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Actually it is the first posts of this account.(Although I collected pen for long time, I never resgister on FPN before) I use an advanced 3d scanner and then draw its stl file for 3d printing. Actually it match Kaweco Sport Pen. Then I asked for a modern industrial 3d printed machine to build it. The material is CoCrMo Stellite alloy. However, I didn't have good tools to polish so it looks very rough. You can download STL file here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=171o32j0lQCWl4yjNgbrzcuxQHqS-f75K Suggestion: Use metal printing at first. I try PA66, PA12 before but the strength is not enough. Polishing is the most important process, without good polishment it may hurt Kaweco Pen Body

I just recovered from influenza but I am so excited to tell you a story that I also just told my friends on Facebook. Around 15 years ago, Japanese Shippo artist 岡垣幸得 (Okagaki Yukie) presented me 2 big frames (1 of them is in second picture).They are handmade with Japanese Cloisonne or 七宝焼 /shippoyaki/.These two were supposed to be displayed in Museum but she chose to give to me.At that time, I thought, how wonderful it is to have this art on a fountain pen. But honestly, it seemed impossible haha.A few years later, that idea still hang over my head so I came back and talked with artist Yukie about this idea.She said "I can make a small piece of shippoyaki, but it will be harder".I was never more excited than that. I spent many more years researching and testing how I can make a fountain pen with this precious art.I tried with ebonite and plastic and celluloid but all failed. Ebonite didn't work out with piston filler mechanism I have, plastic was not a good idea for a traditional pen and celluloid is so hard to carve.But finally there was one material that made my idea become possible, it is bakelite. It is rolled up from many layer of paper.And it works best with piston filler. But most importantly, I can carve the Shippoyaki on top of the pen for forever use. Sadly, there are not many Shippo artists nowadays. I am already old and Master Yukie is also very old now but we really want to make this art continue.I would never expect that a small idea of 15 years ago would turn out to be real now. I just want to say that if we try, there will be good result. I feel thankful that master Yukie gave me this treasure.In Japanese, Shippo is written as 七宝 which means Seven Treasures. So I call this fountain pen Seven Treasures.Do you have any other name suggestion? If you might want to read more, you can go here.https://www.wancherpen.com/pages/shippoyakiI have a giveaway of one prototype for one of those who help me fill a survey about this pen.Please help if you also care about unusual arts and fountain pen. Thank you very much again!

A couple of months ago now (in early October), I had to take one of my children (the youngest, and the only one who *really* likes fountain pens) for a specialist’s appointment in Sydney. We decided to make a day of it, to lessen the angst of being poked and prodded and hooked up to a bunch of machines, so… we just happened to wander past Dymocks in Sydney, which now has a fairly extensive pen and stationery section. In addition to the inks we chose together – and the 8-pack of colourful Ooly fountain pens my daughter asked to buy – I spotted a few Super 5 fountain pens going for half price. I didn’t need another fountain pen, I *really* didn’t, and yet… within a few minutes I’d picked out the yellow version with the B nib, and headed out the door. I’d seen these pens advertised in various online stores, though not recently, and hadn’t been tempted – but this has turned out to be a surprisingly good pen. ______________________________________________________________________ Appearance & Design The Super 5 pens on sale were brightly coloured – I had a choice between a bright red and a cheery yellowy-orange, and decided to go for the latter. The plastic is probably similar in quality to a Lamy Safari – sturdy, shiny, and fairly durable. You don’t feel like it’s going to fall apart in your fingers, or crack the first time you drop it. If you look closely, you’ll find the word “SUPER”, and a sideways “5” embossed on the barrel – but it’s not very visible. The snap cap comes off to reveal a surprisingly weighty metal grip section (coated in some kind of black ceramic?), and a proprietary steel “Super 5”-stamped nib. In shape it’s not too dissimilar from my Jinhao 992, though the grip section is somewhat longer and girthier. Very impressive packaging... The back end of the pen can be screwed off, to reveal the bottom of the cartridge or converter. I struggle to see the purpose of this – it’s just a weird / interesting feature. The black-coated metal clip stands out from the yellow body – I like the overall appearance, though it’s nothing “special”, just a lovely bright inexpensive pen. … Construction & Quality The pen is quite sturdy, fit and finish is great, the snap cap snaps on and off without issue – everything looks pretty good. I don’t know what kind of black coating has been used to coat the metal clip and grip section, but it’s not unduly slippery, and so far shows no signs of scratching or flaking away. My only complaint is that the clip is quite stiff – it could be a challenge to clip it onto a thicker-fabric shirt pocket. … Weight & Dimensions The Super 5 sits nicely in my ‘sweet spot’ for a standard pen – 139mm capped, 125mm uncapped, or 153mm posted. The grip section of the pen ranges in diameter from 9mm (closer to the nib) to 10.55 mm, with a ‘step up’ where the cap clips on, to 12mm. The pens weighs 24.8g capped, and 19.6g uncapped. The one big surprise is the weight of the grip section – being metal, it weights the pen significantly towards the front of the pen. This might be off-putting for some people, but I took it in my stride – I actually liked the substantial feel this gave to an otherwise insubstantial pen (at least in terms of weight!). … Nib & Performance The B nib is definitely a B nib – it lays down a fairly wide line. It’s fairly wet and very smooth – a pleasure to write with. This is not my hand. But this is my handwriting... A close up of the nib. … Filling System & Maintenance The Super 5 pens come with a single cartridge of their permanent blue ink – I haven’t yet tried this. I stuck a Kaweco standard international converter into the pen, and it worked just fine. I own a piston filler and vacuum filler pens with much larger capacities, but for most of my writing (especially with non-blue-or-black inks) I’m happy with the 0.5-0.8mm capacity of a cartridge converter. … Cost & Value I think I paid AU$15-20 for this pen (it was half-price) – a better than fair price for the quality. Would I pay full price for a Super 5 pen? Not sure – though they’re cheery and functional – but I’m *very* happy with the pen, given the price I paid. … Conclusion The Super 5 pens (and their accompanying inks) don’t seem to have done particularly well, at least in the American and Australian markets – but this is actually a pretty nice pen. Worth keeping an eye out for! …

I am in middle of buying a fountain pen in the near future. I am stuck deciding between 3 pens and need held narrowing down to one. The first one is a SAILOR PROFESSIONAL GEAR with a Medium Nib, the second one is a PILOT CUSTOM 823 with a Medium Nib and the last one is PLATINUM PRESIDENT with a Medium Nib. Can you please help and give some advice. I am looking for a daily writer. Also, these pen as similarly priced in my region. So price is not a deciding factor.

My appreciation for writing instruments began in college while taking a calligraphy class some 30-odd years ago. I later began a career as a draftsman (Think T-squares, triangles, rotary erasers, lead holders, pens & mechanical pencils). Over the years I've dabbled in design & sales until landing in a management position. I do travel for my company and before each trip, I research and pen stores/shows within driving distance. It is physically impossible for me to leave a pen shop without buying something.

Kemma Fountain Pens had a display at Tokyo Ginza Six today. They had a display of their sapphire nib material that was very interesting. If you like stiffer nibs you should give this a try. Their Urushi and Maki-e is top notch. If I understood the sales lady correct, their Urushi and Maki-e is on wood not ebonite. Nice bigger pen with international converter.

Hello everyone here at FPN. In the past I shared with you a thread in which I expressed my desire to obtain Montblanc 149 since for me it had always been a pretty beautiful fountain pen that from my children I longed to obtain. The price of a new MB 149 is high, so I decided to get a used one to "save a lot of money" and to my misfortune it was the opposite. I noticed one that I found here at the fountain pen network in the USD 420 classifieds and I contacted the seller and asked him if he had the pen available and he told me that it was not and he showed me another one in the private messages and he told me that It was a condition near mint, fine point and it worked amazing, so I decided to buy it and with it the beginning of the curse and misfortune. The pen came to my house and I was completely excited but when I used it, my performance had completely disappointed me, I wrote horribly dry and cut the lines in several places. So furious I decided to start the claim via paypal to get the refund, everything was going well and I just had to send it to the country of which Poland is and then paypal gave me my money. But suddenly everything got terrible against me because of the fault of the postal service of my country since they sent the pen to the United States instead of Poland and according to them they were going to solve this problem but no, they did it again and I lost the Paypal case because of him and the guy who scammed me went unpunished. So I ran out of my money and with a defective product so I resigned myself to staying with her and decided to send her to a nibmeister to fix these problems and he told me that the nib tines were too tight and that the tip was wrong made and deformed and that is why he wrote so badly. So he told me that he gave the correct shape to the tip and increased its ink flow to write wet. The pen just arrived a few days ago after his visit with the nibmeister and indeed the nib writes quite wet but my problems are not over yet, now what happens is that the fountain pen when I just recharged writes quite wet and smooth and without any failure in the strokes but ... after a while it begins to write something drier and begins to omit strokes. Before sending the pen with the nibmeister it already presented a flow that was decreasing and terrible but I attributed it more to the nib. So now the problem is the feed? The pen suffers a lot from ink starvation after a while writing, in my opinion it is quite unacceptable even my cheapest pens do not show these symptoms. Then he sold me a pen with nib and defective feed? .. what a scammer was that guy who sold it to me. I am currently devastated I have invested this pen enough money to almost reach the price of a new MB149. I don't even know what it has if the fountain pen needs a new feed and I should send it to the Montblanc service, or if I leave it in oblivion, pure frustration has brought me, the dream turned into a nightmare !! All I wanted was for my dream pen to write as well as it looks.

Hello everyone. In the past I had made a publication that was to make a decision to get my first vintage flexible fountain pen and finally I could own one of these beauties.It is a moore safety pen in black hard rubber with a very good ink capacity since this is a long but slender pen.The pen feels quite comfortable and light in my hand is a pretty beautiful pen that always impresses people when they see a retractable nib of my moore.The 14k gold nib is small but has a good flexibility as the seller told me on his website that he lists it as a nib superflex. The 14k nib is an extra fine point when used without any pressure and not a single stroke has failed me and we add that to be an extra fine nib it is quite smooth. When I write cursive with the flexibility of this nib it is quite satisfactory and does not tire me and they offer me a beautiful line variation without the need to put a lot of pressure. I also want to comment on you that the nib is something dry but without being annoying (I mean feeling scratchy or skipping strokes) and even in rhodia paper using flex it dries almost instantly without fear of accidentally stains on your sheet or In hands, it may be that the somewhat dry sensation is due to the pilot blue-black ink that I use since it has some time that the lid broke and I stuck it with adhesive tape and this may be somewhat thicker by evaporation.And what is most impressive about this great fountain pen is that it has never shown railroading when I use it in flexible mode :notworthy1:and I don't have to be dipping it in the inkwell at all times as with my dip pens. Although we cannot deny that the dip thought of what I have managed to see in the hands of a calligraphy expert they can create an extremely beautiful calligraphy. Although I personally have bad luck in finding a good combination of dip nib and ink XD and it is somewhat complicated to get ink at a good price in my country. Unfortunately I don't think I have time to improve my handwriting for an approximate six months since I find myself doing my professional practices at the university to be a lawyer. I attach my results with dip pen:FP FLEX NIB AND DIP FLEX NIBS IT IS VERY ENJOYABLEI became addicted to flex nibs!

Hello there. I'm not totally new (still inexperienced) to the fountain pen world as I have some Lamys, mostly Safaris, and a CP1, Logo. I use fountain pens since I was a kid, and I started with a Lamy. So, I decided to make my own fountain pens, this is my first try with a 3d printer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3812007 I'm here because I need info, especially suggestions about books to read (PDF, ebooks...). I need to know how a fountain pen is made, how the feed works, so that I can attempt to replicate one. Currently I'm following this blog: https://fountainpendesign.wordpress.com/ I found a lot of useful stuff in there.

Pens and Pencils . Net has the Lamy Safari Pastel Blue Fountain Pen for $20 https://www.pensandpencils.net/products/lamy-safari-se-pastel-blue-macaron-fountain-pen-medium?_pos=1&_sid=d5f923bca&_ss=r

Chinese & Asian Fountain Pen wishlist !!! Here you can put your wishlist , on that list can be added any Asian fountain pen . On this list it would be great if you guys could add some links from were you intend to buy or some pictures at least .

I spent this week making this pen for her. It has a satin black bought in bock section and a black lacquered bock #6 nib loaded with Diamine Onyx Black. She absolutely loved it, first time she had used a fountain pen since she was at school.

Waterman is launching soon a new collection "Embleme", not to similar to the old Emblem!

Recent haul from the flea bay! Italian fountain pen maker MARLEN's Silver 7 Wonders "Christ the Redeemer" fountain pen , happens to be a Limited Edition too. The seller mentioned that each design is limited to 77 pieces, although I am not sure about this information. These beautifully crafted and exquisite looking fountain pens had my attention for quite some time, but for the price. These pens are not inexpensive, or at least the website www.giardino.it/pens/marlen/index.php has these listed at 1490 Euros or 1670 US Dollars (which is in fact an "offer price" on the actual MRP of 1740 Euro or 1950 US Dollars). I very well assume that shipping would be extra, and taxes, if any. Well, the haul was at...well, let me keep that undisclosed While this piece of art will take a while to reach me after it has traveled half the world, here are the pictures from the seller. As I do not know much about Marlens and have never used them before, I will be honest - it was an impulse buy! Feel free to comment and let me know how you feel about this new acquisition of mine...

Hello FPN, This is Pranav from Mumbai, India. It too me long to get this message up in this forum, well better late than never! I really don't remember how i got into this amazing different world all together, i always wondered whenever i read about random FP Blogs how can people be so passionate and the statement that its a priceless possession for lifetime! - something that started from filling my dad's old Hero FP just to experience its charm, from what i have had been listened to him since i don't know when. Somehow after going thru articles i managed to ordered a Pilot Metropolitan in this new year and suddenly with few months time i am having a few handful of FPs from Ranga, Airmails, Lamys, Jinhaos - with a few different Pelikan, Pilot, Camlin Inks! The ink stains don't wanna come off now, I can say the same now - its got me bugged - Until Death Do Us Part! Thanks for Welcoming!

Dear Friends Kindly help in choosing one pen from below mentioned 2 fountain pens. Please note that its an appreciation award program hence I am not aware of Nib type etc. I have the option to see the pic and model name and that's all. A) CROSS AT0086-74MS Chrome Century Fountain PenB.) WATERMAN Hemisphere Deluxe Silk Black CT-Fountain Pen Kindly suggest which one I should choose. ThanksSarvesh Shekhar.

It’s nearly 3 years since I reviewed a pen that had (at that time) just arrived on the market – the Fountain Pen Revolution ‘Himalaya’ – and in that time I’ve added a few more to my collection (the number now stands at 5!). It’s one of my favourite low(er) cost fountain pens, it’s elegant looking, it writes well… The one thing I felt could be improved – and I guess I’m not the only one who relayed this to Kevin, the proprietor of FPR – was the size of the nib. As smooth as FPR’s #5.5 nibs are to write with, I just like the look of the larger #6 nibs better. So you can imagine my delight to discover that, in addition to the existing #5.5 nib version of the pen, Kevin was releasing an additional version with #6 nib. I ordered one the moment they went up on the website, and have been using it now for a couple of weeks. Because this is not a brand new design, I’ll try to keep the review a bit shorter – you can find my review of the original version of the Himalaya at https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/313017-the-himalaya-from-fountain-pen-revolution/ (and just to be clear, this version is not going away – it will continue to be produced “as long as there’s continuing demand”. [Disclaimer: though I have received free review pens from FPR in the past, this pen was purchased with my own money – in either case, the views expressed in this review are entirely my own.] ______________________________________________________________________ Appearance & Design Both versions of the Himalaya are now available in two materials (acrylic and ebonite), with multiple colour options. The acrylic versions come in 10 different colours – mine is called ‘Purple Amethyst’; while ebonite versions of the pen are currently restricted to a green/black swirl and a brown/black. Whereas the #5.5 nib version of the pen was only offered with a chrome trim (and this continues to be the case), the #6 sports a gold clip and cap band, and by default comes with a dual-tone (gold and chrome) nib. The swirled acrylic of the Purple Amethyst pen – like the other acrylics I’ve purchased in the old version – is very attractive, with a lovely ‘chatoyance’ that leave you feeling like you’re staring into the depths of the material. I like the slight tapering of the pen towards the top of the cap and the bottom of the barrel, that gives it a more ‘curved’ look – as opposed to the ramrod “straightness” of the FPR Triveni. … Construction & Quality The pen feels sturdy in the hand, is expertly turned, and has no rough patches or visible flaws. My older Himalayas are by now (up to) 3 years old, and none have shown any sign of cracking or discolouring. The clip is sturdy, and is tight enough to hold the pen firmly in a pocket, but springy enough to be flexible. The threads are smooth, making the cap (and barrel) easy to open to pull the pen apart. I have to admit there are a couple of minor ‘blemishes’ as regards the fit and finish of the pen – though for the price, these are understandable, and do little to affect my appreciation of the pen: (1) There was a slight scratch on the metal cap-band when the pen arrived; and (2) The machine marks left in the acrylic by the process of turning the pen have not been fully buffed out. It’s not really noticeable except when the pen is illuminated for photos – but in the strong sunlight (or under my Ott-lamp!) I could see lots of superficial scratching on the surface of the acrylic. [Then again, since I don’t really baby my pens, that wouldn’t have taken long for me to accomplish myself!] I feel compelled to say that I would have preferred this pen with a chrome trim – I like the look better than gold – and I’m told that a chrome version of the larger pen may eventually become available, if there’s high enough demand. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to find that in the hand the gold trim didn’t bother me – and the dual-tone (chrome-edged gold) nib looks really good. … Weight & Dimensions As with its predecessor, I’d classify the new Himalaya as a ‘Medium’ sized pen – though both the grip section and the cap have been extended to accommodate the larger nib. It’s very comfortable in the hand, and long enough to write with either posted or unposted. Lengthwise, the pen is 138mm long capped, 127mm uncapped, and extends to ~165mm when posted (as compared with measurements of 134mm, 121mm, and 152mm for the original pen). It weighs in at 16.7g (10.7g uncapped) – though I expect this would be a little heavier for the ebonite versions. The cap diameter (not including clip) is 14.5mm at its widest point, the barrel diameter sits around 12mm, while the grip section (19mm long) tapers down from 11mm diameter near the cap threads, to 9.5mm at its narrowest… before flaring out at the end to 11mm at the lip. This makes for a very comfortable writing experience – at least in my hands! … Nib & Performance This obviously is the big difference between the original Himalaya and the new version (other than the gold trim). The #6 two tone nib sits against a 6.3mm ebonite feed – both of which can be replaced. Other #6 nibs (JoWo, Bock, Jinhao etc) can easily be swapped in and out – and the ebonite feed can easily be heat set to ensure a close fit. I ordered an Ultra-Flex steel nib, and inked it up with Diamine Robert, a high sheening ink only available at Cult Pens. The slightest pressure causes the tines to split, just marginally, allowing the pen to lay down a rich line of ink – and additional pressure easily produces broader lines. FPR nibs are consistently good (with the possible exception of their 1.0mm stubs, which tend to write like an Extra Broad rather than a stub!), and their Ultra-Flex nibs (I now have 3) are amazing. … Filling System & Maintenance The new Himalaya relies on the same filling system as the old: a push-type piston filling mechanism, similar to (but smaller than) the system Nathan Tardif uses in his Noodler’s Ahab. Its capacity is (I think) around 1 mL – which will run out relatively quickly with a flex nib! – but it can be removed to convert the pen to an eyedropper, allowing for a much larger ink capacity. As I’m aware, it’s not possible to use standard international (or other) cartridges with the pen – but you *can* buy replacement filling mechanisms, if you accidentally drop the original down the sink (don’t ask me how I know this: it should be obvious…). … Cost & Value At US$32 (plus postage, plus extra if you want a B, stub, or flex nib), the #6 Himalaya is very reasonably priced – especially for an acrylic or ebonite pen. The older Himalaya still has a base price of $29, which is equally impressive. The FPR Triveni has jumped significantly in price recently – and in my view is not quite as aesthetically attractive (I own several of these too). The #6 Himalaya, for me, has now become the best pen in FPR’s range. … Conclusion I’ve been a long-time customer of FPR, and am a fan of their customer service – so it would be easy for me to be biased when it comes to their products. For mine, though, this is an excellent pen. It’s not as well “finished” as some of my more expensive pens – but for the price, I think that’s excusable. The Himalaya is attractive, fun to write with, highly serviceable… and in every other way a worthwhile buy. Thanks, Kevin, for listening to customer feedback, and making the #6 option on this pen a reality! …

Hello FPN Group, Recently I have ordered a Platinum Preppy EF 02 Fountain Pen, Made in Japan, it is a very low cost and is affordable by anyone who wants to test it at-least once. The price in INR is about 350. The nib is made up of steel and the body is plastic. The grip section, screws off and by default it comes with one cartridge. The only thing troubles is that the cartridge is more expensive, but you once the cartridge is empty you can remove it and can convert it to eye dropper by applying silicon grease. But one thing I need to say is it writes like a charm.

Hello, I always start my day with surfing my instagram feed to see new posts of fountain pens and handwriting. One type of posts which catches my eyes the most is inspirational quotes written by fountain pens. It always warm up my morning with fresh spirit. Let's share some pictures of your pens with inspirational quotes. I start with one of my favorite quote "The only way to make a friend is to be one" - Ralph W. Emerson

Hello! I am new on the fountain pen hobby. Recently I purchased from a web store called lulustar.office, on ebay, a Lamy Safari Charcoal, fine nib, for a very good price (USD 14 + shipping). However, when it arrived, the pen came with no box, no cardboard, no cartridges, no instructions manual, just the pen itself with a converter inside of it, packaged in a cheap plastic bag that only fitted the pen at all, nothing else. I was really suspicious that I actually bought a conterfeit Lamy. However, the pen puts down a really fine line, much finer than my Parker Frontier made in India, which is supposed to have a fine nib, but looks more like a medium one. Also the pen produces a minimal feedback, which seem to be normal, considering the opinions from other Lamy Safari’s users. What bothers sometimes me is that the pen seems a litle dry and skips in very fast writing and traces, though. Can I be before a counterfeit Lamy Safari? I took some pictures from it and wanted to create a topic in this forum in the FPN site, in order to collect opinions from more experienced fountain pen users! Thank you all very much in advance! With my best regards!

Recently I acquired my grandparents' writing desk from the late 1800s early 1900s. Along with a couple of tintypes and an old letter was a 1920s (?) Sheaffer fountain pen. No surprise there as I mostly knew of my grandparents writing with fountain pens. Almost always. Since finding the Sheaffer a few months ago I've spent time off and on looking online for a similar pen. No luck yet. The biggest difference I see between mine and all of the others I've seen is that mine has a black blind cap. The most helpful information came from http://newpentrace.net/article090701114.html If you can point me in the right direction and/or tell me more about this pen, I'll be eternally grateful. And, what are the chances of having it repaired and a correct cap located? Thank you so much! Imprinted information below the pics. This image most accurately shows the barrel's material and color. Imprinted: W.A.SHEAFFER PEN Co PAT.AUG.25-08-FORT MADISON,IA.U.S.A. DEC.10-12-JAN.27-OCT.20-NOV.24-14 Imprinted: SHEAFFER'S --------- LIFETIME REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. 815517 The flat, terminal end of the blind cap is chipped. Any thoughts on how / why that could happen. It seems like an odd place for a fountain pen to chip. The color is off in this photo, but the nib appears to be in good shape with no dents, dings, or bent tines. I've enjoyed and learned a lot from reading through many of your posts. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Hi guys, I am from the UK but recently started working in the USA, I am unfamiliar with most of the US paper brands and don't want to import notebooks from Europe so thought I would ask for recommendations here. It originally took me a fair amount of experimentation to find my favourite notebooks for work in the UK (me being a bit fussy). I like lined spiral notebooks with paper good enough to write on both sides with an FP, obviously without bleed-through or feathering etc etc.I don't mind but also don't need perforations or punched holes but optionally do like a bit of tabs / colour coding. The notebooks I have been using are the following Clairefontaine ones which I can get in the US - to be honest though, although the paper is nice white 90 g/m2 it is not perfect as the coating does mean start-up / dry up issues occasionally. I can get these in the US, but my guess is you have something better http://www.zen101388.zen.co.uk/notepad.jpg Could any of my US friends recommend a good quality spiral wound hard back notebook with nice paper I can order on Amazon.com? Many thanks Jolltax

I have these pens that I found in an old storage and would like to get some information on them i.e brand, model,price and production year..... if you could help I would very much appreciate it..Thank you in advance

I have these pens that I found in an old storage and would like to get some information on them i.e brand, model,price and production year..... if you could help I would very much appreciate it..Thank you in advance

Watched a wonderful story tonight on NHK World News about a Japanese gentleman who blends custom colored inks for his customer's fountain pens. Story starts at 08:31: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/programs/#1005