Best Pen-Ink-Paper Combo

[drlizdub]

Hi All,

 

I am on the search for the best Pen-Ink-Paper Combo. I would love to hear you experiences.

 

So far I have found these combinations awesome:

 

Pilot Metropolitan (M) - Noodler's Heart of Darkness - Tomoe River

Pilot Custom 74 (M) - Noodler's Black - Tomoe River Paper

 

TIA.

[sirgilbert357]

It might require a bit of effort to find a more subjective topic, LOL...but, I'll play:

 

Pelikan M205

Pelikan Edelstein Topaz ink (great shading on this one!)

Eccolo World Traveler journals.

 

Love this combo, but I am admittedly a bit of a noob in all my preferences and experience is quite limited. The journals are available at Staples if you want to see one in person...

[Blade Runner]

For me it's a MB 149 with a Mottishaw Broad stub, MB Royal blue on Crane's 32lb 100% cotton, kid finish.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Parker Centennial Duofold with a stock M nib filled with Parker Penman Sapphire on white Elco Atlantic Clipper Airmail paper.

 

I started using that combo years ago to write family and close friends, so every time I choose that combo, I am reminded of the previous letters I've written to those people. I reckon that's my 'best' combo as it includes a time machine.

 

Bye,

S1

[erpe]

Kaweco al-sport with pelikan 4001 blueblack om moleskine

Twsbi 1.1 stub with deAtramentis amareto on rhodia

Or basically any ink in any pen on rhodia :-)

[Bo Bo Olson]

Depends on what flex you want to use....nail, semi-nail, springy regular flex...."Springy like a Falcon or a modern MB.

Semi-flex, 'flexi'/maxi semi-flex.....superflex or wet noodle.

 

Each will make differences. I find the old springy regular flex good for shading in western F&M. Some like that in a B. (Western EF or Japanese F I find too narrow for good shading)

Semi-flex is a real nice springy ++ ride, but is often wetter....a dry ink like 4001 tames that.

A wetter ink will make a dry nib write easier, a wet nib flood.

 

How wet or dry do you want the ink? How wet or dry is your pen?

 

Then comes how slick your paper is....Clairefontain Triumphe is very slick.....100% cotton not. Perhaps 50% cotton....or How heavy do you want your laser only paper to be, 90g/22lb-100g/24lb, 110-120 g/32 pound or the real heavy 150-170g paper.

Hammered, laid, marbled?

 

You don't want ink jet paper if you want any shading and don't want the ink to feather....I do find Diamine to feather.

Combo laser-ink jet must have compromises to let the ink jet ink soak in real fast.

 

 

What do you want the ink to do....easy maintenance two toned shading...where the ink sits on top of the paper a tad longer to pool, or high maintenance vivid monotone ink....do need both.

 

There is no best ink to best paper with a best pen....sigh or we'd only be using a couple of pens, a few inks and a hand full of paper.

 

Look up Sandy's ink reviews over in Ink review subsection to see what just width of a nib, will do to an ink on 4 very good papers.

 

You have to match, width and flex of a nib, to a paper and an ink.....a different width nib and flex will give you a different appearance. A different Paper the same....much less the many inks of the similar hue and tone.

 

Once before I got lazy I'd try an assortment of 8 different width and flexed nibs with a single ink or 4-5 papers.

Now it's only 3 pens, one ink, 3-4 scribbles on different papers.

 

I was and still am dithering on some expensive Gmund €35/$50 for packages of either 60 or 100 sheets. At first I thought I had it...the 170g or 150g papers....then I noticed some inks did better on the 120-110 or 100g papers.

So much for plan A.

 

No short cuts....you have to match nib, ink to the paper. Each and every time.

Make a paper file.

 

Of course I'm picky (AR) on that match up. The paper can not feather.....I have a Rosler 100g, that is so sinfully good to write on it would be made illegal in Kansas to write on on Sundays...if any one knew.

It feathers BEF., bleeds through.

Got to try some of it's heavy paper perhaps they make a 160g paper.

 

Single ink-single nib.

BEF-bare eyed feathering/wooly line. Seen while sitting.

NEF- near eye feathering/wooly line.

MagEF....feathering/wooly line when viewed with a honking big thick magnifying glass. That's pretty good actually.

NoMAGEF- perfect, no wooly line or feathering. Has happened a few times....with this or that pen, or ink.

With that ink and that pen. Then you have to check against a different width&flex...then a different ink.

Will it match your pen's width and flex???? No idea.

 

You need enough widths and flexes in your nibs, to make it worth while to check an ink against a paper.

You need both shading inks and supersaturated inks.

To hunt all the Grail papers.

 

You have decades to hunt .

Got to learn how to do a spread sheet....

 

Perfection is possible, not probable.

 

Living in Germany in the '70's/early '80's as a Ball Point Barbarian I had the remains of a cheap, no watermark paper pad....as BP Barbarian, I'd not spent beer money on good paper pad.

It ended up stuck in the Zander Bond and better paper, I'd stuck away as to good for my Juki Dasiy wheel printer.

I had 15 sheets....now 8.

It was perfect with every ink and pen I've tried with it.

I don't know who made it the front sheet was gone.

 

Yes, Virginia there is a perfect paper.....

 

While you are looking through Ebay; vintage Eaton's Corrasable typewriter paper....16 pound is great on one side...if you don't mind major bleed through. Defiantly a MagEF or better....yep...still got half a package from back in the day.

Typewriter paper often is only nicely coated on one side.

 

Oh, many papers have an A&B side.....just to let you know....got to check both sides.

I can tell you where in Spain the Holy Grail is....but that is easy.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[scunepo]

TWSBI Diamond Mini with Noodlers Legal Lapis on Rhodia 90g paper. For me it's a marriage made in heaven.