December 1 EDC Update

It's been quite a while since I've done an EDC post, and it's been because I've been embarrassed at the sheer number of things I've had on me at any given time.  I finally wrote dry/emptied some fountain pens and put other pens away, whittling the daily carry down to this. 

From left, Nock Co. Lookout with Nakaya Portable Writer (medium nib, inked with Sailor Epinard); Aurora Ipsilon Quadra (stub, inked with Platinum Blue-Black); and Karas Customs Ink (medium, inked with Akkerman Voorhout Violet).  On the right, Field Notes Drink Local India Pale Ale edition, with vintage Faber Castell Velvet #2 pencil and Karas Customs Retrakt (Pilot G2 .5mm blue refill).  

I'm set for the week, well, mostly.... the next question is, which of the new DDC Factory Floor Field Notes to use next?  I'm leaning towards the "Simple Minded Silver Streak," but "Welcome Hunter's Orange" is also calling my name.... It'll be a game-time decision. 

July EDC Update

When I got home last weekend, I switched up the pen and ink rotation.  I've been using these since, and will probably use most of them for another week or two before I get the itch to update. 

Pens from left:  (1) Omas Ogiva in Saft Green with Masuyama-ground medium nib, loaded with Iroshizuku Kon Peki (2) Nakaya portable writer with medium nib, loaded with Montblanc Alfred Hitchcock; (3) Lamy 2000 with Greg Minuskin retipped .9mm stub nib, loaded with Akkerman Voorhout Violet; (4) Parker Sonnet Cisele with Fine Nib, loaded with Aurora Black; and (5) Waterman Phileas with Medium Nib, loaded with Iroshizuku Yama Budo.

Of this loadout, my favorite combos have been the Parker Sonnet with the Aurora Black (a classic pairing, IMHO), and the Nakaya with the Montblanc Hitchcock (the only ink I've hoarded).  I haven't spent a lot of time with the Omas yet, but that's primarily due to the fact that it's a wet writer and most of my work this week has been done on cheapo paper that feathers and bleeds like crazy.  I'm also really starting to love the Phileas, which I recently received in a trade.  Finally, Greg Minuskin did some masterful work retipping this Lamy 2000, which had been ruined by nib work so bad that even Mike Masuyama couldn't salvage it.  Reviews of all will be up at some point.  Enjoy the weekend everyone!  

EDC Update: Week of June 2, 2014

It's been a while since I updated the EDC feature of the blog, and I've written through all of the pens I had previously inked up, so for today's post I thought I would explain the refresh a bit.  Here's my current daily carry:

This week's EDC, clockwise from the top: (1) Pilot Razor II Ultra Fine; (2) Pilot G2 LImited with black .7mm refill; (3) Zebra F-701 ballpoint with black .7mm refill; (4) Pilot V-Razor Extra Fine; (5) TiPen with Blue Black .4mm Hi-Tec-C Refill; (6) PIlot Hi-Tec-C .4mm in red; (7) Doan Paper Utility Notebook; (8) Waterman Hemisphere with fine nib, filled with Waterman blue black; (9) Pilot Custom 74 Violet Demonstrator with Masuyama extra fine, filled with Pilot Blue-Black; (10) Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black Edition with fine nib, filled with Sailor Kiwa Guro Nano Black. 

There's some stability in what I've been using recently:  the Pilot Razor II and the Pilot V-Razor are still seeing heavy use.  I'm glad I rediscovered these pens, as they're incredibly handy daily users and the archival black ink works fairly well on all papers I use on a daily basis.  I've also kept the Pilot Custom 74 with the Masuyama Extra Fine in the rotation.  It continues to be loaded with Pilot Blue Black, although I'm thinking of switching this up after my current cartridge runs dry.  I finished my classic Field Notes and moved on to my final Doane Utility Journal, and my Nock Co. cases are still getting heavy use.  (Sassafras pictured) 

Two new additions of note: 

First, last week I received my Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black Edition back from Mike Masuyama, who was repairing the bent nib.  The drawback to Sailor's super smooth, super fine 21K nibs is that they bend very easily, even with a minor slip or drop (i.e., an inch onto a pad of paper).  As expected, a super-reasonable $30 later the pen is as good as new, and I loaded it up with Sailor's Kiwa Guro Nano Black, which I had not used for a time.  Over the two days that I've used this ink, it's performed flawlessly on a variety of papers, including Doane without the slightest hint of feathering and bleedthrough.  Doane typically handles fountain pen ink pretty well, but this was like writing with a Sakura Pigma Micron.  Now that I think of it, the two pigmented inks are probably pretty similar.  

Second, I inked up another of my favorite pens, a Waterman Hemisphere with a fine nib that was a gift from one of my mentors when I made partner at my firm.  Sentimental value notwithstanding, the pen is an excellent writer, and reminds me to ink up my Watermans more often.  I personally think that they have some of the best gold plated and stainless nibs on the market, in terms of consistency and value.  The Waterman blue black ink is a classic, and works perfectly in this pen.

Enjoy the weekend everybody, and you can probably guess from this post what's in store for the near future!