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hamletta Well, not all of them are new, but it sounded better...
In November (or was it December?) I ordered a million ink samples to play with. I don't know what I was thinking, because it'll take me forever to get through them all, and part of the fun is getting new ink to try (even if you have unused samples in the drawer.) Too late now!
1. Diamine Sparkling Shadows (of the Shimmering Inks series) with Lamy Safari 1.1i.
I got the Lamy to try the cursive italic nibs. It's my first Lamy, and I must say I'm not impressed. It's stiff, and I don't like the way it feels in my hand, nor the modern Bauhaus design. The last I obviously knew before buying, and Safari is their low end pen, so I'm not crossing them out forever, but it will need something special to get me to buy another one.
Bout the ink: it has a lovely golden-grey sheen that could be wonderful in decorating, but for my use, which is mostly note-taking and high-volume writing, it's just too light. Nice to try, but I won't be buying this one.
2. De Atramentis Midnight Blue in Lamy Safari 1.5i
Not being impressed with the 1.1i nib, I decided to order the 1.5i -- exchangeable nibs are Lamy's big plus. I still don't love the Safari, but I do like the nib. It makes my clumsy handwriting look almost good. I'll definitely be using this one more, at least until I find a softer stub nib that can replace it (I'm eyeing one but I've blown my pen budget for a while...)
About the ink: to me the Midnight Blue is more petrol/green than blue, and I love it. Love the colour and its saturation on paper. This one goes in my GREAT! box.
3. Waterman Tend Purple in Parker Duofold AF
I love the way this per writes. It's wet and broad (I write big!) with some stubbiness -- the line variation is minimal, but there. I'm not too fond of the way it looks, officially grey but more khaki green. Still, it's got history on it's side, dating from 1947-8. Always humbling to think who wrote with this pen before and what they wrote...
About the ink: I love the colour. Wasn't impressed with the saturation at first, seemed a bit watery, but I've either got used to it or no longer care because I like the colour so much. So this one's a keeper, unless I find a more saturated version.
4. Parker Duofold Lucky Curve Lady in De Atramentis Magenta
(Sorry, this one's really bad picture but the pen's no longer inked so it will have to do.)
This pen was my impulse buy last December, but unusually, it wasn't a mistake. The pen is lovely: pretty and with a delightfully wet, soft nib. A pleasure, and that at almost 90 years old.
I loved the ink when I first tried it, and still do like both the colour and its richness (I'm becoming partial to De Atramentis!). But I wrote a few notes with this one next to the Waterman's Tend Purple, and I had to concede that while I prefer De Atramentis ink quality, I just love the Waterman colour so much more. So, a great ink, but I have to check if they make something more blue/purple...
5. Waterman Mysterious Blue in Mentmore (unknown model)
This is a workhorse of a pen, and has been for over seventy years of it's existence. A bit scratchy but noting too bad. On a thin side, which is actually good as in my love for broad and stub I'm really low on pens that can write smaller. It was a cheap but so I didn't expect much, and it's obvioulsy far from the quality of the Duofolds, but it's been growing on me. So simple and understated.
The ink is a disappointment. It's a yellowy kind of blue that some may like but I don't. Nothing mysterious about it, either, just a plain workhorse blue in a shade I don't find attractive. I might use up the sample so it's not wasted, but it will be a pain.
That's it for now! (If anybody's still reading...)
In November (or was it December?) I ordered a million ink samples to play with. I don't know what I was thinking, because it'll take me forever to get through them all, and part of the fun is getting new ink to try (even if you have unused samples in the drawer.) Too late now!
1. Diamine Sparkling Shadows (of the Shimmering Inks series) with Lamy Safari 1.1i.
I got the Lamy to try the cursive italic nibs. It's my first Lamy, and I must say I'm not impressed. It's stiff, and I don't like the way it feels in my hand, nor the modern Bauhaus design. The last I obviously knew before buying, and Safari is their low end pen, so I'm not crossing them out forever, but it will need something special to get me to buy another one.
Bout the ink: it has a lovely golden-grey sheen that could be wonderful in decorating, but for my use, which is mostly note-taking and high-volume writing, it's just too light. Nice to try, but I won't be buying this one.
2. De Atramentis Midnight Blue in Lamy Safari 1.5i
Not being impressed with the 1.1i nib, I decided to order the 1.5i -- exchangeable nibs are Lamy's big plus. I still don't love the Safari, but I do like the nib. It makes my clumsy handwriting look almost good. I'll definitely be using this one more, at least until I find a softer stub nib that can replace it (I'm eyeing one but I've blown my pen budget for a while...)
About the ink: to me the Midnight Blue is more petrol/green than blue, and I love it. Love the colour and its saturation on paper. This one goes in my GREAT! box.
3. Waterman Tend Purple in Parker Duofold AF
I love the way this per writes. It's wet and broad (I write big!) with some stubbiness -- the line variation is minimal, but there. I'm not too fond of the way it looks, officially grey but more khaki green. Still, it's got history on it's side, dating from 1947-8. Always humbling to think who wrote with this pen before and what they wrote...
About the ink: I love the colour. Wasn't impressed with the saturation at first, seemed a bit watery, but I've either got used to it or no longer care because I like the colour so much. So this one's a keeper, unless I find a more saturated version.
4. Parker Duofold Lucky Curve Lady in De Atramentis Magenta
(Sorry, this one's really bad picture but the pen's no longer inked so it will have to do.)This pen was my impulse buy last December, but unusually, it wasn't a mistake. The pen is lovely: pretty and with a delightfully wet, soft nib. A pleasure, and that at almost 90 years old.
I loved the ink when I first tried it, and still do like both the colour and its richness (I'm becoming partial to De Atramentis!). But I wrote a few notes with this one next to the Waterman's Tend Purple, and I had to concede that while I prefer De Atramentis ink quality, I just love the Waterman colour so much more. So, a great ink, but I have to check if they make something more blue/purple...
5. Waterman Mysterious Blue in Mentmore (unknown model)
This is a workhorse of a pen, and has been for over seventy years of it's existence. A bit scratchy but noting too bad. On a thin side, which is actually good as in my love for broad and stub I'm really low on pens that can write smaller. It was a cheap but so I didn't expect much, and it's obvioulsy far from the quality of the Duofolds, but it's been growing on me. So simple and understated.
The ink is a disappointment. It's a yellowy kind of blue that some may like but I don't. Nothing mysterious about it, either, just a plain workhorse blue in a shade I don't find attractive. I might use up the sample so it's not wasted, but it will be a pain.
That's it for now! (If anybody's still reading...)
