ink
What I'm writing with
01/26/09 21:24
There are a few things that I am obsessed about.
The books I read is one of them. Another one is Bags -- the pursuit of the perfect bag is a lifelong challenge, I’ll have to talk about that later.
I’m also very particular about what I write with. I can’t stand cheap pens that sputter out their ink or have the feel of a plastic stick. I have several fountain pens, none more than $200 and a ton of other roller balls, felt tips, gels etc that I love to switch in and out of the rotation, depending on my mood.
These days I’ve been using my Monteverde Mega Ink Ball. Its a big thick barreled pen, so its definitely not right for everyone. What’s so cool about this pen is that it has a roller ball nib, but a fountain pen ink flow system. I’ve made the switch from cartridges to loading my pens directly from ink bottles -- I use various colors of Noodlers Ink (I read that was the best ink you could find somewhere and its stuck in my head whether its true or not). These days I’ve been in a blue ink kinda way, so I’ve been using their Ottoman Azure, and I just purchased a jar of their Blue Eel ink, which is supposed to help lubricate the nib and assist ink flow. That was my only grip with the Mega Ink, sometimes the ink just didn’t want to flow easily, the problem seems to have gone away with the eel ink.
Why am I using this pen these days? What makes it a good pen? Some of it is the feel. Its a sturdy think pen that has some weight but its balanced and not too heavy. The roller ball action is smooth, but not too loose or free with the ink, you need to apply some pressure to it which I like. The pen is pretty too, I probably get more looks and comments about this pen than any other I use.
The books I read is one of them. Another one is Bags -- the pursuit of the perfect bag is a lifelong challenge, I’ll have to talk about that later.
I’m also very particular about what I write with. I can’t stand cheap pens that sputter out their ink or have the feel of a plastic stick. I have several fountain pens, none more than $200 and a ton of other roller balls, felt tips, gels etc that I love to switch in and out of the rotation, depending on my mood.
These days I’ve been using my Monteverde Mega Ink Ball. Its a big thick barreled pen, so its definitely not right for everyone. What’s so cool about this pen is that it has a roller ball nib, but a fountain pen ink flow system. I’ve made the switch from cartridges to loading my pens directly from ink bottles -- I use various colors of Noodlers Ink (I read that was the best ink you could find somewhere and its stuck in my head whether its true or not). These days I’ve been in a blue ink kinda way, so I’ve been using their Ottoman Azure, and I just purchased a jar of their Blue Eel ink, which is supposed to help lubricate the nib and assist ink flow. That was my only grip with the Mega Ink, sometimes the ink just didn’t want to flow easily, the problem seems to have gone away with the eel ink.
Why am I using this pen these days? What makes it a good pen? Some of it is the feel. Its a sturdy think pen that has some weight but its balanced and not too heavy. The roller ball action is smooth, but not too loose or free with the ink, you need to apply some pressure to it which I like. The pen is pretty too, I probably get more looks and comments about this pen than any other I use.