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Tag: Tags and Challenges

My 10 Most-Used Inks

Posted in Ink

The other day, I was going through my inks, and I couldn’t help but wonder what inks I use most. So, me being me, I dug into my data, and pulled out my 10 most-used inks. To figure out which they were, I looked for which inks have been used in my last four notebooks (since I started tracking inks). Only 6 inks were used in all 4 notebooks. The remaining 4 were inks that I used for both regular rotation in 3 notebooks and had in always inked pens.

Honestly, I was rather surprised by the results, as these aren’t my favorite inks. At least, not the inks I think of when asked about favorites. Maybe I’ll cover those in another post.

Note: This list is in alphabetical order. I scanned my personal ink swabs from my ink notebook. I’ve done my best to make the inks look true-to-life, but I can’t account for everyone’s screen settings, only mine.

The Boujee Pen Tag

Posted in Fountain Pens

DISCLAIMER UPDATE (6/24/22): TWSBI and Narwhal have released a joint statement which I cover in my most recent TWSBIgate post. While not completely satisfied with TWSBI’s response to the situation, I no longer feel the need to dissuade people from purchasing their products.

DISCLAIMER (5/1/22): Since writing this post, TWSBI has been involved in some unsavory actions, and I am currently boycotting them. For more information, refer to the #twsbigate tag page.

Like my previous tags posts, I’m adapting this from a YouTube video. This one comes from a Theresa is Dead video, in which she credits agapelovegirl as the originator of the idea. The general idea is that, based on your answers, you decide if you’re boujee.

For those unfamiliar with the term, Urban Dictionary defines boujee as “An abbreviation of the French “bourgeois.” A critical term used to describe people, things, and places that are definitively high-class.”

1. Would you rather buy one expensive/luxury item, or several items with the same amount of money?

It depends. Sometimes the more expensive pen is worth it, but sometimes the less expensive pens are. For example, I would take a Pilot/Namiki Yukari Urushi pen over 21 TWSBI 580 series pens. But I would take 4 Pilot Custom 74s over a Pineider $700(ish) pen.

2. When it comes to pens, do you believe you “get what you pay for?”

Again, it depends. Sometimes, yes. But Goulet Pens has a YouTube video about diminishing returns. Sometimes you pay more for the art of the design. But sometimes a pen is just, plain overpriced. And, other times, a pen performs far outside its price range. I’m looking at you TWSBI 580s and Pilot Custom 74.

3. What’s the most expensive pen you’ve bought with your own money?

Delights from my Dislikes

Posted in Fountain Pens

As promised, I’m back with delights from my disliked pen brands. Once again, this is based on a video from Angelica Nyqvist.

Disclaimer: I’m calling this “dislike[d]” brands, but that’s really for the alliteration. I don’t necessarily dislike the brands, it’s more that their pens don’t tend to work for me.

Montegrappa

I’ve had hard starting issues with most of my Montegrappa pens. It’s the reason why I’ve sold the ones that I have. But, my Extra 1930 Shiny Lines/Dove is a true delight. The nib is wet. The material is stunning. The nib and cap band are beautiful. The only thing I would change is the ink capacity, as I keep writing it dry.

Montegrappa Shiny Lines/Dove

Fails from my Favorites

Posted in Fountain Pens

DISCLAIMER UPDATE (6/24/22): TWSBI and Narwhal have released a joint statement which I cover in my most recent TWSBIgate post. While not completely satisfied with TWSBI’s response to the situation, I no longer feel the need to dissuade people from purchasing their products.

DISCLAIMER (5/1/22): Since writing this post, TWSBI has been involved in some unsavory actions, and I am currently boycotting them. For more information, refer to the #twsbigate tag page.

I’m not sure where it originated, but the other day I watched a video from Angelica Nyqvist about fails from her favorite makeup brands. Seeing as I had so much fun with adapting the makeup tag to pens, I figured I could do the same thing with this. So, without further ado, here are some fails (for me) from some of my favorite pen brands.

Disclaimer: I’m calling this “fails,” but that refers to failing to satisfy my pen wants & needs. These aren’t bad pens, I just don’t like them. Also, the alliteration is fun.

Capsule Pen Collection

Posted in Fountain Pens

DISCLAIMER UPDATE (6/24/22): TWSBI and Narwhal have released a joint statement which I cover in my most recent TWSBIgate post. While not completely satisfied with TWSBI’s response to the situation, I no longer feel the need to dissuade people from purchasing their products.

DISCLAIMER (5/1/22): Since writing this post, TWSBI has been involved in some unsavory actions, and I am currently boycotting them. For more information, refer to the #twsbigate tag page.

Ink Journal’s September 10th Flex Nib Friday issue included a link to ukfountainpens.com‘s article The Three Pen Collection for £1,000. The idea was based on a series of posts on the watch blog Worn & Wound called the three watch collection for $5,000. UK Fountain Pens adapted the idea to pens, dropped the budget to $1,000 because “watches are much more expensive than pens” — *chortle* some watches are much more expensive than some pens — and limited picks to pens you can go out and buy today.

It’s an easy enough premise. My problem, however, is that the pens I’d choose don’t work out well with the budget provided. So, I gave it some thought and decided to curate two collections, one with the adjusted $1,000 budget and one with the original $5,000 budget. As a note, I did not include taxes when figuring out my choices.

The Fountain Pens Tag

Posted in Fountain Pens, and Non-Fountain Pens

The other day, I watched a video on Theresa is Dead’s YouTube channel covering The Eyeshadow Palette Tag. It was an old video, from a year ago, and based on an idea from Allie Glines and Samantha March. However, it occurred to me that I could have fun with it — with some modifications — for fountain pens.

Some of these questions were hard for me to answer, but, let’s give it a try.

1. What is your newest fountain pen?

At the time of writing (9/5/21) my newest pen is the Retro 51 Wings of the Monarch fountain pen.

Retro 51 Wings of the Monarch

I decided not to get the rollerball version last year, and regretted it. So, when a fountain pen version was released a few days ago, I jumped on it. No regrets here. It’s stunning, and I already did a Makeup Monday look with it.

Unpopular Fountain Pen Opinions

Posted in Fountain Pens, and Paper

Alright, I’ve got a potentially (probably) divisive post for you today. I’m sharing opinions I have that seem to be unpopular based on what I’ve seen and heard in fountain pen groups and gatherings. Let’s jump in, shall we? I’ll start slow, leaving the doozies until the end.

“Rainbow”/”Iridescent” Finish

It’s been on a lot of pens in the past couple of years, and I think it’s ugly and overpriced. From Visconti’s Rainbow Watermark to TWSBI’s Vac 700r Iris and Conklin’s Duragraph Rainbow, pens at all price points are using the colorful finish.

I don’t know what to call it. It’s not a proper rainbow — the colors aren’t in order and there isn’t a good red or purple. It’s not iridescent — the colors don’t change, or even appear to change, at different angles. Regardless, I bought a seven piece cutlery set with the same finish about 3 years ago for $11 thinking it would be super cool and ended up woefully disappointed. I definitely won’t be investing in a pen with it.

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