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: Montblanc Petit Prince Red Fox
in Ink Review
Following on from Montblanc's release of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Encre Du Desert alongside a pen as part of their Writers Edition series Montblanc has now released this ink, Petit Prince Red Fox, based on the fox from Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince. Another ink released at the same time is Swan Illusion Plume (as part of the Patron of the Arts series) which is named after Ludwig II of Bavaria who is also known as the Swan King, you kind find that review here.
I bought this ink from La Couronne du Comte.
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Ink Review: Sailor Pen's Alley Shaker Green
in Ink Review
Pen's Alley Shaker Green is a pretty unique and special ink; a green ink with gold sheen. I've never seen anything like it before! Pen's Alley is a stationary and pen store in Okazaki, Japan. They have a series of Sailor Store Exclusive inks in the tall "vase" Sailor bottles of which this is one. Where this ink stands out is it's sheen!
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Ink Review: Pent Ebizome
in Ink Review
The Pent inks from the Pen-house store in Japan have been out since the last half of 2017 but they recently expanded their retail presence into the US via Vanness Pens so I thought now would be a good time to show off some one of their inks. The inks are, of course, made by Sailor for the Pen-house store. There are eight total inks with two for each seasoning the year: Himekeshi (a pink, and Aomidori (a teal) for Spring; Gensoukai (a blue), and Matsukaze (a dark green) for Summer; Shukei (an orange), and this Ebizome for Autumn; and Jakujoya (a blue black), Yukizukiyo (a light blue), and Sakura (a pink) for Winter. Pen-house recently released eight new inks from the series in the new square 50ml bottles.
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State of the Union 2017: Fountain Pen Ink
The last few years really have been a renaissance for Fountain Pens and this year is no different. Lots of expansions and additions to lineups and several standout inks. I’m going to be talking about how various brands have performed this year and what I hope for next year. This will be, of course, focused on inks and not pens. I try to keep my posts as objective as possible but this one will probably have a bit more subjectivity than usual.
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