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This week we’re going to take a look at Troublemaker Petrichor. Troublemaker is an ink manufacturer from The Philippines. The word petrichor refers to the smell of the earth or soil after it rains. I’m not sure how a color can relate to a smell, but just like the smell, I’m a big fan of this color. Maybe it’s because ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall. I picked up this ink at Papier Plume in New Orleans. If you ever have the opportunity to stop by, I highly recommend it. Not only is it a fantastically fun and well-stocked shop in the French Quarter, but the owners are a pleasure to chat with. ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Visconti Blue. When I purchased this ink I was looking for what I considered to be a “pure” blue ink and I think this really fills that role. As you probably know, there are many different shades of blue out there. With such tough competition, how do you choose? I’ll give ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Iroshizuku Syo-ro. This ink made my list of Forever Inks and is one of my all-around favorite inks to use. I think it’s great for writing and doodling and enjoy using it in a variety of nib sizes. Interested? Let’s take a closer look at why I enjoy this ink so ...
For the majority of my fountain-pen-using days, I have only ever bought pens from major manufacturers. I tend to prefer smaller pens with solid, simple colors and it’s always seemed like most handmade pens are quite large and colorful. It wasn’t until The Colorado Pen Show in 2018 when I purchased my first handmade pen, and since then I’ve picked ...
In this series, I want to give you a peek inside my collection of vintage fountain-pen-related items. Today we’re going to look at some of the vintage non-metal pencils that I’ve collected. These include plastic, celluloid, and hard rubber pencils. I have never gone out of my way to collect vintage pencils, but am always happy to pick one up ...
This week we’re going to take a look at J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor (or just Emerald of Chivor). You might also see it referred to as Èmeraude du Chivor by some people or sites. For some reason it is sold with both names. I know that one is the French name, but I don’t know why both are ...
If you’ve already read my review of the Logical Swing notebook, this review of the Logical Air Swing will feel quite familiar. The notebooks are nearly identical, with one key exception. What could that be, you ask? Read on to find out. First Impressions This is very much a no-frills notebook. It doesn’t look very impressive and feels a little ...
This week we’re going to take a look at J. Herbin Lie de Thé. Similar to S.T. Dupont Royal Blue, this was a “souvenir” ink that I purchased when I was in Paris (although you don’t have to travel to France to get it, as it’s easy to find and purchase regardless of where you live). I had heard good ...
You may already know that I’m a big fan of the Logical Prime notebook. This notebook, the Logical Swing, is made by Nakabayashi, the same company who makes the Logical Prime. I’m excited to try it out and see if it’s a less-expensive alternative to the Logical Prime. First Impressions On first glance, this notebook seems to be intended for ...
Ayush notebooks have been on the fountain pen scene for just a few years now. I had heard great things about them, so when I knew that I was going to be seeing Kirk from Pen Realm, I ordered some for him to bring along to our meetup. While it doesn’t look like he currently has the same notebooks that ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Kaweco Smokey Grey fountain pen ink. I first tried this ink while doing my Great Grey Ink Comparison and it was one of the few grey inks I liked enough to buy a bottle of. I have a lot of other grey inks that I also use and enjoy, but this ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Montblanc Swan Illusion. This ink was a 2018 limited edition, so is pretty tough to find these days. I was at the Colorado Pen Show that year and a vendor had a bottle of it. I have always liked weird inks and, based on some reviews I read, this one seemed ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Maruzen Athena Renga. For those who may not be familiar, Maruzen is a bookstore in Tokyo that has its own line of pens and inks. Fude Fan has a nice writeup of Maruzen’s 150-year history if you’re interested. I acquired this ink when I lived in San Francisco. A member of ...
This week we’re going to take a look at S.T. Dupont Royal Blue ink. I purchased this ink at Mora Stylos while I was in Paris a few years back. I really wanted to get some sort of souvenir, but couldn’t afford a new pen, so I figured a bottle of French ink would work just as well. The bottle ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Sailor Ink Studio 123 (or from now on, just Sailor 123). You may remember this ink from a few years ago when, as one of the first and most prominent multichromatic inks available, it was pretty much the biggest thing to happen to fountain pen ink in a really long time. ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Laban Athena Grey. This is probably the most interesting ink I’ve had in this series so far. While it may look like a dark grey, nearly black ink, the more I used it the more complexity I found hiding in it. Before this past week, I had only used it once ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Iroshizuku Yama-budo. I’m not sure how we ended up with an Iroshizuku ink two weeks in a row since I only have four bottles in my collection, but I’m glad that this one popped up. It’s one of my favorite inks! I have used this bottle extensively since I first purchased ...
This week we’re going to take a look at Iroshizuku Murasaki-shikibu. I received this ink as a gift from my wife a few years ago when I really started getting into fountain pens again. At the time I had a lot of vintage fountain pen inks and hadn’t purchased many newer inks. It was actually my first bottle of Iroshizuku ... 
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