Tokyo International Pen Show Highness Black Tea is a Sailor made ink that was, unsurprisingly, made for the Tokyo International Pen Show back in 2019. This ink is no longer available, as far as I know, and I was only able to get it via a friend last year. Two inks were released exclusively for the 2019 show, the other being Noble Green Tea which I didn’t get (disappointingly!). Some photos of this green ink can be seen here, here, and here.
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My Pen Collection 2019
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.
Read MorePen Mega-Review: Sailor Pro Gear
Why is this a mega-review? Because it’s not about a single Sailor Pro Gear; it’s about the model. I’ve got several Pro Gears, myself, and I’ve borrowed some from a friend who also collects Sailor Pro Gears. While this is predominately about the full size Sailor Pro Gear, I’ve got some slims, some interesting nibs, a Realo, and exclusive, limited, and standard line pens. I don’t really see the point of doing a full review of a pen just because it has a different finish or material or colour but I wanted to show off a bunch of Sailor Pro Gears. That is why this is a Sailor Pro Gear Mega-Review!
Read MoreInk Review: Ink Institute Cut Jade
There are a few super sheeners out there now. The first was Organics Studio Nitrogen Royal Blue and Organics Studio have come out with a teal and a darker blue super sheener, Krishna has come out with a blue super sheener similar to Nitrogen and now Ink Institute in Taiwan has come out with two more. One is again similar to Nitrogen; rich moderately bright blue ink that's practically all sheen. But excitingly they also came out with a green ink that's a super sheener. All the rest have been either blue or a blue-green (such as Walden Pond Blue) and this is a lovely rich true green.
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