Within the theme of my ink collection, this is my pen collection. Over a year and a half ago I wrote about my pen collection and while a lot has changed, the collection has only grown by around 10 (in this post and the previous I have not counted cheap $5 Chinese pens but I am ignoring the Noodler’s Creepers this time). Unlike with my ink collection, where if I buy an ink it doesn’t leave the collection, I don’t have have that rule with pens. If there’s a pen I’m not using that much or don’t love (and it’s worth my time selling it) then I will periodically trim these pens from my collection. Inks are rarely over $100 and selling them second hand isn’t really worth the hassle for me (and I don’t want to sell them for other reasons) but when you have a $200+ pen that is just sitting there it’s worth the effort freeing up funds for other pens I might want. Because of that while my Ink collection just keeps growing, my pen collection is quite fluid. I don’t regret buying pens and selling them, I appreciate the experience of owning them. With inks as well I like having them for comparisons! I remember Brad Dowdy on the Pen Addict podcast once mentioning (and I am paraphrasing) that the monetary loss from selling a pen (compared to what you paid) can be compared to the costs associated with renting a pen (I have no idea which episode).. This is something I have taken to heart.
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Ink Review: Robert Oster True Blue
in Ink Review
Released as part of a batch of seven inks (the others being Burned Orange, Crocodile Green, Deep Purple, Dragon’s Night, Hot Pink, and Red Candy) True Blue came out in the latter part of last year. I’m not sure whether it was a themed group release but many seven inks are some of my favourite Robert Oster inks and some of Rob’s more unique inks (especially within the Robert Oster lineup). While ‘True Blue’ has a history older than Australia it is a term that came into the Australian lexicon (and for her most part left it as well) that means, roughly ‘authentic’. It’s used an as adjective to to qualify how a person relates to a subject matter such as a ‘true blue ink enthusiast’ (I reckon that’s the first time that phrase has been said!)
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Retrospective: Tuesday March 26th
Articles I’ve read
Lamy Benitoite ink, Lamy Peridote Ink, and Rohrer & Klingner Aubergine LE ink (Wondernaut) ✑ The new Lamy inks seem to be solid inks albeit for me a little generic at times (and I share the opinion here that the names are very uninspiring). The R&K I have an really like it.
Ink Review: Sailor Studio 150, Ink Review: Sailor Studio 162, and Ink Review: Sailor Studio 273 (The Well-Appointed Desk) ✑ Jessica is reviewing some of the Sailor Ink Studio 100 there’s still many more to go! My overview doesn’t go into individual performances only the visuals so we need more of these reviews (I have 935 covered)
Review: ASC Bologna Extra Arco Fountain Pen (The Pencilcase Blog) ✑ A great review of a gorgeous pen. Arco Celluloid is one of my favourite pen finishes. So pretty. I had the inspiration for this ASC pen and loved it.
Krishna Lyrebird Blue Black (Inkdependence) ✑ Not the most unique colour here but I really like it. Definitely has some “black” out of blue-black rather than just a dark blue.
review: platinum citrus black, and review: bungubox 4b (inksharks) ✑ these reviews look great (and so do the inks).
Ink Review: Taccia Murasaki, Ebi & Sora (Hand Over That Pen) ✑ Some great inks in this lineup and a useful overview of three of them from Franz.
Sponsors
Pen Classics ✒︎ Sailor Ink Studio 100 inks are available! These are 100 unique inks based on the ink mixing studio Sailor put on in Japan. Lots of great colours to choose from. I’m a huge fan of Opus 88 pens, and a great place to grab Krishna’s increasingly sheeny inks and Stationery TAG’s Kyo-no-oto and Kyo-iro!
Desk Bandit ✒︎ The only place I know that stocks Carpink! Full range of the beautiful Nagasawa Kobe inks as well as Nagasawa’s Sailor Pro Gears! Full Range of Colorverse. So many great things! They recently got ahold of Ginza Gold Sepia and DEN Premium Blue!
La Couronne do Comte (10% off with MACCHIATOMAN10) ✒︎ Grab the new Pastel Lamy Safaris! They look great (and I don’t really like Safaris nor Pastel colours but I love these!)
Pen Chalet (10% off with MACCHIATOMAN) ✒︎ Great range of eclectic brands! From 3•Osters to Taccia inks and from Taccia to Wancher fountain pens! I’m very eager to try Taccia.
Pen Savings (12% off with MACCHIATOMAN) ✒︎ My go to place for US inks such as Organics Studio, Noodler’s, Monteverde, and Private Reserve. My favourites are Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses, Golden Brown, Navy and Turquoise as well as Private Reserve Avocado!
Ink Review: Sailor Ink Studio 935
in Ink Review
Last year when I traveled to Japan I generally wanted to avoid buying stuff I knew I could easily get outside Japan. This included Sailor Ink Studio which I had heard was eventually going to be available to retailers outside Japan. Nevertheless I still wanted to try them out so and I grabbed Ink Studio 935 and 941 as they caught my eye the most (it was still a difficult decision!). I love purples and this reminded me of Dark Lilac (one of my favourite every inks) so I think it was a good choice. If you are interested in how Ink Studio sits within the rest of the 100 total inks check out this extensive overview of all inks!
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Ink Review Hakase Real Sepia Dark
Hakase Real Sepia Dark is an ink I’ve been intrested in for quite a while and late last year I pulled the trigger. The ink isn’t a particularly exciting colour but the ink is unique because it is, as the name suggests, real sepia. It is made from actual cuttlefish ink which is one of the oldest forms of inks. The colour sepia is based on the colour of cuttlefish ink (which is this brown colour) and the name is from the Latinised Greek name for cuttlefishfish, “sepia”. Because of this I don’t believe the ink is vegan!
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