It’s been four months since my last update, since when I went from working from home to being put on furlough, so the pens in use have been those at my PC not in my daily carry case.

The pens at my desk fall in to four categories, the permanent resident, those considered the present daily pens, those in use for review purposes, and those which do not really fall in any category and also possibly should be cleaned and put away.

The Permanent Resident

Franklin Christoph Model 66 Stablis in frosted ice with a medium SIG steel nib, filled with Montblanc Lucky Orange. – As before this is my ever present desk pen. Since the last update the nib was switched from a fine SIG (which went in to my 18111) to a new steel medium SIG. This has made the pen more usable for quick notes and also for marking text for awareness.

The Daily Pens

Platinum Curidas in blue with a medium steel nib and filled with Lamy Turmanline. – Despite the cracked feed this pen still works well and is now on it’s third fill. The only reason it has not really been used for the last couple of months is due to me going back to my school/early pens and wanting to give them at least a couple of weeks use each before covering.

18111 Gold Dancing Feathers in Cosmic Storm with a fine Franklin Christoph steel nib and filled with Kyo-Iro Moonlight over Higashiyama. – This has really become the pairing to the Platinum. A joy to use, even though I’m partly tempted to put the old nib back in, but just as a result of the SIG nib being on the dry side, something I could tweak.

The Review Pens

Parker Inflection in stainless steel with medium steel nib and filled with Ferris Wheel Press Peppermint. – This will be the next ‘Pens from my Past‘ pen to be reviewed, after which it will be cleaned and returned to the drawer.

Parker IM in gunmetal with medium steel nib and filled with Robert Oster Champions and Heroes. – A more recently filled pen, and again one which will be cleaned up and archived once the review is done. I might yet change the ink as I had forgotten just how dry this limited edition ink is and this may be the reason why the pen suffers from hard starts.

Other Pens

Nettuno 1911 Black Sands with a medium steel nib and filled with Kyo-Noto Hisoku. – While this pen has not been used in a while, and did suffer from ink evaporation, I can see the pen staying by the PC for longer. I am now more comfortable with the feel, it does write well (now) and the metal work adds character. Note this may change over time once I have finished reviewing my old pens and it could go either way as to whether it stays out or goes in to a drawer.

Montblanc 146 with a medium (?) 14k gold nib, filled with Montblanc Toffee Brown. – I will review this pen at some point. I know I have upset some MB fans with my views as I do find the pen to be rather anonymous, even with the 14k nib, which is meant to have a lot more character than the modern 18k version. Sure it does write more nicely as it is softer and I personally do not like the pencil like feel of the present generation of MB pens. Having said that it can be left for weeks without being touched and will start to write first time with no skips or hard starts, so boring yes, but reliable, very.

Den’s Pens Aequitas with a fine steel nib and filled with Krishna Inks RC Christmas Eve. – Since my last post the ink evaporation seems to have stopped so it may just have been the result of some machining oils or detritus left on the cap threads, which with use has gone. The only reason I might not review this pen is because at the time of buying Den was still really in or around his first year of production and so any criticisms may be considered cruel or even already resolved (I probably will review this pen).

Waterman #2 Fountain Pen, filled with Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue. – I must admit I rarely use this pen and it more sits on my desk as an objet d’art.

Attached to Journals

Pilot Capless/Vanishing Point in Tropical Turquoise (2019 limited edition) with a medium 14k gold nib and filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku. – This is still attached to my Midori Traveller Passport, which I carry with me in a pocket when ever I leave the house. I have noticed some ink evaporation over time, though no where nearly as bad as my original VP and it may be a case I have just become spoilt by the Platinum Curidas.

Lamy Scala in Dark Violet (2019 limited edition) with a fine 14k gold nib (which was swapped in at purchase for the stock steel nib) and filled with Faux Lamy Dark Lilac. – This is attached to my full sized Midori Traveller, which goes with me to work, meetings, appointments, or any time where I know in advance I will be taking notes. Between this pen and the Lamy 50th Anniversary Glacier version I think I have only ever had a gold nibbed Scala attached to this journal.