 5 Comments »
01/13/2022
In no particular order, these are my most frequently used inks based on color rather than other properties. Already in my collection, this group is in line with my plan to use what I already own. A few have been here at least ten years which probably means I don’t write enough. Maybe this year will be different.
- Iroshizuku syo-ro
- Platinum Classic Lavender Black
- Diamine Sepia
- J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune
- J. Herbin Cafe des Iles
- J. Herbin Vert Empire
- Diamine Steel Blue
- Sailor Tokiwa Matsu
- Sailor Sky High
- Noodler’s Lexington Gray
- Diamine Eau de Nil
- Noodler’s Kiowa Pecan
A few inks almost made the list including Diamine Macassar and Merlot, Platinum Classic Citrus Black, Noodler’s Apache Sunset, Iroshizuku tsuki-yo and kon-peki, and Stipula Calamo Saffron and Moss Green, but that’s twenty and crazy even for me.
What’s on your list?
Posted in Ink | Tagged diamine ink, fountain pen ink, J. Herbin Ink, Noodler's ink, Platinum ink, Sailor ink, Stipula Calamo | 10 Comments »
11/05/2021
Does your pen-ink-paper rotation make you happy, really happy? Mine was good but needed a little tweaking in recent weeks. Reviews are in progress for the pens and the paper listed.
- Four Chinese pens, two fude, one fine and one extra-fine. The latter needed its nib swapped but is good now. The fine is on probation so we shall see about that one.
- In recent months, either a pen for testing (recently a Waldmann) or a Platinum Century has occupied the last slot in my five pen rotation. Perhaps a stub will be next.
- Inks are Iroshizuku syo-ro and kon-peki, Herbin Cafe des Iles, Diamine Merlot, Waterman Blue-Black, Sailor Tokiwa Matsu. Six but who’s counting?
- Tomoe River 52g journal, an inexpensive A5 notebook paper that is very good with FP ink and a planner with MD paper.
- Uni Alpha Gel and a Tombow MONOgraph, both shaker mechanical pencils with 0.5mm HB Uni Nano Dia lead.
- Uni-ball Signo 307 Micro (0.5) when a fountain pen won’t do. It writes on glossy paper and is water resistant. There is one on my desk, one in my handbag and one next to my bed.
- Muji hard type black plastic eraser that doesn’t leave a pile of dust behind.
- Other tools include washi tape, an Exacto knife, stylus, clips, candle, watercolor palette, brush, and paper.
It took a few modifications to refine my current choices. In the last six months, I have tried a few brands of paper that were supposed to be FP-friendly but were not good for double-sided writing. Iroshizuku was an infrequent visitor, but is now a staple. Chinese pens were off my list for years but now dominate my current rotation. In mechanical pencils, wide to very wide soft leads have been replaced by 0.5mm HB. A shaker mechanism taxes my hand far less than the traditional clicker so two of those have earned slots.
My desk is more organized with less clutter and instead of spending time deciding what to use, I simply use what is at hand. That means I spend more time working and that is a very good thing.
Links are to products at Amazon. If you purchase there, Inkophile may earn a tiny commission. The Chinese pens might be available through eBay, but the shipping time can be lengthy if from China. Recent orders from two different sellers took a month each to arrive in California.
Posted in Fountain Pens, Ink, My Desk, Paper, writing tools | Tagged best fountain pen ink, Chinese fountain pens, Delike Fountain Pen, fountain pen, fountain pen paper, Iroshizuku ink, Platinum #3776 Century fountain pen, Sailor ink, Tombow, Tomoe River paper, Uni Alpha Gel, Uni-ball Signo 307 | 3 Comments »
09/07/2021
Deciding which pens and inks to put together can be anything from a pleasant endeavor to a time-consuming frustration. Do you have rules for matching pens and inks? I don’t after more than twenty years of using fountain pens. However, I have developed a few observations that help narrow my choices when either a pen or an ink is begging for a workout. More often than not, the pen comes first and then the ink. These guidelines help refine my search.
- Dark green and red inks work best with narrow nibs.
- Blue, brown and black work with all nibs.
- Orange and purple suit medium and wide nibs.
- Turquoise and burgundy go well with medium nibs.
- Pastel and pale inks are best paired with wide nibs.
- Blue, teal and brown inks are good with fine to medium fude nibs.
- Wide fude nibs bring out the best qualities of gray inks.
- For the palest pink inks, only the Platinum #3776 Music Nib will do.
- Sailor Peach Pink, Sailor Sakura Mori, Iroshizuku Kosumosu, Herbin Bouquet D’Antan are pretty with any wide nib.
- Characteristics like sheening, outlining and shading are best revealed with stub and italic writing.
- Often I will forget which ink is loaded in which pen, so I keep a scorecard nearby.
- I track how pens and inks perform together by writing a few words in a dedicated pen and ink notebook.
- If there is an outstanding combination, like Diamine Violet with a TWSBI 580 1.1mm stub, that gets noted, too.
- I can be guilty of matching inks to pen colors though on occasion to shake things up, I will put together complementary ones. Red pen with green ink as an example.
Perhaps too many guidelines, but they suit my needs. Most came from analyzing how I put things together without giving my actions any prior thought. They help me narrow my search, and with the size of my collection, they are essential. Your list will be different, but creating one can be a helpful action if choosing pen and ink mates is challenging, frustrating or even too time-consuming. Or you might just do it for fun.
Van Gogh Palette
Posted in Fountain Pens, Ink | Tagged diamine ink, fountain pen ink, ink colors, Iroshizuku ink, Platinum #3776 music nib, Sailor ink, TWSBI 580, Van Gogh | 7 Comments »
08/14/2021
It’s going to be a hot weekend which makes it a good time to take it easy and update the fountain pens on my desk. In the past few months, a Traveler’s Notebook has become my journal for a major project as well as some personal notes. The paper is Tomoe River 52 gsm in a #013 blank refill with 128 pages. A lined template with 5mm spacing keeps my writing on the straight and narrow. The more I can fit on a page the better. Wide nibs are not suited to the task, so I have put some narrow ones to use along with inks that aren’t dark but allow the lines of the template to show through.
- Pilot Custom 1970’s Black Stripe F with Iroshizuku fuyu-syogun
- Levenger True Writer Black Marble F with Herbin Violette Pensee
- Delike New Moon Ice Blue Fude with Sailor Sky High
- Delike New Moon Green Fude with Diamine Raw Sienna
- Levenger True Writer Tangerine F with Herbin Rouille D’Ancre
The green Delike had Iroshizuku syo-ro in it for months and that was a very good combination which I expect to return to soon. Or perhaps I will purchase another New Moon but an extra-fine this time for the syo-ro. A review of this model is in the works. Suffice to say the two that I currently own are getting consistent use and that does speak well of them.
Which pens and inks are in your current rotation? Do they make you want to write or do they fight your best efforts?
Posted in Fountain Pens, Ink | Tagged Delike Fountain Pen, diamine ink, herbin fountain pen ink, Iroshizuku ink, levenger true writer, Pilot Custom, Sailor ink | 3 Comments »
04/01/2021
It is way, way, way too easy to blow your budget when there are so many goodies calling your name. Can you resist or have you been enabled?
Camellias through my kitchen window and matching pen.
Posted in Ink, Links, Paper, writing tools | Tagged fountain pen paper, Jet Pens, Luxury Brands USA, mabeloos, mechanical pencil, Platinum Procyon, Robert Oster Ink, Sailor ink, The Well-Appointed Desk, Traveler's Notebook | Leave a Comment »
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