With Summer starting to wind down, makers and manufacturers are starting to wind up with a range of new releases. We cover some of my favorites in this episode, ending with the one I am most excited to get into my hands.
This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:
Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code PENADDICT at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
Trade: Save Big, Support Small Roasters. Get $30 off your first order.
(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)
School is on the horizon--or has already started for some of you. And with that comes the best season for Pen Addicts--school shopping season, where an abundance of stationery flows from around every corner. If you are a student, or provide for students, it's time for that bountiful harvest of papers and pens. I have two semesters of school left, and two kids in school, which I consider permission to indulge.
My dislike for most spiral notebooks is well documented, which is one of the reasons that these Kokuyo Campus notebooks with the glue binding are some of my favorites. This pack of five notebooks has a pattern inspired by water drops, with each book a different color to make different volumes easy to find. They're very pretty--calming, with more flair than a standard plain cover.
The cover is thin cardstock and each book has 30 sheets of Kokuyo's 70gsm paper. Kokuyo's paper is very good. It doesn't feel like it's going to be fancy, but it holds up well. It impresses me every single time, and the sense of wonder never gets old. With non-liquid ink and fine pens I saw no hint of misbehavior, though there was some feathering on my test page when I used several kinds of very broad and wet nibs. There was no bleeding, though. Even the Sharpie struggled to bleed through. This is the first time I've had feathering with this paper, and I didn't see any in other spots, so I'll have to revisit my thoughts on this after more writing.
The paper format is excellent, with a space for the date on each page, and a dotted line layout, which is a wonderful compromise between grid and lined paper. The lines are present for even writing, and the dots make outlining look neat and organized. All the lines are faint enough, though, that you can choose your own adventure if needed. The lines are 6mm spaced, with dots every 5mm. This layout really works for me, and I wish it was more widely available.
The pack of five notebooks is listed at $19 on Jetpens, which is a great deal, since the individual B5 notebooks are $4.25. It's a fantastic price for paper this good. I'll make great use of these in my last few classes, with hope that the nice paper and pretty covers helps sooth my blooming senioritis.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
There are so many different inks to choose from today, and that's even after you discount any specialty or sub-par options. High quality ink options are abundant, and we are extremely blessed for that. But that doesn't mean we don't want more options to choose from!
One of the more exciting areas of stationery for me is the blossoming ink market. It seems like every time I turn around, there's a new boutique ink formulator that has beautiful inks for sale. The latest boutique ink to cross my desk is from a familiar name, though. Vanness Pens have experimented with custom inks before, but it's never been a full-on product line. Think of it more as special one-off runs. In this case, the ink is called Healing Stone, and it’s no longer for sale. That being said, it serves as a fantastic example for what the Vanness team are capable of when it comes to designing a fantastic fountain pen ink.
Healing Stone is a dark teal ink that reminds me of other inks that I own, but stands out on its own with plenty of unique merit. Comparing it to other swatches of my ink collection, I noticed that it fits a specific gap that doesn't easily compare. It either has more blue or more green than my other similar inks, but it's such a gorgeous color that I'm happy to add it to the collection.
The dark teal color is murky but distinct. It's not close to the black-teal territory at all. This is a solid teal color that exists somewhere on the edges of dark teal without any hint of black. It's a moody but calming color for me. It has plenty of depth, but without feeling cold or mysterious.
The shading of Healing Stone pairs perfectly with the color. There's enough shading to offer plenty of color variation from medium to dark teal, which adds that depth I mentioned. The shading is very apparent when using a wet medium cursive italic (used for the review photos), but it also comes through on finer nibs too. In areas where the ink pools, it still maintains the teal hue instead of taking on a black tone. For me, it has the perfect amount of shading for everyday writing.
What really blew me away about this ink was the dry time. I did the same test several times because I thought I was making mistakes while counting the time. In most cases, the ink was smudge-proof before the ten second mark. I couldn't believe it, hence the repeat tests. Even after five seconds, there isn't a tremendous amount of smudging or smearing. It's an incredible feat!
The ink is very well-behaved. It's well lubricated and glides easily across the page. At the same time, it isn't overly wet, which can cause feathering and bleeding. The only bleeding I've observed with this ink was when I used a watercolor brush to glop ink onto the Rhodia paper for a test. When writing, there have been zero issues. It doesn't even show through on the back of the page as much as I'd expect from a darker ink. Once again, incredible!
In all, I'm really impressed by Healing Stone. It's not my favorite color, but I've enjoyed using it due to the shading variation and crisp lines it achieves. Add in the quick dry time, and it's a complete winner.
I wish I could point you to a link to buy your own bottle of this fantastic ink, but it isn't current for sale. I don't have the details about when/if this in will be available for sale (or what other plans Vanness may have for the ink market), but I hope that this isn't the last we hear from Vanness in terms of interesting inks.
(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
