Not That Kind of EF, Please and Thank You

(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 her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

Know what's the worst birthday present ever? A tornado. Not the Retro 51 kind--that would be a lovely gift--I'm talking about a twister. Yaknow, the kind that hit my house last week.

Know what's the best birthday present ever? When your dad sends you his old 4-pen set of Montblanc Meisterstuck pens--the pencil, ballpoint, rollerball, and fountain pen.

Kinda wild when both happen on the same day. A storm of emotions, one might say.

On Tuesday May 21st, I got the coolest package in the mail--all of the Meisterstuck Montblanc pens my dad bought when he lived in Switzerland twenty years ago. I knew he owned the fountain pen, as he had me help him maintain it, but I didn't even know about the others till I opened the surprise box just before heading off to work. They all need a little TLC to revive them, but my jaw hit the floor when I saw them.

That night, I sped home from work, not just because I wanted to get back to my pens, but because there was a nasty storm on my heels. Ten minutes after I got through the door, an EF1 tornado hit my house.

That's small for a tornado (extra fine, you might say), and thank goodness, because we had no warning and no sirens--we were up in our bedrooms, which were mercifully spared by the two 150-year-old Hickory trees that came down at just the right angle to not murder us. Our tree service called them widowmaker trees, and said we were about a 40-degree angle away from tragedy.

So, lucky to have survived the storm! And lucky to have this amazing set of pens. Our balcony, yard, shed, and my car were not so lucky. RIP.

At least I'll be signing all that insurance and contractor paperwork in style.

Stay safe, pen fam! And if there's a bad storm, go to the basement--don't wait for the warning.

If you need me, I'll be chopping wood. For a minute. Could probably make a cool pen (or a few thousand pens) out of this Hickory!

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Did Less, Swatched More, First Impressions

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

In the vein of last week’s article where I drastically reduced the number of steps to swatch inks, I am happy to report that I have made progress! From the first of January until last week, I had swatched 7 inks (and yes, that included the ones I did for reviews). Since last week, drumroll please, I’ve swatched 20, yes TWENTY, more inks!!! Woohoo!

As you may already know, I like to be matchy matchy with my pens and inks (black, white, clear, silver, and gold pens are the exceptions). Which means I usually start with “what general color pen do I want to use”, then I go through my swatches to find the best match, which is either an exact match, if possible, or slightly lighter or darker depending on mood. Occasionally, I like to go the other route and start with an ink that I really want to use and then pick the pen after. Don’t worry, I’m neither reviewing nor inking up all 20 inks because that would take too long; instead I’ll share some first impressions. Who knows, maybe some of these will jump out and demand to be inked!

A few things to note: (1) Some of the pictures are at an angle because the shimmer showed up better than with head-on photos, (2) even with angled pictures, shimmer is hard to pick up in photos, (3) the picture below has a different colored mat than the other swatches, hence the vastly different background color, and (4) a lot of these are Wearingeul swatches because that’s what I bought samples of and happened to trade with a friend.

Look at all these swatches - I am SO happy to be over the swatching slump!

Here are the 20 inks that I swatched in the past week, sorted roughly by color:

-- Montblanc Le Petit Prince, Rose Burgundy - I knew that I would be inking up a LPP pen since I am nearing the completion of writing out the book, but I had to make sure it matched the pen first. It is a nice shade of burgundy with a hint of copper sheen on very wet swatches. I can’t wait to use it!

-- Wearingeul Anna Karenina - This is a rich red, but not quite burgundy, ink that also has red shimmer and a touch of green sheen on wet swatches. Pretty color but I don’t need to ink up any more red pens right now.

A bit hard to see the shimmer near the bottom.

-- Wearingeul Anne of Green Gables - Yes, this is a red ink, which I was not expecting. Yes, I know that the gables are green but still, it messes with my mind. The ink is actually named “Lucy Maud Montgomery”, and is a bright red ink with some greenish-gold sheen. Off the top of my head, it reminds me a bit of Iroshizuku Momiji.

Anne of Green Gables shows up as a bit more orange than in real life but you can still see the gold sheen in the swatch.

-- Wearingeul Wendy Darling - I am so glad I got a sample of this because I would be a little annoyed with myself if I bought a whole bottle. It is a really pretty, but extremely light, pale, borderline invisible, pastel blue ink with hints of pastel pink, and has silver and turquoise shimmer. I don’t know how readable it is, especially after seeing Kelli’s review from Mountain of Ink, but I’m kind of tempted to put it in a wet Pelikan, but not now, as there are too many other colors that are catching my eye.

Wendy Darling is way too light at any angle.

-- Robert Oster Romeo & Juliet - Ooh, now this one is different, especially from Robert Oster, who isn’t typically known for chromashading. This one is a dusty blue with grey shading that is visible in swatches and I suspect, fairly visible with a wetter pen on Tomoe River and similar papers. This is definitely a contender for “ink it up”!

I really want to see Robert Oster Romeo & Juliet on some Tomoe River!

-- Wearingeul Tinkerbell - Another ink from Wearingeul’s Wendy & Peter collection, this is a light muted, dusty green ink with pearlescent (silver? gold? both?) shimmer and is surprisingly readable. Not my usual jam but that might make it a contender as well?

Wearingeul Tinkerbell looked more readable than I expected.

-- Wearingeul Tick Tock Croc - Also from Wearingeul’s Wendy & Peter collection, Tick Tock Croc is a slightly teal leaning green ink. It looks alright, but it’s not jumping out at me. And yes, silly me forgot to get Peter Pan and Captain Hook.

-- Inkebara #236 Sand - A warm yellow-brown that has some green chromashading in wetter swabs. I’ve got a lot of brown inks in pens right now but this is definitely high on the list for the next light brown pen inking.

The “line” near the light part of the swatch is where there’s some green in Inkebara #236 Sand.

-- Sailor Moroccan Mint Tea - This ink is a touch darker than the Inkebara Sand and doesn’t seem to have the green hint to it either. I’m very curious to see how it compares to Sailor x Tinterias Homemade Tortilla.

-- Diamine Tobacco Sunburst - Part of the Gibson Les Paul series of inks from Diamine, Tobacco Sunburst is a medium golden brown. I wasn’t expecting much but was pleasantly surprised at the golden tone and how nicely it shades. Again, if I didn’t have so many browns inked up already …

-- KWZ x Newcastle Pen Show, Newky Brown - A kind friend surprised me with this ink and I am over the moon because I loved drinking Newcastle in my (much) younger days and I also love KWZ ink! This is a darker reddish/orangish brown ink that could potentially show some nice shading in a drier pen.

-- Franklin-Christoph Bronze Age - Was anyone surprised that I bought this one? Me neither. The color isn’t one that instantly grabs me but it is more interesting than the photo shows - it is a darker chocolate brown that has very slight green undertones, like patina’d bronze.

-- Wearingeul 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Ooh, this is a pretty royal blue ink with gold shimmer. I am VERY curious to see how this compares to Pelikan’s Ink of the Year, Golden Lapis, which looks quite similar (I can’t wait to get my bottle). This is a contender since I will be need to ink up a mid-toned blue soon.

The shimmer is much more pronounced in real life.

-- Wearingeul Iaros Orna Eperanto - This is a darker, richer blue with gold shimmer and a hint of red sheen in wetter patches. It reminds me of a shimmery Diamine Blue Velvet.

-- Lamy Pink Cliff - One of those instances where I can’t get past the name because it’s not remotely pink. Not a contender for near-term inking but I will be curious to see how it compares to Lamy Blue Black, which is a favorite.

-- Wearingeul Frankenstein - A slightly blue-leaning, royal purple ink with a hint of copper sheen? Yes, please, but is it unique? Not so much, but I still love the color!

-- Color Traveler Miyoshi Pione Purple - A little moodier and more red-leaning purple than Frankenstein, this is right up my alley, but I’m looking at 8 pens with purple ink right now, so this one has to wait a bit. I’m curious to see if it sheens or has shading properties on TR paper.

Oops, accidentally added an extra “L” in my Color Traveler Miyoshi Pione Purple swatch.

-- Wearingeul Persephone - Ok, Wearingeul, I love this one. Dusty purple with purple shimmer? Yeah, short list. I don’t care which purple pen I have to clear out to make room for this one.

Don’t see purple shimmer that often!

-- Wearingeul x EndlessPens, The Black Cat - My witch-crazed friend shared a sample of this one with me and I’m glad that it’s not a “plain black ink” but has a subtle purple and grey tint to it, as well as some pink (?) shimmer. Not in any rush to put black inks in any pens but this one could pass for almost purple-black.

-- Wearingeul Hades - I got a sample of this because I was hoping it would be more blue, but it’s really a dark black ink with blue shimmer, which is kinda cool.

One of the few ways to get me to use a black ink is to put shimmer in it!

So, out of these 20 swatches, which ones am I most eager to ink up?

Top 3 picks:

Montblanc Rose Burgundy - I already knew this was going into a pen, so maybe this is an unfair pick.

Montblanc Le Petit Prince, Rose Burgundy ink with the Le Petit Prince, Red Planet pen.

Robert Oster Romeo & Juliet - the chromashading looks promising

Robert Oster Romeo & Juliet pairs pretty well with S. T. Dupont D-Inital in Shark Blue.

Wearingeul Tinkerbell - This one is giving me all the feels and I don’t know why.

It’s like Wearingeul Tinkerbell and Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Solar Term, Fuki were made for each other!

Honorable mentions:

• Inkebara #236 Sand - I wanna see how this ink shades on TR or Cosmo Air Light paper.
• Wearingeul Persephone - I know, I said shortlist but there are too many purple pens inked up!

There you have it, some (relatively) quick thoughts on 20 different inks. Now to write some more pens dry so I can start using these inks, and get back to swatching!

(Disclaimer: All inks are my own, either purchased from various retailers at recent pen shows including Jimmy Dolive, Franklin-Christoph, and Vanness Pens, or samples swapped with a pen friend.)

Montblanc Manganese Orange Ink Review

Montblanc Manganese Orange was released in 2019, in conjunction with the Montblanc Pix Orange Ballpoint. Wait, a fountain pen ink was launched to mark the release of a ballpoint? I can’t find a similar fountain pen to match, so yeah, maybe so?

Or, more likely, it is my excuse to understand how an orange ink fan like myself missed a bright orange ink release by a major company. Yeah, the ballpoint threw me off. That’s what it was!

In reality, there are a lot of products launched every year, and with Montblanc Lucky Orange released two years prior, a new, similar looking orange from the company with the snowcap flew under my radar. It took a spin around the Atlanta Pen Show a month ago to run across a bottle of this ink stacked on the Dromgoole’s ink shelf. A quick look at how bright it was, and it was an easy purchase.

The main question I had about Manganese, aside from how I missed it, is how different it is than Lucky Orange. Given Montblanc’s repeated reissuing, repackaging, and renaming of existing ink formulas, that’s right where my mind went. Is this Lucky Orange in a new box?

Cotton swabs on Kokuyo A5 Business Paper. Manganese is lighter than the three other inks, but isn’t a yellow-orange like Sailor Apricot, or similar.

I was assured it wasn’t, and that turned out to be the case. Lucky Orange is a nice, bright orange. Manganese is a nice, BRIGHT, orange. There is a visible difference to junkies like me, but is there enough of a difference to separate it from an already saturated orange ink contingency?

Once I inked it up, I was instantly drawn to it. It leans towards that searing, almost neon orange look that I see in Akkerman #16 Oranje Boven. It’s bright, that’s for sure. And usable, too. On the page, it does tone down the nuclear glow that I was seeing at first, simply making it a standout color.

Dry ink makes for fast dry times. Good color, only minor shading, if any.

But I’m not sure you need it if you already have something close. Montblanc Inks are some of the best on the market and fairly priced to boot. This bottle is $26 for 60 ml, with Lucky Orange, when originally available, priced at $19 for 30 ml. The beautiful 60 ml Akkerman bottle is slightly more at $30.

All of this is to say that I like Manganese Orange, and would recommend it if you don’t have something in this range. If you already have a similar orange, I’m not sure it is a difference maker.

Notes on the pen, nib, and paper used in this review: I bought my Franklin-Christoph Model 46 in Olivae at the Atlanta Pen Show as well. It is fitted with a black-plated steel EF nib with a SIG grind done by the Nib Doctor Audrey Matteson. This is a near-perfect nib setup for my writing style, and it will be in heavy rotation.

The two notebooks are the Yoseka Notebook for the line art, and The Paper Mind for writing and ink samples.

(I purchased this ink from Dromgoole’s at the 2022 Atlanta Pen Show.)

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