It’s a month since my last update on the pens and inks I was using, so today I’d like to bring you up to date with what has changed, what has remained the same, and how the pens are being used.

First up, the number of pens I’ve got inked has reduced to just three from the five I was using in August, with the blue Waterman Hémisphère being cleaned out as soon as I finished my previous post. This was joined at various points during the month by the Waterman Allure, Lamy LX and Parker 51. The Allure dried up because I wasn’t using it, but I did use up every last drop of Diamine Majestic Purple in the Parker 51 before moving on. I love the combination of that ink and nib. I used it mainly for writing my journal each morning, and also for making notes on my writing session at the end of the day. The Lamy Crystal Benitoite which I was struggling with in the LX pen got the better of me and I ditched what remained of the fill a week after writing my August summary of inks.

The lovely Waterman Hémisphère in the Rose Cuivre finish remains in daily use filled with the gorgeous Graf von Faber-Castell Electric Pink ink; I did replace the cartridge during the course of the month but simply slotted in another one of the same colour. I’m using this to write my daily horoscope into my journal as well as for underlining and writing occasional notes that need to leap out at me.

New entries to the “Currently Inked” selection this month are the Lamy Studio and Cross Century II.

I inked up the Studio with Waterman Inspired Blue – you know how I love that ink – when I gave up on the Benitoite/LX combination, and this has taken over the role of everyday writer for my planner and notes. My Studio is last year’s Special Edition Aquamarine colour and I adore it. This finish has now been replaced with their new Special Edition Glacier colour which is just as spectacular, although I don’t hanker after the newest colour; I try to be circumspect with my pen purchases because I don’t like having loads that I’m not using. Actually, as soon as I put one away, I start to miss seeing it every day. I can see how it might be if you had a big pen collection, say a hundred pens or more, that you would forget about the ones in storage and then it would be as exciting as a trip to the pen shop when you looked at all the stored pens, but the number I have just encourages me to think of all of them as friends and regret moving them out of my everyday carry.

As soon as my Parker 51 ran dry I knew I wanted to bring the Lamy Crystal Peridot ink back into play because it’s one of my favourite green inks, but I wasn’t sure which pen to ink up. After a bit of consideration, I decided upon the Cross Century II and this pen and ink are making a lovely combination which I really enjoy using.

Despite the crazy amount of time I spend watching videos and reading blogs about other people’s currently inked pens, I really do think three fountain pens in my lovely 3-pen carrying case is the perfect amount for me to have inked at any one time. That is not to say that I would like to own only three fountain pens, nor that I have in any way reached the destination of my fountain pen journey. I have no doubt that I will go on doing that in my own small and steady way for many a long year. In fact, only yesterday I saw a slender metal fountain pen in an awesome finish that made those little emoji heart signs appear in my eyes. The quest on is to see how long I can resist its siren call.