This was kind of the ink that started it all for me. Before this ink I just focused on black inks that dried really fast.

Then I got this one, and realized that inks that dried fast but not very fast still worked for me. And a few months later I had a handful of ink bottles and used the next 5 years not buying that much ink and using it all.

This is the black Iroshizuku ink.

I loved it so much. The bottl was so cool, and the ink looked so dark and black compared to the black inks I’ve used. Another thing I fell in love with was how much better the writing experience was.

I’m not sure what the correct wording for this is, but some inks feel more lubricated than others. It feels very smooth to write with, while others feel dryer. It is kind of like it feels wetter.

I still have a bottle of this ink. My second one. Black isn’t something I use a lot, but sometimes I do.

I have tired getting into index cards multiple times over the years, and they just aren’t my kind of thing. It all just ends up in a place where they are a thing that is better served by some kind of a notebook.

The ones Nock.co used to make was really awesome though. The paper quality was amazing, and a lot of interesting formats.

I think they are the only ones I have tried out of many that actually worked well with fountain pens.

Hopefully someone else will pick up where Brad left things off and start making and innovating in Index Cards.

I used a very long time to pick this ink.

It all started when I decided I wanted a red ink. Then I started to look at Iroshizuku inks, and didn’t find anything; or I can’t remember if I didnt find anything at all, anything that I liked in Stock at Tudos or anything i liked in general.

So I started to look at Rober Oster inks. And this lead to this insane cross referencing all the ink they had in stock versus the PDF color chart that Robert Oster has on their site. And I decided on Direct Sun.

I think it is a good color, but in retrospect I wish I had gone with a lighter and more vibrant color.

Other than that a great ink. I like the Robert Oster inks a lot. They are almost as good as Iroshizuku in terms of writing experience with a lot more color options.

If you’re into good paper, you are most likely familiar with either Rhodia or Leuchtturm1917; most likely both.

I use the both of them.

Rhodia has the “better” paper, but I like the Leuchtturm1917 paper better. The difference is that the Rhodia paper is coated and deal better with some inks / ink amounts. But it also means it dries slower. That is the reason I prefer Leuchtturm1917.

But I do prefer Rhodia in other ways. Especially in how they have more different kinds of notebooks that Leuchtturm1917 has. Like their inexpensive dot pads. And not just the expensive hardcover A5 notebooks.

Another review of a ink I can’t stand.

This is the standard blue ink you most likely have seen if you have ever bought a Pilot pen.

I hate this color.

It looks like if you took a good blue, and watered it out.

As I started to move more into finer fountain pen nibs I decided to get some new nibs for the two pens I have where it is easy to change nibs: the Ystudio brass pen & my FC Pocket 66.

So I ordered two EF nibs, one #5 and one #6.

I like both of them, the one in #5 feels more scratchy and has a finer line than the #6. The differences are very minor though. And I’m very happy with both of them.

The regular Pilot black used to be my only ink during all of the time I used cartridges.

It isn’t the darkest of blacks, but dark enough for you to not think of it. And it isn’t the fastest drying ink, but fast enough so you don’t think about it.

I was very happy with it back then, not sure if I would be today. And I probably wouldn’t want a full bottle of it. But for cartdirge ink it was really good

I have a Field Notes cover from Bellroy. It is awesome, and I’ve had it for years.

I haven’t used it a lot since COVID started, but I suspect it will get more use as things get back to normal.

It is leather, but it doesn’t look like the kind of “grandad leather” a lot of leather covers look. Other than that it looks very clean and simple, it fits a single field notes, it has some magnets to help it stay shut. You can fit a small pen or pencil in the cover.

And if you want to hack it, it is possible to fit more notebooks than the one. I have used it with three notebooks by some clever paperclip hacking.

Up until now I have mostly been into broad nibs. Most of it have been about how much I enjoy the feeling of sliding a slippery nib acorss the page and seeing a thick line of ink there.

But I Have recently realized how much more readable and nicer my writing looks with a finer nib.

It all started when I put the stock nib back in my Ystudio, and then I ordered a EF TWSBI Eco and two EF nibs from FC for my YStudio and FC Pocket 66.

Not sure where this will lead me.

For sure a interesting development.