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Inked Right Now
Kaweco AL Sport with Kaweco Black Pearl
Karas Fountain K with J. Herbin Lie de Thé
Pilot Decimo with Teranishi Night Time Soda
Swirled resins need not apply this week?
The Pilot CH92 and Parker Sonnet from earlier in the month both ran dry before the calendar was up so I made a clean sweep rather than refill for just a handful of days.
For as well as other pens performed in the role, I missed using a Decimo at work so it’s good to have one running again. The Teranishi ink shows a little shading with this nib size.
While I don’t yet know the daily journal format for 2025, I reached for the Karas Fountain K to start it off. I considered changing out the nib but was glad I let it be after selecting my ink. Lie de Thé is one of the best shading inks I’ve ever used and the broad steel nib lets it do its thing.
I had the Kaweco Pearl Black ink in another pen I was testing out after some nib tweaks. Once the testing was done, I needed someplace to use the rest of the cartridge. The AL Sport’s vibrant orange called out from the pen drawer and so the twain did meet. I think I’ve used Pearl Black only once or twice before. Solid ink but it looked better in the narrower nib of the testing pen compared to the Sport’s 1.1 tip. I find this to be the case with many black inks in that size nib. The wider line tends to wash them out unless they are particularly saturated or you use something like Platinum Carbon Black.
The Year to Come
As mentioned above, the 2025 daily journal format/subject is TBD but I plan to have it up and running within a week. For other things stationery and writing related, there are two primary goals.
Divest myself of pens I don’t need or have desire to keep. While I slowed the pace of acquiring pens significantly in 2024 compared to 2023, I didn’t do nearly enough to move on from the ones that don’t have a future with me. A related item to this is getting work done to pens that would benefit from it. I got a few nibs improved this year and have one in a queue already for 2025, but there are several others waiting for me to send an email and book a spot. Otherwise, why am I just letting them sit around?
Have and execute a usage plan for notebooks. More specifically, determine what I need or want to use notebooks for, pick a notebook for that purpose, and stick them in those roles. After giving away many unused notebooks in September, it feels easier to choose what to do with the ones that are left.
After that, I have a few secondary wishes.
Start learning a calligraphy form. I’ve got more than enough tools to work with so what’s left is to pick a form, dedicate the time, and go do it. The hard part figures to be remembering that it takes beginning with the very basics and repeated practice to build a foundation. There are no hacks or instant results.
More in person interaction with the pen community. I have some roadblocks to social interaction in many settings, but I could talk pens, paper, and ink with you quite a bit. Where do I find those opportunities and, more importantly, how do I get myself out the door to go there?
Have an improved plan or schedule for posting here. I think the general update posts, the What’s What entries, don’t need to happen more than once a month. That leaves 75% of year for other stuff. I’m sitting on a decent list of topics that could be written about and explored, stuff that gets more into the why and how of the things I use and enjoy. My initial thought is one post per month on a topic from this list. It will likely require some changes to my writing process because I think those items are better with more outlined structure and less off the cuff work.
Thanks to everyone who has read, linked to, and written in about what is shared here. That’s a wrap for 2024. Be seeing you.
Bonus points if you get the reference.
