Some Ink Tests

[Mechanical]

7 hours ago, USG said:

 

No rush 😀  Do you have Tomoe River-S paper?

 

I should have TR-S.  :-)

[USG]

I dug out my Kokuyo Thin notebook from 2 yrs ago to see if the new KT52 Thin is the same as the original.  It appears it is.  I can't tell the difference. 

 

Some writing on the original Kokuyo Thin yesterday and today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water resistance?

 

A bit on Yamamoto 48,2 gsm Bank Paper

 

This was on the same page from 2 years ago

 

I have 2 Stipula Etrurias that I got from Chuck Swisher back in the day,  and both developed broken piston rods.  I can fill the demonstrator by removing the nib but the feed on the feed on the pen below crumbled when I tried to remove the nib, leaving half of it stuck in the nib collar.  I was finally able to pick out the remainder of the feed but the nib collar has seen better days.  Finding a feed that would fit properly with the nib was a problem.  JOWO feeds left a gap between the top of the feed and the nib so I tried a Kaigelu feed. It fit but needed some recontouring.  I don't want to take this apart again so for the time being it's a celluloid dip pen.

 

[Lithium466]

On 5/6/2026 at 4:00 AM, USG said:

OK, very good news on the Kokuyo Thin 52gsm paper.  I tried a lot of pens and inks and there was NO feathering, skipping or bleeding.

 

Below is a scrap from the other day....  32 pens.  When I tried this with Fabriano paper there were multiple feathering failures.  There are not many white papers that are this bullet proof and pleasant to write on at the same time. 

 

How does it compare to Tomoe River-S?  Could it be a Tomoe River-S substitute?  I don't know, it surprised me.  

 

My main criterion is feathering, followed by white paper and color rendition.  And so far the new Kokuyo Thin gets an A+.  (MIdori MD is also an A+ paper but it's not white or in this weight class.)

 

What we need is a group comparison.  Let's see what the consensus is.

 

@Mechanical, @Penguincollector, @Lithium466, and anyone else who would like to join in.  If you need a sample, pls PM me.

 

I'd also like to ask Professor @LizEF to weigh in if she has the time or interest. 

 

Also ink reviewer @yazeh who was in on the Canopus test.

 

@inkstainedruth  Ruth, any interest in comparing Tomoe River-S paper to Kokuyo Thin paper with maybe one of your 61s or 75s?

 

 

 

You're getting excellent results @USG, and I always loved the Kokuyo Thin 52gsm. If I'd be able to source it (great news, now it's available again at Jetpens, hopefully that will come to my corner of world soon too), I'd use that along the TR-S 52gsm. I definitely place them as equivalent, I want to say less ghosting on the Kokuyo and thinner lines on the TR-S, but as I haven't compared side by side with identical pens and inks, I'm just going with my feelings there. Like @Penguincollector, my Kokuyo thin is from at least 2 years ago, and perhaps more, since I cleared out my local retailer of their IDEA notebooks.

 

I was also very pleasantly surprised by the Midori MD cotton, very thin lines so far (only tried a few inks and pens that were too thick for my comfort zone)! But the notepad has a cut at an angle and I don't know yet what to think about it. Also the lack of ruling available can't really turn it into a "work paper" for me.

 

On 4/28/2026 at 1:13 AM, Penguincollector said:

   I finally opened the bouquet of 7 Fabriano A6 notebooks I got for Xmas two years ago. I started with the Vellutata (velvety) paper. 
 

Here’s an overview of the page:

I really like the way both the shading and shimmer looks here:

 

 

The Waterman 52 was too much for it. These letters can probably fly, the feathering is so bad. This ink is definitely darker than it is out of the bottle. 

 

Seiboku is an excellent shading ink here:

Platinum pink’s golden sheen shows well on this paper:

 

 

Neutron Star Twinkle is a banger:

  Funny enough, I was expecting this ink to be dry. It shades, but also manages to feather a bit. 

  I have more closeups in my gallery if folks are interested. Tonight I will try a different notebook from the set. 

 

 

Thank you for the writing samples! Mitigated success I want to say. Does the texture feel like Iroful, or more like the Midori MD, for ex?

 

 

On 5/2/2026 at 7:09 AM, USG said:

 

Turned out that the Monteverde Titanium nib was a nail with no noticeable softness or bounce to it.  The Omniflex nib was softer and bouncier, superior in every way.  Never the less I will continue to experiment with the Titanium nib in case it has a virtue I haven't discovered yet.

 

 

 

 

On 5/4/2026 at 4:21 AM, USG said:

Majohn Flex Nib

 

 

 

 

This P136 came with a gold colored flex nib

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Majohn flex nib looks like a must buy!
Did your feeling change about the Monteverde titanium nib (I may have missed it)? Also, is that a #6 (maybe it's under my nose and I'm not seeing it)? I have a #5 Omniflex and it's just a nail.

[Lithium466]

On 5/4/2026 at 11:31 PM, USG said:

I was checking out Rubi Sea on Vanness and it looks very similar to Seiboku.   Take a look, what do you think?  I like Souboku, but I agree with you that it’s pretty monochromatic.  I used it more when I first got it.  

 

And of course, your 823 unscrewed…. Easily…. Maybe after writing with it for a while, the section loosens up and unscrews?

 

Very good news @Mechanical!
I'm ashamed to say I haven't even tried the 823 I got before Christmas 😕 It lays with a few other pens on my pen drying mat in a total inking paralysis. Several brand new, never inked...

 

On 5/6/2026 at 1:19 PM, USG said:

 

Most of my inks have matured into darker versions after being in pens for a while.  I noticed this a long time ago, so to keep my office notes the same color, I started refilling cartridges and for my M800s and Auroras by removing the nibs and filling the barrels which I still do today.

 

I have a Parker Sonnet that takes turquoise Monteverde Capri blue and turns it into a deep dark blue like American Blue, which I kinda like.  I cleaned it a couple of times but it keeps doing it, so go figure...🤷‍♂️

 

As far as the pic goes, let me look for it.... 😀 Ah ha,  I found it.... This one...  the blue ink sample second from the right...

 

 

Do you have any hardstarting issues with that Sonnet? I recently got one, and it came with a cartridge so at least this one is getting some use 😁Surprisingly nice steel nib, not the nail I was expecting.

[USG]

6 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Do you have any hardstarting issues with that Sonnet? I recently got one, and it came with a cartridge so at least this one is getting some use 😁Surprisingly nice steel nib, not the nail I was expecting.

 

I have 2 Sonnets that I bought in 1996 with fine nibs.  One was mine the other was my son's.  He went off to college and left the pen behind.  Now it's mine. 😀  The thing is I didn't buy them at the exactly the same time.  They look the same but my Cisele has a texture you can feel and his is smooth.

 

The smooth one has the better nib and doesn't hard start with Capri ink when it's horizontal on my desk.  The textured one has a much dryer nib which definitely hard starts with Oxford Blue.  Both nibs are very soft, bouncy 18K nibs that you would think would flex a little, but they don't.

 

The thing about hard starting is that I have so many pens inked, that I don't use individual pens often enough to be able to judge if they're hard starters or not...  I don't even think about it if I have to tap a nib or put a drop of water on a it to get it going.....  The only reason I was able to make a judgement call on the Sonnets was that I was just using them the other day and they both were sitting in front of me on my desk.  I picked them up and one wrote and the other did not.

 

Off the top of my head,  my most reliable pens are the Pelikans Sailors,Pilots, and Asvines.  

[Mechanical]

8 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

I'm ashamed to say I haven't even tried the 823 I got before Christmas 😕 It lays with a few other pens on my pen drying mat in a total inking paralysis. Several brand new, never inked...

 

Ah, @Lithium466,  that Pilot 823 is surely crying out for attention. 

 

If you like Pilot nibs, the 823 certainly has that going for it.  I'm currently using a Medium, but am tempted by the ecstatic juiciness I would likely get with Broad.  And I'm feeling like one 823 may not be enough...

[Penguincollector]

@USG, @Lithium466, @Mechanical-  I realized just now that I have yet to answer any questions regarding the texture of the Fabriano Vellutata and I will remedy that tonight. I tried a different notebook from that assortment as well. I will say that none of the Fabriano notebooks have that weird drag that Iroful has. I haven’t really used much of the Midori MD, I will pull that out of the pile and compare.

 

  Congrats on your retirement cottage move, @Mechanical! 
 

  I am super into the Moonman flex nib and definitely feel it’s worth the $13 I paid for it on Amazon. It’s a #6 and Doodlebud has a video where he tries it on several different #6 feeds and the comments are filled with pens that people have tried it on and their results. Mine is on a Jinhao 100. 
 

[Penguincollector]

   So in terms of writing, the Fabriano Vellutata is very similar to Midori in texture, but doesn’t handle concentrated inks that have been in a pen for awhile quite as well. When touching the paper, the Vellutata is smoother. 

Edited Tuesday at 05:38 AM by Penguincollector
Mixed up my notes deleted remarks are for a different notebook.

[USG]

18 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

I am super into the Moonman flex nib and definitely feel it’s worth the $13 I paid for it on Amazon

 

I agree with you...  😀  Supernova is so colorful it's hard to put the pen down....  👍  This flex nib could arguably be the most enjoyable nib to come along in years.

 

[Mechanical]

On 5/11/2026 at 7:03 PM, Penguincollector said:

  I am super into the Moonman flex nib and definitely feel it’s worth the $13 I paid for it

Moonman flex?  This is another FPN happening I'm behind on.

 

On 5/11/2026 at 7:03 PM, Penguincollector said:

Congrats on your retirement cottage move, @Mechanical! 

Thanks, PGC.  This was a hideous amount of effort, but worth it.  It's a sunny spot near a creek, but still part of city public transit.  Just right.

[Penguincollector]

3 minutes ago, Mechanical said:

Moonman flex?  This is another FPN happening I'm behind on.

 

Thanks, PGC.  This was a hideous amount of effort, but worth it.  It's a sunny spot near a creek, but still part of city public transit.  Just right.

  That sounds lovely 🥰. The PNW really is beautiful. My ideal place is on the Oregon coast, by a river or a creek, with a view of the ocean but out of the Tsunami zone.

 

ETA: Moonman, Majohn, potato, potatoh. It’s the same, Majohn was Moonman until Kaweco spoiled the party.