It’s another #8PenQuestions answer! I’m hoping to get all eight answered by the end of April. You can see my all of my #8PenQuestions answers here.
4. Are there inks & pens that you have yet to try but would like to?
Absolutely yes!
Pens
I have quite a few pens on my wishlist; excluding pens I know I’ll like, here are some of the ones I’d love to try. These are all pens I’ve heard of or seen but not used; in a couple of cases I’ve tested them out for a sentence or two in my swatching journal at a pen meet, but nothing more than that. My top three “want to try” pens would be:
Magna Carta Mag 600. I’d love a real genuine flex pen and by all accounts the Mag is one of the flexiest and nicest to use. I’m not sure whether I need one – I certainly haven’t been able to justify the price tag, so far – but it’d be nice to play with one.
Pilot Vanishing Point. I have the Majohn A1 and I love the clickiness and convenience, but I don’t love how much it dries up, nor how incredibly fine the nib is. The VP might be a better fit for me. I got as far as ordering one online, but it disappeared in transit between Japan and here, and the seller refunded me – but sadly I paid before the Pilot price jump and the disappearance was afterwards, and I’m not sure I want one enough to pay the new higher price.
Diplomat Aero. I adore the nib on my Diplomat Magnum but the pen’s form factor gives me terrible hand cramps. I’d love to know if the Aero solves that problem while retaining the lovely writing experience of the Magnum’s nib, but it’s pricey enough I can’t justify buying one without trying it first.
Inks
So, so many inks. Look, my ink wishlist is a behemoth of a thing; there’s no sense me listing it all here.
The standouts, though, are Birmingham Pen Co. inks; I’ve wanted some of these colours for ages now, and BPC is definitely having a moment, with a lot of social media pen people talking about them lately. Sadly, BPC don’t ship outside the USA, so it’s going to take some creativity to get a chance to play with them – and my BPC wishlist is already a long one!
I’d also like to try some Monteverde inks; their reputation seems to be a bit patchy (mold issues, I believe?) but I’ve seen some lovely swatches so I’m willing to take the risk.
And finally, I’m also looking forward to trying out the new Endless Alchemy ink range. Reports seem to suggest that they’re straightforward colours but really well-executed and well-behaved. I’ve been waiting for them to turn up in sample sizes at my local stockist, and soon they will be mine!
Thanks for reading! Stick around for another #8PenQuestions post coming soon.
