Catch and Release
My standout combo for this week - my liliput fireblue with a 14K M journaler nib and Ferris Wheel Press Storied Blue.
I ended up with what I call a “catch and release” pen this week. It’s one of the dangers of being in a stationery store desert - see a pen, want to try something new - and it’s bought. It’s a gamble on whether I’ll like it or not. I read the reviews, I check the specs, but it’s still a gamble. Sometimes, when I get the pen in real life, I still might think it’s beautiful, but I see immediately that it’s not for me. We’ve all done this, right?
In my case I won an ebay bid I had completely forgotten about. It was for a Kaweco Supra in Fireblue. I had seen these pens before, even held a brass one at Atlas Stationers during a trip to Chicago last year. It was a pen firmly in the “maybe” category. After all, I love the Kaweco liliput pens and the Supra just seemed like a girthy liliput with a larger nib. On my initial brush with them, I was mostly concerned about the weight. My Kaweco Sport Brass was re-homed for that reason (and is a big reason why I’m holding off on the Kaweco Sport Bronze even though it looks fantastic!). Another hesitation that I had is that I am pretty enamored with the Kaweco 060 nibs and I’ve invested in my set of Kaweco Sports and liliputs with nib grinds and specialty nibs.
But I’d won the bid and it was coming my way. I knew even when I paid the seller that it was probably going to be in my hand a day or two and then be moved on to a more appreciative home, but I tried to keep an open mind. I know that I’m in the minority, but my heart is in little pens with little nibs. Every #6 nib pen I’ve ever had has found homes with friends or other pen enthusiasts.
The Supra arrived. I held it.
And yep, I immediately knew that it wasn’t for me.
The Supra is a beautiful pen, make no mistake. It shares a lot of the design elements with the Kaweco liliput, but the comparison ends there. If you like the look of the liliput and the weight of the Brass Sport, the Supra combines them really well. Luckily, it found a new home almost immediately.
Despite, the Supra Fireblue being a catch and release, my new Kaweco Sport Mellow Blue is not. I’ve been eyeing this color ever since it came out, and now that it’s starting to disappear from retailers I thought I would take the plunge. I snatched one with a B nib. I put on a black clip and it’s a great new addition to my collection. It’s a lovely slate blue-gray. Also, I discovered I had some Christmas money leftover!
My new Kaweco Sport Mellow Blue and Wearinguel Wicked Witch on Kokuyo Business paper. It’s a really dark blue, almost looks black in the winter sunlight.
While I was getting my new Sport, I also picked up an ink collection that I’d been dying to play with. I bought the Wearinguel Becoming Witch set which comes with a 30 mL bottle of the Wicked Witch color ink and four bottles of the “shimmer potions” in Mind Control (purple), Flame (red), Healing Light (gold), and Frost (blue). Wicked Witch is a beautiful blue-black with red sheen on some papers. I added some of the Mind Control shimmer and now it’s got a purple sparkle when tilted to the light. I also made a few other ink mixtures, to see how the shimmer potions play with other brands. I’ve currently mixed Birmingham Locomotive with Flame (ink inspired by steam engines needs some fire) and Diamine Earl Grey with Frost (a really pretty combo at first glance). I’m glad I took the plunge - trying to decide what ink & shimmer combos I can make will keep me busy for a while, haha!
I also got some new notebooks this week from Paper Mind, a lined and dot grid Cosmo Air Light spiral bound notebooks. I’m excited to put these through their paces!
I think 9 inked pens might be the most I’ve had in a long while.
Currently Inked
Colorverse Extreme Deep Field - Kaweco Liliput green M stub - A second week with this ink. I love this ink best on papers that show its sheen such as Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River Paper.
Montblanc Mystery Black - Kaweco Sport Burgundy B - I was digging through an ink box and realized that I had a bunch of Montblanc cartridges I had gotten from the Montblanc store when I was traveling through Las Vegas last November. Never tried them. This is a pretty solid black, but nothing super special at first glance.
Wearinguel Wicked Witch + Mind Control - Kaweco Sport Mellow Blue B - I am really fond of this blue and it has slid right into the moody color palette I’ve cultivated so far for March. I’m going to keep experimenting with the shimmer potion to ink ratio since I managed to clog the nib on first attempt and second attempt has minimal glitter. When the purple shimmer comes out though? So cool!
Colorverse Office Blue - Kaweco Sport Iridescent Pearl M CSI - Rocking a third week with a cartridge refill. As you can see up above, I have plans to add some of the Healing Light shimmer potion to this color and see how it looks with some shimmer!
Montblanc Midnight Blue - Kaweco Sport Dark Olive BB - Okay, I really like this one. It’s another one of my cartridges that I bought at the Montblanc store in Las Vegas. Despite the fact that I have quite a few blue-blacks in my collection, this one definitely has its own tone.
Ferris Wheel Press Storied Blue - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K M journaler - This ink got a refill this week because I am just really enjoying it. It’s soft, but serious. I’ve been doing a lot of journaling and story writing in this color.
Birmingham Locomotive + Flame - Kaweco liliput copper 14 K B - So far, no flow issues with this shimmer potion and dark ink combination. I just inked this up last night, so I don’t have much written with it yet - but something I have noticed about the shimmer is that it isn’t as in your face as some inks with it already built in, it looks standard, but then SURPRISE lots of glitter in the right light.
Diamine Earl Grey + Frost - Kaweco Sport Lavender 14 K BB CSI - A combo I did some scribbling with last night. I haven’t picked up this nib or pen in quite a while and I’m remembering why I enjoy both so much. The blue shimmer on the gray ink is a ton of fun.
Ferris Wheel Press The Fluttering Heart - Kaweco Sport Macchiato 1.5 - I’m sticking with this pale pink as a header color. It offsets the blues, grays, and blacks really well.
Some inky experiments with the shimmer potions.
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