What’s What 6/18 — 6/24
Appreciation
Want to start off by saying thanks to Brad Dowdy, the Pen Addict himself, for mentioning this site in his Refill newsletter. As someone who enjoys and values Brad’s content and everything he does for the stationery universe, it felt great to see that. If you’re reading this, you probably already know what Brad does — blog, podcast, live stream, membership benefits, Spoke Design, Nock Co. If not, you should check it all out and share in the fun.
Now on to the usual stuff.
Inked Right Now
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Esterbrook JR with Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogan
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Parker Sonnet Laque Indigo with Herbin Cacao du Bresil
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Diamond Medal with Aurora Black
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Parker 45 with Pelikan 4001 Königsblau
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Lamy Safari with Lamy Violet
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Aurora Ipsilon with Iroshizuku Tsutsuji
Parker Sonnet, Diamond Medal, Parker 45, Aurora Ipsilon, Lamy Safari, Esterbrook JR
One pen out and three in, with more on the way.
This is the third week for the Sonnet and JR and they’re both running close to empty. Not sure how much is left in the Diamond Medal but given how wet it writes it’s probably less than I think. If I can get back to copying out some book passages it should run through quickly.
The 45 was inked for purposes of doing the first post covering the pen collection. It’s always good to use this pen and reconnect with the history it possesses. I’m surprised at how dark the 4001 Königsblau comes out. Yeah, it’s an old pen that has seen a lot ink over the years but this is a whole different shade. Also, Königsblau is a great word. I’d rather not say or write royal blue when Königsblau is available. I forgot the accent on the o when making the list but alt+0246 is the Word shortcut for future reference.
As shown a few days ago, the Safari and Ipsilon came back from Custom Nib Studio with new nib grinds.
I wrote through the fill of Yama-Guri in the Decimo. It was a short fill because I used a Con-40 and everything in a Con-40 is a short fill. I love Pilot but the fact they made this their main converter is not ideal. I usually fill an empty cartridge when using the Decimo but didn’t have a clean one at hand that time around.
Incoming
The eBay lot with Franklin-Christoph and Sheaffer should be here tomorrow. Package took a three-day break between Little Rock and Memphis before jetting northeast, perhaps admiring all the green farmland.
Thinking About
Trying to wrangle the number of notebooks, journals, bunches of paper, etc., I’m writing in. I tend to start using something for one purpose and then going off track, only to pick it up weeks or months later and saying “Oh, yeah, that’s what this was for.” Sometimes the original intention isn’t a match for the chosen item and is better suited for something else. Sometimes the habit just doesn’t stick or it doesn’t give what I thought I’d get from it. Maybe I worry too much trying to find a use for what’s in the paper collection (there’s plenty) when I bought most of it without a particular purpose in mind. Maybe I have too many list ideas floating around my head. Would a master list of list ideas help? Hmmm.
I have tried going with just one notebook at home where I jot down all the random whatevers from the course of the day. Worked well for a little while but seems to have petered out in the past few weeks. It certainly is easier to have one place where all the thoughts and notes are going. However, I run into the issue of wanting to reference it later and not having any built-in organizational structure. I could go back and make a basic index for what is where in the notebook and see if that helps. To be continued….
If you got this far, thanks for sticking around. Feedback is welcome via linevariation at gmail.com