inkophile

[inkophile]

Eight Horses and a Diamine

@eli.weisz on Instagram used Diamine Raw Sienna recently in a post and I realized it would go very well in a Baoer 507 Eight Horses stub/italic that would fit my nib theme this month. So I inked the pen this morning and put it to work. For a pen that costs less than $10, it sure is a looker. The corners are too sharp to glide but going slowly improves performance. The shading is intermittent but…

[inkophile]

Jinhao 82 Meets Diamine Dark Brown

This duo with a Jinhao 82 and Diamine Dark Brown emerged while exploring some brown inks. Can anyone say, “Matchy, matchy”?

[inkophile]

Stipula Calamo Ink Review

This review of Stipula Calamo Verde Muschiato ink was written ten years ago and it still holds true. I assumed my favorite inks had changed over the years but apparently I am less fickle than I thought.

[inkophile]

A Platinum Century Meets A Couple of Inks

Auditioning for a slot in the June lineup are J Herbin Larme de Cassis and Sailor Shikiori Yozakura. They are competing for the Platinum #3776 Century Nice with its rose gold medium nib. The pen came from Luxury Brands ages ago but has never found a permanent mate. Some pens are just good with a variety of inks especially when the nib is such a pleasure to use.    

[inkophile]

Benu On My Desk

A bit of Benu sparkle. Aren’t they pretty? The upper model is the Grand Scepter IX and the lower one is the Scepter I. Both came from Luxury Brands several years ago. Now to find suitable inks if they exist. If not, Waterman black will do. A great way to start the weekend, eh?

[inkophile]

Blue Ink Swatches

Blue ink swatches. This time Diamine China Blue wins a turn in the Platinum #3776 Century  B nib. Mated for life? We shall see.

[inkophile]

Learn Calligraphy in 5(ish) Minutes

Simple enough to get anyone started at calligraphy.

[inkophile]

Cursive Handwriting Guide for Beginners

Good to share with beginners and skeptics.

[inkophile]

My Journals Are Charmed

Setting up for the week and adding new charms to each cover. That’s an art journal and a planner plus a six-ringed, A6, loose leaf binder for notes and lists. All work well with fountain pen ink though of course the Traveler’s Notebook in the middle has the best paper.

[inkophile]

White Journal Paper

Both notebooks are sold as having white paper but Wanderings has a yellow cast that is sufficient to affect ink color. It is also too warm for my black and white collages. I reckon you get what you pay for. If you really want white paper, Traveler’s is the one to buy. The difference was difficult to reproduce but it really is noticeable at my desk.

[inkophile]

A Mini Fountain Pen

A Mini Wancai might be just the pen for a cool, rainy day.

[inkophile]

Blue Ink and an Inkophile

Last night I decided to add color to a journal page with stickers and a change of ink. After a bit of trial and error, Diamine Teal emerged as the winner. It is a fitting mate for the Black n’ Red notebook and the Jinhao 82 medium. No issues whatsoever with the combination in large part attributable to the excellent paper. The spiral format allows for writing on both sides of the paper unlike…

[inkophile]

Three Black Fountain Pen Inks

Basic black remains my most used ink and Waterman is the best performer with a Jinhao 82 medium in my current journal, a Mead comp book. Other inks fill some pages but using black puts my attention on putting down words, exactly right for a journal. Recently I decided to try two additional inks to see if one of them could improve on Waterman. J Herbin has been in my collection for well over a…

[inkophile]

Journaling on a Limited Page

Didn’t have much to say last night, so I limited my writing space with paper bits and washi tape. The battery powered candles do not emit more than a tiny amount of light but they are suitable for setting the mood. The pen is a Jinhao 100 that is attractive if slightly larger and heavier than my usual 82. I used Scrapbook Adhesives E-Z Dots Repositionable tape to attach the paper bits because it…

[inkophile]

Black Friday Deal on Jinhao 82 Fountain Pens

If you have wanted to try a Jinhao 82, the Black Friday price is about as low as I have seen at $16 for three pens including converters. There are three variations offered but this is the set I bought for the pleasing way in which the components can be recombined. There is limited inventory, so order soon if you are interested. https://amzn.to/3AUe8qh https://amzn.to/3AUe8qh

[inkophile]

A Watercolor Kit for Journals

Painting with watercolor is an easy way to add color to a journal. No artistic skills required to add squiggles and lines around the margins. It just takes a few good quality tools and a little courage to make it happen. Though I haven’t tried every academy grade kit available, the Royal Talens van Gogh line is pretty good with its saturated colors, value for money, and ease of use. The 12 + 3…

[inkophile]

A Clever Way to Store Stickers

If you have a lot of stickers, this might be just the organizing tool to make them more accessible and easy to use. It’s called a magnetic self-stick photo album. It is a good solution to fumbling through packets of stickers and makes all of them visible at a glance. The magnetic pages have no adhesive so the stickers are perfectly preserved and ready for use. The sticker backing is left intact…