Pam Alison Knits

It’s time to ink some pens and to ask myself that thorny question, am I bored yet? Has the Scribo ink begun to lose its allure? Can I possibly want to spend any more time with the Onoto pen? Do I want a change and, if I do, which particular change do I want?

The ink is easy. The game is on and the game is called “how far through this bottle can I get?” All the way is certainly a stretch goal, so I’m playing on the basis that a little bit further is a win. I’m not bored. Indeed, I am enjoying this being my go-to ink, so if I pick up a pen I know I’m going to get that one consistent shade. I like that my different notebooks are all cohesive because the writing is in the same colour. It helps that the ink is well-behaved and I’ve had not problems with any of the pens I’ve put it in. It’s not an ink you have to fight. I know myself, though; I know that sometimes I want all the different colours. I don’t doubt that one day I’ll wake up suddenly over Notturno Viola and eager to embrace the entire gamut of colours again. For now, though, my heart is a deep, dark purple and I’m not even going to think about the blue and the red in Diamine’s new 160th anniversary ink release.

The Onoto? Well, that’s even easier than the ink. This is my precious, the pen which I almost always use in my journal and which I often pick up to take quick notes when I’m at my desk at home. I don’t really think of it as being a quick notes kind of pen, what with the oblique nib requiring a bit of thought, yet it leaps into my hand and seems as happy with a short sribble as it is with a whole page of words. It lives displayed on my desk beside whichever pen I have inked with a contrast shade.

The Onoto was the first pen to get a drink from the Scribo bottle on Saturday afternoon, but then I did decide to make a change. I’ve been using the Tom Hessin as an everyday carry, fuss-free notes pen, but I’ve made the change to my Waterman Hemisphere L’Essence du Bleu. The similar (though black-bodied) Reflections of Paris model has turned up a few times on social media posts recently and that has made me want to see my rippled cap again. When I uncapped the pen, I was struck by how short and broad the Waterman nibs tend to be. It’s subtle differences like this, just as much as extreme variations in size/body shape/material, which lend variety to your fountain pen collection. The Hemisphere falls naturally into my current pen selection whenever I ink it. This has always been the case for me with my Waterman pens and, in many ways, I see them as the core of my collection. The Faithful Hounds, if I may be allowed a Beau Geste analogy – and why shouldn’t I when I’m talking about a French-ish brand?

So, my currently inked list as we head into the first full week of April consists of:
– Onoto Custom _ medium oblique nib / Scribo Notturno Viola
– Waterman Hemisphere L’Essence du Bleu _ medium nib / Scribo Notturno Viola
– Montblanc Slimline _ fine nib / Montblanc Amethyst Purple
– Kaweco Collection Al-Sport _ medium nib / Graf von Faber-Castell India Red
– Cross Beverly _ medium nib / Diamine Honey Burst

Although I fully intended to replace the red ink with the honey a few weeks back, and inked up the pen ready to use, I have found myself predominantly reaching for the Kaweco/India Red combination. Now that I’m pretty much four fifths of the way through the ink cartridge, I feel I should just keep using it until it runs dry then swap over to the Diamine shade. In my experience, Cross pens don’t tend to worry much if they sit a couple of months without being used. In fact, now I come to think of it, I don’t have any pens so far which are fussy or which dry out if left to sit for a while. Those where I have had nib problems – and I’m specifically thinking about the Parker Sonnet here – I have resolved by swapping out the nib/section for a different one which has suited me better. Or simply moved the pen on.

I haven’t said much over the months about the Montblanc Amethyst Purple ink in comparison to the Scribo Notturno Viola. Whilst they are both most definitely dark purple inks, the Scribo can be mistaken, at first glance, for black where the Montblanc is more obviously purple. The Amethyst has a hint more red; the Viola perhaps a tinge of grey. That said, there is very little between them really and, on the occasions when I’ve run out of ink part of the way through a journal entry, I’ve swapped between the Scribo and the Montblanc with very little noticeable impact.

It’s a good job that I have reached a comfortable plateau with my pens and inks because my brain is very busy thinking about my wardrobe and it can’t handle too many ideas at one time. Well, in all honesty, at least three quarters of my brain is trying not to think about metallic teal cowboy boots and that leaves precious little space to deal with anything else. So, for now, it’s over and out. “These boots were made for walking, and that’s just what I’ll do.”