Aside from reading, video games and books I have an interest in fountain pens and inks. It is something I have always enjoyed and I still have and use my first fountain pen I bought way back in 2008, a lime green Lamy Safari.
It is only recently, the last year or so, that I have fallen down the rabbit hole of inks. Its not the colours that appeal to me but the properties too. Like a shimmer or sheening ink and the inks that alter, fore example Sailor Dategokoro goes on with a blue hue but dries a nice plummy colour.
This past week I decided to have a tidy up and organise my collection of inks and pens to make them more accessible and visual to me. Usually I kept them in a pencil case but I decided to store them in a pen case to preserve and look after them better. It is nice to appreciate them and their differences.
My pens range from the Lamy and cheaper Chinese models and brand like Jinhao and Asvine to more expensive Esterbrook and Platinum pens. Cost doesn’t necessarily mean better in my experience. I have 15 total pens and need a bigger case, as I have only room for 12, the rest live in my pencil case. My favourite brand seems to be Kaweko and I like their Sport model of pen. I also have two dip pens which I use for ink swatching and for a change of pace. A J Herbin glass dip pen and a Sailor Dipton with a fude nib.
For inks I have few from Diamine and J. Herbin. I quite like the 1670 collection from J. Herbin. I do like the Pilot Iroshizuka inks and thought I have two currently (Kon Peki & Yama Buda) I know I will try to acquire the set – they are pricey but God tier in my opinion. I do like the gold flecks in ink though they are a bit annoying with gunking up the nib, thankfully most if not all my pens can be thoroughly cleaned out
Here are my pens (from left to right).
- Asvine C80 (Green Ripple) 1.1 Stub nib
- Kaweko Collection (Apricot) Medium nib
- Kaweko Sport (Bordeaux) Broad nib
- Kaweko Sport (Fox) Medium nib
- Kaweko Lunar Sport (Shadow Green) Medium nib
- Kaweko Sport Piston Filer (Blue) Medium nib
- Platinum Kanazawa-Haku (Changing Autumn Leaves) Medium nib
- Esterbrook Niblet (Nouveau Bleu) Fine Flex nib
- Opus 88 (Check) Broad nib
- TWSBI 580AL (Prussian Blue) Fine nib
- TWSBI Go (Clear) Fine nib
- Sailor Dipton Fude nib / J. Herbin 21437T dip pen
Not pictured are Jinhao 10 (Gradient Dark Blue) Medium Nib, Lamy Safari (Lime Green) Medium nib, Travellers Company (Factory Green) Fine nib and a vintage Golden Star pen made in a cloisonné style with what I assume to be a Fine nib (hard to find info on this pen).
As you can see from the above I do prefer a Medium nib in my pens, especially the Kaweko. Liking inks with shimmer properties you need a nice chunky nib to show off the best of the ink.
All the pens are inked up with different inks and I do switch between them all. My daily carry pen would be the Kaweko Piston and a Tom’s Studio ‘The Wren’ pen. It dawns on me as I write now that aside from a cartridge in the Travellers Company pen (Herbin Perle Noire) that I do not own a bottle of black ink. I do like Blue Black ink though, and blue inks in general. Below shows what is in each pen.
I quite like all the inks, I may change out the inks in three of the pens (Asvine, Kaweko Apricot & Opus 88) soon though.
This is how my shelf looks and I have cleaning utensils in the white pot including syringes, water bulbs and pipettes. All for use in cleaning and inking (along with a TWSBI Pipe).
I think eventually I will do blogs on each pen, and maybe the inks too.
Valley Reviews 