Moar Blotches: In Which Dr. Inkenstein Goes Rorschach

Kobe # 23 Nagata Blue...

That's the very blue-black ink Dr. Inkenstein believes will be The One, and desperately wants to try...but it is currently Unobtainium. 

Why must I be so FUSSY about my ink colors? *sobs quietly while sucking thumb* 

So recently, Dr. I tested---side-by-side, mind you!--- Chesterfield Sodalite, Diamine Prussian Blue, and both old and new MB Midnight. May be going with the Sodalite, probably in a Safari. The Prussian showed too green, the old MB a touch navy, too, and the new, while a favorite, was too....uhmmm, soft?  Hard?  Hot?  Cold?

Just call me Goldilocks.

Here forthwith, a  bunch of BBs with a glass pen. Again, Prussian Blue seemed too green, one MB was darker and more navy than I wanted at the moment, though I usually go with the more modern Midnight. And you can see which I chose.

And don't even get me started on turquoise.  Or teal. 

signed,
Goldilocks 

Orange Crush: In Which Dr. Inkenstein Continues With Summer Fun

Continuing with the summer ink theme, Dr. inkenstein recalls a certain Carvel frozen dessert called Icy Wicy, which was a swirled mix of orange and fuschia sugar water on a double stick, so you and a friend could share.  Here, through the magic of scannage, we have removed the fuschia part (see previous Pink entry and use your imagination) and added in some red-browns.

Because, you know, autumn is coming.  Some day.

The scans don't do these inks justice.  Chesterfield Fire Opal, the orange ink tested in the orange Jinhao-fari 599, really is the color of Orange Crush soda.  It is eye-searingly, happily, summer-afternoons-at-the beach orange, and I would love it but for the fact that it invariably gunks up a nib with a hideous orange crust that looks like dried-on iodine.

Good thing the Jinhao-fari only costs five bucks.  That's one ink-pen combo stamped in stone!  No shading, but with color this bright, why bother?

 

The 'Fireball,' which is mostly J Herbin Rouge Caroubier and some yellow or other, is included just for comparison's sake.  It's a brilliant red-orange.

The Sailor Brick Brown Red shades like crazy.  The MB Leonardo Red chalk also shades, but with a terra cotta component, and is a wonderful, well-balanced ink.  J Herbin Terre de Feu is another red-brick color that, interestingly, looks more burgundy in the bottle than on paper, where it turns a mid-range, boullion-brown that does shade.  It bears a passing resemblence to the Sailor Brick Brown Red, like maybe they're cousins who get together on the beach every summer.

And Ambre de Birmanie is, well, amber-y.  The color of butterscotch that got a little too caramelized in the pan.  Shades, too.  What more could you want?

 

Maybe a few extra days of summer.  Carry on.

 

 

 

 

InCoCroMo! In Which Dr. Inkenstein and Count Sockula Both Weigh In

As many of you know, February is International Correspondence Writing Month.  The info can be found HERE.  

 

 

Dr. Inkenstein has been participating, and even though InCo is nearly over, have a look at some of the pens and inks in use throughout!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been a lot of fun.  Dr. Inkenstein has received many, many wonderful tuck-ins from pen pals, even a surprise sample vial of Iroshizuku Kosumosu ink (you know who you are, VO!), and cool paper, and has managed to slip in a few amusing things in return.

 

 

I didn't think I could even stay the course, but I'm up to nearly 40 missives, including those handed out, and February ain't over yet.   Will I do it again?  Maybe.  Should you?  Definitely.  It's too late for this year but Dr. Inkenstein can't think of a better way to play with your pens and ink.

 

 

 

Now on to Count Sockula.  Who has not been seen in quite some time.  The Count is on a scarf kick.

The medallion scarf to the left has a double row in the middle to keep CS's back warm.

The scarf to the right is a pattern I adapted from teh innerwebz...the original had alternating rows of solid dc and trc clusters. I just use what I call the checkerboard stitch....basically a granny square worked in rows. The yarn was Unforgettable, in the Parrot colorway, but the photo really killed all the wonderful mint greens so all you see is pink and blue.  

The thing in the middle is a bag in Speed Cro-Sheen, which I don't even think they make any more!

 

 

 

I have hereby dubbed my February efforts InCoCroMo.    The first Cro stands, of course, for Count Sockula.  ;-p

Invasion of the X-pens! In Which Dr. Inkenstein Has Good A Excuse

 

 

All I wanted was the Vanilla, I swear.  Now look what happened!


So Dr. Inkenstein had heard a lot about xfountainpens and thought they seemed interesting, with some nice (read: cheap) prices, and handsome models, but had balked at the actual  jump.


Not long ago, on a whim, I searched Amazon for fountain pens.  Among the motley Safaris and Invictas I saw a Vanilla 'Kurve' for under $14.  Prime, too! It appeared to be a fat pen, with a satin- finish and gold trim.  Sure.  Why not.


But by the time I went to get it the next day, it was gone.  *waaaaaaa*


However, on the same page (you know, where Amazon frantically tries to get you to buy whatever they have a lot of in their inventory) there were listed five of those very same pens, Vanilla included, for $40! 

 

 

Can't beat that, I thought.  And a mini-bottle of ink!  Thrown in, just like that. 


The 'brand' name is Bulow, the model  X450, which I hear is a retooled Jinhao or something. 

 

 

Whatever tool they're using, it was right for the job.  Of course, Dr. inkenstein prefers  'X-pens.'  I may end up naming them: Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Rogue.  Just because.


These pens look reeeeeel goooood. The finish is shiny, deep and intense in color, except for the Vanilla and the Gold (which appear more soft and pearlized).  They are fat in girth and substantial in weight, but not too heavy, even for me.


I dip- tested one  ('Scintillia,' looking like burgundy leopardskin) in J Herbin Cafe des Isles.  Let it be known that Dr. Inkenstein hates animal prints.  Yes, it's just a quirk, but a big one, and it's mine, all mine. 


What do you know. The Scintillia finish grew on me.  Because the pen writes soooo smoooooth.  A nice wet 'M.'   I've owned pens costing ten times the price that didn't write half as willingly.  And yes, I've named her 'Rogue.'


I am in serious danger of buying more from xfountainpens.  Each pen comes with a nice-looking converter, and they also offer different nib sizes (for an added price) on many models. 

 

Here also among many Kurve friends is the Nemosine Singularity, a different model pen, smaller and lighter-weight, with a threaded cap, a flat top and the smaller of their cursive italic nibs (for which you do NOT have to cough up more bucks--all the Nemo nibs come at no extra charge).  The Nemo comes in a few different finishes as well.  In a shiny gray skin, this Nemo's superpowers are stealth and smoothitude.

 

X-pens also sells ink under the Chesterfield brand, and while you can buy bottles in two different sizes, and buy samples as well, you get three free sample bottles with each purchase over a certain amount.

 

Of their inks, Dr. Inkenstein has tried:

 

Siam: A deep cherry-burgundy

Fire Opal: Softer, more pinkish burgundy

Sodalite: Standard blue-black with a hint of denim

Teal: Really a blue-black with green undertones

Smoky Topaz: Wonderful copper-brown

Mahogany: A true sepia, one of Dr. I's fave brown inks


Time alone will tell whether these pens will have converter problems (as other x-pen users have noted) or finish problems.  Or even if they may mutate into other species altogether!


But come on!  Five fountain pens!  Ink!  Forty bucks!  The cheapskate in Dr. Inkenstein has a happy, and so does the pen-lover.

 

 

Spy vs. Accountant! In Which Dr. Inkenstein Compares The Inner Pen-sonality

Bond. James Bond.
　
I don’t understand the characterization of the Hero 007 as cheap and flimsy. Maybe the price is low, but right off the bat, the spy pen wrote with a buttery feel and excellent flow.
　
Whereas the Accountant (Guanleming 978), while deceptively elegant in appearance, wrote reluctantly, dry-er, somewhat scratchier, though it got easier as it went along. And, befitting an accountant’s pen, it’s a little bit particular about the paper with which it associates. Unknown yellow lined pad, begone. Office Max comp book, we can live with it. We just don’t love it. Staples bagassee, now that’s more like it.

Spy Pen, Accountant Pen:

　
This particular accountant probably works for James Bond. Hence, the fancy-dress. Someone’s got to do the books.
　
　
Here we have the case of two pens whose personalities contrast their looks. The Spy Pen looks like it belongs to an accountant. Which makes sense. You don’t want a neon sign flashing, "Hey! I’m a secret agent! Everybody watch out!"
　
　
No, you want to do your work undercover! So it’s fitting that the spy and the accountant swapped clothes. After all, if you’re an accountant, people aren’t shooting at you and aiming giant lasers at your personal areas. At least, not most of the time.
　
Sleek and silver and black. James Bond in a tux, watching out of the corner of his eye.
　
Silver and gold with patent-leather black section. M’s most trusted bookkeeper.
　

Behold the two tests and judge for yourself.
　
James Bond:

　

Accountant:

　
　
The 007 James Bond pen (donated to me by a kind member of FPN) is available from various ebay sellers.
　
　
The GLM is available from isellpens, who also has much better pictures than I am able to take. He probably uses a spy camera.

In Which Dr. Inkenstein Redefines Cheap 'n' Cheerful Fountain Pens

You all know by now that Dr. Inkenstein is the Chief Engineer on the Cheap 'n' Cheerful Fountain Pen Express.

　
　
And that I always jump to recommend this pen or that pen (usually a pen that costs under $10).
　
　
But I've been thinking about this. At times, when I follow my instincts, I don't always know what I'm doing, until later in the process. Now I do: I've been experimenting with nib, fit, and finish, trying to see what suits me and why.
　
I thought that I wanted needle-fine nibs exclusively but that turns out not to be true, though they're still good for certain applications, like practicing Vertical Manuscript/Business hand, and for editing.
　
　
I find myself leaning more toward the inclusion of 'garden hoses' and italic nibs. I have some peculiar needs with the girth and weight of a pen that outweighs almost every other consideration but the nib and 'writeability.' And I'm beginning to get the picture.  Some pens feel too cheap and plastic-y even for me.
　
　
That said, there are still certain cheapies I like.
　
　
Fountain pens that always make that go-to list include:
　
Pelikano Jr. : Running from about $9-15, depending where you buy them, they are remarkably smooth writers for the money. I have an older, opaque two-tone flat top model with an ink window, but also many  more current models with the bullet-y translucent plastic bodies and caps. All clipless, and the newer models have rubber-grippy stuff on the section. The long Pelikan carts have a huge ink capacity.
　
　
Platinum Preppy: About $3 for a clear-view flat-top, comes in many colors, and two nib widths, .03 and .05. These pens will usually write even after being left on the shelf for months. Eminently refillable, with Plat's big ink capacity cart.
　
　
　
Pilot Petit 1: Abt. $5. Again, a clear barrel, but smaller, and a fat little cigar shape. Cute and a half. Wild colors; the carts are refillable if you have a pipette. Fine-ish nib. Certain colors seem to write a bit dry.
　
　
　
Pilot Plumix: About $7 at Target. A stiff italic nib in a clear-or-tinted plastic body that looks sort of like a squid. No clip, huge ink capacity in the cart, cart can be refilled.
　
　
Hero 616: If you get the genuine article, running from $3-$10 each depending on whether you buy in bulk.  Good writers, and so inexpensive you won't bemoan the loss of one or two should you misplace them. Bulb/aero-type filler, and you will get more ink per fill if you remove the metal tube before filling. The nib is fine-ish and dryish, and lately I have been wanting broader, wetter nibs, but I ALWAYS have one inked.
　
　
(Now for some older pens, still available somewhere as NOS):
Hero 366: Ran about $4 each in bulk. This is a mini-pen, cigar-shaped, slightly smoother and wetter nib than the 616, a cute little bulb-filler.
　
　
Stypen Creeks: Abt. $3/each in bulk, if you can still find them. Take standard international carts and come in a small bullet-shaped version and a longer flat-top version. Colorful, plastic-y and way up there on the cute list. The nib is a medium-fine and seems to write dry. I have successfully stubbed two of them and they seem ideal candidates for such experimentation.
　
　
Sheaffer No Nonsense, OLD STOCK ONLY: About $5-$25 each, depending where you can find them. The new ones are horrible, the old ones have easily interchangeable nib sections running from EF to VERY broad italic. Flat-top, many colors, have clips, standard Sheaffer cart-fillers. If you see one of the old-style NN Calligraphy kits at a yard sale, grab it!　
　
　
　
　A glass of cheap 'n' cute, grabbed at random, which all HAPPENED to be red:

　
　
　
　
Now I am NOT proposing that any of these pens are the equal of, say, a Sheaffer Legacy or Waterman Carene.
　
What I am saying is that more often than not, what gets inked is not the Legacy or Carene. Especially if I'm trying out a new, possibly DANGEROUS ink.
　
　
(Though the more expensive a Pilot is, the less I like writing with it. I prefer the Petit and Plumix to the 78G, and I was REALLY disappointed in the Falcon. Felt cheap and the nib wrote chalky.)

Yes. There are big differences in finish and quality. The Hero 616 and some others do have a cheap finish and the 616 caps don't always mate well with the barrels. But---FOR THE MONEY---they are all good, reliable writers and no one should be ashamed of using them.
　
　
As for Lamy, I just don't care for their fountain pens. It's personal. Don't like the triangle grip, don't like the proprietary cart, and though I am content with the nib on my charcoal italic Safari, I've heard enough complaints about wildly varying QC to say nope, not for me. Other pens at the same price point seem better all-around:  Chinese pens (Hero, Jinhao, Kaigelu) costing more than, say, $15, can be splendid bargains, with fit and finish the equal of pens costing, well, way more.

Lamy fans, don't sue.  ;-p