So I have mostly been into big wet broads — as slippery as possible — for the longest time.

But recently I have noticed that my writing is more readable and looks better when I use finer nibs.

So I put the stock nib back in my Ystudio, and liked what I saw. So I ordered a EF TWSBI Eco and EF nibs for my Ystudio and my FC Model 66.

And since then I have bought a Kaweco Sport with EF and a ProGear with F.

So I guess this is my thing now?

This is a really great purple ink from Iroshizuku. And it is one of the few inks I’ve had that where I knew the moment I finished it that I’d end up ordering another one.

This ink is kind of the perfect example of what I love about Iroshizuku. It kind of strikes the perfect balance between darkness and vibrancy.

If you start looking at planners you will soon see that there are two categories:

• Dated
  
• Undated

Dated are printed for a specific 12/6/3 month span, while undated require you to fill in the dates yourself.

I have used both in the past, while I currently use dated ones I think there are good sides about both.

What I like about dates ones is that they come ready to use.

While undated ones have the advantage that you can start using them no matter when you feel like, and they are much easier and cheaper to produce.

I finally bought one, after having it on my short wish-list for years.

I got one with a fine nib.

After a lot of consideration I went with a slim one in black rhodium. Neither the color or the slim model was my first choice. But this was a combination of finding something available at Tudos with a nib I wanted. Also I decided to on the slim models to not spend too much money before I knew if I liked the nibs.

I know I’ll get more of them, and the next time I know I’ll go with a fresher color. Probably with a EF nib.

The nib is really great. It is smooth with some resistance. Reminds me a lot about the Hi Tec C in a good way.

This have become my go to pen, within minutes of getting it.

Pilot Iroshizuku inks usually come in a 50ml bottle, or in this 3x15ml pack.

The previous time I looked at them they came in these pre-defined sets of three and none of the sets appealed to me so I never got them. But I while back I noticed that Tudos let me pick what ever combinations I wanted, so I ordered a pack.

I like the bottles themselves. They are not as nice as the 50ml one, but better than most. They are made out of glass so no worry of them flipping over if you leave a pen in it.

The price is more or less the same as a 50ml bottles, so the price per ml isn’t that far off from getting the large bottle. And this is a great option if you care more about having more different inks than getting the most ink for your money. And if you like me have a limited amount of space for ink or don’t like to have a lot of inks laying around the 15ml is a lot more manageable than a 50ml.

What I really disliked however was that I came in one of those horrible gift boxes I hate, that only service one purpose and that is to fill up my garbage bin.

• Zebra Sarasha Clip 0.4 and 0.3
• Hi Tec C 0.3 and 0.25
• Signo DX 0.38 and 0.28

All of these are great and all of them would have been a perfectly fine choice by itself.

The last time I tried Zebra’s I tried the 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0, and now after this round I’ve tried them all. I think the barrel of the Zebra is the best of all of these. But it is the one I enjoy the least to write with.

The Hi Tec C is a really great pen with a horrible barrel. If I’m just focusing on the refill or the thing that actually puts ink on the page, this is the my favorite of all the gel pens I’ve tried. It is very consistent and not really scratchy. It is very smooth compared to how fine it is. I think the 0.3 is the one I like the most, the 0.25 is too thin and scratchy for me, while the 0.4 is a perfectly fine backup if I don’t have a 0.3.

The Signo DX is my favorite. Both the 0.28 and 0.38 are good. A little less consistent than the Hi Tec C, but much better than the Zebra. More scratchy than the Hi Tec C but better than the Zebra. And the barrel is kind of in the middle too. This will most likely be the one I use the most moving forward. Probably more the 0.28 than the 0.38 but both are great.

Nock.co had some really awesome pocket notebooks. I really liked them a lot. They had this really simple look. But with some really cool and bright colors. Most of were top stapeled instead of on the side. Something I wasn’t the biggest fan of. But not that important.

What I really liked about them is that the paper was really good, and they actually worked well with fountain pens. Plus they had dot grid.

If they had continued this would most likely have been the thing I’d replaced my Field Notes usage with.

Here is a short history of my ink preferences over time.

At first I was really into black inks only. In the start of that I went for the sharpest drying inks possible. Before I slowly moved to better looking blacks and eventually ending up with 5 different colors in my drawers.

For a very long time I preferred to have all of my pens with the same ink. Just liked the idea of writing one pen dry and then continuing with the same color from the next pen in my carry.

Then at some point. Probably in 2021. I started to have all of my pens in regular use with different inks. And I love it. Some pens have a permanent color. Like I have a red Kaweco Sport with red ink, and a pink TWSBI Eco with pink ink. But the rest are more or less open to any ink.

There was a point in my fountain pen journey where I cared more about fast dry time than how things looked on the page, including not caring about feathering. And during that time I was big into Field Notes. Plus that the Field Notes shipping at the time was really cheap and fast compared to everything else.

Today I use notebooks from Rhodia that is very similar to this.

What I liked about the Steno book was that it had a sturdy cover that made it easy to write with it on the couch. And this was when I started to really appreciate notebooks where I could just rip pages out when I was done with them.

Haven’t used them in years, and don’t see myself doing so any time soon.