I was away for a couple days this weekend visiting with family, so I'm just now getting back to my computer.  I should be back to my normal "schedule" this week, but until then here are some links from around the web that I enjoyed reading on the airplane.  

1. Ana at the Well-Appointed Desk gives an eloquent overview of why we care about the things that we do.  
2. The Cramped has an excellent piece on why, if you truly care about preserving your work, you should commit it to paper. 
3. Patrick Rhone put out yet another piece on introversion that spoke to me.
4. Goldspot published Part Two in its series, "What's My Pen Worth?"
5. The Unroyal Warrant reviews the Namiki Custom Impressions series. I saw a few of these in DC, and they are gorgeous. (If I hadn't run out of funds already, I would've bought them all.)
6. Brad over at the Pen Addict takes a look at the Kickstarter I'm the most excited about, the Gist by Tactile Turn.  If you haven't backed this one yet, do so now!   

In case you missed last week's posts, I've gone a little pencil crazy, looking at both the Rotring 600 Mechanical Pencil, courtesy of PenChalet, as well as the PENXO Minimalist Leadholder Pencil.  I'm continuing to enjoy both! 

Once again, it's time for me to clear out some space in my office.  You'll notice that the "Sale" page is back on the website.  This time, there are fewer pens, but I've added in some Field Notes Colors Editions that I have duplicates of, as well as my Midori Travelers Notebook.  Sometimes things just don't work out!  Details after the jump.  

Update:  All pens have sold except the Red Esterbrook Dollar Pen.  Field Notes have sold and the Midori has a sale pending.  Thanks for everyone's interest!  Keep checking back as I may post some more stuff this week or over the weekend.  

Another round of pens and notebooks has been posted to the "For Sale" page, including some Limited/Special Edition Field Notes, some restored vintage fountain pens, some Nock Co. pen cases (I have WAAAY too many), and a now marked-down Midori Traveler's Notebook.  There are also a couple computer peripherals in the mix at significantly marked-down prices.  Offers will be considered on purchases of multiple items.  

A while back, you may recall that I wrote a piece on mechanical keyboards, which might be an even geekier interest of mine than fountain pens (or even woodcase pencils, if you can believe that).  To recap, mechanical keyboards are those massive, heavy things that you may recall from the days of Apple IIs and IBM Juniors when we (well, when some of us) first learned to type.  Big, loud, clacking things that sound like typewriters. They're awesome, and once I switched over from the cheapo rubber dome keyboards that come packed with every computer these days, I never looked back.  

Side Note:  I briefly discussed the difference between a mechanical keyboard and a rubber-dome or scissor-switch keyboard in my prior article, linked here, but if I've piqued your interest and you really want to get down in the weeds, then go visit MechanicalKeyboards.com and take a look at the wealth of information available on that site.

So why do I care about this stuff?  Because between e-mail, research memoranda, and legal briefs, I probably type 30 to 50 pages a day.  When I'm at home, my hobbies include blogging and writing fiction.  I type a LOT, and I need a keyboard that maximizes speed and accuracy. Mechanical boards are much more accurate than the usual rubber dome keyboards, once you get used to them.  

I started out with two Corsair K70 boards.  The first, which had Cherry MX Red switches, I picked up at Best Buy on a whim.  It's a good keyboard, and the red switches are nice, but I wanted something "clickier", with a more tactile feel akin to a typewriter.  So I ordered the same board with Cherry MX Blues, which is nearly perfect for me with the docked Dell Latitude that I have to use for work.  At home, I'm a Mac user, and I started getting annoyed with the lack of Mac-specific functions.    

In the course of researching my next keyboard, I realized that MechanicalKeyboards.com is located about 15-20 minutes from my house, and they have a small showroom open during regular weekday business hours.  Since I had the afternoon off, I took a drive out to Fairview, TN for a visit.    

The guy manning the store was extremely personable (and patient).  After hammering away on five or six boards for an hour or so, including some very nice (and expensive) keyboards from WASD, Vortex, and Ducky, I decided to go with the Matias Tactile Pro 4, which is regarded as the "standard" mechanical keyboard for the Mac.    

The Matias Tactile Pro v.4 Mechanical Keyboard on my desk.  It's big, ugly, and awesome.  

Matias bills the Tactile Pro as the contemporary version of the Apple Extended Keyboard, often referred to as the "best keyboard Apple ever made."  It uses a modern variant of the ALPS mechanical switches that Apple used back in the day.  The keys are tactile, though not as "clicky" and loud as the Cherry MX Blues.  Honestly, they feel just like the original Apple keyboards that I learned to type on back in school.  Apart from a few hiccups, I'm pretty happy with it.  

Things I like about the Matias include: (1) the multiple functions etched onto each keycap, accessible via the "Option" and "Shift+Option" combinations; (2) the tactile feel of the keys and the overall "clickiness" of the board; and (3) the white "classic Apple" color scheme.  Some things that annoy me a bit about the Matias are: (1) the suspect quality control process, including a sticky "O" key that sometimes either fails to register or registers double presses; (2) the plasticky construction of the keyboard itself, as opposed to the brushed stainless and aluminum design of my Corsair; and (3) the lack of LED backlighting.  The issue with the "O" key seems to be resolving itself as I break in the keyboard.  I removed the keycap and sprayed around the switch with some compressed air, and the problem seems to be going away on its own as I type, but still, making sure all of the keys actually work out of the box is something you would think Matias would check before the keyboard left the factory.  Overall, the fact that I have easy keyboard access to symbols and functions on my Mac simply by looking at the keys themselves outweighs the "cons."  The Tactile Pro is a good keyboard.    

Please be aware that I am not a (serious) gamer or coder.  I'm coming at this from the angle of wanting a nice keyboard to write on.  I also fully realize that the majority of my readers may very well have little to no interest in this post whatsoever, and I promise that I'll be back to blogging about all sorts of stationery goodness soon.  But if you're sick of typing on crappy keyboards, and find yourself longing for what is essentially the modern equivalent of a typewriter, then visit my friends over at mechanicalkeyboards.com and give one a try.  Their prices are fair, and for the most part are lower than what I've seen elsewhere on the internet, including Amazon.  

I'll spare you the details of my new obsession with ergonomic computer mice.  I have problems.  I know. (If you really are curious, buy this one.  If you can use all the functions, it's worth the money and is what I use at home.  If your employer, like mine, locks down your computer to where you can't use the sidescrolling thumbwheel or any of the programmable features, the older version might be your best bet.)   

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you make a purchase from one or more of the sites linked to in this article.  While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase something you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks!                 

Image courtesy of NaNoWriMo. 

NaNoWriMo--or National Novel Writing Month--is upon us once again, and this year, I'm participating for real, which is why you might be hearing from me a bit less frequently this month.  For those of you unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, it's pretty simple:  you commit to writing a "novel" during the month of November, and if you do it, you win!  For purposes of the challenge, a "novel" is defined as 50,000 words or more.  I'm currently at 12,200 words, which puts me more or less on pace to get to 50,000 by the end of November.  50,000 words won't be enough to complete the book I've been working on for the past couple years, but it's going to go a long way towards getting the entire story out of my head and onto paper. (Link here to my author profile if you want to follow along on my progress.)  

Last year I tried to commit to NaNoWriMo, writing entirely by hand.  It didn't work. In order to hit the 50,000 word mark, you need to produce a daily "quota" of just under 1700 words.  If you can type even reasonably well, I've found it a heck of a lot easier to manage that much writing using a computer rather than writing longhand.  As much as I enjoy handwriting, I can type 70-80 words per minute once I get in the zone, and I don't have more than an hour or two per day to devote to this project.  That's not to say that I don't have a ready supply of pens, pencils, and paper (primarily Field Notes) at hand to make notes and work through some thorny plotting problems, but this year Scrivener and my Vortex One have been my friends.  (Story for another time, but I exchanged the Matias Tactile Pro keyboard.  The white Vortex One has the same great "classic Mac" aesthetics in a much sturdier frame, although unfortunately without the Mac-specific keyboard layout of the Matias, which I loved.)  If you end up "winning" NaNoWriMo, you qualify for some sweet discounts on writing software such as Scrivener, Storyist, and Aeon Timeline.  You can also demo the full version of Ulysses until well into December.  

Twitter is awash in NaNoWriMo status updates, so I know many of you readers are participating. What are you relying on to get your writing done this month? 

After the Atlanta Pen Show, all the way back in April, I made the tough (for me) decision to liquidate a large number of pens in my collection and invest in a smaller number of more expensive custom pieces.  I ended up ordering a Newton Shinobi, a Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica, and a Scriptorium Balladeer.  The most difficult part of ordering a custom pen is that you have to wait for the pen to actually be made, which in some instances can create a lag of three to six months between the time you pay for the pen in full and when you actually have the pen in your hands.  It’s worth the wait, though.  All three have exceeded my expectations.

While I don’t have a personal favorite—all three pens are well made, and very different—the Balladeer has surprised me the most.  While I knew that I wanted to order a pen from Renee at Scriptorium Pens (you can read up on her and her story here), I was torn between several models.

Size

The Balladeer was my favorite from the beginning, but I hesitated because I thought it would be too big.  I don't mind a large-diameter pen--I have several--but because I like to post my pens, weight becomes an issue if the cap is too heavy or if the pen posts too high.  After some discussion with Renee, she suggested drilling out the barrel to decrease weight (which also has the benefit of increasing the pen's ink capacity when filled as an eyedropper), and tapering the barrel ever-so-slightly to allow the cap to post deeper than it normally would.

Renee conveniently offers pens in a variety of sizes (small, medium, large, and oversize), but keep in mind that even the medium is relatively large.  I settled on a medium, after scrutinizing the measurements on the Scriptorium website and comparing them against what I considered the most comfortable pens in my collection.  (The site is a pen geek's dream.)  The exact degree of variation between sizes will differ depending on the model you order.  To give some sense of the scale of the Balladeer, I would compare my *medium* to a slightly slimmer Montblanc 149.

Dartmoor Acrylic

The beauty of the Dartmoor acrylic doesn't show up as well in photographs as it does in person.

I'm a sucker for celluloids and other materials that *look* like celluloid, such as these Conway Stewart acrylics that Renee and other pen turners scooped up after Conway folded last year.  My Balladeer features the "Dartmoor" acrylic, which I'd describe as a dark brown/green/black with veins and flecks of white, gold, and caramel.  From what I've seen around the interwebs, Dartmoor and Amber are the two Conway Stewart acrylics that have received the most attention, and photos don't do the Dartmoor justice.  To set off the Dartmoor, I opted for end caps made out of Urushi Red acrylic.  The end result is a hand turned acrylic pen, made to my specifications, that, at least to me, is practically indistinguishable from a celluloid pen with urushi trim.  To purchase the latter--or even to find someone who knows how to make it--would be prohibitively expensive.   

 Build and Trim

Scriptorium Pens Silver Clip.  I love the minimalist engraving. 

Renee knows her stuff.  This pen is hand-turned, and if there are any manufacturing flaws or artifacts, I haven't found them yet.  I chose the sterling silver clip and the stainless steel medium JoWo nib, which is the same steel nib used by Edison Pen Co. and Franklin-Christoph.  JoWo nibs aren't my favorite, but they are more than serviceable, and the beauty of this pen is what makes it a pleasure to write with.

Value

All models of Scriptorium Pens start at $225, which includes a steel nib with a converter.  Some materials, such as ebonite and the Conway acrylics, have an additional charge associated with them.  Renee's pricing process is transparent and plainly set out on her site.  Between the Dartmoor, the Urushi Red caps, and the sterling silver clip, this pen set me back approximately $275.  Value is always a matter of opinion/preference, but I consider that a good deal for a work of art.  To the extent any issues ever occur with the pen, I couldn't imagine that Renee's customer service would be anything less than impeccable.

Normal cartridge/converter filling system, but the pen also can be used as an eyedropper.  I just haven't gotten around to testing this out ye!

Overall, I'm extremely happy with my Balladeer, and consider it a great purchase.  I've been using it fairly exclusively for the past month or so, given that I find it so comfortable to write with. Renee will work with you to customize your pen to your needs, and I cannot recommend her services enough. 

DISCLAIMER:  I purchased this pen with my own funds, for my own collection.  I have not been compensated in any way for this review.  All thoughts expressed here are my own.  

I really needed this tonight:  A Terrapin Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout made with Nashville's own Olive and Sinclair Chocolate

Sorry, folks.  I know it's been sparse around here lately.   I've turned the corner on NaNoWriMo, crossing the 35000 word threshold today. Unfortunately, some family health issues and work travel conspired to steal three or four of my writing days, so I've had to play catch up. While I'm going to do my best to finish this thing, priorities do exist. 

Since I had to spend a bit of time in a place where it wasn't easy to write on the computer, I switched over to handwriting my novel. I discovered that I'm not that much slower writing by hand than I am typing. Bonus: I was able to empty half-a-dozen fountain pens in three days. Some of those had been filled since the DC Pen Show (yikes). Now I actually have the capacity to load up some new inks, and review some pens I've had in the queue. PenBoutique was kind enough to send me a bottle of Emerald of Chivor to review, so at least a portion of my remaining NaNoWriMo challenge will be spent with that ink loaded into my Newton Shinobi.  Thomas Hall was also kind enough to loan me his Zebra Sharbo X multi pen to try out, and I've got a review in progress there. Lots of good stuff to come (including woodcase pencil goodness). But for tonight, I'm inclined to enjoy this beer and wait for my hand to stop cramping. (Seriously people, this brings me back to college finals...)

Anyone else making the final NaNoWriMo push?  Anyone else finding that they are having to take an "internet holiday" to get the writing in?  

Image courtesy of NaNoWriMo.

It ended up being just over 53,000 words, once I ran the NaNoWriMo word count verification widget:  about 43,000 typed, plus another 10,000 handwritten.  That was quite an adventure, and fittingly, I closed out the month by handwriting my final 1,000 words.  While the book is far from finished (as in, not even halfway there), this was a great way to get started, and I'd definitely consider participating again next year.  Now, to get back to some pen-and-ink blogging, here's a shot of my last set of tools.   

Staples sugarcane paper composition book and a Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66 eyedroppered with Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo.

I really enjoyed taking a break from the blog to write some fiction, but now I'll probably take a short break from further work on the book to let the ideas percolate for a while and get caught up on other projects.  This was definitely one of the harder things I've ever done, in terms of daily commitment and discipline.  I'm not sure 1500-2000 words of anything on a daily basis is sustainable for me, especially if I want to maintain the standard of quality I shoot for in my writing.  While NaNoWriMo is a great vehicle for getting as much down on paper as you possibly can, I often felt that I was pushing quantity over quality, and that I had to keep going past the point where "the well was dry" for the day.  

Anyway, thanks to all of you who reached out with words of encouragement.  It made a real difference.  I thought about hanging up on this challenge at least twice, but always managed to wake up the next day and get back on the horse. 

Happy writing, and to those of you still finishing up NaNoWriMo today, write on!   

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, I know, but regardless, this ink is so awesome that I couldn't stand to not review it.  J. Herbin, the French ink manufacturer known for being one of the oldest in the world still operating, has released the latest entry in its "1670" series of "anniversary" inks that contain gold flakes.  The fourth time must indeed be the charm, because after some earlier misses, they've nailed this one.   

The first 1670 ink, Rouge Hematite, has its devotees, but I didn't care for the bottle I tried.  The gold flakes weren't the problem--they didn't clog my pen and they weren't too pronounced, as I'd initially feared.  Rather, I found the red too pinkish and the ink smeared so badly (on even the cheapest, most absorbent paper) that it ended up being unusable.  I'd literally rest my hand on a sheet of paper I'd written on hours ago, only to pick it up and have pinkish ink transfer all over my palm.  While Rouge Hematite supposedly has been reformulated multiple times, I had such a bad experience that I never picked it up again, and was never tempted by the next two inks in the series, Blue Ocean and Stormy Grey.   

The hallmark of the Herbin 1670 inks:  Gold on the bottom!  Shake the bottle before filling. 

And so I initially ignored the fourth entry in the series, Emerald of Chivor.  And then I read this review.  And this review.  And ESPECIALLY this one (Susan's photos of the sheen and gold flakes are far beyond anything I can do with my levels of photographic incompetence).  So I decided to give it a shot.

Short answer:  I'm glad I did.  I'm liking this ink a lot, and I can see this making it into the rotation for personal writing, but maybe not for work.  (My office culture has a ways to go before glitter ink becomes a thing.  And yes, try to avoid it all you want, but at the end of the day, it's basically glitter ink.  Only slightly more acceptable in a professional setting than this.)

The ink itself is a teal-green, similar to Sailor Yama-Dori, but darker.  I've included a writing sample in the gallery below:  with a wet nib, from a few steps away, the ink will dry very dark.  As it dries, a nice red sheen emerges, and unlike the Rouge Hematite, the ink dries quickly, even on super slick Clairefontaine paper.  I will note that I did experience some minor bleedthrough and feathering on cheaper paper.  Surprisingly, it was Staples sugarcane paper, which typically handles fountain pen ink fairly well, but since I'm probably not going to be using this ink at the office (where cheap paper is everywhere) it's not that big of a deal.  I'd also mention that this ink is not waterproof (picture in gallery), but it doesn't fare as poorly with a splash of water as other Herbin inks I've used.            

My experience with the Herbin 1670 inks is a great example of why you should be careful when generalizing about ink brands.  Inks can, and sometimes do, vary significantly even though they are made by the same manufacturer, or come from the same line.  If you are looking for a dark blue-green ink with a lot of character, I can easily recommend Emerald of Chivor.  

I would agree that you should heed the warning on the box.  (It has everything but the skull and crossbones.)  A cartridge-converter pen might give you more leeway, but I'd flush pens filled with this ink at least every couple of weeks or so. 

I would like to take a moment to thank Pen Boutique for providing me with this bottle of ink for review.  Pen Boutique is an excellent source for pens and ink, especially limited edition inks.  (Confession:  they are my primary source for limited edition Montblanc inks when I need to stock up on ones that I like.)  You can purchase Emerald of Chivor directly from them through this link.  

DISCLAIMER:  I was provided the product reviewed in this post, free of charge, for review purposes.  This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase a pen or a bottle of ink via any links in this article.  While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase something you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks!    

I haven't written much about the Palomino Blackwing, mostly because I don't feel as though I have anything to say that hasn't already been said.  I don't burn through as many woodcase pencils as some people, but when I do reach for one, it's often the Palomino Blackwing 602 or the Blackwing Pearl.  Recently, however, I've been accumulating a stash of these: 

These, of course, are the Blacking "Volumes" Limited Edition pencils.  From left, the Blackwing 725, the Blackwing 211, and the Blackwing 1138. 

I fully acknowledge that I've more or less crossed the line into hoarding with yet another limited-edition-subscription line of products, but I like having these pencils within reach.  I'll probably break up the packs and give a few to family members in their Christmas stocking, along with some 3-packs of Field Notes I have lying around.  (See, that "hoarding" is really just "planning ahead" for the holidays!)  

My impressions:  Aesthetically, I prefer the Volumes 211 (John Muir Trail theme).  I love natural wood pencils, and the brown eraser is the kicker.  Second place is a virtual tie.  I play guitar, so I like the Volumes 725 (Newport Folk Festival / Sunburst theme), but the new Volumes 1138 (Sci-Fi theme) is cool-looking as well, though I'm not much of a film buff.  I'm using them both fairly regularly, so no need to make a decision.  Curiously, I've found the graphite core of the 211 to be identical to the core in the Blackwing 602, but the cores on the 725 and the 1138 to be just slightly harder than their supposed equivalents, the Pearl and the Original.  It could just be a batch variation unique to the packs of pencils in my stash, but there you go.  

DISCLAIMER:  I purchased all of the products featured in this review with my own funds, for my own collection.  I have not been compensated in any way for this review.  

For the past few weeks, I've been testing out Zebra's Sharbo X multi pen, on loan from enabler-in-chief Mr. Hall.  The Sharbo X is a well-built multi pen that clearly has been manufactured to appeal to the "upscale" market.  The version I have is the LT3, which features metal construction (aluminum) and three slots that Thomas has outfitted with two D1 Jetstream Refills and a .5mm mechanical pencil.  The blind cap unscrews to reveal an eraser.  

What first struck me about this pen is the size.  It's a small, slender pen that would fit perfectly into the loop of a paper planner (if you're a planner person).  I immediately realized that this pen is probably too small for me to use to write for long periods of time, and therefore wouldn't have a place in my toolkit, since that's what my day job requires.

Sharbo X in "retracted" position.  

The Sharbo X also has an unusual mechanism for shifting between refills.  There is no "retract" button or nock.  Rather, you rotate the barrel to one of three positions, and leave it "in-between" in order to retract the pen from writing position.  To be honest, it's not my favorite mechanism; I found it counterintuitive and somewhat confusing.    

The major drawback to the Sharbo X is that it typically has a premium price to go along with those premium looks.  Jetpens sells the Silver LT3 Model (the three-slot multi pen) for $32.  You can find versions for as low as $7 through Japanese sellers on Amazon, but the shipping looks to be pretty slow and I'm not familiar with the seller.  Where the Sharbo X will kill you, however, is on the gel refills, if that's your preference.  This pen uses the small D1-size refill, which run around $2.75 each.   You can mitigate that somewhat by opting for hybrid ballpoint refills, such as the Uniball Jetstream D1 refill, which typically last much longer.  

I'm a fan of multi pens, and this is a good one, but it won't replace my four-slot Hi-Tec-C Coletos (starting at $3.30 for the pen body and $2.20 for the refills) anytime soon. The Hi-Tec-C refills may be finicky, but they last a long time for a multi pen and have a wide range of available colors.  Due to the smaller than average refills, any multi pen is going to be more expensive in the long run because you will have to replace the refills more frequently.  I've been satisfied with how long the Coleto refills last.  And if I wanted a multi pen that accepts D1 refills, the Lamy 2000 multipen is at the top of my list, primarily due to the comfortable size.    

A big thanks to Thomas for loaning me this pen for review.  He was generous enough to send it to me to try out for a couple months, and now I can send it home.  

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase a pen from any of the sites linked to in this article.  While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase a pen you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks!  

I'm not judging you.  Actually, I'm in the same boat.  Over the years, I've become known in my family for my stationery-themed gifts, so it's only natural that I'm always put in charge of stocking stuffers.  I'm a bit behind this year, so I hit the big box stores (and a few other places) yesterday to see what I could come up with.    

1. For the Star Wars aficionado:  The Cross Click Gel Pen, Star Wars Edition.  My local Office Depot is pushing the heck out of these things, and while they're somewhat pricey for what they are, they'd make a good stocking stuffer for a Star Wars buff.  Amazon has the Darth Vader version in stock with delivery possible by Christmas, but if you want it by the 25th, you may have to track down the Stormtrooper version "in the wild."  
2. For someone looking for a decent pencil:  the Ticonderoga American cedar version. Featured on a recent episode of the Erasable Podcast, I can confirm that these pencils do in fact exist, though I can't for the life of me find a picture online.  Target carries them, and they are the version with the gold seal on the packaging stating that the pencils are made with American Incense Cedar.  (Note, they are NOT made in the USA.  If you are looking for American-made pencils in a big box store, buy the Write Dudes pencils.  The Ticonderogas are made in China using American cedar, but they are probably the best Ticonderoga writing experience I've had in a long time.  The Ticonderoga Renew has a similar core.)
3. Paper:  If you're buying for a fountain pen user, your paper situation at the big box store is pretty dire.  I've had the best luck with Staples' "Sustainable Earth" line of products (made from sugarcane paper), and I wrote the handwritten portion of my 2015 NaNoWriMo Novel in one of their composition books.  The legal pads aren't bad either.     
4. Best all-around pens:  Go with either the Uniball Signo 207 or the Pilot G2.  Both pens have their die-hard adherents and both are available in a full range of tip sizes.  Personally I'm partial to the Pilots.  But unless your gift recipient is a very picky pen addict, the average person just looking for a decent pen will probably be happy with either one.   
5. If you're located in the Southeastern United States, you might be able to find the Nashville Pencil Set or Colored Pencil Set by The Pencil Factory.  For obvious reasons, these things are all over the place in Tennessee this holiday season.  If you can find them locally--typically in Hallmark-type gift shops--the pencils are very high quality, they come with a nice notepad, and the presentation is excellent.

I hope this is helpful!  I'm probably signing off until the week after Christmas, so enjoy the holidays everyone! 

It's a daily struggle for me to balance my love for stationery and “analog” tools with the convenience and practicality of today’s digital world.  As much as I enjoy writing and editing by hand, it’s not always practical, and there are certain circumstances in which it makes absolutely no sense to generate paper that’s only going to end up being thrown out within the week (or even the hour).  Case in point:  most of the writing that I do for my day job.  I take lots of notes on printed copies of PDFs relating to conference calls or meetings in which these documents are being discussed, so at the end of the day, a lot of trees die needlessly because most of this work product isn’t stuff I want to keep around indefinitely. In some cases, I can’t retain it because of confidentiality concerns. 

Still, I’m torn about going paperless.  The guilt at wasting paper has always been outweighed by my inability to "think on a screen".  For as long as I can remember, my personal workflow has relied heavily on handwriting.  Many ideas and revisions to thought-intensive pieces such as longer briefs or articles only come to me when I’m curled up in a chair with a pen or pencil and a printed draft (and, depending on the time of day, a cup of coffee or a whiskey).  Many of my colleagues can edit documents electronically in Microsoft Word using the "track changes" function.  I can’t.  My work product when I use this kind of workflow is, frankly, 100% crap.  There’s something about taking a pencil or pen to a physical copy of a draft piece of writing that’s almost irreplaceable to me.  I say almost, because the combination of the recently released iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil strikes the perfect balance for certain kinds of work.  

Justification

I didn’t need much convincing to pick up an iPad Pro the week it was released.  It was a relatively expensive purchase, especially once you take into account the keyboard case and the Pencil, but I can honestly say that in my 10+ years of work life, this is the computer product that I’ve been waiting years for:  a legal-pad sized electronic clipboard that has a usable handwriting function.  I tried this a couple years ago and failed miserably (no thank you, Dell Latitude XT), but I suspected that Apple, of all companies, would get this right.  One caveat: as I’ll discuss, the Pencil is what makes this product work for me.  Pencil availability has improved since launch, but if you can’t get one, I’d recommend waiting if your needs are similar to mine.  

Honestly, which would you prefer to carry around with you?  iPad Pro is shown here in the Logitech Create case, which at launch was an excellent external keyboard option but since iOS 9.2 launched I've found it to be buggy (i.e., missed keystrokes and a lot of lag).  Lately I've used the Moko Ultra Slim with an Apple wireless keyboard.

Performance

To justify the expense, I needed the iPad Pro to do two things well:  (1) let me extensively annotate PDF’s in small, legible handwriting; and (2) allow me to take legible handwritten meeting notes at the same pace that I could if I were writing with pen/pencil on paper.  So far, I haven’t been disappointed.  

I’ve used two apps for PDF annotation:  iAnnotate, which is one of the first iPad Apps that I ever bought, and PDFExpert.  Both are great, but of the two, I prefer PDFExpert.  The latter has better Dropbox integration, the annotation functions are more intuitive, and handwritten comments are more legible.  I can’t gush enough over how the ability to mark up and circulate draft documents directly from iPad has has improved my work life not only by saving me time, but by eliminating waste.  I’m a pretty organized person, but for years I’ve felt like I was drowning in a sea of scrap paper.  The iPad Pro has eliminated a lot of that junk, and those critics who always used to carp at me for dumping handwritten comments on them are somewhat less vocal, now that I can quickly e-mail them an electronic document reflecting my changes, rather than attempt to legibly scan comments that were written in fountain pen ink that's bled through cheap copy paper.       

PDF Annotation using the iPad Pro, the Apple Pencil, and Readdle's PDF Expert 5.  

For handwritten notes, I’ve lived mainly in Apple's Notes app, though I’ve also played around with Microsoft OneNote.  The Pencil works well in both apps, though I’ve found that the pressure sensitivity and line variation work best in Notes.  I’m thinking about experimenting a bit and moving certain research and planning-intensive projects (both work-related and personal) over to OneNote, because its a very powerful tool for organizing large amounts of information, but for taking notes on one-off meetings and conference calls, Notes works just fine.  (Especially since I can e-mail notes to myself and file them away in Outlook on our corporate e-mail system.  Due to security concerns and an archaic network structure, this is pretty much the only way to sync anything to the system from phone or tablet apps.)  Either way, the benefit to me is the same:  I no longer have multiple project-specific legal pads or notebooks stacked up on my desk, filled with information that doesn’t warrant long-term retention, that’s not easily searchable, and that I’ll likely end up shredding anyway due to secure storage considerations. 

The top portion of this writing sample was written with the Adonis Jot Pro, probably the best of the pre-Pencil iPad Styli that I tried, and the one that had the finest tip.  Compare with the Apple Pencil and note the obvious difference in handwriting legibility.    

I'm a decent artist at best, so if you want to see what the iPad Pro can do as a digital sketchbook, go here.  

The Apple Pencil is well-balanced--about the length of a woodcase pencil that's been sharpened two or three times--making it a very comfortable length for writing.  Myke Hurley wrote an excellent piece for The Pen Addict, in which he discusses the construction and build of the Pencil in more detail.  

Handwriting on the iPad Pro

Just how good of a “paper” replacement is the new iPad?  The best that I’ve experienced.  My problem with every other tablet styli I’ve tried has been the absence of line variation in my handwriting, as well as horrific palm rejection technology and latency (which refers to the lag between making a mark on the tablet with the stylus and the tablet registering your input).  While neither are perfect on the iPad Pro, the experience is good enough to remove the mental blocks to working on digital paper.  If you’re like me, you know what I’m referring to—the inability to get lost in whatever it is you’re doing because you constantly have to pay attention to the position of the stylus, whether you’ve lost any of your words/lines due to latency issues, etc.  Previously, this inability to focus on whatever it is I was doing far outweighed the convenience of having digital notes.  I’ve been using the iPad Pro and the Pencil since November, and once you get past the novelty factor, it’s possible to forget that you’re no longer writing on paper.  I wouldn’t choose to write a novel or anything long form using the tablet (mainly for ergonomic reasons), but for meeting notes, brainstorming, and mind mapping, it’s perfect.         

The Importance of the Apple Pencil

The Pencil is central to my iPad Pro experience. Without it, you could safely say that the iPad Pro is, in effect, nothing more than a bigger iPad.  A very powerful iPad to be sure, with a gorgeous retina screen, but without the Pencil and the added handwriting functionality it offers, it wouldn’t serve any need of mine that my existing iPad Air 2 or MacBook Pro couldn’t meet.  It bothers me that Apple released the iPad Pro with the Pencil in such short supply.   

The Pencil essentially takes the iPad Pro and creates a different product category.  Using the Pencil, I’ve been able to streamline my workflow in a way I’ve dreamed of but never been able to do before.  It replaces pen and paper, to a certain extent, but it also works well enough with an external keyboard to serve as a reliable laptop replacement:  I sold the MacBook Pro.  (I haven’t gone entirely Mac-less:  I have an iMac at home that I use for heavy photo editing and photo-intensive blog publishing, some writing, and remote access into the computer system at my office.  Otherwise, however, there’s very little a laptop can do for me that the iPad Pro can’t.)    

I don’t regret shelling out the cash for the iPad Pro and its accessories.  Lately, for me it’s all been about simplifying my work life and workflows by eliminating unnecessary clutter—even analog clutter—that no longer brings me joy and creates mental blocks.  For large chunks of my workday, generating excess paper by writing certain things out by hand in the traditional sense left me feeling stressed and constantly overwhelmed.  The iPad Pro has helped me significantly in that regard, and if you have a similar need (and can find a Pencil), I can give Apple's latest iPad entry my wholehearted recommendation.     

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you make a purchase from certain sites linked to in this article.  While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase something you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks! 

Courtesy of Steven DePolo, via Flickr creative commons.

I'm a big believer in taking a day or two at the end of the year to take stock of where things are: what went right, what didn't go so hot, and most importantly, where you want to take things in the future.  This blog is no exception.  Overall, I'm very happy with how things are going.  I feel blessed to have an absolutely amazing group of readers that grows every week, which is really all any writer can ask for.  Even though it often takes me longer than I'd like to respond to your comments and e-mails, I read every one of them, and am honored that you take time out of your busy days to read what I've written.  This blog also has become more or less self-sustaining, meaning that I can pay my hosting fees while still generating some meager affiliate/ad revenue to keep products coming in the door for review.  For 2016, I want to keep things going in the right direction. 

So what does this mean for you?  One of my biggest fears is that I'll produce boring content and/or simply re-review products that too many people already have reviewed to death, without offering any sort of unique perspective.  That's where you all come in. This year, in exchange for leaving a comment on this post containing a suggestion for a new article or review, you'll be entered into a giveaway for a special secret "grab bag" of products.  Most of these are products that I've been sent or that I've purchased throughout the year for review, and just don't have the room to keep.  I'm not going to tell you what's in the box, but trust me, it will be good.   As always, subscribers to my e-mail list will automatically be entered into the giveaway.  

And now, I give you the five most popular Gentleman Stationer posts of 2015:  

1.  My Review of the Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica.  Following this year's Atlanta Pen Show, I made a conscious decision to streamline my pen collecting and focus on custom-made pieces.  Conid's new lower-priced entry, featuring its proprietary "bulkfiller" filling system, is perhaps my favorite (and apparently you all like it too). 

2.  Franklin-Christoph Eyedropper Mania. Another post-Atlanta Pen Show piece. (I guess I should go to this show every year!)  I have both of these pens inked and sitting right here in front of me, filled with Sailor Apricot (the Model 65) and Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo (the Pocket 66).  I really don't ever get tired of looking at these pens, and the Masuyama nibs are fantastic.   

3.  Bung Box Blue-Black.  2015 was certainly the year of limited-edition ink craziness, and Bung Box led the way.  The 4B is a gorgeous color. 

4.  My "Tier One" pens. Episode 164 of the Pen Addict prompted more than one of us bloggers to draw up our own "Tier One" and "Tier Two" Pen lists.  I'm a list junkie writing for other list junkies, so it didn't really surprise me that this post was in the top 5. 

5.  Top Five Fountain Pens for Less Than $75.  We'll see whether TWSBI's new Vac Mini eventually cracks this Top 5, but the availability of a solid pen in the $25-75 price range continues to pose a challenge, and the pickings are slim.  

I also didn't want to close out the year without sharing some personal favorites with you.  I definitely had the most fun testing and writing about mechanical keyboards--which is perhaps my nerdiest obsession ever--and I think I've finally found the keyboard that makes writing on a computer fun again.  (Review forthcoming, I won't spoil the surprise.)  I also really enjoyed visiting and recapping both the Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Pen Shows, where I got to hang out with fellow bloggers and enthusiasts for several days.  Both are definitely on the list this year.

Thanks again, and best wishes for 2016!

Joe

Brought to you from the link library of the Gentleman Stationer, photo courtesy of Barta IV (via Flickr creative commons.

Thank you to everyone who's participating in my current New Year's giveaway, and special thanks to those who have taken the time to offer some excellent suggestions for future articles and reviews in the upcoming year.  One suggestion that's come up a few times is the return of regular Sunday Reading, where I post a set of curated links to articles that I think my readers might enjoy.  I love doing this, but what's kept it from being a regular feature in the past is my inability to keep up with my own ever-expanding bin of RSS feeds.  Going forward, I want to try to get a Sunday links post out on a weekly basis, but I probably will have to limit the number I can share to five or so. 

Lots of Hobonichi Techo Links This Week 

1. The Well-Appointed Desk:  Moving Into the Hobonichi Techo 2016.  I'm a Hobonichi man myself now, and Ana shows just how easy it is to customize this journal and make it whatever you want it to be.  The Tomoe River paper is amazing. 

2. FPQuest:  What I Use:  Hobonichi Techo Journal.  Another post discussing how Ray used his 2015 Hobonichi Techo A6 Planner, and what he plans to do differently in 2016.

3. The Finer Point:  10 Months in with the Hobonichi Techo.  I know this link dates from October, but Jenny gives another great overview of this versatile planner and how she uses it.  

4. The Pen Addict:  Why I Love Steel Nibs.  As part of On Fountain Pens 12 Days of Christmas Guest Post Series,  Brad from the Pen Addict discusses why steel nibs are often the "best buy" for fountain pens users.  I agree, especially given the price of gold and the excellent quality of steel fountain pen nibs being manufactured today.

5. FPQuest Fountain Pen Link Tumblr:  I don't know why I'm just figuring this out (probably because I'm getting old and have little to no familiarity with Tumblr), but Ray over at FPQuest runs a Tumblr that he describes as a "firehose" of fountain-pen related links. Check it out. 

I'm still in the middle of the "breaking in" phase with my Hobonichi Techo, but so far, I love it.  If you're interested in picking one up for 2016, you can order the Hobonichi Planner (the English-language version) directly from Japan, or you can order through JetPens once they restock.

Yesterday, via Twitter, I announced a site revamp.  My goal with the redesign is to give the site a cleaner and more modern design, and to make easier for readers to access past content.  I've also created a Facebook page for the blog, where I'll be sharing links to my own content and other stuff I find interesting.  I'm not a heavy Facebook user, but many people are, so it's another as-yet-unexplored avenue to expand my readership.  With that in mind, I've got a few surprises in store for 2016 that I hope you stationery nuts will enjoy.  For now, be sure you sign up for the ongoing New Year's giveaway, which will end Saturday, January 9, 2016.  The winner will get a mystery "grab bag" of stationery prizes, including fountain pen and pencil-related products.      

The Top Five Pencils for Everyday Writing (from the top, not necessarily pictured in order of preference):  Palomino Forest Choice, General's Semi-Hex, Palomino HB, Dixon Ticonderoga (Chinese version), Palomino Blackwing 211, and Palomino Blackwing 602. 

2015 was the year of the pencil for many, and I was no exception.  Due in part to the efforts of pencil-pushers like the folks at C.W. Pencil Enterprises and Pencils.com, high-quality woodcase pencils are more available than ever (though they may be more expensive than when we were kids).  Without further ado, here are my top five pencils that I enjoy for everyday writing: 

1. Palomino Blackwing 602.  Palomino’s resurrection of the classic Eberhard Faber pencil looks great and has what I consider to be the perfect balance of point retention and darkness.  I’ll also include the Blackwing Volumes 211 here, because it uses the same core. The 211 is perhaps my favorite purchase from the past year, but it’s a limited edition, so it can’t merit it’s own place on a Top-5 list.
2. Palomino Forest Choice.  My personal favorite of the natural-finish pencils ends could be called the frugal man/woman's version of the Blackwing Volumes 211.  At $2.95 for a dozen, it's a fraction of the cost.  (Literally, you get a dozen pencils for the cost of one Blackwing.)  The wood on the Forest Choice also develops a nice patina with long-term use.  Some people find the core a touch scratchy, but I personally prefer a little grit in my graphite. 
3. Dixon Ticonderoga (Made in China).  What used to be the flagship U.S.-made #2 pencil, that most of us (well, at least those of us above the age of 25) learned to write with in school.  Dixon has now moved production to China and Mexico, but the quality is still there—you just have to look a bit harder.  The graphite used in the Chinese version is pleasantly dark and soft, as opposed to the Mexican graphite which I find harder and extremely scratchy, even for me.
4. General’s Semi-Hex.  My favorite of the last American-made yellow #2s, and it's getting a bit harder to find.  I reviewed these a while back.  Some might find the graphite gritty, but again, that's my preference.  I especially like the "semi-hex" rounded edges, which are much more comfortable than the rather sharp hexagonal edges of pencils made by Musgrave, such as the Musgrave Test-Scoring 100 and the Palomino Golden Bear (made by Musgrave).
5. The Original Palomino HB.  My “gateway drug” into nice pencils, and the first pencils that I ordered where I paid more than $10 for a dozen.  The Palomino is the whole package: a dark core, aromatic cedar smell, thick lacquer on the wood, and an excellent eraser.    

Writing Sample for my Top Five Pencils:  the classic Palomino HB wins on softness/darkness, though the Forest Choice and Blackwings are close.  Sample on Doane Paper.   

Honorable Mention

I can’t justify placing the Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood and the Caran d’Ache Black Wood in the “Top 5” due to a combination of cost and availability, but I love these two pencils and use them all the time.  If you’re a true pencil geek, they’re both worth checking out! 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase something from some of the sites linked to in this article.  While I’d greatly appreciate it if you use these links to make a purchase, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks!

The Iroshizuku Ink bottle looks great on a desk. 

I don’t know what’s taken me so long to write up a review of this ink. I’ve had this bottle for over three years: it was the first Iroshizuku ink that I purchased, back when you could only get this ink stateside from Jetpens, and it’s remained one of my favorites.  Unfortunately, I let it languish in the back of my ink cabinet, covered up by some other bottles of ink that I later cleared out. Despite a year or so of non-use, I used this ink so much early on that the bottle is just half-full!

I’ve reviewed many other Iroshizuku inks on the blog.  For those new readers, Iroshizuku is Pilot/Namiki’s “luxury” line of fountain pen inks, offering colors outside the somewhat restrictive blue/black/blue-black range sold under the Pilot moniker.  When it first came out, Iroshizuku was regarded as expensive, and sold for approximately $30 per bottle (which is still its official MSRP).  Amazon now regularly sells the ink for less than $20 per bottle, so the price of entry has gone down. Also, Both Jetpens and Vanness Pens sell "mini" 15ml Iroshizuku bottles if you don't want to commit to a full 50ml bottle.  Those will set you back about $12, though sometimes you can find a deal and pick up three for $20.

Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo both wet and dry.  The name "Moonlight" strikes me as fitting.

One of my favorite things about Iroshizuku is the name that Pilot/Namiki gives each ink.  Though only the Japanese name appears on the bottle, most stores also provide the English translation (which I assume is accurate and comes directly from Pilot).  Tsuki-Yo translates to “Moonlight.”  The ink, when wet, appears as a rich blue-black, but when it dries fades somewhat to a dark teal, and hints of blue-green emerge.  On certain papers, and when you are writing with a wet nib, you get some pretty good red sheen.

Tsuki-Yo writing sample on Nock Co. Dot-Dash Index Card.

Like all Iroshizuku inks, Tsuki-Yo dries quickly and doesn't smear.  On cheaper paper, and on some index cards, you will get slight feathering and bleedthrough when using a very wet fountain pen nib.  For this writing sample, I used a Nock Co. Dot-Dash index card, and you can see some feathering where the ink pools at the bottom of downstrokes on certain letters.  I've started using this ink again at work (where I typically use fine and extra-fine nibs), and I haven't had any problems.

Other Reviews of Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo

Azizah at Gourmet Pens has some awesome writing samples in various nib widths, which really show off the shading of the ink and the sheen.

Ian over at PensPaperPencils reviewed the ink as well, and names Tsuki-Yo as one of his favorite dark blue inks.

Ed Jelley has an extensive handwritten review that includes comparisons with other inks.

Some Other Iroshizuku Inks I've Reviewed

If you like the look of Tsuki-Yo, then you may want to check these out:

Iroshizuku Asa-Gao:  "Morning Glory."  A nice bright blue ink.

Iroshizuku Yama-Budo:  "Wild Grape."  An ink that blurs the line between crimson, magenta, and purple.  A unique color that I love.

Iroshizuku Kon-Peki:  "Deep Azure Blue."  An ink that didn't stick with me.  I sold this bottle, but I find myself missing this ink.  So it goes.  I may pick up another bottle after I finish one of the myriad bottles of blue ink that I have lying around.

A half-full bottle of fountain pen ink?  Can you believe it?  Must be good...

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase something from any of the sites linked to in this article.  While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase an item you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks! 

Photo courtesy of Jon S. licensed via Flickr Creative Commons.

1. Congratulations to the folks over at Caroline Weaver Pencil Enterprise for almost a full year in the business!  If you haven't made your way over to their amazing shop yet, and you're in the New York City area, their shop should be a mandatory item on your list. 
2. Ed Jelley reviews the Field Notes Shenandoah Edition.  This is another great looking Field Notes colors edition that I haven't had a chance to use myself.  I'm interested in seeing how the heavier paper translates into a better experience for fountain pen users.
3. Susan Pigott, writing for the Pen Addict, reviews the Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica Demonstrator model.  I haven't been keeping up with the Conid website to see what new products they have been offering, so this one took me by surprise.  I love demonstrator pens, but I'm lukewarm on the "half demonstrators" (i.e. a clear barrel with a solid cap).  TWSBI did something similar with the Mini.     
4. Brian over at Office Supply Geek reviews a set of gold-plated staples.  In light of what people will spend on fountain pens and related accessories, I shouldn't be surprised that this product exists.  But I still am.
5. Mike Dudek at The Clicky Post has a piece about the Parker 61 with its unusual capillary filling system.  I've always wanted one of these to play with, but have had a hard time finding one in decent condition.  This stainless steel flighter model Mike picked up was a gorgeous find. 

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the New Year's giveaway.  There were over 180 entries (via comment or subscription)!  A winner has been chosen and I've reached out, but if I can't make contact for whatever reason, I will pick a new winner in a week.  In case anyone is curious, here are the top three suggestions for future articles: 

1. The Hobonichi Planner.  There's a lot of interest out there in this planner/journal, and I purchased one for the first time this year. Don't worry, there's going to be some Hobonichi content coming, whether the planner sticks with me or not.
2. Vintage Pen Restoration.  People are more interested in vintage pens than I thought.  I have some articles in progress on the how-to's of vintage pen restoration, but I've not been able to finalize anything that meets my standards.  I recently purchased some better video and audio equipment, so stay tuned.  Until then, you can check out my "Vintage Pen Primer" series, where I review pens such as the Parker Vacumatic and the Parker 51.  If you are looking to purchase a reasonably priced vintage pen, I sometimes offer pens I've restored for sale via this site.  Most of these are "user grade" pens, meaning that they aren't in mint condition, but otherwise write perfectly well.  Vintage pens are a great way to experience gold nibs or materials such as celluloid at what can be a fraction of the price you would pay for a modern pen.   
3. More "Top 5" or "Best of" lists.  I hear you on this one, and I have a lot more lists in the works, and maybe a few guides!  

As always, thanks for reading.  I appreciate all of you, and in case you've missed it, check out this week's posts, in which I review Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo, and discuss my five favorite pencils for everyday writing.

Diamine Oxblood is my preferred "dark red" everyday writing ink (and will be my go-to once my Montblanc Alfred Hitchcock runs out.

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed an explosion in the number of fountain pen inks on the market.  Six years ago, when I first picked up my pen again after a long hiatus, the main players with any sort of color variation in their ink lines were Noodler’s and Private Reserve. For us corporate drones, bottles of staid (and somewhat boring) inks such as Parker, Waterman, and Pelikan 4001 could still be found on the shelves of big-box office supply stores.  Today, the big box stores have more or less abandoned fountain pens entirely (except for disposables and super-cheaps), but the overall landscape has completely changed:  I now count 10 readily available brands of fountain pen ink in my desk drawer alone.  Great, right?  But a major drawback is the paralysis of choice and the potential for overwhelm.

I like to shuffle colors in and out of my pens, but there are five or so inks that I keep coming back to for everyday writing.  By “everyday,” I mean writing at work on cheap copy paper, in my pocket notebooks, and taking notes while I read.  With the exception of one recommendation, most of these inks are readily available and relatively inexpensive.  

1. Sailor Kiwa-Guro Nano-Black.  Expensive, yes; however, the price has come down a bit lately, and this Japanese workhorse will get the job done anywhere, even in a Moleskine. It’s pigmented ink, so just remember to clean your pens out regularly.  Some might balk at paying this much for black ink, but given how long a bottle of ink lasts me, it’s not really a consideration.  The versatility of this ink makes it a useful travel companion.  
2. Waterman Serenity Blue/Florida Blue.  I’ve sung the virtues of this ink before, as it made my list of “Best Blue Inks for the Office.”  Want something that’s nice to look at, writes well on any kind of paper, won’t turn any heads, and is inexpensive?  Try this. 
3. Pilot Blue-Black.  Another great ink that’s typically only available in cartridge form in the U.S., though you can easily order it from Japan off eBay or Amazon (in the big 350ml bottles, too). Like Waterman blue, Pilot Blue-Black dries quickly and works well on most papers, but you also get some nice shading and red sheen when the ink dries.
4. Diamine Oxblood.  Ever wish you had a red ink that was dark enough to use for everyday business correspondence?  Pick up a bottle of Oxblood.  Like the vast majority of Diamine inks, it plays nice with most pens and different grades of paper.  When it comes to my personal favorite readily available red ink, it’s a toss-up between Oxblood and . . .
5. Sheaffer Skrip Red.  With its classic fire-engine hue, it’s my favorite “true red” ink.  Skip Red is probably one of the few bright red inks that doesn’t stain, and can be considered “safe” to use in most vintage pens (though I’d still advise you to be careful with lighter colored celluloids or demonstrators).   

This list reflects my own opinion. There are an infinite number of “top five” lists floating around out there, but people love recommendations, so here are mine.  What I need from an ink on a day-to-day basis is probably different than what someone else wants, but if this list can be helpful to even a few people out there, it adds value.  This list also shouldn't be confused with my "favorite inks of all time," because that list will include things such as limited editions and vintage inks (and is on the way).  

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase something from any of the sites linked to in this article.  While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase something you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks! 

Monteverde Capless Gel Refill for Montblanc Ballpoint Pens, Featured Here in the Montblanc Classique Ballpoint

If you’re like me, and are known throughout your immediate and extended family as “the pen guy,” then you have a collection of ballpoint pens that people have given you over the years as gifts.  Some or all of them may be monogrammed or personalized in some way, making them nearly impossible to pass on or sell (setting aside, for the moment, the difficulties in selling gifts that often have sentimental value).    

Case in point:  when I graduated from law school, I was given a Montblanc Meisterstuck Classique ballpoint, with the platinum trim.  It’s a beautiful pen, if you’re into the Montblanc black and platinum/gold aesthetic.  It’s engraved with my initials, fits nicely in my hand, and is extremely comfortable to write with.  The only problem is that I hated the standard Montblanc ballpoint refill.  I found that it skipped a lot and didn’t leave a dark enough line for my taste.  Plus I found the refills obscenely expensive, costing $12 or more (unless you buy them in bulk, which I couldn't justify, seeing that I dislike the way they write).  

Montblanc Classique Ballpoint with Platinum Trim

Enter Monteverde.  Many people may not know this, but Monteverde manufactures a line of “capless” gel refills that fit ballpoint pens from many manufacturers, including Montblanc.  I’ve outfitted the Classique with the fine blue/black Monteverde refill, and I’ve also upgraded a Parker jotter using Monteverde's Parker-compatible gel refill.  Both are great pens, and they now appear in my rotation on a weekly basis.  

One word of caution:  Monteverde’s quality control can be inconsistent.  For example, I have a Waterman retractable ballpoint that I also wanted to convert into a gel pen.  A couple years back, I purchased some of the “Waterman-compatible” gel refills and they simply didn’t fit, despite there being no visible difference from the standard Waterman refill.  Apparently, the Monteverde refill had an ever-so-slightly larger diameter, so somebody must've gotten the measurements wrong at the factory.  (The store I purchased them from ended up allowing me to exchange them for the standard Waterman ballpoint refill, which is actually pretty decent.) Amazon reviews are also mixed.  There are complaints about the Monteverde refills being scratchy, drying up, leaking, and running out quickly, though I have to say that has not been my own experience. (Note:  if you are used to writing with a ballpoint pen, gel refills WILL run out quickly if you write a lot.  There was one complaint from someone who claimed that he wrote a full page by hand every day and was surprised that the gel pen ran out after a month.  That’s par for the course, in my experience.)  In general, take Amazon reviews with a grain of salt—my personal favorite was a one-star review because the refill “does not fit fake Montblanc pens.”  

I have had nothing but good experiences with the Monteverde refills.  I’ve gone through two of them, and each has lasted me a fairly long time when used for light note-taking.  At $24 for a pack of 6, they are much less expensive than a standard Montblanc-branded refill.  They also come in blue-black (my favorite) in addition to the standard black and royal blue.

Monteverde Softroll Ballpoint Refill (Parker-compatible) in my Maxmadco Bolt-Action Stainless Steel Pen.

If gel pens aren’t for you, Monteverde’s “softroll” ballpoint refills are also quite nice.  I have the blue-black refill in my Maxmadco stainless steel retractable pen, and I’ve enjoyed it.  The company even makes a Lamy-compatible refill.

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