Dear Inky - Inky T O D - Topic O' Day

[amberleadavis]

Many of us are old enough to remember the Dear Abby column in the local paper. For those of you who are too young to have read Dear Abby or for those of you who have never seen a print newspaper.... A person could write in to Dear Abby seeking advice and Dear Abby would try and give a thoughtful and meaningful answer. The responses were kind and helpful. Sometimes the letters or answers were really funny and other times poignant. Since this whole community is kind of a Dear Abby about fountain pens, and this forum is really about inks, the entire forum is really a Dear Inky request. This thread then will be dedicated to absolutely silly questions.

[inkstainedruth]

We didn't have Dear Abby in our local paper growing up -- we had Ann Landers (her sister), instead.

Of course now you've made me think of this (and I'll be earworming it for the next three days if I'm not careful... and have a hearty dose of acid rock to combat it):

 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ParkerDuofold]

Dear Amber, (Abbey),

 

I'm writing today because I'm sad and forlorn over Monteverde inks. I've tried their Malibu Blue and Brown Sugar and think they are both great inks, but I never see too much said about them. Why are Monteverde inks so underrated?

 

Signed,

 

Sad, sorry, bewildered and generally confused,

 

Anthony

 

PS: I remember both Ann Landers and Abbey as a kid, (we moved around a lot, so I'm familiar with both); my mom always read them w/o fail.

[amberleadavis]

Dear Sad, Sorry Bewildered and Generally Confused,

 

While I have tried several Monteverde inks, I have not tried Malibu Blue or Brown Sugar so I cannot comment. I can comment on my other experiences with Monteverde inks. I too found them to be generally nice inks. However, for me, they were not super saturated and insanely wet. I think you will find that right now, a vocal group of FPNers are really enjoying wet inks that sheen (Yama Dori) - inks that shade (Apache Sunset) - inks that change color (KWZI IG Blue) or inks with insane saturation (Sargasso Sea). Since none of the Monteverde inks I've tried are sheeners, shaders or supersaturated, they don't get much screen time. I think we forget that good solid performing inks are important especially if we want to encourage others to join our flock.

 

Sincerely, Inky

 

PS - Thank you for being my first response. I hope others will also respond. I went and read and I guess I should have also included twin sister Ann Landers.

[LizEF]

Dear Inky,

 

Another pen just ran out of ink this morning, while writing a letter, while away from my ink supply (I know, short-sighted inking on my part). I had to revert to a rollerball! So my day already got off to a tragic start. Now, I'm trying to figure out what to ink next and I just can't decide. You see, a very nice FPNer graciously sent me 15! ink samples, all colors I've never tried before. I've only inked one so far, and now that a pen has gone dry, I need to try another. But the combinational options are staggering:

 

Pens:

1. TWSBI Eco EF (2)
2. Pilot Metro F
3. Pilot Kakuno F
4. Pilot Penmaship EF (4)
5. Pilot Falcon SEF
6. Waterman Kulture F
7. Jinhao x750 w/ Nemosine EF
8. Nemosine Singularity 0.6 mm stub (3)
9. Lamy Al-Star EF (the one that went dry)
10. Custom-turned kit pen w/ Knox EF (but we don't want this one - it's only good for looks)
11. Waterman Laureat (but it's already inked)

Ink sample:

1. Iroshizuku Kiri-same
2. Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun
3. Iroshizuku Asa-gao
4. Iroshizuku Yama-budo
5. Sailor Nioi-sumire
6. Akkerman Oranje Boven
7. J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune
8. Noodler's Dumas Tulipe Noir
9. Noodler's Shah's Rose
10. Noodler's FPN Van Gogh Starry Night Blue
11. Visconti Blue
12. Montblanc Royal Blue
13. Montblank Jonathan Swift Seaweed Green
14. R&K Solferino
15. R&K Blau-Schwarz (we don't want this one, it's already in a pen)

If I wanted to ink them all up, that's like 98,526,125,335,693,359,375 possible combinations (or maybe 48,048, depending on whose formula you believe). Thankfully, I only want to pick one ink and one pen type, and I've ruled some out, so that's 1 of 126 choices, but still, it's Saturday, and I just can't handle the stress of choosing! My head is about to explode! What should I do?

 

~Overwhelmed by Orders of Magnitude!

[amberleadavis]

Dear Overwhelmed,

 

Take a breath. You have great inks and great pens.

 

Step one: Put Pen #10 in a drawer. Later you will either order a different nib OR gift the pen.

 

Normally, I'd refer you to my friend's elaborate rules: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/245296-pen-and-ink-filling-rules-how-do-you-choose-ink-pen-combinations/ and I'd ask you a series of questions like which pen is your favorite? How often do you use orange inks? Have you already sent off your Christmas cards? Since you are on a time crunch and feeling overwhelmed, I'm going to give you a list based on assumptions and let's see how we do.

 

 

TWSBI Eco EF (2)

• Since Ecos have HUGE capacity and I don't want you to get bored. I'm going to suggest that you fill these two pens with the inks you like the best. Since I don't know what inks those would be, I'm going to suggest non-staining inks that are different.
• So, let's go with Iroshizuku Asa Gao in one of the pens. It's a great performing ink that you can use anywhere, but it's still cheerful and it won't stain a TWSBI.
• In the second pen, I'd suggest a cheerful or bright holiday color. I don't see a lot of traditional reds or greens in your line up. Again, this is a pen with a huge ink capacity. So, I'm going to suggest Seaweed Green. It'll look great in that pen and if you need months to finish off the fill, you won't be bored.

Pilot Metro F

• This is a great pen and quite serious, let's go with Kiri Same.

Pilot Kakuno F

• This is another great nib, but it's not serious. So, let's go with Solferino.

Pilot Penmaship EF (4)

• Now, here is where we use our over the top colors: Oranje Boven, Yama Budo, Nioi-sumire
• And to give us nice contrast for our doodles: Fuyu-syogun.

Pilot Falcon SEF

• Another serious pen, let's go with Poussiere de Lune because it is stealthy, it looks serious and almost black.

Waterman Kulture F

• Tulipe Noir .. since we are being cultured.

Jinhao x750 w/ Nemosine EF

• Let's make them blue. Visconti Blue, Starry Night and Royal Blue

Nemosine Singularity 0.6 mm stub (3)

• Since these are great for showing off shading, Poussiere de Lune, Fuyu-syogun and R&K Blau-Schwarz (since we are reusing inks).

Lamy Al-Star EF (the one that went dry)

• Whatever ink you had in it so that you can finish the letter and not have to clean the pen.

Custom-turned kit pen w/ Knox EF (but we don't want this one - it's only good for looks)

• See above.

Waterman Laureat (but it's already inked)

• Okay

I hope this helps.

[LizEF]

Wow! Just wow! I'm awed by your decision-making abilities! What a relief to have such an experienced inky-guru to turn to. I feel so much better now. Here I go, a-inking!

 

ETA: PS: Your ability to recognize the character of the pen and tie it to an ink with similar character is really impressive. I hope one day I can remember inks that well!

Edited December 4, 2016 by LizEF

[LizEF]

My setup isn't good for accurate color representation, but...

[Runnin_Ute]

We didn't have Dear Abby in our local paper growing up -- we had Ann Landers (her sister), instead.

Of course now you've made me think of this (and I'll be earworming it for the next three days if I'm not careful... and have a hearty dose of acid rock to combat it):

 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Here one of the local papers ran Dear Abby, the other Ann Landers....

[Runnin_Ute]

Dear Inky,

 

Santa brought (early) a Platinum 3776 Century Bourgogne (B of course) to me for Christmas. Right now I have that wonderful Blackstone Red Cashmere ink in it. I want to get a new bottle of ink to go with it. Something I don't have. It doesn't have to be matching, in fact I rarely match ink to pen body color. But I hadn't used this ink in a while, so it seemed like a good idea.

 

Some of the inks I do have:

Black - Noodler's, Black Cashmere

Blue Black - Pelikan 4001, Diamine, 54th Massachusetts, Sydney Harbour Blue

Turquoise-Diamine Steel Blue, KWZI IG Turquoise

Blue- Serenity Blue, Barrier Reef Blue, Shocking Blue, Blue Eel

Purple-Voorhout Violet, Sterling Violet (~8-10 ml)

Red-Pomegranate, Red Cashmere, Uluru Red, Classic Red

Green - Diamine Sherwood Green, Green Cashmere, Daintree Green

Orange- Apache Sunset

 

I want something different that will work not only with this gorgeous new pen, but with many of my others. I like inks of all different types. Shaders, sheeners, saturated. I have a few bulletproof or Iron gall inks, but it isn't a requirement. The Akkerman inks (Shocking Blue, Voorhout Violet) were a PIF I got some time ago - 2 15 ml Nalgene bottles of each. Probably have about half that of each.

 

Not sure what color family to get, let alone what ink. Any suggestions?

 

Dizzy

[dcwaites]

Dear Inky,

I find that I am obsessed with the colour Blue. Not just any Blue, but The Perfect Blue (TPB™). It has to be that Blue that is put down using Parker Penman Sapphire with a pen that has just the Perfect Wetness on paper with the Perfect Absorption so that one gets the Perfect Hue with the Perfect Degree of Shading.

 

No other colour is acceptable. If there is the slightest hint of purple or lean towards teal, my brain goes into such a tizz that a cup of tea and a good lie down may be necessary.

 

Is there any help for me?

 

Yours in obsession,

D

 

 

PS. Here in Aus we have a phenomenon called a "Dorothy Dixer".

Note the paragraph under History.

[dcwaites]

Dear Inky,

 

Santa brought (early) a Platinum 3776 Century Bourgogne (B of course) to me for Christmas. Right now I have that wonderful Blackstone Red Cashmere ink in it. I want to get a new bottle of ink to go with it. Something I don't have. It doesn't have to be matching, in fact I rarely match ink to pen body color. But I hadn't used this ink in a while, so it seemed like a good idea.

 

Some of the inks I do have:

Black - Noodler's, Black Cashmere

Blue Black - Pelikan 4001, Diamine, 54th Massachusetts, Sydney Harbour Blue

Turquoise-Diamine Steel Blue, KWZI IG Turquoise

Blue- Serenity Blue, Barrier Reef Blue, Shocking Blue, Blue Eel

Purple-Voorhout Violet, Sterling Violet (~8-10 ml)

Red-Pomegranate, Red Cashmere, Uluru Red, Classic Red

Green - Diamine Sherwood Green, Green Cashmere, Daintree Green

Orange- Apache Sunset

 

I want something different that will work not only with this gorgeous new pen, but with many of my others. I like inks of all different types. Shaders, sheeners, saturated. I have a few bulletproof or Iron gall inks, but it isn't a requirement. The Akkerman inks (Shocking Blue, Voorhout Violet) were a PIF I got some time ago - 2 15 ml Nalgene bottles of each. Probably have about half that of each.

 

Not sure what color family to get, let alone what ink. Any suggestions?

 

Dizzy

 

I know that you don't have any there, but I have found that my Platinum 3776 Century Bourgogne (with Medium Nib) is the Perfect Pen for Dr Ph Martin's Ocean Edge Blue. The slip'n'seal cap stops the ink from drying out in the nib.

 

I would go for one of the Blackstone inks, Sydney Harbour Blue or Barrier Reef Blue, depending on your mood. I would think that the B nib would bring out the intensity and shading of these two inks. Also the Daintree Green or Uluru Red, which might be suitable for Christmas.

[OCArt]

Dear Inky,

I just watched a documentary about DaVinci and his wonderful red chalk drawings. Unfortunately I can no longer find a bottle of MB DaVinci red chalk ink. I searched through the recipe section of FPN and found one recipe for DaVinci red chalk but it called for several unusual Sailor inks.

 

I have a bottle of Diamine Terracotta ink-- any ideas what I should add to make it more like MB red chalk??? Or suggestions for other substitutions for MB Red Chalk.

 

Signed: Waiting to draw parachutes and bird wings

Edited December 4, 2016 by OCArt

[Chrissy]

Dear Inky,

I just watched a documentary about DaVinci and his wonderful red chalk drawings. Unfortunately I can no longer find a bottle of MB DaVinci red chalk ink. I searched through the recipe section of FPN and found one recipe for DaVinci red chalk but it called for several unusual Sailor inks.

 

I have a bottle of Diamine Terracotta ink-- any ideas what I should add to make it more like MB red chalk??? Or suggestions for other substitutions for MB Red Chalk.

 

Signed: Waiting to draw parachutes and bird wings

 

There are currently some very expensive bottles of Mb Red Chalk on eBay.uk, at prices that I wouldn't pay.

 

I've chroma tested Red Chalk and Carlo Collodi and the only difference is that Red Chalk contains a little more red. So if CC is easier to find, and is less expensive, then that may be the way to go.

 

Alternatively, I've read on here that Monteverde Red Velvet is a similar coloured ink to Red Chalk, but I haven't tried it myself, so I can't comment on whether it is or not.

[migo984]

Dear Inky,

I just watched a documentary about DaVinci and his wonderful red chalk drawings. Unfortunately I can no longer find a bottle of MB DaVinci red chalk ink. I searched through the recipe section of FPN and found one recipe for DaVinci red chalk but it called for several unusual Sailor inks.

 

I have a bottle of Diamine Terracotta ink-- any ideas what I should add to make it more like MB red chalk??? Or suggestions for other substitutions for MB Red Chalk.

 

Signed: Waiting to draw parachutes and bird wings

Dear Waiting to draw parachutes & bird wings,

 

I'm replying on behalf of Inky, as s/he's busy wrapping up presents of bottles of inks to deliver to all the good little FPNers later this month.

 

Here's my post, showing Mb Red Chalk alongside the new, readily available & much much cheaper Monteverde Red Velvet. As I said in the post they aren't identical, but are very close.

I actually prefer the MV Red Velvet, as Leonardo is a bit too dry for me.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/278558-battle-of-the-inks-doppelgaenger-edition/?p=3725275

 

I hope this helps your sketching & inventing aspirations.

 

Yours

 

Inky's Little Helper

Edited December 4, 2016 by migo984

[Arkanabar]

Dear Inky,

 

I just got through watching the Deadpool movie for the 351st time, and found it every bit as hysterically funny as the first. But I have to wonder, if ol' Wade were to swap his swords for a pair of Franklin-Christoph Model 03 Iterums in black and maroon with 0.6mm Masumaya cursive-italic nibs (pens being mightier, and all that), and use those exclusively for all his witticisms and expressions of fourth-wall awareness, what are the top five colors of ink he would fill them with, by preference?

[ParkerDuofold]

Dear Sad, Sorry Bewildered and Generally Confused,

 

While I have tried several Monteverde inks, I have not tried Malibu Blue or Brown Sugar so I cannot comment. I can comment on my other experiences with Monteverde inks. I too found them to be generally nice inks. However, for me, they were not super saturated and insanely wet. I think you will find that right now, a vocal group of FPNers are really enjoying wet inks that sheen (Yama Dori) - inks that shade (Apache Sunset) - inks that change color (KWZI IG Blue) or inks with insane saturation (Sargasso Sea). Since none of the Monteverde inks I've tried are sheeners, shaders or supersaturated, they don't get much screen time. I think we forget that good solid performing inks are important especially if we want to encourage others to join our flock.

 

Sincerely, Inky

 

PS - Thank you for being my first response. I hope others will also respond. I went and read and I guess I should have also included twin sister Ann Landers.

Dear Amber-Abbey,

 

Thank you for the thoughtful response. Yes, it is good that we have these more dynamic choices b/c I think it brings more people "into the fold" and as a relatively new fp user myself, I have to admit I find the choices we have staggeringly delightful.

 

I just don't want us to forget all the "Old Reliables" that stayed the course and paved the way for all the "New Dynamics." Am i nuts or does this make sense? O.o

 

Signed,

 

Not nearly so Sad, Sorry and Generally Confused as I was before,

 

Thanks Dear Amber-Abbey.

Edited December 5, 2016 by ParkerDuofold

[migo984]

Dear Sad, Sorry Bewildered and Generally Confused,

 

While I have tried several Monteverde inks, I have not tried Malibu Blue or Brown Sugar so I cannot comment. I can comment on my other experiences with Monteverde inks. I too found them to be generally nice inks. However, for me, they were not super saturated and insanely wet. I think you will find that right now, a vocal group of FPNers are really enjoying wet inks that sheen (Yama Dori) - inks that shade (Apache Sunset) - inks that change color (KWZI IG Blue) or inks with insane saturation (Sargasso Sea). Since none of the Monteverde inks I've tried are sheeners, shaders or supersaturated, they don't get much screen time. I think we forget that good solid performing inks are important especially if we want to encourage others to join our flock.

 

Sincerely, Inky

 

PS - Thank you for being my first response. I hope others will also respond. I went and read and I guess I should have also included twin sister Ann Landers.

Dear Inky,

 

I think the new range of Monteverde inks, which includes Malibu Blue & Brown Sugar, is very different from the previous inks. I've tried several and almost all are saturated and feel smooth from the nib. They are also not too wet. For me, the bright Horizon Blue is a knock-out. Fabulous colour.

 

Only disappointment is that the bottles of Canyon Rust and Red Velvet that I bought are pretty much indistinguishable from each other.

[D B Holtz]

LizEF -

 

"If I wanted to ink them all up, that's like 98,526,125,335,693,359,375 possible combinations (or maybe 48,048, depending on whose formula you believe). "

 

If I read your list correctly, you have 9 pens to fill and 14 available inks. So you have 14 choices for the first pen, 13 choices for the second, 12 for the third, and so forth. The calculation then is:

 

14x13x12x11x10x9x8x7x6 = 726,485,760 different combinations. Still staggering--it was a good idea to ask Dear Inky for help.

 

DB

[LizEF]

LizEF -

 

"If I wanted to ink them all up, that's like 98,526,125,335,693,359,375 possible combinations (or maybe 48,048, depending on whose formula you believe). "

 

If I read your list correctly, you have 9 pens to fill and 14 available inks. So you have 14 choices for the first pen, 13 choices for the second, 12 for the third, and so forth. The calculation then is:

 

14x13x12x11x10x9x8x7x6 = 726,485,760 different combinations. Still staggering--it was a good idea to ask Dear Inky for help.

 

DB

 

Right? 40,048 or .7 billion or whatever, with or without duplicates, it's just paralyzing to consider. Some days, it's hard enough just to decide which pen to pick.