Broad(er) nib city
I cleaned quite a few pens this week. The rotation of currently inked looks quite different from last week’s little family. And good thing. This week’s work is far more variable than usual.
I’m hosting my seniors’ research presentations throughout the week. This year, I’m also serving as discussant for most of the panels as securing discussants proved daunting. This means a healthy serving of fast notetaking during the presentations and Q&A’s.
I also anticipate quite a bit of last-minute meetings with students. These unerringly result in me sketching diagrams while they talk through their ideas. I need lines thick enough for students to read while physically distanced, or over Zoom. And nibs wet enough or broad enough to accommodate such fast writing.
School-safe favorite pens are the theme for this week – with broad nibs. Two B nibs, a Zoom nib and a girthy EF. Broad nib city.
Grey/Black
Monteverde Giant Sequoia Brown (EF SIG). Birmingham Slag Grey. An experiment. The first time this ink and pen have been paired. This nib is a wet, nearly M, EF with the lubricated Slag Grey. And Slag dries quickly. I’m hoping the M line width will strike a balance between forgiving quick-writing while still handling small task management letters. Daily driver. Task management, meeting notes, reading notes.
Blue/Teal
Kaweco Frosted Sport Light Blueberry (F). Colorverse Warped Passages. The pocket carry of righteousness continues on dutifully. This combination is beautiful. A narrow EF-sized line that behaves well enough on absorbent Field Notes paper. Compact Kaweco body. Starts writing each and every time. Pocket carry. Scratch notes, reading notes (accent).
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SF). Monteverde Caribbean Blue. I was excited to use my newly-arrived Caribbean Blue. The welcome return of a favorite blue ink. The SF nib gives me enough play with the line width for this combo to work well for narrow detailed accent notes and for broader headings. Lesson plans, meeting notes (accent), reading notes (accent), journaling.
Franklin-Christoph 45 ‘20 Philly (B SIG). Diamine Skull & Roses. Generous B feed and the lubricated S&R produces near total sheen. Sheen-out. Like a black out, but where you only see the sheen. Meeting notes, lesson plans, journaling, letter writing.
Earth Tones
Lamy Safari Petrol (B). Monteverde Gemstone Moonstone. A last-minute addition to the week’s constellation of pens. The round B nib and wet ink make a lovely fast-writing pairing. One of my main during-presentations notetakers. Meeting notes, lesson plans, journaling.
Mythic Aeschylus (EF). Monteverde Copper Noir. This combo is growing on me. Copper’s earthy orange is a great anxiety-resistant grading ink. The round EF nib is well-suited for detailed comments in-between lines and within margins. Reading notes (accent), manuscript marking, journaling.
Wild Cards
Sailor Pro Gear Slate (Z Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi. Kyo-no-oto inks are polarizing. Folks love them or stay away. I’m in the “love ‘em” camp. Excellent dark color for eye-friendly accent notes. Strong shading helps the darker purple stand out against the dark Slag Gray. Gena’s addictive architect grind is wet enough to accommodate a modest amount fast writing. Meeting notes, reading notes (accent), lesson plans, journaling.
