Putting Japanese F nibs in the driver’s seat
A full week with my current sextet of pens and inks confirms that I dig this particular set of combinations. The colors and nib choices have been well-balanced: dark and light colors, narrow and wider nibs, large and small pens.
Balance kept me interested and writing throughout the week. Even while on the road. Now that’s success.
I’m continuing on with the current set of six this week. With a few changes to how I will use each. The largest change will be to my daily driver.
The Japanese F nibs both sport dark inks: the Platinum 3776 has near-black Cat at Midnight and the Pilot sports Vermeer’s murky dark blue. The Pilot feed keeps Vermeer dark. So the two are interchangeable as a daily driver. I plan to use them as such this coming week.
Such dark
The four remaining pairings work wonderfully for accent notes. All four contrast well against the dark inks above.
As a collection, the four accents offer a wide range of fun options. Bluegrass Velvet, Brane, and Apache Sunset shade strongly. Amethyste de L’Oural shimmers like a boss, and works with an italic nib. Every option is fun enough to keep me writing.
Focus on the road, Platinum and Pilot. Leave the other four to their back seat shenanigans.
Grey/Black
Platinum 3776 Star Wars Kylo Ren (F). Ink Institute Cat at Midnight. Daily driver. The smoothest this F nib has written for me. A blue-black so dark is feels like a black ink. The disciplined “EF” line width makes excellent work of task lists in my Hobonichi Weeks. The round nib keep the pair useful for quick writing. Task management, reading notes (quotes), bullet journal (structure).
Blue/Teal
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SF). Akkerman Dutch Masters Vermeer’s Kobaltblauw. The week’s alternate daily driver. Vermeer’s dark blue borders on blue-black coming out of the Pilot feed. The SF line is wider than Platinum’s F. Makes the combo more forgiving during extended commonplacing and bullet journaling sessions. Also, the round — if soft — F nib is excellent for quick pocket notes. Reading notes (quotes), pocket notes, bullet journal (structure).
Lamy Safari Blue Macaron (B). Ferris Wheel Press Bluegrass Velvet. The Lamy becomes a desk pen this week. The B nib is too wet for the paper in my Field Notes. Bluegrass indeed feathered and bled through pages. But on Tomoe River, the B nib brings out the best of Bluegrass’ shading. Reading notes have never been more fun. Journaling, reading notes (accent), bullet journal.
Earth Tones
Sailor Pro Gear Slate (Z Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Colorverse Brane. Masterful shading from the Zoom side of this pen. Used for headings in my Hobonichi Weeks, for journaling, and for accent reading notes. The EF reverse side of Salorino’s grind is great for tracking progress on my tasks — which I do in the Hobonichi’s 4mm grid. Journaling, reading notes (accent), planner task list.
Faber-Castell Ondoro White (M). Noodler’s Apache Sunset. I originally ordered Apache Sunset back in 2016. A rep with Goulet Pens recommended the ink when I asked to explore shading. That rep — whose name escapes me — was exactly right. Long dry times make this pair best suited for methodical writing tasks like journaling and commonplacing my reading notes.
Wild Cards
Franklin-Christoph 46 Philly ‘20 (M SIG, by Franklin-Christoph). Jacques Herbin 1798 Amethyste de L’Oural. A shimmer ink and feed combination that has survived a full week of use without clogging is a rare event. Amethyste and this M SIG have been rockstars. The feed is generous enough to keep up through longer journaling sessions. And during more stop-and-go reading notes sessions. Would ink again.
