When I returned to Japan in February of this year, I was better prepared in my search for exclusive inks. As you will know if you’ve seen my video series about hunting for exclusive inks in Japan last year, many stationery stores in Japan carry their own exclusive inks, often made by Sailor, but just […]
About a year and a half ago, I started experimenting with making my own inks. I started looking at books and journal articles, and I contacted other small ink makers around the country to pick up any tips and tricks that they were willing to offer, and I made some good progress. At the same […]
Over the past several months, the Jinhao x159 has been one of the most discussed and reviewed new fountain pens on the internet, largely due to its larger than standard nib. Perhaps looking to capitalize on this large-nib fervor, Kanwrite has recently begun producing one of the largest fountain pen nibs on the market: a […]
The Nauka is a hand-made fountain pen from the company “ASA” out of Chennai, India. I ordered the Nauka in matte black ebonite with a broad nib, and I absolutely love the pen. The price, when ordering from the USA, is about $60, but if you’re ordering from India, it’s less than half of that: […]
A couple of months ago I ordered a beautiful acrylic Abhimanyu from a Ranga “group buy” on facebook and loved it, so when I saw that there was a new Abhimanyu Grand model, I had to buy a couple of them. As always, the production and shipping were remarkably fast, with my order placed on […]
Cosmo Air Snow is exactly what it sounds like: a neutral white version of the popular Cosmo Air Light paper from the Japanese company “Yamamoto”. It combines the remarkable characteristics of Cosmo Air Light (virtually no feathering or bleed through, high sheen and high shading) with the vibrancy of a white, soft surface. In this […]
This quick answer is yes, but it’s not quite able to match the most popular Japanese papers (Tomoe River and Cosmo Air Light) for handling the most ill behaved inks. For people who prefer a more sturdy, weighty paper, Ayush paper feels wonderful and behaves well. For a more detailed answer, see the video above! […]
About a year ago, I imported a couple dozen bottles of inks from China. When purchased directly in China, it turns out that PenBBS inks cost only a few dollars per bottle, and there were a variety of others that I also found interesting, so I thought it would be worth a shot. Unsurprisingly, I […]
Last week I bought a bottle of Monarca Manglar Ink from Monarca Stationery, and they were kind enough to send along samples of their full lineup of nine inks. In this video, I review Manglar and also provide swatches of the rest of the inks for reference until I’m able to create full reviews for […]
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