Ink Swatch - Colorverse Dust Storm
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
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colorverse
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Life on Mars
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Martian
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
Dont talk to me or my kid, or my kid’s kid ever again
I like that Colorverse uses the same weird bottle shape
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
Re-inked two of the pens with different colors (VP and Phantom)
And two with what they had before (Penmanship and Kakuno)
Somehow I missed that 5 months ago(!) Colorverse announced the 2024 Colorvent winning inks
Voting results inside
Happy National Handwriting Day!
Writing by hand is great
Mulled things over a bit and sorted the 2024 Colorvent inks
By how much I liked them and how frequently I could see myself using them
Colorvent 2024 - Days 13-24 drying under a microscope
An album of short videos
Colorvent 2024 - Day 24 - Christmas Star (Glistening)
A bright orange with heavy shading, a little orange sheen, and it’s crammed full of gold shimmer
Colorvent 2024 - Day 23 - Dante’s Cosmology
A dusty midnight blue with lots of shading and a smidge of coppery sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 22 - Portuguese Meteor
A bright aqua/turquoise color with low shading and cyan shimmer
Colorvent 2024 - Day 21 - Giant Sunspot
A bold red-orange with plenty of shading and some sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 20 - White Hole
A light blue with lots of shading
Colorvent 2024 - Day 19 - Milky Way (Glistening)
A purple ink packed with teal shimmer - To put it mildly, ‘It’s full of stars!’
Colorvent 2024 - Day 18 - Morning Glow
A multi-shading gray where the (heavy) shading can be gray, pink, brown, blue, and even green
Colorvent 2024 - Day 17 - NGC 2264
Medium forest green with some shading and no sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 16 - Eclipse Silence
A black ink with almost no shading and a sheen of what appears to be gold
Colorvent 2024 - Day 15 - Brinicles
A medium blue-green that shades a little and has a tiny bit of reddish sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 14 - Pulsar Pulse
Turquoise with dark magenta shading and heavy pink sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Days 1-12 drying under a microscope
An album of short videos
Colorvent 2024 - Day 13 - Neptune Occultation
Which has a lot going on, all good!
Colorvent 2024 - Day 12 - Sunbeam
A dark yellow-brown that shades well, but that’s about the only good thing
Colorvent 2024 - Day 11 - DaVinci Glow
A blue-gray dual-shading ink that shades in blue and gray separately, which is neat
Colorvent 2024 - Day 10 - Aquarius Whispers
A light sea green/jade, teal but greener.
Colorvent 2024 - Day 9 - Red Horizon
A medium dark red with a small amount of coppery sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 8 - Blue Moon
A light blue ink that runs wet and shades significantly
Colorvent 2024 - Day 7 - Rover (Glistening)
A dark gray with iridescent shimmer, looks like a star-filled night sky!
Colorvent 2024 - Day 6 - Kilonova
A blue-purple/indigo (blurple) with medium red/purple-ish sheen
Got my FP Green Secret Santa gift today
Tons of good stuff inside!
Colorvent 2024 - Day 5 - Rosette Nebula
A pleasant pinkish-red/Fuchsia shade
Colorvent 2024 - Day 4 - Sailing Stones
A light brown/tan color
Colorvent 2024 - Day 3 - Moonlit Veil
A light gray color which also seems to be a bit on the wet side
Colorvent 2024 - Day 2 - Edge of Night
A blue-gray color that is on the lighter side and shades decently on most papers
Colorvent 2024 - Day 1 - Supergiant
A very bright red with a tad of orange, also maybe a hint of sheen?
Grabbed these swatch cards to use with the Colorverse inks
(and another TWSBI 580ALR)
Saw a post with the 2024 Colorverse advent calendar inks
I liked them a lot better than the Diamine 2024 calendar
jinhao
Jinhao 10 sealing experiments
Designed and 3D printed some tools, but no luck so far
The two new Jinhao 20s survived the weekend of non-use
But not unscathed
Filled up the new Jinhao 20 pens
So far, so good
Comparing the cross-compatible Pilot CON-40, Majohn A1, and Jinhao 10 converters
The Majohn seems to be the best overall
NPD - Transparent Jinhao 20
Not too fond of the glitter in the plastic, but it’s not overdone or distracting
Replaced the Jinhao 20 converter so I could see the ink level
And get higher capacity
Jinhao finally released fully clear, not tinted, Jinhao 20 colorways
We’ll see how they do, sealing-wise
Was using the Jinhao 20 this morning and it started writing a bit thin
Turns out I ran it out of ink again. Not dry, just empty.
Clicky pen updates again
Jinhao 20, Curidas, Endless Phantom, Majohn A1, A2, A3, Jinhao 10, VPs
Managed to get the Jinhao 9019 clean
I ordered a pack of very thin-walled nut drivers
Cleaned a few stubborn pens out today
Seemed like no amount of soaking and flushing would get them to run clear.
Cleaned a few stubborn pens out today
Seemed like no amount of soaking and flushing would get them to run clear.
I am happy to report that after three weeks with the Jinhao 20 and using it every day
It has worked perfectly the whole time
Clicky pen updates
Jinhao 20, Majohn A3, Endless Phantom
Another round of pens refreshed
5x Jinhao 82
Another round of pen cleaning!
FPR Jaipur v2, Majohn A1, and two Jinhao 10s
I also bought a full bottle of Pennonia Napnyugta Sunset
Since I liked the sample
I found a couple fountain pens I had forgotten about
(like ya do)
NPD - Jinhao 20
Showed up today
Inside the Jinhao 10, Majohn A1, and Majohn A2
In both cases you can see the adhesive is really sloppy
POV You’re a Pilot VP nib unit
Take a trip inside
NPD - Jinhao 10 Coffee Gradient
Hopefully this Jinhao 10 seals better than my last one
Now that Colorvent is over, time to circle back
And take a better look at the pen and ink from my FP Green Secret Santa
This is the slightly stained Jinhao Shark I cleaned last week
I’m guessing those are actually tiny cracks/fractures in the section
For the most part cleaning the Sharks went smoothly
Nothing clogged so badly it couldn’t be flushed
Next I’m going to clean out my Jinhao sharks
About half are dried out
I’ve had this Jinhao 10 Press for a month and the converter is dry
Seals very poorly
NPD - Jinhao 10 in Red with an EF nib
I took a chance and threw a couple bucks at it
NPD - Jinhao 85
Not bad for $6
Cleaned out a couple fountain pens that dried out
Might be the pen and ink combination
Finally had time to ink up pens with Endless Alchemy Candy Sea & Mystic Forest
Trying Endless Alchemy inks
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
Seeking the thinnest EF nib
Comparing some thin writing pens and a pencil
sealing
Jinhao 10 sealing experiments
Designed and 3D printed some tools, but no luck so far
The two new Jinhao 20s survived the weekend of non-use
But not unscathed
NPD - Transparent Jinhao 20
Not too fond of the glitter in the plastic, but it’s not overdone or distracting
Endless released an upgrade kit for the Endless Phantom
Mine are still behaving OK but I’m always up for ways to further improve the seal.
Was using the Jinhao 20 this morning and it started writing a bit thin
Turns out I ran it out of ink again. Not dry, just empty.
On August 1st I swapped the O-rings on my Hongdian M1 and M2
Just shy of three months later I checked them both
Clicky pen updates again
Jinhao 20, Curidas, Endless Phantom, Majohn A1, A2, A3, Jinhao 10, VPs
I am happy to report that after three weeks with the Jinhao 20 and using it every day
It has worked perfectly the whole time
Clicky pen updates
Jinhao 20, Majohn A3, Endless Phantom
I found a couple fountain pens I had forgotten about
(like ya do)
NPD - Jinhao 20
Showed up today
Its been a year since I starting using an air-tight Plano as a Pen Dungeon
Sadly, every pen in there is dry
Another Endless Phantom update
Now at 5 weeks
Inside the Jinhao 10, Majohn A1, and Majohn A2
In both cases you can see the adhesive is really sloppy
POV You’re a Pilot VP nib unit
Take a trip inside
Endless Phantom update
One of them had a hard start today after a couple days
Finished cleaning the M1 and M2
Soaking did the trick
Started to clean out a few pens today
All three had some ink that dried out
The Phantom pens made it through the weekend test with flying colors
No sign of hard starts or drying out
NPD - Endless Phantom Demonstrator
Initial impressions are decent, but time will tell on the sealing.
NPD - Jinhao 10 Coffee Gradient
Hopefully this Jinhao 10 seals better than my last one
My Asvine C2000 is still not sealing well even with an added o-ring
Might need to try a different o-ring and/or a different ink
NPD - Asvine C2000 Red/Blue with 1.1 Stub nib
Its a beaut! I ordered the Red variety but as shown it’s more heavy toward blue on the mix
Finally ran my Pilot VP dry after over 3 months
It never hard started or showed any signs of drying out
I’ve had this Jinhao 10 Press for a month and the converter is dry
Seals very poorly
NPD - Parker Vector Calligraphy Set
Compared to an older one
Little update on the pen dungeon / pen-itentiary
Three week check results
Any other fountain pen users have a dedicated pen dungeon
For misbehaving pens that don’t seal well
Cleaned out a couple fountain pens that dried out
Might be the pen and ink combination
These cheap WingSung 3008 fountain pens keep making me question my initial impressions
Great seal elevates what seemed like a low quality pen
Clear UV cure resin to block the safety holes on Pilot Kakuno
Helps them seal better, dry out less.
pilot
Comparing the cross-compatible Pilot CON-40, Majohn A1, and Jinhao 10 converters
The Majohn seems to be the best overall
Clicky pen updates again
Jinhao 20, Curidas, Endless Phantom, Majohn A1, A2, A3, Jinhao 10, VPs
Welp, may be time for another strategic purchase or two
Pilot is hiking prices significantly starting October 1st
Re-inked two of the pens with different colors (VP and Phantom)
And two with what they had before (Penmanship and Kakuno)
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
POV You’re a Pilot VP nib unit
Take a trip inside
Learned an important lesson
Don’t put Electric Blue Spider Lily in an EF Kakuno
Started to clean out a few pens today
All three had some ink that dried out
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point Decimo in Burgundy
I have been repeatedly disappointed by my red Jinhao 10 so I decided to do the proper thing and replace it with a Vanishing Point
Nothing new here, but I did refill several pens I cleaned yesterday
CH912 and Majohns
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR (Nickel, Stub) and Pilot Vanishing Point (Gun Metal Matte Black, EF)
They are the other two things that mysteriously found their way into my cart.
NPD - TWSBI ECO Transparent Yellow
To-ro looks even better in a stub nib than an EF
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR Caribbean Onyx
Turns out the Caribbean Onyx is quite close to the Prussian Blue
Also tried another new Pilot Iroshizuku ink in a pen, Rikka
Sort of a dusty blue.
Finally had a chance to ink up a pen and try the new Pilot Iroshizuku
A warm and legible yellow
Now that Colorvent is over, time to circle back
And take a better look at the pen and ink from my FP Green Secret Santa
Got my FP Green Secret Santa gift today
Tons of good stuff inside!
Finally ran my Pilot VP dry after over 3 months
It never hard started or showed any signs of drying out
NPD - Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA (“Falcon”) flex nib
Who wore it better - Falcon Edition
Cleaned some more pens at lunch, all of the Kakuno family
No clogs, but some stubborn ink
Another interesting pen cleaning result today
Ink stained the converter and pen
NPD - Pilot Custom 74 demonstrator with an EF nib
Great so far, writes smoothly, and the EF is very thin
Time for a round of Which lines are Kiri-same and which lines are pencils?
A fun, though not terribly difficult, guessing game.
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
A little lunchtime Kakuno family portrait
Kakuno Family Fountain Pens
Clear UV cure resin to block the safety holes on Pilot Kakuno
Helps them seal better, dry out less.
Pilot CON-40 converter full fill trick
Tricky, but possible, though the converter is still not great
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
Seeking the thinnest EF nib
Comparing some thin writing pens and a pencil
Look at this happy lil nib
Pilot Kakuno
Must not drink the forbidden Kool-Aid
Don’t do it!
colorvent2024
Somehow I missed that 5 months ago(!) Colorverse announced the 2024 Colorvent winning inks
Voting results inside
Mulled things over a bit and sorted the 2024 Colorvent inks
By how much I liked them and how frequently I could see myself using them
Colorvent 2024 - Days 13-24 drying under a microscope
An album of short videos
Colorvent 2024 - Day 24 - Christmas Star (Glistening)
A bright orange with heavy shading, a little orange sheen, and it’s crammed full of gold shimmer
Colorvent 2024 - Day 23 - Dante’s Cosmology
A dusty midnight blue with lots of shading and a smidge of coppery sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 22 - Portuguese Meteor
A bright aqua/turquoise color with low shading and cyan shimmer
Colorvent 2024 - Day 21 - Giant Sunspot
A bold red-orange with plenty of shading and some sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 20 - White Hole
A light blue with lots of shading
Colorvent 2024 - Day 19 - Milky Way (Glistening)
A purple ink packed with teal shimmer - To put it mildly, ‘It’s full of stars!’
Colorvent 2024 - Day 18 - Morning Glow
A multi-shading gray where the (heavy) shading can be gray, pink, brown, blue, and even green
Colorvent 2024 - Day 17 - NGC 2264
Medium forest green with some shading and no sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 16 - Eclipse Silence
A black ink with almost no shading and a sheen of what appears to be gold
Colorvent 2024 - Day 15 - Brinicles
A medium blue-green that shades a little and has a tiny bit of reddish sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 14 - Pulsar Pulse
Turquoise with dark magenta shading and heavy pink sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Days 1-12 drying under a microscope
An album of short videos
Colorvent 2024 - Day 13 - Neptune Occultation
Which has a lot going on, all good!
Colorvent 2024 - Day 12 - Sunbeam
A dark yellow-brown that shades well, but that’s about the only good thing
Colorvent 2024 - Day 11 - DaVinci Glow
A blue-gray dual-shading ink that shades in blue and gray separately, which is neat
Colorvent 2024 - Day 10 - Aquarius Whispers
A light sea green/jade, teal but greener.
Colorvent 2024 - Day 9 - Red Horizon
A medium dark red with a small amount of coppery sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 8 - Blue Moon
A light blue ink that runs wet and shades significantly
Colorvent 2024 - Day 7 - Rover (Glistening)
A dark gray with iridescent shimmer, looks like a star-filled night sky!
Colorvent 2024 - Day 6 - Kilonova
A blue-purple/indigo (blurple) with medium red/purple-ish sheen
Colorvent 2024 - Day 5 - Rosette Nebula
A pleasant pinkish-red/Fuchsia shade
Colorvent 2024 - Day 4 - Sailing Stones
A light brown/tan color
Colorvent 2024 - Day 3 - Moonlit Veil
A light gray color which also seems to be a bit on the wet side
Colorvent 2024 - Day 2 - Edge of Night
A blue-gray color that is on the lighter side and shades decently on most papers
Colorvent 2024 - Day 1 - Supergiant
A very bright red with a tad of orange, also maybe a hint of sheen?
twsbi
NPD - Lanbitou 3059
It’s obviously trying to be a TWSBI, but doesn’t quite make it.
NPD - TWSBI ECO Cosmos Blue w/Onyx
I like the mix mine has, it’s a pretty good blend
Yet another new TWSBI ECO coming, Cosmo w/Onyx
They sure do love cranking out a ton of these
Inked up my new TWSBI ECO Plum w/Onyx with Tono & Lims - Antares
Another one of their very usable fluorescent inks
Greeted by several packages
Better pics soon
I was trying to be good
Vanness and JetPens both have the new TWSBI
Finally, something close to a red TWSBI
Not exactly red, but red-adjacent
NPD - TWSBI Affogato/Onyx Diamond 580ALR
and it looks great!
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
TWSBI may get me with this one
Diamond 580ALR Affogato / Onyx trim
NPD - TWSBI Diamond Mini AL in Grape
I hesitated due to its size, but it’s nice
NPD / NID - TWSBI Diamond 580 Clear and Diamine Forever inks arrived in record time!
I’m going to try Cherry Red first
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR (Nickel, Stub) and Pilot Vanishing Point (Gun Metal Matte Black, EF)
They are the other two things that mysteriously found their way into my cart.
NPD - TWSBI ECO Slate Blue Onyx with 1.1 stub nib
Pondering one of life’s great mysteries over lunch
Oh look, another blue TWSBI ECO
Slate blue onyx
NPD - TWSBI ECO Transparent Yellow
To-ro looks even better in a stub nib than an EF
Happy National Handwriting Day!
Writing by hand is great
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR Caribbean Onyx
Turns out the Caribbean Onyx is quite close to the Prussian Blue
This may be of interest for those looking at TWSBI alternatives
I’ve had great luck with TWSBI
Grabbed these swatch cards to use with the Colorverse inks
(and another TWSBI 580ALR)
NPD - TWSBI Eco in Cerulean Blue
The shade changes dramatically
NPD - TWSBI ECO in Glow Purple, and Rohrer & Klingner Salix
My first iron gall ink
Good news and bad news
First shimmer ink clog
A little moment of zen courtesy of Diamine Golden Sands in a TWSBI Diamond 580ALR
Watch the ink flow
Must not drink the forbidden Kool-Aid
Don’t do it!
diamine
Filled up the new Jinhao 20 pens
So far, so good
Seeing a lot more swatches and writing samples of Diamine Lady Grey
And in writing it’s mostly too light and gray
They announced the chosen Lady Grey variant for the Reddit + Diamine ink collaboration
The one I wanted to win, did win (the one that was more purple)
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
Snapped this earlier when I had the bottle out to fill a pen
Do not drink the yummy-looking punch.
Re-inked two of the pens with different colors (VP and Phantom)
And two with what they had before (Penmanship and Kakuno)
They posted the next step in voting for the Reddit & Diamine ink collaboration
At least one of the options is a bit different
Ink Swatch - Diamine Forever series
Plus chromatography strips
Ink Swatch - Diamine - Forever - Cherry Red
Bright red water-resistant pigment ink
NPD / NID - TWSBI Diamond 580 Clear and Diamine Forever inks arrived in record time!
I’m going to try Cherry Red first
JetPens has Diamine Forever inks in stock
And they’re the first I’ve seen with a good comparison swatch
Anyone get their hands on the Diamine Forever inks yet?
They look promising
Looks like this years Diamine/Reddit ink collaboration is going to be Purple/Violet
Hoping it’s not something too light or so dark you can’t tell it’s purple.
Time to start voting on this years Diamine ink collaboration on Reddit
Past years resulted in Writer’s Blood, Aurora Borealis, Earl Grey, Celadon Cat, and Sailor’s Warning/Red Sky
Hit my first fountain pen today that was so clogged I had to use the ultrasonic cleaner
Hero 1086, had Diamine Ancient Copper in it
Saw a post with the 2024 Colorverse advent calendar inks
I liked them a lot better than the Diamine 2024 calendar
NPD - Pilot Custom 74 demonstrator with an EF nib
Great so far, writes smoothly, and the EF is very thin
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
Good news and bad news
First shimmer ink clog
fluorescent
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Aldebaran
There is a lot going on, and it’s wild!
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Fomalhaut
Dark blue, red sheen, dark blue fluorescent glow.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Quantum
It’s sort of a dark slate teal, but there are distinct hints of both blue and green chromashading.
Finished the Secret Santa letter
I blurred the photos enough so the color and such would show but not be readable
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Antares
Another good & very usable fluorescent ink!
The most difficult part of working with fountain pens
Is resisting the temptation to drink all the yummy-looking liquids involved
My last Fountain Pen Day post (probably)!
For 2025, that is
Had a Prefounte and two Preppy pens to refill
So I figured I’d try some fluorescent inks in them. Works just fine
Inked up my new TWSBI ECO Plum w/Onyx with Tono & Lims - Antares
Another one of their very usable fluorescent inks
NPD - Sailor Hocoro dip pen with Fude nib
Came with an ink reservoir, which makes a significant difference when writing
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Comparison between Regulus and E=mc²
Very usable fluorescent inks, fast favorites
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - E=mc²
This one is very interesting. Is it green, gray, or both?
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Regulus
Got this because it’s blue, fluorescent, yet dark enough to be generally useful
What ink should I use to fill this FPR Jaipur v2?
Decisions, decisions
I also bought a full bottle of Pennonia Napnyugta Sunset
Since I liked the sample
Ink Swatch - Pennonia - Karpatzoid/Carpathian Green
It’s a nice ‘grassy’ green
Ink Swatch - Pennonia - Napkelte/Sunrise
I had high expectations
Ink Swatch - Pennonia Napnyugta/Sunset
This is the first of a few Pennonia fluorescent ink samples
endless
Endless released an upgrade kit for the Endless Phantom
Mine are still behaving OK but I’m always up for ways to further improve the seal.
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy Magic Peach Fuzz
Plus a test of my new hand-crafted swatch cards
Clicky pen updates again
Jinhao 20, Curidas, Endless Phantom, Majohn A1, A2, A3, Jinhao 10, VPs
Clicky pen updates
Jinhao 20, Majohn A3, Endless Phantom
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
Re-inked two of the pens with different colors (VP and Phantom)
And two with what they had before (Penmanship and Kakuno)
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
Another Endless Phantom update
Now at 5 weeks
Endless Phantom update
One of them had a hard start today after a couple days
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Mystic Forest
One of the few greens I have and I rather like it
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Candy Sea
It looks great, but …
The Phantom pens made it through the weekend test with flying colors
No sign of hard starts or drying out
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Molten Bronze
The launch deal Kickstarter tier for the Endless Phantom came with a free 45ml bottle
NPD - Endless Phantom Demonstrator
Initial impressions are decent, but time will tell on the sealing.
Companies are making it easy for me to not buy things lately
Scented inks are not for me
I wasnt planning on backing the Phantom retractable from Endless
but the super early bird tier was too tempting
Finally had time to ink up pens with Endless Alchemy Candy Sea & Mystic Forest
Trying Endless Alchemy inks
Once again I must resist drinking the forbidden Kool-Aid
Still not a good idea!
ultraviolet
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Aldebaran
There is a lot going on, and it’s wild!
I finally managed to finish the UV Paper blog post
I’ve been threatening to write it for a year now
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Fomalhaut
Dark blue, red sheen, dark blue fluorescent glow.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Quantum
It’s sort of a dark slate teal, but there are distinct hints of both blue and green chromashading.
Finished the Secret Santa letter
I blurred the photos enough so the color and such would show but not be readable
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Antares
Another good & very usable fluorescent ink!
The most difficult part of working with fountain pens
Is resisting the temptation to drink all the yummy-looking liquids involved
My last Fountain Pen Day post (probably)!
For 2025, that is
Inked up my new TWSBI ECO Plum w/Onyx with Tono & Lims - Antares
Another one of their very usable fluorescent inks
NPD - Sailor Hocoro dip pen with Fude nib
Came with an ink reservoir, which makes a significant difference when writing
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Comparison between Regulus and E=mc²
Very usable fluorescent inks, fast favorites
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - E=mc²
This one is very interesting. Is it green, gray, or both?
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Regulus
Got this because it’s blue, fluorescent, yet dark enough to be generally useful
What ink should I use to fill this FPR Jaipur v2?
Decisions, decisions
Ink Swatch - Pennonia - Karpatzoid/Carpathian Green
It’s a nice ‘grassy’ green
Ink Swatch - Pennonia - Napkelte/Sunrise
I had high expectations
Ink Swatch - Pennonia Napnyugta/Sunset
This is the first of a few Pennonia fluorescent ink samples
nib-ef
NPD - Platinum Curidas in Abyss Blue with an EF nib
Ticked too many boxes to pass it over
Learned an important lesson
Don’t put Electric Blue Spider Lily in an EF Kakuno
Using a crack scale to compare line widths
Handy tool for objective measurement rather than eyeballing
NPD - Endless Phantom Demonstrator
Initial impressions are decent, but time will tell on the sealing.
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR (Nickel, Stub) and Pilot Vanishing Point (Gun Metal Matte Black, EF)
They are the other two things that mysteriously found their way into my cart.
Found out the fun way that a Jowo
…was actually just a Jowo #6 nib+feed in a housing that was not Jowo compatible
A little post-Halloween/fountain pen day accounting work
The best kind of accounting
NPD - Asvine P36 demonstrator with an EF nib
EF is thin and smooth like the V126
NPD - Pilot Custom 74 demonstrator with an EF nib
Great so far, writes smoothly, and the EF is very thin
NPD - Jinhao 10 in Red with an EF nib
I took a chance and threw a couple bucks at it
NPD - Penbbs 494 with an EF nib
Inexpensive piston filler
NPD - Kaigelu 316A EF
Latest inexpensive pen with a little critter
Heres a fresh-ish grid comparing a variety of EF and similar fountain pen nibs
Nib comparison grid
Figured out a slightly better way to compare fountain pen nibs
but it takes much longer!
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
Seeking the thinnest EF nib
Comparing some thin writing pens and a pencil
Look at this happy lil nib
Pilot Kakuno
cleaning
Managed to get the Jinhao 9019 clean
I ordered a pack of very thin-walled nut drivers
Another round of pens refreshed
5x Jinhao 82
Another round of pen cleaning!
FPR Jaipur v2, Majohn A1, and two Jinhao 10s
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
Finished cleaning the M1 and M2
Soaking did the trick
Started to clean out a few pens today
All three had some ink that dried out
Nothing new here, but I did refill several pens I cleaned yesterday
CH912 and Majohns
Cleaned the last of the pens today that were empty (or nearly so)
One of them had a cracked nib unit housing
This is the slightly stained Jinhao Shark I cleaned last week
I’m guessing those are actually tiny cracks/fractures in the section
For the most part cleaning the Sharks went smoothly
Nothing clogged so badly it couldn’t be flushed
Next I’m going to clean out my Jinhao sharks
About half are dried out
Cleaned some more pens at lunch, all of the Kakuno family
No clogs, but some stubborn ink
Another interesting pen cleaning result today
Ink stained the converter and pen
Hit my first fountain pen today that was so clogged I had to use the ultrasonic cleaner
Hero 1086, had Diamine Ancient Copper in it
Cleaned out a couple fountain pens that dried out
Might be the pen and ink combination
nib-stub
NPD - TWSBI ECO Cosmos Blue w/Onyx
I like the mix mine has, it’s a pretty good blend
NPD - Asvine C80 in Cobalt Blue with a Stub nib
I ordered it back in June(!), finally arrived today
NPD - TWSBI Affogato/Onyx Diamond 580ALR
and it looks great!
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
NPD - TWSBI Diamond Mini AL in Grape
I hesitated due to its size, but it’s nice
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR (Nickel, Stub) and Pilot Vanishing Point (Gun Metal Matte Black, EF)
They are the other two things that mysteriously found their way into my cart.
NPD - TWSBI ECO Slate Blue Onyx with 1.1 stub nib
Pondering one of life’s great mysteries over lunch
NPD - TWSBI ECO Transparent Yellow
To-ro looks even better in a stub nib than an EF
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR Caribbean Onyx
Turns out the Caribbean Onyx is quite close to the Prussian Blue
NPD - Asvine C2000 Red/Blue with 1.1 Stub nib
Its a beaut! I ordered the Red variety but as shown it’s more heavy toward blue on the mix
Finally ran my Pilot VP dry after over 3 months
It never hard started or showed any signs of drying out
Lots of good stuff came in the mail
Several orders at once
NPD - Parker Vector Calligraphy Set
Compared to an older one
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
NPD - Vazir Meteor Shower in Blue with a 1.1 Stub nib
This was a bit of an adventure
tono-and-lims
Filled up the new Jinhao 20 pens
So far, so good
Another cold and snowy day, so have more Shel Silverstein
Have more Shel Silverstein
Since its a cold and snowy day, and Im still playing with T&L inks
Here’s some Shel Silverstein
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Aldebaran
There is a lot going on, and it’s wild!
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Fomalhaut
Dark blue, red sheen, dark blue fluorescent glow.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Quantum
It’s sort of a dark slate teal, but there are distinct hints of both blue and green chromashading.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Antares
Another good & very usable fluorescent ink!
Inked up my new TWSBI ECO Plum w/Onyx with Tono & Lims - Antares
Another one of their very usable fluorescent inks
Greeted by several packages
Better pics soon
NPD - Sailor Hocoro dip pen with Fude nib
Came with an ink reservoir, which makes a significant difference when writing
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Comparison between Regulus and E=mc²
Very usable fluorescent inks, fast favorites
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - E=mc²
This one is very interesting. Is it green, gray, or both?
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Regulus
Got this because it’s blue, fluorescent, yet dark enough to be generally useful
reinking
Filled up the new Jinhao 20 pens
So far, so good
Replaced the Jinhao 20 converter so I could see the ink level
And get higher capacity
Was using the Jinhao 20 this morning and it started writing a bit thin
Turns out I ran it out of ink again. Not dry, just empty.
Had a Prefounte and two Preppy pens to refill
So I figured I’d try some fluorescent inks in them. Works just fine
Did a round of pen refills
No cleaning needed since I used the same inks again
Another round of pens refreshed
5x Jinhao 82
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
Re-inked two of the pens with different colors (VP and Phantom)
And two with what they had before (Penmanship and Kakuno)
Nothing new here, but I did refill several pens I cleaned yesterday
CH912 and Majohns
Finally ran my Pilot VP dry after over 3 months
It never hard started or showed any signs of drying out
If tracking is to be believed, I have a new inexpensive red fountain pen arriving
So what shall I ink it with
Cleaned out a couple fountain pens that dried out
Might be the pen and ink combination
Finally had to re-ink a fountain pen from legitimately using all the ink
Platinum 3776 Century
swatchwednesday
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Aldebaran
There is a lot going on, and it’s wild!
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Fomalhaut
Dark blue, red sheen, dark blue fluorescent glow.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Quantum
It’s sort of a dark slate teal, but there are distinct hints of both blue and green chromashading.
Ink Swatch - Akkerman #13 Simplisties Violet
Another instant favorite
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Antares
Another good & very usable fluorescent ink!
Ink Swatch - Akkerman Out of the Blue
Just when you think you have enough ‘blue w/red sheen’ inks, along comes an even better shade of blurple
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Martian
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
Messing around with stamps to make ink swatch cards of sorts
out of some Midori paper
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Mystic Forest
One of the few greens I have and I rather like it
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Candy Sea
It looks great, but …
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Molten Bronze
The launch deal Kickstarter tier for the Endless Phantom came with a free 45ml bottle
Ink Swatch - Diamine Forever series
Plus chromatography strips
platinum
Looks like Platinum is raising prices on a bunch of pens again
Quite a bit in some cases
Had a Prefounte and two Preppy pens to refill
So I figured I’d try some fluorescent inks in them. Works just fine
NPD - Preppy Wa Edo-Monogatari in Purple / Neko
Happy Fountain Pen Day!
Greeted by several packages
Better pics soon
I was trying to be good
Vanness and JetPens both have the new TWSBI
Clicky pen updates again
Jinhao 20, Curidas, Endless Phantom, Majohn A1, A2, A3, Jinhao 10, VPs
NPD - Platinum Curidas in Abyss Blue with an EF nib
Ticked too many boxes to pass it over
I found a couple fountain pens I had forgotten about
(like ya do)
A little post-Halloween/fountain pen day accounting work
The best kind of accounting
A little fountain pen mystery is afoot
Curious find of an extra inner cap
Finally had to re-ink a fountain pen from legitimately using all the ink
Platinum 3776 Century
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
secretsanta
NPD - Faber-Castell Essentio
Fountain Pen Secret Santa (green tier) gift arrived today, lots of great stuff!
Finished the Secret Santa letter
I blurred the photos enough so the color and such would show but not be readable
Nearly done with Secret Santa!
Made a bunch of samples, wrapped all the gifts, and labeled it all
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Dust Storm
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Life on Mars
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Martian
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
Now that Colorvent is over, time to circle back
And take a better look at the pen and ink from my FP Green Secret Santa
Got my FP Green Secret Santa gift today
Tons of good stuff inside!
Secret Santa gift sent
tracking and shipping proof submitted
Between board games, fountain pens, and the microscope I’ve been tinkering with…
anyone looking through things around my desks would be very confused about the contents
Nipped over to the post office to grab a priority mail box
for the fountain pen Secret Santa exchange
kakuno
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
Learned an important lesson
Don’t put Electric Blue Spider Lily in an EF Kakuno
Started to clean out a few pens today
All three had some ink that dried out
Cleaned some more pens at lunch, all of the Kakuno family
No clogs, but some stubborn ink
Another interesting pen cleaning result today
Ink stained the converter and pen
A little lunchtime Kakuno family portrait
Kakuno Family Fountain Pens
Clear UV cure resin to block the safety holes on Pilot Kakuno
Helps them seal better, dry out less.
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
Seeking the thinnest EF nib
Comparing some thin writing pens and a pencil
Look at this happy lil nib
Pilot Kakuno
majohn
Comparing the cross-compatible Pilot CON-40, Majohn A1, and Jinhao 10 converters
The Majohn seems to be the best overall
Clicky pen updates again
Jinhao 20, Curidas, Endless Phantom, Majohn A1, A2, A3, Jinhao 10, VPs
Clicky pen updates
Jinhao 20, Majohn A3, Endless Phantom
NPD - Majohn A3 in white with black trim and an EF nib
Meet Spaceball-1
Another round of pen cleaning!
FPR Jaipur v2, Majohn A1, and two Jinhao 10s
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
Inside the Jinhao 10, Majohn A1, and Majohn A2
In both cases you can see the adhesive is really sloppy
Nothing new here, but I did refill several pens I cleaned yesterday
CH912 and Majohns
alchemy
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy Magic Peach Fuzz
Plus a test of my new hand-crafted swatch cards
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Mystic Forest
One of the few greens I have and I rather like it
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Candy Sea
It looks great, but …
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Molten Bronze
The launch deal Kickstarter tier for the Endless Phantom came with a free 45ml bottle
Companies are making it easy for me to not buy things lately
Scented inks are not for me
I wasnt planning on backing the Phantom retractable from Endless
but the super early bird tier was too tempting
Finally had time to ink up pens with Endless Alchemy Candy Sea & Mystic Forest
Trying Endless Alchemy inks
Once again I must resist drinking the forbidden Kool-Aid
Still not a good idea!
eco
NPD - TWSBI ECO Cosmos Blue w/Onyx
I like the mix mine has, it’s a pretty good blend
Yet another new TWSBI ECO coming, Cosmo w/Onyx
They sure do love cranking out a ton of these
Inked up my new TWSBI ECO Plum w/Onyx with Tono & Lims - Antares
Another one of their very usable fluorescent inks
Finally, something close to a red TWSBI
Not exactly red, but red-adjacent
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
NPD - TWSBI ECO Slate Blue Onyx with 1.1 stub nib
Pondering one of life’s great mysteries over lunch
NPD - TWSBI Eco in Cerulean Blue
The shade changes dramatically
phantom
Endless released an upgrade kit for the Endless Phantom
Mine are still behaving OK but I’m always up for ways to further improve the seal.
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
Another Endless Phantom update
Now at 5 weeks
Endless Phantom update
One of them had a hard start today after a couple days
The Phantom pens made it through the weekend test with flying colors
No sign of hard starts or drying out
NPD - Endless Phantom Demonstrator
Initial impressions are decent, but time will tell on the sealing.
I wasnt planning on backing the Phantom retractable from Endless
but the super early bird tier was too tempting
asvine
A couple more for Fountain Pen Day
Asvine C80 in Cobalt Blue w/Stub nib inked with Akkerman Out of the Blue
NPD - Asvine C80 in Cobalt Blue with a Stub nib
I ordered it back in June(!), finally arrived today
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
My Asvine C2000 is still not sealing well even with an added o-ring
Might need to try a different o-ring and/or a different ink
NPD - Asvine C2000 Red/Blue with 1.1 Stub nib
Its a beaut! I ordered the Red variety but as shown it’s more heavy toward blue on the mix
NPD - Asvine P36 demonstrator with an EF nib
EF is thin and smooth like the V126
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
hongdian
On August 1st I swapped the O-rings on my Hongdian M1 and M2
Just shy of three months later I checked them both
I found a couple fountain pens I had forgotten about
(like ya do)
Finished cleaning the M1 and M2
Soaking did the trick
Started to clean out a few pens today
All three had some ink that dried out
Cleaned out a couple fountain pens that dried out
Might be the pen and ink combination
NPD - HongDian 1861 Black Forest Pro in Raw Brass with Long Blade nib
It’s been great so far
HongDian sure seems to love putting cats and birds on their pens
HongDian finials and nibs with animals
wingsung
Since the WingSung 699 cracked I disassembled it
And tucked it away with other random parts
Re-inked two of the pens with different colors (VP and Phantom)
And two with what they had before (Penmanship and Kakuno)
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
NPD - WingSung 699
It was fairly inexpensive ($25) and seems to be well-regarded
This may be of interest for those looking at TWSBI alternatives
I’ve had great luck with TWSBI
Ugh
WingSung 698 cracked
These cheap WingSung 3008 fountain pens keep making me question my initial impressions
Great seal elevates what seemed like a low quality pen
invisibleink
Nearly done with Secret Santa!
Made a bunch of samples, wrapped all the gifts, and labeled it all
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
Finally managed to finish the blog post I’ve been threatening to write about UV reactive fountain pen ink
I only went two years between blog posts this time.
Still working out the finer points here but the tripod holds the phone pretty well
Here’s a quick video
Little follow up on paper reacting to UV light
Microscope video of invisible ink
My bottles of Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula arrived!
UV Invisible Ink
flashlight
I finally managed to finish the UV Paper blog post
I’ve been threatening to write it for a year now
If you want to capture things like chameleon shimmer in a photo/video
Try moving the light source, not the camera and paper
Finished the Secret Santa letter
I blurred the photos enough so the color and such would show but not be readable
Nearly done with Secret Santa!
Made a bunch of samples, wrapped all the gifts, and labeled it all
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
Saw a thread on Reddit where people were sharing wear-damaged pens from pockets
Mine aren’t too bad
My bottles of Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula arrived!
UV Invisible Ink
preppy
Had a Prefounte and two Preppy pens to refill
So I figured I’d try some fluorescent inks in them. Works just fine
NPD - Preppy Wa Edo-Monogatari in Purple / Neko
Happy Fountain Pen Day!
I found a couple fountain pens I had forgotten about
(like ya do)
A little post-Halloween/fountain pen day accounting work
The best kind of accounting
A little fountain pen mystery is afoot
Curious find of an extra inner cap
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
vanishing-point
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
POV You’re a Pilot VP nib unit
Take a trip inside
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point Decimo in Burgundy
I have been repeatedly disappointed by my red Jinhao 10 so I decided to do the proper thing and replace it with a Vanishing Point
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR (Nickel, Stub) and Pilot Vanishing Point (Gun Metal Matte Black, EF)
They are the other two things that mysteriously found their way into my cart.
Finally ran my Pilot VP dry after over 3 months
It never hard started or showed any signs of drying out
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
tramol
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
Still working out the finer points here but the tripod holds the phone pretty well
Here’s a quick video
Little follow up on paper reacting to UV light
Microscope video of invisible ink
Picked up some more Tomoe River paper and a Midori MD Cotton pad
And some Sakura Gelly Roll UV Gel Pens
My bottles of Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula arrived!
UV Invisible Ink
organization
New shelf for ink and other items
It replaces the little cabinet I had ink in.
Trying a Galen Leather folio
It looks extremely well-made and feels great
Got tired of ink sample vials falling over every time I reached for ink
So I 3D printed a sample vial rack
Moving on to more practical prints
3D printed an ink sample vial holder, pen tray
Migrating fountain pen inks and related bits
From a small cabinet in a desk to a larger and more visible open cabinet
Finally found a multi-level pen tray
To tidy up my desk
microscope
Colorvent 2024 - Days 13-24 drying under a microscope
An album of short videos
Colorvent 2024 - Days 1-12 drying under a microscope
An album of short videos
There may come a day where I get tired of pointing this new microscope at stuff
but today is not that day
Little follow up on paper reacting to UV light
Microscope video of invisible ink
Went a little wild with the new USB microscope
Checked out all the fountain pen inks I have on hand
Playing around with this USB microscope
Looking at various things I had handy
fountainpenday
My last Fountain Pen Day post (probably)!
For 2025, that is
Had a Prefounte and two Preppy pens to refill
So I figured I’d try some fluorescent inks in them. Works just fine
A couple more for Fountain Pen Day
Asvine C80 in Cobalt Blue w/Stub nib inked with Akkerman Out of the Blue
NPD - Preppy Wa Edo-Monogatari in Purple / Neko
Happy Fountain Pen Day!
A little post-Halloween/fountain pen day accounting work
The best kind of accounting
So far all the Fountain Pen Day sales are a miss for me
Nothing I was looking for
pennonia
What ink should I use to fill this FPR Jaipur v2?
Decisions, decisions
I also bought a full bottle of Pennonia Napnyugta Sunset
Since I liked the sample
Ink Swatch - Pennonia - Karpatzoid/Carpathian Green
It’s a nice ‘grassy’ green
Ink Swatch - Pennonia - Napkelte/Sunrise
I had high expectations
Ink Swatch - Pennonia Napnyugta/Sunset
This is the first of a few Pennonia fluorescent ink samples
As if I wasnt already swimming in ink
Some more arrived yesterday, too
Seeing a lot more swatches and writing samples of Diamine Lady Grey
And in writing it’s mostly too light and gray
They announced the chosen Lady Grey variant for the Reddit + Diamine ink collaboration
The one I wanted to win, did win (the one that was more purple)
They posted the next step in voting for the Reddit & Diamine ink collaboration
At least one of the options is a bit different
Looks like this years Diamine/Reddit ink collaboration is going to be Purple/Violet
Hoping it’s not something too light or so dark you can’t tell it’s purple.
Time to start voting on this years Diamine ink collaboration on Reddit
Past years resulted in Writer’s Blood, Aurora Borealis, Earl Grey, Celadon Cat, and Sailor’s Warning/Red Sky
ink-tono-and-lims-regulus
Another cold and snowy day, so have more Shel Silverstein
Have more Shel Silverstein
Since its a cold and snowy day, and Im still playing with T&L inks
Here’s some Shel Silverstein
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
NPD - Sailor Hocoro dip pen with Fude nib
Came with an ink reservoir, which makes a significant difference when writing
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Comparison between Regulus and E=mc²
Very usable fluorescent inks, fast favorites
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Regulus
Got this because it’s blue, fluorescent, yet dark enough to be generally useful
vazir
Osprey order finally landed
Osprey EF ultra-flex
Lots of good stuff came in the mail
Several orders at once
Cleaned the last of the pens today that were empty (or nearly so)
One of them had a cracked nib unit housing
There may come a day where I get tired of pointing this new microscope at stuff
but today is not that day
NPD - Vazir Meteor Shower in Blue with a 1.1 Stub nib
This was a bit of an adventure
midori
Messing around with stamps to make ink swatch cards of sorts
out of some Midori paper
Got my FP Green Secret Santa gift today
Tons of good stuff inside!
Midori MD block memo pad and A6 +Stand notebook are both great for UV
They behave just like the A5 notebook and pads
Little follow up on paper reacting to UV light
Microscope video of invisible ink
Picked up some more Tomoe River paper and a Midori MD Cotton pad
And some Sakura Gelly Roll UV Gel Pens
ink-samples
NPD - Faber-Castell Essentio
Fountain Pen Secret Santa (green tier) gift arrived today, lots of great stuff!
Got tired of ink sample vials falling over every time I reached for ink
So I 3D printed a sample vial rack
Moving on to more practical prints
3D printed an ink sample vial holder, pen tray
Well, how else would one hold an ink sample vial without a proper rack?
(Really, I’m curious what other people do!)
Between board games, fountain pens, and the microscope I’ve been tinkering with…
anyone looking through things around my desks would be very confused about the contents
kwz
NPD - TWSBI Affogato/Onyx Diamond 580ALR
and it looks great!
Ink Swatch - KWZ - Sheen Machine
I got a sample since everyone praises it, and indeed it sheens like a machine
Ink Swatch - KWZ - It Smells Like Coffee
I have to be careful with scents so I got a sample of KWZ It Smells Like Coffee to find out if I could tolerate it
Well, how else would one hold an ink sample vial without a proper rack?
(Really, I’m curious what other people do!)
As if I wasnt already swimming in ink
Some more arrived yesterday, too
forever
Ink Swatch - Diamine Forever series
Plus chromatography strips
Ink Swatch - Diamine - Forever - Cherry Red
Bright red water-resistant pigment ink
NPD / NID - TWSBI Diamond 580 Clear and Diamine Forever inks arrived in record time!
I’m going to try Cherry Red first
JetPens has Diamine Forever inks in stock
And they’re the first I’ve seen with a good comparison swatch
Anyone get their hands on the Diamine Forever inks yet?
They look promising
ink-tono-and-lims-emc2
Since its a cold and snowy day, and Im still playing with T&L inks
Here’s some Shel Silverstein
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
NPD - Sailor Hocoro dip pen with Fude nib
Came with an ink reservoir, which makes a significant difference when writing
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Comparison between Regulus and E=mc²
Very usable fluorescent inks, fast favorites
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - E=mc²
This one is very interesting. Is it green, gray, or both?
akkerman
Ink Swatch - Akkerman #13 Simplisties Violet
Another instant favorite
Ink Swatch - Akkerman Out of the Blue
Just when you think you have enough ‘blue w/red sheen’ inks, along comes an even better shade of blurple
A couple more for Fountain Pen Day
Asvine C80 in Cobalt Blue w/Stub nib inked with Akkerman Out of the Blue
NPD - Preppy Wa Edo-Monogatari in Purple / Neko
Happy Fountain Pen Day!
Greeted by several packages
Better pics soon
ink-tono-and-lims-fomalhaut
Filled up the new Jinhao 20 pens
So far, so good
Another cold and snowy day, so have more Shel Silverstein
Have more Shel Silverstein
Since its a cold and snowy day, and Im still playing with T&L inks
Here’s some Shel Silverstein
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Fomalhaut
Dark blue, red sheen, dark blue fluorescent glow.
fpr
What ink should I use to fill this FPR Jaipur v2?
Decisions, decisions
Another round of pen cleaning!
FPR Jaipur v2, Majohn A1, and two Jinhao 10s
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
Finally had time to ink up pens with Endless Alchemy Candy Sea & Mystic Forest
Trying Endless Alchemy inks
penbbs
I feel like I owe the Penbbs 494 an apology about its piston lock
I thought I remembered the knob spinning freely when I first filled it
My bottles of Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula arrived!
UV Invisible Ink
NPD - Penbbs 494 with an EF nib
Inexpensive piston filler
sailor
Greeted by several packages
Better pics soon
NPD - Sailor Hocoro dip pen with Fude nib
Came with an ink reservoir, which makes a significant difference when writing
Ink Swatch - Sailor Yurameku Date Gokoro
A tale of two papers, or: WTF?
jetpens
I was trying to be good
Vanness and JetPens both have the new TWSBI
It’s a good thing I don’t really care for glass pens
Not to mention the prices!
JetPens has Diamine Forever inks in stock
And they’re the first I’ve seen with a good comparison swatch
ink-tono-and-lims-antares
Since its a cold and snowy day, and Im still playing with T&L inks
Here’s some Shel Silverstein
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Antares
Another good & very usable fluorescent ink!
Inked up my new TWSBI ECO Plum w/Onyx with Tono & Lims - Antares
Another one of their very usable fluorescent inks
ink-endless-alchemy-candy-sea
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Candy Sea
It looks great, but …
Finally had time to ink up pens with Endless Alchemy Candy Sea & Mystic Forest
Trying Endless Alchemy inks
Once again I must resist drinking the forbidden Kool-Aid
Still not a good idea!
ink-endless-alchemy-mystic-forest
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Mystic Forest
One of the few greens I have and I rather like it
Finally had time to ink up pens with Endless Alchemy Candy Sea & Mystic Forest
Trying Endless Alchemy inks
Once again I must resist drinking the forbidden Kool-Aid
Still not a good idea!
nib-flex
Osprey order finally landed
Osprey EF ultra-flex
NPD - Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA (“Falcon”) flex nib
Who wore it better - Falcon Edition
Finally had time to ink up pens with Endless Alchemy Candy Sea & Mystic Forest
Trying Endless Alchemy inks
converters
Comparing the cross-compatible Pilot CON-40, Majohn A1, and Jinhao 10 converters
The Majohn seems to be the best overall
Replaced the Jinhao 20 converter so I could see the ink level
And get higher capacity
Pilot CON-40 converter full fill trick
Tricky, but possible, though the converter is still not great
vanness
Ink Swatch - Vanness Possum Pie
aka Possom Pie/Opossum Pie, etc. LE Thanksgiving 2025 Ink
I was trying to be good
Vanness and JetPens both have the new TWSBI
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
pen-dungeon
Its been a year since I starting using an air-tight Plano as a Pen Dungeon
Sadly, every pen in there is dry
Little update on the pen dungeon / pen-itentiary
Three week check results
Any other fountain pen users have a dedicated pen dungeon
For misbehaving pens that don’t seal well
penitentiary
Its been a year since I starting using an air-tight Plano as a Pen Dungeon
Sadly, every pen in there is dry
Little update on the pen dungeon / pen-itentiary
Three week check results
Any other fountain pen users have a dedicated pen dungeon
For misbehaving pens that don’t seal well
tomoe-river
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
Picked up some more Tomoe River paper and a Midori MD Cotton pad
And some Sakura Gelly Roll UV Gel Pens
My bottles of Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula arrived!
UV Invisible Ink
aliexpress
NPD - Jinhao 10 Coffee Gradient
Hopefully this Jinhao 10 seals better than my last one
NPD - Jinhao 85
Not bad for $6
broken
Since the WingSung 699 cracked I disassembled it
And tucked it away with other random parts
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
Ugh
WingSung 698 cracked
cracked
Since the WingSung 699 cracked I disassembled it
And tucked it away with other random parts
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
Ugh
WingSung 698 cracked
ultrasonic
Another round of pen cleaning!
FPR Jaipur v2, Majohn A1, and two Jinhao 10s
For the most part cleaning the Sharks went smoothly
Nothing clogged so badly it couldn’t be flushed
Hit my first fountain pen today that was so clogged I had to use the ultrasonic cleaner
Hero 1086, had Diamine Ancient Copper in it
jowo
Osprey order finally landed
Osprey EF ultra-flex
Lots of good stuff came in the mail
Several orders at once
Found out the fun way that a Jowo
…was actually just a Jowo #6 nib+feed in a housing that was not Jowo compatible
blog
Inkier Things
Hello!
I finally managed to finish the UV Paper blog post
I’ve been threatening to write it for a year now
Finally managed to finish the blog post I’ve been threatening to write about UV reactive fountain pen ink
I only went two years between blog posts this time.
c2000
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
My Asvine C2000 is still not sealing well even with an added o-ring
Might need to try a different o-ring and/or a different ink
NPD - Asvine C2000 Red/Blue with 1.1 Stub nib
Its a beaut! I ordered the Red variety but as shown it’s more heavy toward blue on the mix
diamond-580alr
NPD - TWSBI Affogato/Onyx Diamond 580ALR
and it looks great!
TWSBI may get me with this one
Diamond 580ALR Affogato / Onyx trim
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR (Nickel, Stub) and Pilot Vanishing Point (Gun Metal Matte Black, EF)
They are the other two things that mysteriously found their way into my cart.
dip-pens
NPD - Sailor Hocoro dip pen with Fude nib
Came with an ink reservoir, which makes a significant difference when writing
It’s a good thing I don’t really care for glass pens
Not to mention the prices!
endoscope
NPD - Jinhao 20
Showed up today
Inside the Jinhao 10, Majohn A1, and Majohn A2
In both cases you can see the adhesive is really sloppy
POV You’re a Pilot VP nib unit
Take a trip inside
ink-tono-and-lims-quantum
Since its a cold and snowy day, and Im still playing with T&L inks
Here’s some Shel Silverstein
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Quantum
It’s sort of a dark slate teal, but there are distinct hints of both blue and green chromashading.
ink-tono-and-lims-aldebaran
Since its a cold and snowy day, and Im still playing with T&L inks
Here’s some Shel Silverstein
Ink Swatch - Tono + Lims Star Light Series fluorescent inks side-by-side comparison
I liked all of these for different reasons, no bad one in the bunch.
Ink Swatch - Tono & Lims - Star Light Series - Aldebaran
There is a lot going on, and it’s wild!
iroshizuku
Got my FP Green Secret Santa gift today
Tons of good stuff inside!
Must not drink the forbidden Kool-Aid
Don’t do it!
pentel
Time for a round of Which lines are Kiri-same and which lines are pencils?
A fun, though not terribly difficult, guessing game.
Seeking the thinnest EF nib
Comparing some thin writing pens and a pencil
century3776
Finally had to re-ink a fountain pen from legitimately using all the ink
Platinum 3776 Century
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
nib-fude
Finally had time to ink up pens with Endless Alchemy Candy Sea & Mystic Forest
Trying Endless Alchemy inks
nib-blade
NPD - Osprey Madison with an Architect nib
Low cost and lots of nib options
NPD - HongDian 1861 Black Forest Pro in Raw Brass with Long Blade nib
It’s been great so far
kaigelu
Cleaned a few stubborn pens out today
Seemed like no amount of soaking and flushing would get them to run clear.
NPD - Kaigelu 316A EF
Latest inexpensive pen with a little critter
ink-diamine-golden-sands
Good news and bad news
First shimmer ink clog
a1
Nothing new here, but I did refill several pens I cleaned yesterday
CH912 and Majohns
a2
Nothing new here, but I did refill several pens I cleaned yesterday
CH912 and Majohns
capless
NPD - Endless Phantom Demonstrator
Initial impressions are decent, but time will tell on the sealing.
shimmer
These showed up today after almost three weeks in transit
Banmi Neutron Star shimmer inks
Good news and bad news
First shimmer ink clog
ink-diamine-honey-burst
Filled up the new Jinhao 20 pens
So far, so good
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
parker
Cleaned a few stubborn pens out today
Seemed like no amount of soaking and flushing would get them to run clear.
NPD - Parker Vector Calligraphy Set
Compared to an older one
pen-tray
Moving on to more practical prints
3D printed an ink sample vial holder, pen tray
Finally found a multi-level pen tray
To tidy up my desk
colorvent
Secret Santa gift sent
tracking and shipping proof submitted
Saw a post with the 2024 Colorverse advent calendar inks
I liked them a lot better than the Diamine 2024 calendar
stain
This is the slightly stained Jinhao Shark I cleaned last week
I’m guessing those are actually tiny cracks/fractures in the section
For the most part cleaning the Sharks went smoothly
Nothing clogged so badly it couldn’t be flushed
repair
Managed to get the Jinhao 9019 clean
I ordered a pack of very thin-walled nut drivers
Cleaned the last of the pens today that were empty (or nearly so)
One of them had a cracked nib unit housing
ch912
Nothing new here, but I did refill several pens I cleaned yesterday
CH912 and Majohns
NPD - Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA (“Falcon”) flex nib
Who wore it better - Falcon Edition
starwars
Thought I’d give wax sealing a try
It looked interesting
NPD - Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA (“Falcon”) flex nib
Who wore it better - Falcon Edition
osprey
NPD - Osprey Madison with an Architect nib
Low cost and lots of nib options
Osprey order finally landed
Osprey EF ultra-flex
banmi
Ink Swatch - Banmi Neutron 90° BP (Blue & Purple)
Continuing my trend toward inks that do weird things
These showed up today after almost three weeks in transit
Banmi Neutron Star shimmer inks
ink-colorverse-milky-way
Happy National Handwriting Day!
Writing by hand is great
Colorvent 2024 - Day 19 - Milky Way (Glistening)
A purple ink packed with teal shimmer - To put it mildly, ‘It’s full of stars!’
ink-institute
Ink Swatch - Ink Institute - Meander Series - Electric Blue Spider Lily
Heres a fun multi-shader
As if I wasnt already swimming in ink
Some more arrived yesterday, too
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-to-ro
NPD - TWSBI ECO Transparent Yellow
To-ro looks even better in a stub nib than an EF
Finally had a chance to ink up a pen and try the new Pilot Iroshizuku
A warm and legible yellow
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-rikka
NPD - TWSBI Diamond 580ALR Caribbean Onyx
Turns out the Caribbean Onyx is quite close to the Prussian Blue
Also tried another new Pilot Iroshizuku ink in a pen, Rikka
Sort of a dusty blue.
chromashader
Ink Swatch - Ink Institute - Meander Series - Electric Blue Spider Lily
Heres a fun multi-shader
Ink Swatch - Sailor Yurameku Date Gokoro
A tale of two papers, or: WTF?
ink-pennonia-napnyugta-sunset
I also bought a full bottle of Pennonia Napnyugta Sunset
Since I liked the sample
Ink Swatch - Pennonia Napnyugta/Sunset
This is the first of a few Pennonia fluorescent ink samples
jinhao-10
Inside the Jinhao 10, Majohn A1, and Majohn A2
In both cases you can see the adhesive is really sloppy
NPD - Jinhao 10 Coffee Gradient
Hopefully this Jinhao 10 seals better than my last one
water-resistant
JetPens has Diamine Forever inks in stock
And they’re the first I’ve seen with a good comparison swatch
Anyone get their hands on the Diamine Forever inks yet?
They look promising
jinhao-20
I also bought a full bottle of Pennonia Napnyugta Sunset
Since I liked the sample
NPD - Jinhao 20
Showed up today
spooky
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
spoopy
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
ghosts
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
ink-turritopsis-nutricula
Its never too early, but it felt like the right moment
To get out my pens with Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula
hocoro
NPD - Sailor Hocoro dip pen with Fude nib
Came with an ink reservoir, which makes a significant difference when writing
bookaroo
New Notebook - Bookaroo A6
I rather like it
writing-sample
Another cold and snowy day, so have more Shel Silverstein
Have more Shel Silverstein
Since its a cold and snowy day, and Im still playing with T&L inks
Here’s some Shel Silverstein
fisher
Fisher Space Pen Refills
Lately I’ve taken a liking to Fisher Space Pen refills for rollerball pens
space-pen
Fisher Space Pen Refills
Lately I’ve taken a liking to Fisher Space Pen refills for rollerball pens
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-ama-iro
Must not drink the forbidden Kool-Aid
Don’t do it!
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-fuyu-gaki
Must not drink the forbidden Kool-Aid
Don’t do it!
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-kon-peki
Must not drink the forbidden Kool-Aid
Don’t do it!
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-momiji
Must not drink the forbidden Kool-Aid
Don’t do it!
pencil
Seeking the thinnest EF nib
Comparing some thin writing pens and a pencil
zebra
Seeking the thinnest EF nib
Comparing some thin writing pens and a pencil
nib-uef
Still trying to find the finest of the extra fine
More contenders for thinnest EF
finial
HongDian sure seems to love putting cats and birds on their pens
HongDian finials and nibs with animals
hongdian-1861
NPD - HongDian 1861 Black Forest Pro in Raw Brass with Long Blade nib
It’s been great so far
kaigelu-316a
NPD - Kaigelu 316A EF
Latest inexpensive pen with a little critter
clog
Good news and bad news
First shimmer ink clog
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-asa-gao
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
ink-diamine-aurora-borealis
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
ink-diamine-wild-strawberry
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point in Blue Carbonesque with a stub nib
Plus few new inks
emisar
My bottles of Tramol Turritopsis Nutricula arrived!
UV Invisible Ink
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-kiri-same
Time for a round of Which lines are Kiri-same and which lines are pencils?
A fun, though not terribly difficult, guessing game.
uni
Time for a round of Which lines are Kiri-same and which lines are pencils?
A fun, though not terribly difficult, guessing game.
kuru-toga
Time for a round of Which lines are Kiri-same and which lines are pencils?
A fun, though not terribly difficult, guessing game.
graphgear
Time for a round of Which lines are Kiri-same and which lines are pencils?
A fun, though not terribly difficult, guessing game.
vector
NPD - Parker Vector Calligraphy Set
Compared to an older one
edc
Saw a thread on Reddit where people were sharing wear-damaged pens from pockets
Mine aren’t too bad
highlighter
Back to Top ↑sakura-gelly-roll
Picked up some more Tomoe River paper and a Midori MD Cotton pad
And some Sakura Gelly Roll UV Gel Pens
rohrer-and-klingner
NPD - TWSBI ECO in Glow Purple, and Rohrer & Klingner Salix
My first iron gall ink
rnk
NPD - TWSBI ECO in Glow Purple, and Rohrer & Klingner Salix
My first iron gall ink
ink-rnk-salix
NPD - TWSBI ECO in Glow Purple, and Rohrer & Klingner Salix
My first iron gall ink
iron-gall
NPD - TWSBI ECO in Glow Purple, and Rohrer & Klingner Salix
My first iron gall ink
maruman
Last two paper types arrived
Maruman and Rhodia
rhodia
Last two paper types arrived
Maruman and Rhodia
ink-diamine-red-dragon
NPD - Pilot Custom 74 demonstrator with an EF nib
Great so far, writes smoothly, and the EF is very thin
memes
Still working out the finer points here but the tripod holds the phone pretty well
Here’s a quick video
colorvent-2024
Saw a post with the 2024 Colorverse advent calendar inks
I liked them a lot better than the Diamine 2024 calendar
inkvent
Saw a post with the 2024 Colorverse advent calendar inks
I liked them a lot better than the Diamine 2024 calendar
halloween
A little post-Halloween/fountain pen day accounting work
The best kind of accounting
candy
A little post-Halloween/fountain pen day accounting work
The best kind of accounting
hero
Hit my first fountain pen today that was so clogged I had to use the ultrasonic cleaner
Hero 1086, had Diamine Ancient Copper in it
hero-1086
Hit my first fountain pen today that was so clogged I had to use the ultrasonic cleaner
Hero 1086, had Diamine Ancient Copper in it
ink-diamine-ancient-copper
Hit my first fountain pen today that was so clogged I had to use the ultrasonic cleaner
Hero 1086, had Diamine Ancient Copper in it
staining
Another interesting pen cleaning result today
Ink stained the converter and pen
monteverde
Another interesting pen cleaning result today
Ink stained the converter and pen
ink-monteverde-document-blue
Another interesting pen cleaning result today
Ink stained the converter and pen
ink-pilot-iroshizuku-yama-budo
This is the slightly stained Jinhao Shark I cleaned last week
I’m guessing those are actually tiny cracks/fractures in the section
swatching
Grabbed these swatch cards to use with the Colorverse inks
(and another TWSBI 580ALR)
piston-filler
This may be of interest for those looking at TWSBI alternatives
I’ve had great luck with TWSBI
crowdfunding
I wasnt planning on backing the Phantom retractable from Endless
but the super early bird tier was too tempting
vac-filler
NPD - WingSung 699
It was fairly inexpensive ($25) and seems to be well-regarded
falcon
NPD - Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA (“Falcon”) flex nib
Who wore it better - Falcon Edition
nib-fa
NPD - Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA (“Falcon”) flex nib
Who wore it better - Falcon Edition
millennium-falcon
NPD - Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA (“Falcon”) flex nib
Who wore it better - Falcon Edition
madison
NPD - Osprey Madison with an Architect nib
Low cost and lots of nib options
nib-architect
NPD - Osprey Madison with an Architect nib
Low cost and lots of nib options
ink-colorverse-supergiant
Colorvent 2024 - Day 1 - Supergiant
A very bright red with a tad of orange, also maybe a hint of sheen?
ink-colorverse-edge-of-night
Colorvent 2024 - Day 2 - Edge of Night
A blue-gray color that is on the lighter side and shades decently on most papers
ink-colorverse-moonlit-veil
Colorvent 2024 - Day 3 - Moonlit Veil
A light gray color which also seems to be a bit on the wet side
ink-colorverse-sailing-stones
Colorvent 2024 - Day 4 - Sailing Stones
A light brown/tan color
ink-colorverse-rosette-nebula
Colorvent 2024 - Day 5 - Rosette Nebula
A pleasant pinkish-red/Fuchsia shade
jinao
Got my FP Green Secret Santa gift today
Tons of good stuff inside!
ink-colorverse-kilonova
Colorvent 2024 - Day 6 - Kilonova
A blue-purple/indigo (blurple) with medium red/purple-ish sheen
ink-colorverse-rover
Colorvent 2024 - Day 7 - Rover (Glistening)
A dark gray with iridescent shimmer, looks like a star-filled night sky!
ink-colorverse-blue-moon
Colorvent 2024 - Day 8 - Blue Moon
A light blue ink that runs wet and shades significantly
ink-colorverse-red-horizon
Colorvent 2024 - Day 9 - Red Horizon
A medium dark red with a small amount of coppery sheen
ink-colorverse-aquarius-whispers
Colorvent 2024 - Day 10 - Aquarius Whispers
A light sea green/jade, teal but greener.
ink-colorverse-davinci-glow
Colorvent 2024 - Day 11 - DaVinci Glow
A blue-gray dual-shading ink that shades in blue and gray separately, which is neat
ink-colorverse-sunbeam
Colorvent 2024 - Day 12 - Sunbeam
A dark yellow-brown that shades well, but that’s about the only good thing
ink-colorverse-neptune-occultation
Colorvent 2024 - Day 13 - Neptune Occultation
Which has a lot going on, all good!
ink-colorverse-pulsar-pulse
Colorvent 2024 - Day 14 - Pulsar Pulse
Turquoise with dark magenta shading and heavy pink sheen
ink-colorverse-brinicles
Colorvent 2024 - Day 15 - Brinicles
A medium blue-green that shades a little and has a tiny bit of reddish sheen
ink-colorverse-eclipse-silence
Colorvent 2024 - Day 16 - Eclipse Silence
A black ink with almost no shading and a sheen of what appears to be gold
neutron
These showed up today after almost three weeks in transit
Banmi Neutron Star shimmer inks
ink-colorverse-ngc-2264
Colorvent 2024 - Day 17 - NGC 2264
Medium forest green with some shading and no sheen
ink-colorverse-morning-glow
Colorvent 2024 - Day 18 - Morning Glow
A multi-shading gray where the (heavy) shading can be gray, pink, brown, blue, and even green
ink-colorverse-white-hole
Colorvent 2024 - Day 20 - White Hole
A light blue with lots of shading
ink-colorverse-giant-sunspot
Colorvent 2024 - Day 21 - Giant Sunspot
A bold red-orange with plenty of shading and some sheen
ink-colorverse-portuguese-meteor
Colorvent 2024 - Day 22 - Portuguese Meteor
A bright aqua/turquoise color with low shading and cyan shimmer
ink-colorverse-dantes-cosmology
Colorvent 2024 - Day 23 - Dante’s Cosmology
A dusty midnight blue with lots of shading and a smidge of coppery sheen
ink-colorverse-christmas-star
Colorvent 2024 - Day 24 - Christmas Star (Glistening)
A bright orange with heavy shading, a little orange sheen, and it’s crammed full of gold shimmer
nationalhandwritingday
Happy National Handwriting Day!
Writing by hand is great
ink-sailor-yurameku-date-gokoro
Ink Swatch - Sailor Yurameku Date Gokoro
A tale of two papers, or: WTF?
col-o-ring
Ink Swatch - Sailor Yurameku Date Gokoro
A tale of two papers, or: WTF?
iroful
Ink Swatch - Sailor Yurameku Date Gokoro
A tale of two papers, or: WTF?
color-shift
Ink Swatch - Sailor Yurameku Date Gokoro
A tale of two papers, or: WTF?
zelda
Thought I’d give wax sealing a try
It looked interesting
ink-banmi-neutron-90-bp
Ink Swatch - Banmi Neutron 90° BP (Blue & Purple)
Continuing my trend toward inks that do weird things
scented
Companies are making it easy for me to not buy things lately
Scented inks are not for me
ink-kwz-it-smells-like-coffee
Ink Swatch - KWZ - It Smells Like Coffee
I have to be careful with scents so I got a sample of KWZ It Smells Like Coffee to find out if I could tolerate it
swatch-wednesday
Ink Swatch - Ink Institute - Meander Series - Electric Blue Spider Lily
Heres a fun multi-shader
ink-ink-institute-electric-blue-spider-lily
Ink Swatch - Ink Institute - Meander Series - Electric Blue Spider Lily
Heres a fun multi-shader
multi-shader
Ink Swatch - Ink Institute - Meander Series - Electric Blue Spider Lily
Heres a fun multi-shader
extreme-sheen
Ink Swatch - KWZ - Sheen Machine
I got a sample since everyone praises it, and indeed it sheens like a machine
ink-pennonia-napkelte-sunrise
Ink Swatch - Pennonia - Napkelte/Sunrise
I had high expectations
ink-pennonia-karpatzoid-carpathian-green
Ink Swatch - Pennonia - Karpatzoid/Carpathian Green
It’s a nice ‘grassy’ green
kakimori
NPD - Kakimori Frost fountain pen ink rollerball
Has a converter and takes fountain pen ink
frost
NPD - Kakimori Frost fountain pen ink rollerball
Has a converter and takes fountain pen ink
rollerball
NPD - Kakimori Frost fountain pen ink rollerball
Has a converter and takes fountain pen ink
psa
A little St. Patrick’s Day PSA
In fountain pen form
holiday
A little St. Patrick’s Day PSA
In fountain pen form
st-patricks-day
A little St. Patrick’s Day PSA
In fountain pen form
shamrock
A little St. Patrick’s Day PSA
In fountain pen form
clover
A little St. Patrick’s Day PSA
In fountain pen form
jeopardy
One of the contestants on Jeopardy tonight said they had ~100 fountain pens
and didn’t want to say how much some of them cost
permanent
Anyone get their hands on the Diamine Forever inks yet?
They look promising
private-reserve
Nothing new here, but I did refill several pens I cleaned yesterday
CH912 and Majohns
ink-diamine-forever-cherry-red
Ink Swatch - Diamine - Forever - Cherry Red
Bright red water-resistant pigment ink
glass-pens
It’s a good thing I don’t really care for glass pens
Not to mention the prices!
ink-endless-alchemy-molten-bronze
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy - Molten Bronze
The launch deal Kickstarter tier for the Endless Phantom came with a free 45ml bottle
tools
Using a crack scale to compare line widths
Handy tool for objective measurement rather than eyeballing
decimo
NPD - Pilot Vanishing Point Decimo in Burgundy
I have been repeatedly disappointed by my red Jinhao 10 so I decided to do the proper thing and replace it with a Vanishing Point
diamond-mini-al
NPD - TWSBI Diamond Mini AL in Grape
I hesitated due to its size, but it’s nice
ink-ink-institute-meander-electric-blue-spider-lily
Learned an important lesson
Don’t put Electric Blue Spider Lily in an EF Kakuno
stationerystoreday
Apparently the first Saturday in August is supposed to be Stationery Store Day?
No stores within 100 miles of me, though.
stickynotes
There were some freebies with my last JetPens order
Including a couple packs of Beverly Marumi Sticky Notes
majohn-a1
Inside the Jinhao 10, Majohn A1, and Majohn A2
In both cases you can see the adhesive is really sloppy
majohn-a2
Inside the Jinhao 10, Majohn A1, and Majohn A2
In both cases you can see the adhesive is really sloppy
penmanship
Aftermath of just the first of many rounds of pen cleanings
These are ones I intend to refill tomorrow
plaisir
I found a couple fountain pens I had forgotten about
(like ya do)
ink-diamine-sunshine-yellow
Snapped this earlier when I had the bottle out to fill a pen
Do not drink the yummy-looking punch.
jaipur-v2
Next round cleaned and re-inked
Majohn A2, Asvine C2000, Endless Phantom, FPR Jaipur v2
zombies
Back to Top ↑pangram
Back to Top ↑galen-leather
Trying a Galen Leather folio
It looks extremely well-made and feels great
folio
Trying a Galen Leather folio
It looks extremely well-made and feels great
letteropeners
Why is it that all letter openers seem to fall into the following categories
Stabby but dull, razor in plastic but dull, gadget that doesn’t work
majohn-a3
NPD - Majohn A3 in white with black trim and an EF nib
Meet Spaceball-1
spaceball-1
NPD - Majohn A3 in white with black trim and an EF nib
Meet Spaceball-1
spaceballs
NPD - Majohn A3 in white with black trim and an EF nib
Meet Spaceball-1
curidas
NPD - Platinum Curidas in Abyss Blue with an EF nib
Ticked too many boxes to pass it over
stamping
Messing around with stamps to make ink swatch cards of sorts
out of some Midori paper
c80
NPD - Asvine C80 in Cobalt Blue with a Stub nib
I ordered it back in June(!), finally arrived today
prefounte
Had a Prefounte and two Preppy pens to refill
So I figured I’d try some fluorescent inks in them. Works just fine
ink-endless-alchemy-magic-peach-fuzz
Ink Swatch - Endless Alchemy Magic Peach Fuzz
Plus a test of my new hand-crafted swatch cards
ink-colorverse-martian
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Martian
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
ink-akkerman-out-of-the-blue
Ink Swatch - Akkerman Out of the Blue
Just when you think you have enough ‘blue w/red sheen’ inks, along comes an even better shade of blurple
ink-colorverse-life-on-mars
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Life on Mars
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
ink-colorverse-dust-storm
Ink Swatch - Colorverse Dust Storm
One of a trio of Colorverse ink samples I was gifted last year in the Secret Santa exchange
ink-vanness-possum-pie
Ink Swatch - Vanness Possum Pie
aka Possom Pie/Opossum Pie, etc. LE Thanksgiving 2025 Ink
ink-akkerman-13-simplisties-violet
Ink Swatch - Akkerman #13 Simplisties Violet
Another instant favorite
faber-castell
NPD - Faber-Castell Essentio
Fountain Pen Secret Santa (green tier) gift arrived today, lots of great stuff!
lanbitou
NPD - Lanbitou 3059
It’s obviously trying to be a TWSBI, but doesn’t quite make it.
storage
New shelf for ink and other items
It replaces the little cabinet I had ink in.
journaling
Seeing lots of people sharing new (and just finished) journals and planners, which is fun
I’m tempted again, but I have never once used a Journal or Planner for more than a couple days
planners
Seeing lots of people sharing new (and just finished) journals and planners, which is fun
I’m tempted again, but I have never once used a Journal or Planner for more than a couple days