The Difference A Wet Nib Can Make

[senzen]

I've been meaning to do this for a while, I've been trying to find a home for Sailor's Souten, it flows nicely on particularly wet Platinum Cool with a medium nib, but it looks really dark and I've been thinking I was missing some of this ink's nuance; the same had happened before with Asa Gao. I transferred it to a Faber Castell Ambition in extra fine, it seems to be looking more like its true self. Here's a comparison with similar inks, Tsuyu Kusa and Kon Peki. Équinoxe 6 would have been nice too but it's currently orphaned.

 

 

This is the opposite of what happened to Tusyu Kusa, which came into its own with a wetter nib. I pressed slightly on its Pro Gear's tines to make it wetter, as well as on the Ambition, which is writing less fine than when I got it, which is better for my hand writing.

 

All this will be blindingly obvious to those more experienced, I am still amazed and sometimes taken aback by these dramatic changes. I'll have to think which other ink would benefit from the Platinum's properties, maybe one of the lighter inks?

[minddance]

In my limited experience, I find myself enjoying both wet and dry pens/inks now (yes, tastes and expectations change). It has been very fun - and at times frustrating (and I sometimes vent my frustration in this forum) - to get the looks I want from certain pen-ink-paper-font size combinations.

 

There is no rule but I enjoy using darker inks in dry/fine pens to spread the ink out and/or to make the fine lines legible; I would match lighter inks in wetter/broad pens (or a wet fine nib) to allow ink to pool and reveal the lighter portions at inflections of lines.

 

A slightly magnified image of your picture reveals no lack of nuances, but unmagnified and at a distance, the variations can look less dramatic. But in any case, there is no doubt that they have all been written using a fountain pen. I see the translucent portions all the way up to the red sheen.

 

I share your taste in Tsuyu Kusa and feel it somehow wants to be in a wet pen.

 

I guess it boils down to what you enjoy from an ink/pen?

[TheDutchGuy]

In my limited experience, each pen works great with certain inks, works so-so with others and works downright badly with some. After buying a pen I try it with most of my inks and I keep a table of the results. By now I can sort of predict how a pen will react to ink x based on how it reacted to ink y. That's fun, but it's a weather forecast. Pens and inks will continue to surprise me. This matching process is fun, at least to me it is.

[senzen]

 

I guess it boils down to what you enjoy from an ink/pen?

 

And the road to discovering it! The lesson might be: enjoy the discovery, instead of being frustrated by it.

[senzen]

In my limited experience, each pen works great with certain inks, works so-so with others and works downright badly with some. After buying a pen I try it with most of my inks and I keep a table of the results. By now I can sort of predict how a pen will react to ink x based on how it reacted to ink y. That's fun, but it's a weather forecast. Pens and inks will continue to surprise me. This matching process is fun, at least to me it is.

 

You have more experience than I have, I still have to try more pens and see what happens; the cost has been that some inks took a long time to find their match, I went through half a bottle of Rouge Hematite before I could finally figure it out. And to complicate matters I seem to have a thing for pen / ink aesthetics, Ajisai came out fine from a Faber Castell Ambition but didn't look right, for reasons I cannot explain. Hopefully it isn't some sort of Synesthesia.

[DrDebG]

 

And the road to discovering it! The lesson might be: enjoy the discovery, instead of being frustrated by it.

 

Agreed. I love the trial and error - I feel like a scientist again!

 

Ajisai, however, is a different animal. It reminds me of the "horse of many colors" from the very old movie classic, The Wizard of Oz (with Judy Garland). Even in similar wet pens, Ajisai can look different and not show its nuances. Yet, in one of my driest pens, it shines. I've compared with Sailor Nioi-sumire, yet they behave entirely differently. I haven't figured it out yet, but I enjoy it a lot.

[Intensity]

This happens to me with every ink. I have to find just the right pen and nib. Helps to have some experience with my pens to know what to expect. The only exception is my XF flex nib Eversharp Skyline--so far every ink looks great written with that pen. It's my most scrubby looking brown plastic barrel pen with a messy engraving, but the pen writes wonderfully and works for sketching too. Generally I find wetter pens better for my inks, but not for R. Oster Fire & Ice or Diamine ASA Blue: those I prefer with drier cursive italic nibs to bring out the shading and bright vibrance.

[senzen]

 

Agreed. I love the trial and error - I feel like a scientist again!

 

Ajisai, however, is a different animal. It reminds me of the "horse of many colors" from the very old movie classic, The Wizard of Oz (with Judy Garland). Even in similar wet pens, Ajisai can look different and not show its nuances. Yet, in one of my driest pens, it shines. I've compared with Sailor Nioi-sumire, yet they behave entirely differently. I haven't figured it out yet, but I enjoy it a lot.

 

I have a similar experience with Ajisai, too wet and it's not really my cup of tea, dry and it looks gorgeous; it's not easy to find combinations, at least not with the inks I have, it seems to tolerate being next to Lie de Thé and Yama Guri.

[senzen]

This happens to me with every ink. I have to find just the right pen and nib. Helps to have some experience with my pens to know what to expect. The only exception is my XF flex nib Eversharp Skyline--so far every ink looks great written with that pen. It's my most scrubby looking brown plastic barrel pen with a messy engraving, but the pen writes wonderfully and works for sketching too. Generally I find wetter pens better for my inks, but not for R. Oster Fire & Ice or Diamine ASA Blue: those I prefer with drier cursive italic nibs to bring out the shading and bright vibrance.

 

Better hang on to it! Even my better pens don't get along with every ink, my m600 is one of my oldest pens and only recently did it find its match, Asa Gao.