When I next visit my fountain pen shop (to stock up on ink cartridges, to buy a few more Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, and to pick up a pen that has been serviced), I might seek their advice about the availability of good quality printing paper.
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Fountain pen users, rejoice!
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When I next visit my fountain pen shop (to stock up on ink cartridges, to buy a few more Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, and to pick up a pen that has been serviced), I might seek their advice about the availability of good quality printing paper.
This is why I use a rollerball at my day job. Though, weirdly, from what I understand, rollerball refills tend to use a similar ink as fountain pens. But I guess the ball itself helps to "regulate" the ink flow better? I'm not sure, but I know I've never had one leak or feather, so I stick with a Visconti Rembrandt and a Waterman Expert in the workplace.
And, @SandboxGeneral, if memory serves, our mutual friend, @Shrink, also used fountain pens, and had some interesting thoughts on quality paper, as did @Kurwenal.
I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of using a rollerball pen.
Indeed you are correct. the good doctor has already tried to run up my credit card on some expensive Montblanc pens. So far, I have resisted the temptation, but I don't know how long I can hold out.
I can easily believe that @Kurwenal would be a knowledgable connoisseur of pens as well.
Well, my recommendation is that when you find an authorised store, just practice writing with them.
Your credit card may not withstand the temptation.....
Anyway, I have a number of Mont Blanc fountain pens (which are what I usually write with - Meisterstucks), and a Meisterstuck ballpoint.
Regarding my question the other day about the difference in the flow and feel of the different color inks, I'm wondering if it was just my imagination.
Since then, I've written a lot with the blue ink from both the fine and medium nib pens and they're performing quite well. Before I put the blue ink in them I washed the nibs out of all the black ink that in before the blue. That was a good 12 hours before putting the blue ink inside them so they had plenty of time to air dry. I don't know if I just needed to write a lot more after putting in the new ink after washing or what. But they do seem to flow and feel much better than that first evening.
Allegedly, the black ink is due to arrive today, Sunday, which is two days earlier than I expected. If it does turn up, then I'll switch ink's again and test my theory between the colors and this time, within the same brand - Montblanc.
Since then, I've written a lot with the blue ink from both the fine and medium nib pens and they're performing quite well. Before I put the blue ink in them I washed the nibs out of all the black ink that in before the blue. That was a good 12 hours before putting the blue ink inside them so they had plenty of time to air dry. I don't know if I just needed to write a lot more after putting in the new ink after washing or what. But they do seem to flow and feel much better than that first evening.
Allegedly, the black ink is due to arrive today, Sunday, which is two days earlier than I expected. If it does turn up, then I'll switch ink's again and test my theory between the colors and this time, within the same brand - Montblanc.
Ain't THAT the truth. And your wallet will never forgive you!
Given that paper has come up a few times, I thought I'd post an article I came across this morning on Tomoe:
I found it via the Gentleman Stationer, a site I like a lot.
The ink did, in fact, show up, only a few minutes ago. I'll give it a try later on this evening I think. First I want to let the jar warm up because it is frigid from being in the mail truck(s) for a couple of days. The temperature here is 9℉ or -12℃ right now. Just a little chilly.
Thanks for sharing, a fascinating read.
Good luck with the ink, and I hope it warms up sufficiently to run smoothly for you.
Two things this morning.
![Screen Shot 2019-01-21 at 8.22.41 AM.png]( "Screen Shot 2019-01-21 at 8.22.41 AM.png")
- The Cross converter holds a decent amount of ink and it took a lot of writing before I finally emptied it this morning. I thought I'd have run out yesterday, but I didn't. So I think that is good so I won't have to refill it as often as I was anticipating. I've washed the converter and the pen and am now allowing them to dry before putting the Montblanc black ink in it.
- Thanks to @willentrekin I made my first order at Mass Drop and today I recieved notification that I will be getting an Italix Churchman's Prescriptor Fountain Pen soon. I ordered it with a fine nib. Link with more pictures here.
That pen looks amazing; do enjoy and let us know how you find it when you receive it.
I've been writing in a hardcover journal book lately and it's one that I've had for 14 years! I have no idea where I got it from anymore, none whatsoever. But I do have some work-related notes in it from back then that only span a few pages. Before I continue writing in some of my newly purchased notebooks, I want to fill this one up and then shelve it.
I just now took a look at the brand and to see if the company is still around, and they are. In the front of the book at the bottom of one page, it gives re-ordering information and a model number of the very book itself. The company "TOPS" is in fact still around and the very notebook from 14 years ago is also still available to buy.
The paper in it is also very nice, at 20 lb weight and is glided, according to the description. I tell you what though, it holds up very well with fountain pen ink. There is almost no visible bleed through even when writing on both sides of a sheet. It's a hardcover book with 160 pages in it, some calendars, old ones now, and a few pages of measurement conversions.
Here is the link to it if anyone is interested. https://www.tops-products.com/execu...8-x-5-legal-rule-black-texhide-160-pg-bk.html
I just now took a look at the brand and to see if the company is still around, and they are. In the front of the book at the bottom of one page, it gives re-ordering information and a model number of the very book itself. The company "TOPS" is in fact still around and the very notebook from 14 years ago is also still available to buy.
The paper in it is also very nice, at 20 lb weight and is glided, according to the description. I tell you what though, it holds up very well with fountain pen ink. There is almost no visible bleed through even when writing on both sides of a sheet. It's a hardcover book with 160 pages in it, some calendars, old ones now, and a few pages of measurement conversions.
Here is the link to it if anyone is interested. https://www.tops-products.com/execu...8-x-5-legal-rule-black-texhide-160-pg-bk.html
Thanks for sharing; as you know, I love those old, well made companies that offer excellent quality paper products.
Another source of good quality writing paper that I would recommend are the products made by the Colonel Littleton company (an excellent US company that our mutual friend, @Shrink, suggested to me some years ago); I found them excellent, superb for fountain pens, - they hold the ink well, and there is little bleed through (which can be terribly annoying and frustrating).
I love a good fountain pen. Sadly, my bullet journal pages soak up the ink too much, so I won't be using my collection with them, but I use Rhodia with a Oberon leather journal cover for my actual daily journaling, and those pages are a good enough quality that my fountain pens work great with them. Currently rocking a Lamy 2000 with a medium Nib that I just adore. (I have all the standard fountain pens too. Cheaper Lamy's, a few Pilot Metro.)
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After a few days with the black Montblanc ink in my fine nib pen I can say that I quite enjoy it. I did not have the same experience (real or perceived) as I did with the blue Montblanc ink. Perhaps it was a fluke, or something weird or just me, but the black in and the blue ink have been performing superbly.
I also took delivery of a blue-black ink by iroshizuke shin-kai.
Google translate is funny on this one. On the bottle it shows "shin-kai" and that translates to "death?". But if I put it in as "shinkai" then it translates to "deep blue" which is supposed to be the color of the ink.
The bottle is quite lovely to look at it too.
![Screen Shot 2019-01-24 at 9.16.20 PM.png]( "Screen Shot 2019-01-24 at 9.16.20 PM.png")
I also took delivery of a blue-black ink by iroshizuke shin-kai.
Google translate is funny on this one. On the bottle it shows "shin-kai" and that translates to "death?". But if I put it in as "shinkai" then it translates to "deep blue" which is supposed to be the color of the ink.
The bottle is quite lovely to look at it too.
I suppose the term "regular pen" is a bit subjective to people living in this day and age. One could argue that the fountain pen is in fact the "regular pen."
The kanji means "deep ocean" and I imagine the ink is beautiful! I have yet to purchase a fountain pen, but have seen these inks and they look gorgeous.
Yes, the bottle is gorgeous indeed.
The ink is nice to write with. I've been using it the past few days now and it feels just as good as the Montblanc ink. But, I'm a little disappointed in the richness of the color of the ink. For the brief moment when the ink is wet on the paper it looks nice, but when it dries it appears as a faded look and not so much like a deep blue as I was hoping for.
Thank you for the detailed report; I have wondered about how one can keep blue ink from developing that "faded" look, and whether it is possible to have a 'deep' blue on the page.
[doublepost=1549200164][/doublepost]I seem to recall that medieval artists found that attempting to accurately render blue was the one of the greatest challenges they faced as artists.
Lapis - which was used for the Virgin Mary - was expensive and could only be sourced in central Asia (current day Afghanistan, to be precise).
And Chartres (Cathedral) in France, was famous for what became known as "Chartres Blue" which they seem to have developed during that period for use in their stained glass.
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Fascinating. I didn't know any of that.
I can attest to the point, though, that it is tough to find a blue I really like.
I agree.
I have a bottle of Iroshizuku Ama-Iro, which looks beautiful and rich almost Royal Blue when it is wet on the page, however, it dries to more of bright turquoise which is unfortunate. I also find the Iroshizuku inks to be quite wet writers (especially in my Mont Blanc). Almost makes my 'F' nib feel like an 'M'
The most success I've had with a rich blue would be Mont Blanc's Permanent Blue bottled ink, when it's wet it is almost black, but once dry it's a nice deep, rich blue with some nice subtle shading even from a fine nib.
I have a bottle of Iroshizuku Ama-Iro, which looks beautiful and rich almost Royal Blue when it is wet on the page, however, it dries to more of bright turquoise which is unfortunate. I also find the Iroshizuku inks to be quite wet writers (especially in my Mont Blanc). Almost makes my 'F' nib feel like an 'M'
The most success I've had with a rich blue would be Mont Blanc's Permanent Blue bottled ink, when it's wet it is almost black, but once dry it's a nice deep, rich blue with some nice subtle shading even from a fine nib.
Yes, in recent times, the cartridge inks I have in blue (Mont Blanc) have dried to a sort of turquoise, which is very unfortunate as you have noted.
This is one of the reasons I have returned to the use of black ink.
I am falling down the rabbit hole of pens.
I have 1 pen from MassDrop already and ordered another with a matching rollerball pen. Then I ordered another one from Amazon today. These are all in addition to the two Cross pens I already have.
Platinum"#3776 CENTURY/Bourgogne" with a fine nib. This one I bought as it came highly recommended from UK Fountain Pens blog and I ordered the fine nib because I think I like that style nib the best.
![Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 8.49.22 AM.png]( "Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 8.49.22 AM.png")
Kaweco Dia2 fountain pen with an extra fine nib and a matching rollerball. This one I ordered with the extra fine nib just to see what that will be like and I thought, what the hell, add in the matching rollerball too since I've never used one of those before.
![Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 8.53.44 AM.png]( "Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 8.53.44 AM.png")
Italix Churchman's Prescriptor fountain pen with an italic fine nib. This one I already have and I like the large size of the barrel and the screw on cap. I bought this one with the italic nib just to see what that was like. It's nice if you like to write in a large, nearly flamboyant style. Even though it is a fine nib, with the italic feature, it writes more like a broad nib or a high flow medium nib. It writes nicely, but my handwriting is meant more for a fine nib, though I don't mind the medium regular nibs.
![Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 8.51.49 AM.png]( "Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 8.51.49 AM.png")
I also ordered this case to start housing my small, but growing collection. It even matches my wristwatch case so that will be nice.
![Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 9.00.38 AM.png]( "Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 9.00.38 AM.png")
I have 1 pen from MassDrop already and ordered another with a matching rollerball pen. Then I ordered another one from Amazon today. These are all in addition to the two Cross pens I already have.
Platinum"#3776 CENTURY/Bourgogne" with a fine nib. This one I bought as it came highly recommended from UK Fountain Pens blog and I ordered the fine nib because I think I like that style nib the best.
Kaweco Dia2 fountain pen with an extra fine nib and a matching rollerball. This one I ordered with the extra fine nib just to see what that will be like and I thought, what the hell, add in the matching rollerball too since I've never used one of those before.
Italix Churchman's Prescriptor fountain pen with an italic fine nib. This one I already have and I like the large size of the barrel and the screw on cap. I bought this one with the italic nib just to see what that was like. It's nice if you like to write in a large, nearly flamboyant style. Even though it is a fine nib, with the italic feature, it writes more like a broad nib or a high flow medium nib. It writes nicely, but my handwriting is meant more for a fine nib, though I don't mind the medium regular nibs.
I also ordered this case to start housing my small, but growing collection. It even matches my wristwatch case so that will be nice.
