Now that I’ve had a few days to decompress, It seems like a good opportunity to talk a bit more about my travels over the past two months, the ongoing “hard reset” of my work and personal life, and, of course, my marathon pen cleaning session last week.
I recently announced that I’m changing day jobs, which is a big move for me. I held my old position for nearly 10 years, and while I won’t be changing employers, I’m stepping into a role that (1) involves less of an overall time commitment; and (2) has fewer administrative responsibilities. One reason for the shift is the rapid growth of T.G.S. - while it’s not yet a full-time project, it requires more attention each month, and I’m of course more than happy to rearrange my working life to accommodate the expansion. That said, it’s likely going to require a complete reorganization of my workflows and how I go about my daily working life if I want to keep things manageable.
These two pens - shown here with a new ink I tested at the Dallas Pen Show - stayed in rotation!
The biggest change is the lack of formal structure. My new duties are primarily project-based, allowing me to work mostly remotely, on my own schedule. Outside of the posting routine that I’ve fallen into over the years, T.G.S. also doesn’t have a “schedule”, so my greatest concern about the new arrangement involves my ability to structure my time in a way that ensures that (A) I get everything done, and (B) I keep work confined to “regular” hours as much as I can, allowing me to have a greater semblance of a personal life that includes picking back up other hobbies and interests that I’ve necessarily had to let slide. Case-in-point: I’ve not done nearly as much personal writing and journaling as I would have liked over the past year, despite having a half-dozen notebooks “in rotation” and 30+ fountain pens inked up.
The 10 pens I took with me on vacation, identified and discussed below from left.
Current Setup: Fountain Pens
While of course there’s a lot that I’m thinking through and working on that I can’t publicly discuss here, I CAN tell you what I’m doing about my pen problem. The first order of business was to flush 20 or so pens, most of which had been inked for the Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Dallas Pen Shows. The cleaning process was aided considerably by the Schon DSGN Luer Syringe Cleaning System, which Ian kindly gifted me in San Francisco to test out. The system consists of a series of fittings designed to attach to the section and/or nib unit of your pen, with different attachments made to fit JoWo, Bock, Pilot, and Sailor (with more to come). You can then thread a 1cc syringe into the fitting and easily flush out a pen in much less time than it would take you to clean using a converter, and with less mess than a bulb syringe. I left nine pens inked up, which I’ll identify from the photo above, listed from left:
Santini Libra in Blue Swirled Ebonite: This pen is on loan from a friend, and I left it inked because I need to write with it and get it reviewed so I can return it to her! Santini pens have long interested me because they are made entirely in-house, nibs included! Though Santini visited this year’s D.C. Pen Show, I was disappointed that I didn’t have the chance to visit their table.
Leonardo Momento Zero in Bohemian Twilight Resin. Jonathan Brooks’ Bohemian Twilight material is one of my favorites, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to pick one of these up since I didn’t yet have a pen in this material in my personal collection. The ink I chose to pair with this pen? Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing Butterfly Green, from the recently released Anderillium Lepidopteran Series. It’s a slightly brighter dark green than the swirls in the pen, which complements it perfectly.
Conid Bulkfiller Kingsize. I’m torn on Conid, and I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about the brand, especially compared with the Kyuseido Kakari (discussed more below). While extremely well-constructed, I’m not loving the Bock Titanium nib, and I hope to soon procure a gold nib option because I need more consistent inkflow and less of a “squeaky” writing experience. This pen is currently inked with Nahvalur “Dark Forest,” an excellent ink that I plan to review in more detail as soon as I’ve had the opportunity to try more from the series.
Sailor Pro Gear “Moonlight over the Ocean”. I’ve long loved the form factor of the Sailor Pro Gear, and odd name aside, this edition spoke to me so I picked one up for my personal collection. It’s inked with Anderillium Atlas Moth Brown, also from the Lepidopteran Series. For some reason I thought this pen needed a good brown-black ink?
TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR “Sunset Yellow”. I always have a TWSBI inked and in rotation, and the one I haven’t been able to put down is the recently released “Sunset Yellow,” - really more of an orange gold. The matching ink is Monarch Butterfly Orange, from yet again, the Anderillium Lepidopteran Series.
Montblanc 149 in Rose Gold with Bokumondoh Urushi Work. This pen will stay inked for the foreseeable future because it’s beautiful, and the result of a year spent on the Studio Bokumondoh wait list. Fittingly, when I reviewed this pen nearly three years ago I was on vacation in the same spot I’m sitting in now typing this list.
Kyuseido Kakari Fountain Pen. The Kakari is the first pen release from Kyuseido, the new company recently started with C.Y. of Tokyo Station Pens and the Tokyo Inklings podcast. I chose the black PVD titanium version, with a Sankakusen nib grind. It’s worth reading Kyuseido’s description of the “Pump-Piston” filling mechanism - you’ll see why this pen is of interest to so many people. The pen is currently inked with unobtanium: Diamine “Suman” created especially for this past year’s Manila Pen Show that a friend was kind enough to gift to me.
Nagasawa Kobe Affection Kyomachi Legend Blue Sailor 1911L. My friends at Vanness Pens are now the exclusive U.S. retail partner for Kobe Japan-based Nagasawa Stationery, and I couldn’t resist taking home two of their current Sailor collaborations from the Dallas Pen Show. The first is the 1911L version of the “Kyomachi Legend” pen, which features a metal section similar to that on my 1911 Black Luster. Currently I have this pen inked with Sailor Souboku in cartridge form. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this pen is the broad nib I chose. I’ve never used a Sailor Broad (which frankly writes very much like a JoWo medium), and I’m enjoying it.
Nagasawa Kobe Pro Gear Mini “Mouette”. The two-toned grey on this one got me, along with the fact that this edition of the Pro Gear Mini doesn’t have threads on the end of the barrel, allowing for quicker deployment. I inked this one up with Taccia Hiroshige-Ainezu, a beautiful grey that I’m enjoying.
Current Setup: Notebooks
I took four notebooks with me: My Roterfaden A5 kitted out with my Laconic Monthly Calendar and two Plotter pads; my older (and now-discontinued) Traveler’s-sized Roterfaden with a few blank Traveler’s Midori MD refills; my Midori 5-Year Diary, and a Bank Paper journal from Atelier Musubi. As I mentioned above, I haven’t done much personal journaling and want to experiment with different formats. So far I’ve managed to write each day for at least an hour! What didn’t I bring? My Plotter notebooks. I use them more as binders to organize papers by topic, and since I’m not actively working on any projects this week I decided to leave them at home as I can incorporate pages from the Plotter notepads as necessary upon my return.
One goal of mine is to streamline my everyday carry. As I journal more, I want to finish up several notebooks “in progress” and limit what’s active going forward.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my current stationery life! As you might imagine, things are a bit chaotic right now, but in a good way, as I’m excited about what’s to come. Stay tuned as I have much more to announce over the coming month!
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