What does an empty ink bottle look like? I watched in amazement in 2018 as people on my Instagram feed actually finished bottles of ink. The #emptyinkbottlechallenge seemed to me as crazy, admirable and impossible as running an ultramarathon. As of today, I have 166 full-size bottles of ink (excluding sample vials and duplicates), and … Continue reading 12 inks for 2019
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The magnificent seven: week five
My poor pen collection has had a very disruptive week. Two of the pens in my week four selection (the Pineider and Diplomat) went into the 'for sale' pile, so I took them out of rotation. But I wrote the Lamy 2000 dry, and had good runs with the 149 and Optima. And then today … Continue reading The magnificent seven: week five
Magnificent seven: Black Friday edition
I swore to myself: no new pens before Christmas. But (predictably) I failed. The Black Friday discounts got the better of me. I'm undecided how I feel about this ultimately consumerist holiday, and what it means for the small retailers and brands that I try to support. But my actions speak louder than my words. … Continue reading Magnificent seven: Black Friday edition
The magnificent seven: week two
Last week's seven turned out great. I used every pen heavily, with the exception of the Pelikan M400. At last I managed to gel with the Pilot 823, although it still doesn't feel 'right' to me every time I pick it up. The Montegrappa Extra and Montblanc 1912 proved deliciously smooth for evening journalling; the … Continue reading The magnificent seven: week two
A very special blue-black: “Randall” by Nick Stewart
I'm a sucker for blue-black inks. So when Nick Stewart offered me the chance to try a sample of his new ink, Randall (named after one of Nick's aquatic adventurer friends), I jumped at it. I don't claim to the mastery of ink and lettering that Nick has, but even I can see that Randall … Continue reading A very special blue-black: “Randall” by Nick Stewart
The return of Mabie Todd: Blackbird Inks
Mabie Todd is one of those vintage pen manufacturers that everyone's heard of, but I confess I've never used one, or even held one. A Google suggests that it started as an American company in NYC pre-1900, but became established as a quintessentially British brand that persisted until the 1950s, long after the American operations … Continue reading The return of Mabie Todd: Blackbird Inks
Ink-oming!
I've gone a bit mad with ink purchases (and review samples) in the past few weeks. You'll no doubt have seen the Pure Pens roundup. Well, I now have samples of six beautiful new Blackbird inks from British maker Mabie Todd. Here's a sneak peek: I can tell you now that a couple of these … Continue reading Ink-oming!
Pure Pens inks: Celtic colours
In the UK we're blessed with a number of wonderful stationery shops. Pure Pens, based in Wales, is one of them. They're a fixture at pen shows and a stockist of unusual Noodler's inks (I bought my bottle of Tianenmen from them back at the LWES). And, like me, they're Pelikan addicts. Pure Pens has … Continue reading Pure Pens inks: Celtic colours
To boldly go: Colorverse Inks
I like discovering new brands, particularly ones that approach well-trodden ground from a whole new angle. Colorverse is a Korean ink manufacturer that I encountered on Instagram a couple of weeks ago. I immediately got in touch to ask for some review samples. What caught my eye? Space theme — done thoroughly All of Colorverse's … Continue reading To boldly go: Colorverse Inks
The 10-ink challenge: set one
For a pen geek like me, few things are as agonising as choosing between inks. Picking one means consigning a dozen others to the shelf for weeks. I can prevaricate for a ludicrous amount of time choosing inks. So I thought it would be a good test of my decisiveness to pick 10 inks from … Continue reading The 10-ink challenge: set one
