Papers I’m Enjoying - Jan/Feb 2023
A stack of papers inside my TN just waiting for words.
For the past two years or so, I have been playing with different kinds of papers. I’ve been really enjoying the availability of previously unknown to me papers, especially as Tomoe River paper changed and some other papers are being discontinued (such as Cosmo Air Light). When I started looking (and especially when Yamamoto Paper came on the scene), I realized that there were SO many papers to try out. Some of them have been duds for me and I have put them in my destash pile, but others prompt me to get out my pens and write on them.
Right now these papers are:
Kokuyo Perpanep (both zara zara and sara sara textures) - They both offer different tactile writing experiences, but both deliver quality paper. They work with all the nibs and inks that I’ve thrown at them with no feathering or bleeding. With dark inks there is some ghosting, but not enough to obscure even light colored inks on the other side. When I want some feedback I can write on the zara zara paper which really shows off light inks well since it’s a little more absorbent. When I want smoothness where a nib glides, sara sara texture it is. I have the lined versions at the moment and I enjoy how subtle the ruling is, I’ll have to give the graph or dot grid a try when I run out. I’m not sure if I want to try the tsuru tsuru super smooth paper, but hopefully I can see (aka touch) some in person at some point before buying a book. Please Kokuyo - make these papers in loose leaf packs!
Cosmo Air Light - I’ve been talking about this one for a while and I got it stuck in my head back in November after leaving my pack of it alone in my drawer for a while. Whenever I write on it I can see why these are a love it or leave it paper for a lot of fellow enthusiasts. It’s grippy and bouncy. I have some of the 92 gsm as well and that stuff is THICK! However, I just can’t get over the way inks show up on it, especially darker sheening inks. There’s just something about a full page of sheen and shimmer looking like it’s popping off the paper.
I also have an insert in my A6 travelers notebook that I made with Yamamoto Paper’s Light Force. At initial scribbling it feels similar to Cosmo Air Light. Enjoying it, but it definitely needs some more experimentation.
Having fun papers has gotten me to the page when I’m just completely stuck on my workshop stories. I have a longer novella (my 1920’s gangster vampire story that I’ve mentioned on Instagram a few times), but I am also trying to pump out 5 ghost stories in 5 weeks for my workshop. Needless to say I haven’t made much progress on gangster vampires, but I do have three new short stories and am currently racing to finish a fourth. When I am feeling stuck I like to sit down with pen and paper and dive back into the world through description. That often gets the momentum going again and the characters take over. In the home stretch with this short story collection workshop though - at least the story writing part, haha!
Currently Inked
Ferris Wheel Press Purple Jade Rabbit - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14 K “journaler” - I have to admit I have gotten on something of a purple kick in the past year or so. I’ve been mostly drawn to the more lavender end of the spectrum for the most part and this ink fits the bill. My initial reaction to it was that it was too light for long form writing because it would be difficult to read to type up later. Now that I have it in a M nib instead of a BB, that’s not really the case. I have also discovered that paper really matters with this one, more absorbent papers show off the blue undertone more and make it much easier on the eyes. It’s a very pretty ink and I’m enjoying playing with it.
Robert Oster Muddy Wine - Kaweco liliput Green B premium - Another purple in my arsenal this week, but more on the merlot spectrum. This ink drove a lot of work writing and journaling this week. The Robert Oster “MudPack” was a set I had my eye on since it was debuted as exclusive to their website. I just could never justify the cost. Then they wide-released them and I immediately snatched up samples from Vanness Pens. This one is my favorite. It’s a gorgeous brownish-purple and it just gives me a classic feeling when I write with it. This is one I haven’t picked up in a while, but it’s definitely a fun one.
Ferris Wheel Press Stroke of Midnight - Kaweco liliput copper 14K B - Yep, this one is still in this pen for another week. I’m loving its attitude on different papers.
Diamine Pick Me Up - Kaweco Sport x Elite Royalty Deep Red BB - One of the more contentious inks from last year’s inkvent calendar is one of my favorites. This ink is a solid dark brown with green sheen on some papers and a sweet scent. It has a really wet flow, but it behaves on all of the papers I use (it would probably feather like crazy on office paper though).
De Atrementis Steam Locomotive - Kaweco Sport x Elite Royalty Crown Blue B - When I found this ink, I knew it had to be in my collection just for the novelty of it. I work in a railroad museum - this ink is black-gray like a steam engine and smells like coal. It’s great. This is actually the first time I’ve ever used the ink though and I’m pleased to report it’s actually very similar in color to one of the steam trains in my museum. Been utilizing it a lot at work to work on staff procedures documents for the upcoming season.
De Atramentis Steam Locomotive is seriously this same gray-black as this Yellowstone (The DMIR #227 for the train geeks out there).
Colorverse Rising Reflections - Kaweco Sport Macchiato 1.5 - To brighten up the ink palette a little I decided to go with a yellow. This one shades really well and has a bright blue shimmer which dominates where the ink pools. Just a really fun ink for headers.
The workhorse of drafting this blog post. Now that I have a better phone camera, I can’t get over taking pictures of nibs! That’s Ferris Wheel Press Purple Jade Rabbit off to the right and a little tail end of De Atramentis Steam Locomotive on the left.