Inked Tines — November 7
Migrating goals from one month’s bullet journaling to another creates a lot of writing. My pen usage is up quite a bit as a result. But I knew I would transfer into November this week. That’s one reason I inked a lot of pens last week.
I also inked a lot of pens because of my childlike excitement with using fountain pens. Kid in a candy store.
Toolset
Pens. The Loom clogged up halfway through Monday. I was using it and RO’s Black ’n’ Blue to take notes on an upcoming history lesson when the feed dried up. Without a shim at work, the Loom spent the remainder of the day on time-out in my pen case.
It clogged again a page-and-a-half into Monday night’s journal entry. At some point, a shimmer ink and feed combo that clogs is more frustrating than fun.
Sailor Pro Gear — 1/5 used. Wonderful meeting pen. Architect side was perfect for meetings. EF side perfect for detailed notes. All-star pairing.
Platinum 3776 — Down to the feed. Fantastic combination. The B is wet, but JH’s Amethyste still shaded well. Worked great for headings and fast notes during students’ roundtable discussions.
Franklin-Christoph 31 — 1/2 used. Smooth when I take my time. The SIG grind makes it more of a journaling pen. Writing quickly leads me to snag the page with the sharp edges of this grind. Left it at home by Wednesday.
Visconti Homo Sapiens — ??. I like this pen quite a lot with a round nib. It’s workable for notes during meetings, and for jotted scribbles thanks to the fun hook-lock cap. A downside of an opaque piston filler: no clue how much ink is left.
Lamy Safari — Nearly empty. This EF nib outperformed TM’s Hanging Rice. Dig the pencil-like feedback and narrow line. The cap on this pen is so well-loved that it easily pops off — a challenge you want to avoid with your pocket pen. Still used it all week for little notes. Guess that says something.
Lamy 2000 — Empty. Smoothest of writers. The grip just isn’t for me. Will return to its home with a surprise ink inside for my friend.
Nakaya Neostandard — Empty. This pairing was great. I’m still too attached to let it leave the house.
Pilot CH 912 — Empty. Smooth. Worked well for day-to-day notetaking. Smoke was one-dimensional; no shading to speak of. A bit broad for a daily driver.
Faber-Castell Loom — Empty. Clogged every 1/2 page or so. Had to floss and flush twice on Monday alone. Unusable pairing.
Notebooks. I added eleven pages to the work bullet journal this week. Four are organizational – a two-page weekly spread and another two-page monthly. The remainder are lesson plans and lecture notes. And another handful of pages in the pocket notebook.
Machiavelli is a fun personality to teach about. A good chunk of my notes are on Erica Benner’s analysis of The Prince. She argues Machiavelli wrote his political handbook ironically.
A lot of journaling happened this week, too. 21 pages written; mostly reflecting and outlining. Between processing the election and my publication there was plenty to think through. I landed hard on Walt Whitman this week. He’s reflective and analytic; both are qualities that pull me into a poem. He’s at the end of half my journal entries.
Written dry. This week was kind for writing. I wrote four pens dry. That’s a high number, even for me.
The Nakaya ran dry on Tuesday. The Lamy 2000 kicked the following day during a meeting: thanks, friend. The Pilot emptied as I prepared this post on Saturday morning.
The Loom, though, is an interesting story. It ran dry mid-morning on Thursday. RO’s Black ’n’ Blue was simply too fun to stop using, despite clogging up. The welcomed demise of the Loom invited in my new lesson planning crew: a combination of the Visconti Homo Sapiens and the Lamy Safari, both inked with greens.
Newly inked pens. No need with so many pens inked going into the week.
Collection
Incoming / new orders. I stumbled onto a set of washi tapes in earthy, subdued colors. While I reserve washi tape primarily for marking the edges of pages, perhaps this is my window into finding more varied uses.
Mmm: earthy.
Just as interesting is the straight edge that came in the package. It has beveled edges.
More like: IT HAS BEVELED EDGES!
Beveling makes the straight edge fountain pen friendly. The plastic hangs over where ink meets paper. The overhang prevents ink from pooling and then smearing between the plastic and the page. It’s surprisingly hard to find plastic rulers with beveled edges. Well done, Yubbaex.
Outgoing / trades or sales. Not-a-one.
Currently listening
Sigur Rós. Their () album is one of my all-time favorites.
