In feature, Ink Review

Ink Review: Kaweco Midnight Blue

Author AnaPosted on 9 Comments

Kaweco Midnight Blue ink

Kaweco Midnight Blue is one of the blue-blackiest blue-blacks I’ve ever used. At first glance, it appears to be nothing special since its a dark blue black with little-to-no pizazz. But on second glance, this is a workhorse ink. Its not the hot, new color or the “in” ink for 2015. Its a classic. It’s trend proof. Its a beautiful alternative to black ink or a plain blue. Its deep, dark and true to its purpose.

Even on Rhodia paper, Midnight Blue dries pretty quickly. The longer I used it, the more I warmed to this ink. Its like a good comfortable cardigan. It might not be the flashiest thing in your ink closet but I suspect you’ll find yourself coming back to it again and again because it works well and in lots of situations.

Kaweco Midnight Blue Ink Comparison

I used to think that Lamy Blue-Black was my go-to blue black but when I see it side-by-side with Kaweco Midnight Blue, I have to say I prefer the bluer hue of the Midnight Blue ink over Lamy’s more violet undertones.

Kaweco Blue Black is quickly moving into my favorite blue-black and, with its reasonable price (approx. $17.50 for a 30ml bottle), it might just stay there.

My only gripe is the funky label wrap on the bottle. No matter how many ways I try to remove the wrap sticker, I end up with unsightly label residue or weird bits. I keep ink bottles for a long time and I like to keep my favorites on display but the unslightly label shards mean the Kaweco inks are going to be kept out of sight until I find a good method for removing the labels. Which is kind of sad because I like the shape of the Kaweco bottles a good deal.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Kaweco for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

Well-Appointed Desks Must Have Music

Author AnaPosted on

This morning NPR announced the winner of the Tiny Desk Concert Contest based on their successful series of performances hosted at the desk of NPR All Song’s Considered host Bob Boilen.For the contest, musicians were asked to submit a video performing a song in front of a desk. Entries included:

desks dragged into nature, onto hilltops, into and around oceans, through offices and kitchens, classrooms and science labs.

What makes a desk a great workspace? Music. And how better to celebrate that than with a few Tiny Desk Concert performances including the winner of the Tiny Desk Concert Contest, Fantastic Negrito.

You may now dance at your desk.

In Link Love

Link Love: Inky Dinky Doo

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments

rp_link-ana11.jpgFountain Pens:

Pens:

Inks:

Pencils:

Paper & Notebooks:

Kickstarter Projects:

Planning:

Other Interesting Stuff:

In Paper Review

Review: Maruman Word Cards

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments

Maruman Word Cards

It took me almost a year to fill up my first Word Cards ring with ink swatches. It was a Kyokuto brand Word Cards ring I purchased in San Francisco from Maido for about $3. I liked the Kyokuto cards well enough that I wanted to buy a new ring but could not find them available online anywhere. As a result, I decided to try out the Maruman Word Cards. The Maruman cards are a little larger than 4″x2″ so they are visibly larger in size than the Kyokuto cards and a bit pricier ($4.45) for 100 cards. They do have pleasing rounded corners and a toothier stock so the increase in price does not seem wholly unreasonable.

Word Cards

Maruman Word Cards

At first, I was worried that the Maruman cards were not going to be white enough to give a clear representation of the ink colors but it turned out not to be the case. The Maruman cards are a touch softer white than the Kyokuto cards but not so much as to alter the ink colors.

Maruman Word Cards comparison

The tooth of the paper definitely gives the ink someplace to settle into and potentially show off any tonal variations in the inks which I quite like. The larger sized cards give me more room for both swabs and potentially a little writing sample when the inks get filled into pens.

And the biggest plus for the Maruman Word Cards is that they have continued to be available on JetPens for several years so I should not have to change or upgrade my ink cataloging system again anytime soon.

In feature

All the Pencil-Related Things

Author AnaPosted on 6 Comments

Sometimes, the stars align and my in-box is full of tips related to one specific topic. This week, it seemed to be all things pencIl-related. So, I thought I’d share my finds.

marshmallow pencil

This darling little pencil twig topped with a big pink eraser “mashmallow”. Perfect for fireside doodles. $13.99 from Animi Causa.

pencil socks yarn kit by Yarn Enabler

Then I found this beautiful hand dyed yarn from Yarn Enabler on Etsy that will stripe as you knit to make these awesome pencil socks. Yellow pencil stitch markers are also available as part of the kit. Yarn kit with stitch markers are $30.69US.

pencil socks yarn kit by Yarn Enabler

Little Red Riding Children's book

And my last pencil-related find this week is a darling little children’s book called Little Red Writing by Joan Holub and illustrated by Melissa Sweet about “a brave, little red pencil finds her way through the many perils of writing a story, faces a ravenous pencil sharpener (the Wolf 3000).” $12.75 on Amazon.

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Kaweco Palm Green

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

Kaweco Palm Green ink

Kaweco Palm Green is a vivid, “true green” ink. What is really unique about this green is that it has a reddish halo around the edges of the letters as the ink dries. This effect might not appeal to everyone but I think it gives this color a lot of dimension and interesting shading. The shading is more noticeable on the swab (that’s not a camera halo!) pictured below.

Kaweco Palm Green ink comparison

When compared with some of the other green inks in my stash, it definitely fills a gap. Palm Green is darker green than the Private Reserve Spearmint and more true green than the Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine. While the Diamine Ultra Green and PR Spearmint seem similar to the Kaweco Palm Green, they do not have the wonderful red halo.

I’m quite pleased with the color of the Kaweco Palm Green and look forward to using it regularly.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Kaweco for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable um, Saturday: Love is in the Air

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments

FF-LoveisintheAir

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and what a wonderful excuse to buy a new pen, preferably in red. Or share your love of pens with someone you love?

  • Midori D-Clips Double Heart 3rd Edition £5.99 (via The Journal Shop)
  • Lamy Studio Fountain Pen in Wild Rubin $79.20 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Kaweco Art Sport in Rosit $81 (via Pen Chalet)
  • Operation Heartbreak by Duff Cooper £12 (via Persephone Books)
  • Love Conquers All Letterpress Card $4 (via Hammerpress)
  • Fisher Space Pen in Red Cherry $23 (via Jet Pens)
  • Noodler’s Widow Maker Red Ink $12.50 (via Goulet Pens)
  • Gin & Tonic Valentine’s Day Card $5.95 (via Kate’s Paperie)
  • Fabio Ricci Lepidus Medium Hardcover Notebook in Red $11.21 (via Pencils.com)
  • Caran d’Ache Totally Swiss Ballpoint Pen $23.75 (via Pencils.com)
  • Pentel Ain Clic Knock Triangular Eraser with Clip in Metallic Red $2.50 (via Jet Pens)
  • Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag $99 (via Timbuk2)
  • J. Herbin Fountain Pen Ink in Heart-Shaped Bottle in Rouge Opéra $22.50 (via Jet Pens)
  • Uni NanoDia Red Lead Pencil Pack of 2 $3.30 (via Jet Pens)
  • Rifle Paper Co Happy Valentine’s Day Heart Card $6.24 (via Notemaker)
  • Pilot Capless Decimo Red Fountain Pen 18K Gold Nib $247.50 (via Jet Pens)