Somber, muted hues dominate my currently inked this week. The palette, as a whole, feels like fall to me. The combination of which brings a smile to my face. And that, I suspect, is the measure of a successful currently inked.

I enter this week with an eclectic six-pen currently inked. Nib size drives my selection. The color, size and weight of each pen were only secondary considerations.

The intention is to explore three distinct kinds of M nibs. A wet and round Jowo M (TWSBI) — the “traditional.” A stingy, disciplined Sailor MF — the “keep it down up there.” And a ground Naginata-togi (Nakaya) — the “Casanova.”

This weekly palette’s sheening inks make for easy scanning while working the room during lectures. Thank you, Sabimidori and Aurora Borealis. Copper Noir lends a complimentary orange for highlighting key points and noting housekeeping items to review with my students. Inks with purpose.

Four of this week’s nibs rock their writing with crisp, edgy tippings. A 1.1 mm stub nib and an architect grind require proper writing angles for enjoyable ink flow. Both Montblanc’s EF nib and Dan Smith’s lovely CI grind also have narrow preferred writing angles.

Lubricated inks can take a bit of the edge off — so to speak. I’ve chosen a cadre of my wetter inks to bring my quartet of crispy nibs to heel. Balance is the way.