This Pilot Metropolitan (yes, another) is another satisfying, well-designed, reasonably priced pen. It writes smoothly and looks great. It has spent many hours in my hand, and that time has been pleasant.
Writing: Fountain Pens (Primary Red Theme)
Collecting/Mail: Shaker Design Stamps from USPS
Writing: Fountain Pens (Bright plus Dusty Green Theme)
The view out my east facing dining room window is of the deep green of a holly tree, and the brighter green of a juniper, which inspired me to fill my greenest pen and write about the color.
This Monteverde Prima is one of my earliest fountain pen purchases. I initially thought it was stingy with ink, but just happened to be using a drier flowing ink. I tried others and improved my paper choices, which help me appreciate this pen’s smooth writing and pleasant proportions. It is comfortable to hold, is reliable (doesn’t clog or dry out), and the way it catches the light is attractive. The nib is firm, and I am amused that Monteverde is so proud of it that they engraved their long name on it TWICE.
The ink is Herbin’s ‘Vert Empire,’ the color of a dusty green velvet, or leafy desert plants that must protect themselves from the sun by being a bit gray. The pen isn’t an exact match for any of my five or so shades of green ink, though it comes quite close to Herbin’s ‘Lierre Sauvage‘ (which the Herbin website associates with anarchy. Ah, leafy green anarchy…). A medium bright green with silver sparkle could also come close, though that might be difficult to read if too shiny. (If you are a fan of Herbin’s “Vert Atlantide,” you probably beat me to this.)
Yes, my personal true color of California in summer is the yellow-gold of sun-dried grass on our rolling hills, but our extensive agricultural regions offer many shades of green, from the yellow-greens of grape leaves through the pale, silver-greens of artichoke leaves.
Collecting/Mail: Carnival Nights Stamps coming from USPS
I’m a big fan of night photography (which used to be much more complicated back in analog days), so I’m looking forward to these colorful and festive stamps. They’ll be available June 6, 2024.
Writing: Fountain Pen (Sea Glass theme)
Earlier this spring, I had a work anniversary, and bought myself an Esterbrook Essie fountain pen in sea glass with a stub nib.
It’s lovely. It’s a good size, and is easy to hold. It writes well – not that you’d know from this casually / hastily written page of notes, but it is a smooth writer. I’ve only tested one ink in it so far, and found that it got a little dry after a long writing session, so I’m making minor adjustments to ensure that it will put down consistent amounts of ink, even when I change writing speeds.
And yes, as the text notes, I’ve started to dream up scenes from science fiction stories I want to write, so we’ll see if I can get enough rest to do that.
Collecting/Mail Life: Ansel Adams Stamps are Available from USPS
Writing: My Largest Fountain Pen and a Shimmering Ink
I’ve written about how much I love stub nibs, and the nib on this enormous Noodler’s Neponset pen is no exception. This is the first nib replacement that has required multiple adjustments. When it is aligned correctly it works well and wetly, as you can see, but sometimes I somehow lose contact between the feed and the nib – it just isn’t seated properly in the pen – and it just won’t write! I never had this problem with this pen before, so it is clearly my doing, and all about how I insert the nib and feed after cleaning it.
(There was a similar acrylic Neponset with peach and pearl coloring, and I resisted it for too long – it sold out. If I knew how comfortable the pen is to hold, I might not have resisted! I understand the limited editions that pens are released in better now…)
The gorgeous blue ink with a red sheen is Diamine’s Polar Glow. I love it beyond reason, and it flows well, but is demanding. The red sheeing particles never seem to settle in the bottle, but definitely settle in the pen, which is entirely fair for such a lovely special effect. (But it interrupts the flow of my thoughts when I am eager to write!)
Content-wise, the sample writing notes that I’m settling back into my neighborhood. I am happy to be back, even though it is not as new or fashionable as the area I moved to during construction. My normal neighborhood was built in the 1920s, whereas my apartment was from 2008-ish, so everything feels and looks 90 years newer – because it is! There are no power lines visible in that newer neighborhood, the sidewalks are smooth and even, the trees are well maintained, the paint on all of the buildings is in great shape… It makes me want my own neighborhood to be better maintained, and there is nothing wrong with that.
I hope the images of the ink tempt you to consider special effects in your writing, and wider nibs to show the inks off!
Writing: Fountain Pens (Crimson-Violet Theme)
I am continuing to love Goulet’s stub nibs in various pens – the nib lays down so much ink! The verticals are so thick! The nib is smooth, and makes for a pleasant writing experience.
The topic of my writing when I made this first collage was more private than I could show in full, so I’ve waited for muted daylight to photograph a less sensitive writing sample. (Note that it remains very difficult to use an iPhone to show off ink colors unless you get far away: the phone increases contrast automatically, and so most of my close up images appear to be black.)
I’ve historically found Noodler’s inks to be too wet for my pens (it drips!), but this one flows so nicely from their own pen on Rhodia paper that I may change my mind.
Fountain Pen Ink: Colors of the Moment
Right: Private Reserve’s Claret (more red than I expected).
Oh, I am wallowing in ink in all the best ways.
Some of my pen friends enjoy it; some don’t notice. I know I became one of those ink people when I identified a colleague’s ink by brand when he was taking notes in the office. [shaking my head]
It’s difficult to show the inks off, especially the inks with multiple colors and sheens: my clever phone tries to increase the contrast on its images in a way that hides the subtle changes of colors. And how likely is it that you’re looking at these on a color-calibrated monitor, anyway? I’ll likely need to put the inks on my flatbed scanner to show them properly – the scanner’s flat light is more honest (and harsh), though it may struggle with the glitter.
Just the same: it is satisfying to write with good inks. I don’t need the colors, but I like them.
Writing: Fountain Pens and Journals (orange theme)
I was writing yesterday about how wonderful it is to have a desk to write at (I have space!), was enjoying the orange theme a bit too much, and decided to post about it. (Materialism happens to me, too! I use a lot of tools and art supplies, and have been choosing prettier ones recently.)
This pen isn’t very “like” me – I own almost nothing that is orange – but it is so attractive looking, and so vivid, that I couldn’t resist. It is a lovely size and shape to hold, large, gently rounded, and easy to write with. It came with a medium nib, but I’m on a broad nib bender, so I ordered a replacement nib-and-feed assembly from Goulet, and am happier with it. I have ink feeding issues from time to time with the converter (it withholds ink after I’ve written a few pages, and I have to dial the converter to be more generous (postscript: this appears to be specific to certain inks, Herbin is flowing beautifully)), but standard international cartridges flow just fine.
Orange inks can be limited in legibility, but I’ve been testing some good ones. By coincidence, the 2023 Diamine Inkvent calendar (an advent calendar with a 12ml bottle of ink behind 24 doors, and a bigger bottle behind door 25 for Christmas), happens to have added two new oranges to my little collection, including one that was behind Saturday’s tiny door.
My employer’s theme color is orange, and I’ve grown accustomed to using a sanctioned shade of burnt orange in my presentations, so I may be more open to using this color than I’ve historically been. Goodness knows there have been many shades of orange in the gorgeous sunsets recently! So, we’ll see if these tiny bottles lead to a bigger commitment for my writing. There are some famous American and Japanese orange inks I haven’t sampled yet, so it’s possible…