Kanwrite EF vs. EEF

[tommym]

This is just a quick sample of my new Kanwrite EEF nib. I had previously completed four pages of writing with this nib. The ink is my custom mixed Diamine inks to mimic Bril Green. I call it "faux" Bril Green. It's close enough for my needs and wants. The paper is Apica CD15 Notebook, 81g; I had a similar result with Tomoe River Sanzen, 52g. 

 

Out of the box, this EEF nib lays down a thicker line than the EF nib. It was not what I expected, and I was a bit disappointed, but according to my friend, it's not surprising to him. He chocks it up to the "luck" of the draw, in that you will have some outliers in every batch of nibs. He looked at the alignment of both nibs and found no issues that needed to be addressed. Oddly enough, though the EEF nib does lay down more ink than the EF, it has more feedback. In that sense, I expected the EEF to have more feedback than the EF, so I'm not disappointed in that respect, as I prefer feedback from the nib. 

 

The EEF nib is the mono-color nib at the bottom. 

 

Tommy

 

 

 

 

 

[K Singh]

Here in India, people mix bril inks to get other shades. Nice to know someone also does it vice versa 🙂

 

I can't think of going below Fine nibs; medium and broad are my usual choices.

[tommym]

On 1/28/2024 at 12:00 AM, K Singh said:

Here in India, people mix bril inks to get other shades. Nice to know someone also does it vice versa 🙂

 

I can't think of going below Fine nibs; medium and broad are my usual choices.

 

Yeah, I guess we all want what we can't have. It was the first time I ever mixed ink, and it was a fun and frustrating process at the same time. I won't be pursuing the other Bril colors in this fashion, in that if Daimine changes its ink colors, I'd have to start from scratch again. So, for now, I am happy with my "Faux" Bril Green. I stopped short of adding some Phenol to the mix for the full Bril experience. 

 

I looked into the Kanwrite EEF nib as I recently purchased a journal that uses Tomoe River Sanzen 52g paper. I've heard so much about Tomoe River paper that I have finally gotten around to putting pen to paper. My issue is that I am used to ruled line paper in the 7mm range, give or take; the Tomoe River Sanzen, 52g paper, comes in blank, 5mm grid, and 5mm dot. I find that my Kanawrite EF nibs lay down too much ink for this spacing, though it may be more than acceptable for others.  One of my friend's recommendations is to buy a bunch of cheap plastic replacement feeds, and hopefully, there will be some drier flowing feeds among the crowd. That has been his experience with these types of replacement feeds. 

 

Tommy

[K Singh]

34 minutes ago, tommym said:

 

Yeah, I guess we all want what we can't have. It was the first time I ever mixed ink, and it was a fun and frustrating process at the same time. I won't be pursuing the other Bril colors in this fashion, in that if Daimine changes its ink colors, I'd have to start from scratch again. So, for now, I am happy with my "Faux" Bril Green. I stopped short of adding some Phenol to the mix for the full Bril experience. 

 

I looked into the Kanwrite EEF nib as I recently purchased a journal that uses Tomoe River Sanzen 52g paper. I've heard so much about Tomoe River paper that I have finally gotten around to putting pen to paper. My issue is that I am used to ruled line paper in the 7mm range, give or take; the Tomoe River Sanzen, 52g paper, comes in blank, 5mm grid, and 5mm dot. I find that my Kanawrite EF nibs lay down too much ink for this spacing, though it may be more than acceptable for others.  One of my friend's recommendations is to buy a bunch of cheap plastic replacement feeds, and hopefully, there will be some drier flowing feeds among the crowd. That has been his experience with these types of replacement feeds. 

 

Tommy

I used to mix bril black and red, which produced a nice chocolaty brown colour. But that was long time ago. Now I just use Waterman and Krishna ink everyday. 

 

I use classmate notebooks, available here in India. It's of course nowhere close to higher quality notebooks like yours, but it has worked well for me since many years now.

[tommym]

2 hours ago, K Singh said:

I used to mix bril black and red, which produced a nice chocolaty brown colour. But that was long time ago. Now I just use Waterman and Krishna ink everyday. 

 

I use classmate notebooks, available here in India. It's of course nowhere close to higher quality notebooks like yours, but it has worked well for me since many years now.

 

Is there a website for those notebooks?

 

Higher quality is nice, but the cost can quickly add up, so I am always on the lookout for viable alternatives.

 

$6.00 USD - Apica CD15 (Semi B5, 6.5mm Rule, 34 Sheets)

$15.50 USD - Sakae TP Tomoe River S Softcover Notebook (A5, 5mm Grid, 80 Sheets)

 

Though the Tomoe River Sanzen 52g paper lived up to the hype, the Apica CD15 Journal is still a better fit for my daily needs. The images below show the size and thickness of each journal. I much prefer larger but thinner journals. I think the simple binding of the Apica CD15 will be more durable over time. But only time and usage will tell. 

 

Tommy

 

 

 

 

 

[K Singh]

3 hours ago, tommym said:

 

Is there a website for those notebooks?

 

Higher quality is nice, but the cost can quickly add up, so I am always on the lookout for viable alternatives.

 

$6.00 USD - Apica CD15 (Semi B5, 6.5mm Rule, 34 Sheets)

$15.50 USD - Sakae TP Tomoe River S Softcover Notebook (A5, 5mm Grid, 80 Sheets)

 

Though the Tomoe River Sanzen 52g paper lived up to the hype, the Apica CD15 Journal is still a better fit for my daily needs. The images below show the size and thickness of each journal. I much prefer larger but thinner journals. I think the simple binding of the Apica CD15 will be more durable over time. But only time and usage will tell. 

 

Tommy

 

 

 

 

 

That looks good 👍 Besides some work related notes and all, I journal a lot. I write whatever thoughts come to my mind, including about my fountain pens, and what not. If I used any expensive paper for that every day, I know I would start questioning if my thoughts are worth putting in them 😅

 

Those classmate notebooks are easily available here in Amazon and local stationery shops. They do have website https://www.classmateshop.com/ where you can order custom cover notebooks as well. But honestly, I don't think it's going to be worth it if you have to buy it internationally. Better to find something locally there I would say 👍 

 

BTW, here are some notebooks I got made from there with my own pen pictures

 

 

[tommym]

Thanks for the info and advice!  I couldn't put my pen collection on the cover of my journals as my wife would find out where my paycheck was going.  

 

Tommy

 

 

[K Singh]

4 hours ago, tommym said:

Thanks for the info and advice!  I couldn't put my pen collection on the cover of my journals as my wife would find out where my paycheck was going.  

 

Tommy

 

 

Hahaha..I can relate.

[tommym]

UPDATE:

 

Since I haven't been able to track down some single-groove feeds at this time, my friend advised me to adjust the nib's alignment relative to the feed. Since the nib was already shifted as far back into the housing as it would go, the only option was to shift it forward. The initial results were surprisingly positive. It now more closely matches the EF and sometimes does stray down to an EEF. An unexpected benefit for me is that extending the nib out a bit adds a little more elegance to the overall proportions of the pen. I will still follow up on the single-groove feed recommendation. 

 

In the closeup image of the nib unit, you can almost make out the original location of the nib next to the threads. This is as far as I can shift it, as the nib will hit the inside of the cap any further out.

 

Tommy

 

 

 

 

 

[Harish N V]

Hi,

 

A really informative feed here. Thanks for sharing this @tommym.  I have done the same experiment with b and BB nibs on my smaller vsign pens and also on Kanwrite nibs. Sometimes I feel it gives a nib some breathing space really and flow is really improved tremendously.  The nib placement seems key in every way.

 

I have tried an ef nib in the past. My preference tends to run towards b and BB nibs for journalling and f nibs or m for school work with students

[tommym]

12 hours ago, Harish N V said:

Hi,

 

A really informative feed here. Thanks for sharing this @tommym.  I have done the same experiment with b and BB nibs on my smaller vsign pens and also on Kanwrite nibs. Sometimes I feel it gives a nib some breathing space really and flow is really improved tremendously.  The nib placement seems key in every way.

 

I have tried an ef nib in the past. My preference tends to run towards b and BB nibs for journalling and f nibs or m for school work with students

 

For journalling, I like to use different nib widths and ink colors to supplement the main body of text. I typically use Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-same ink (in the grey color spectrum) and a Kanwrite EF nib for the main body of text.  For topic headings/subheadings, random thoughts, or corrections, I'll use a 1.1 mm or 1.5 mm stub nib with a contrasting color like my faux Bril Green or Jacques Herbin Orange Soleil. It makes it easier to track down my random thoughts and corrections weeks, months, and sometimes years later.  Now that I'm working with smaller journal sizes, I've been looking to slightly downsize my nib selections accordingly. Thus, my foray into EEF territory. I just ordered four more Kanwrite EEF nibs now that I feel confident that I can tweak them. My friend provided some additional insights regarding dual vs single groove feeds; sometimes, single groove feeds will outflow dual feed groove feeds. He also gave me some recommendations for reducing ink flow through the channels if the need arises, though some changes are non-reversible. So, if you get it wrong, you may have to toss the feed.

 

Tommy

[Harish N V]

That's nice to know. I have a very simple style of journalling. But I use different colours of inks for every paragraph or so. I use long size notebooks and hence I don't go below medium. Nice to know how you work with your journals and inks. Interesting also how single and double grooves work!