What’s What 5/5/24
Inked Right Now
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Parker 25 with Lamy Bronze
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Pilot Custom with Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo
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Pilot Prera with Waterman Harmonious Green
Gone from last time: everything. It’s been a bit.
This is my first try with Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo and I wish I’d done so sooner. Great color and flows like a dream from the Custom nib. Using this pen for daily journal entries is highly satisfying.
The Prera is my current work carry. Nib is a steel medium and writes well with Harmonious Green.
Parker 25 looks very utilitarian, even industrial, but the italic nib with Lamy Bronze makes it a fun option for notes or random lines.
New & Exciting
Since the getting the Pilot Custom 845 at the end of last year I have not bought any fountain pens. That choice is motivated by taking stock of what I own and using those pens to help sort those I want to keep from those that should move on.
That kind of evaluation also extended to my wish list of pens. I separated out a small group I’m seriously considering and/or actively seeking out. Those pens are an old Sheaffer Lifetime Balance, something from Tamenuri Studio (not any one specific pen), and a Visconti Opera Gold. At the end of last week, I placed an order to get one of those pens. Which one? Wait and see.
Working On
This is a Parker 21 Super (or Super 21, whatever floats your boat) that I found tucked in a box in my dresser. Sometime after inventorying all my fountain pens last November, I set this aside as one to sell or give away, but it was apart from all other pens and I forgot about it. Upon rediscovering it yesterday I inked it up and was reminded that I didn’t love the writing performance. The ink flow isn’t as consistent as I would like. Instead of getting rid of it, should I tinker with it myself?
If I take apart pens for maintenance or cleaning, it’s typically those that are designed to be user serviceable. A Parker 45, for example, has a nib unit that easily unscrews and then disassembles. I’ve never taken apart a pen like this that would require more careful work and technique. Owning and using vintage pens has made me more cognizant of what I don’t know regarding their construction and disassembly, which helps prevent venturing into places I shouldn’t. The plastic on the 21 Super is said to be brittle and removing the hood risks damage. But should I let that stop me from learning about it and trying my hand at some point? Maybe I’m better served getting a pen in more of a fixer-upper condition to work on than this 21 Super that’s clean and functional. Either way, something about it has planted a feeling to get more involved in the nuts and bolts of my vintage pens. We’ll see how and where it goes.