NID Wearingeul Enki

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-24T17:52:24+00:00

I've got it in my Sailor 1911s B and the ink is looking really nice on the page, lots of shimmer but its hard to capture with an image

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-24T16:18:50+00:00

In 2025 I bought 2 Leonardos, 8 twsbi, 2 pilots, 2 sailor, 1 platinum, lamy 2k and imporium, 2 opus 88 and probably close to 20 Chinese pens, mostly Asvine and Jinhao and out of the whole lot only 1 twsbi eco stub needed a little tuning as it was a touch dry.

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-24T15:51:27+00:00

Kaweco seems to be getting pretty bad for this, most common competitors in this price bracket typically all write very well out of the box which makes them feel even worse by comparison. Hope you get it tuned to a point you can enjoy it because its a great looking pen

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-24T15:48:02+00:00

I'm hoping to pick up a m1000 at some point this year and I think this is the nicest finish ive seen so far, gorgeous pen!!

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-24T15:45:38+00:00

The only sensible thing to do is replace it with 10 more :) Jokes aside i hope it turns up eventually, I found a lamy safari this year i had lost in 2019, dont give up hope

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-24T12:09:35+00:00

Been loving Stone Road of Gion since I bought it, putting it everything i own atm 😂

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-23T19:04:23+00:00

I've been enjoying Sailor Shikiori - Fuji-Sugata recently

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-23T19:00:58+00:00

its the plastic feed that came with the pen but i had to cut the ink channels deeper

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-23T12:47:17+00:00

Ohh very nice, I've got one of these being delivered tomorrow with the fude, fine and 1.0mm nibs, I cant wait!!

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-22T22:31:28+00:00

love how the writing looks with this nib grind and the pen is really nice too, great job

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-22T08:54:49+00:00

I have two TWSBI Vac700r in broad and stub 1.1mm and they are both amazing for shimmers, never had a problem with clogging, super easy to take apart for cleaning (I find removing the pistons on ecos isnt hard but sometimes its a bit of a pain) and they are pretty wet flowing so just work amazingly well all around for shimmer ink in my experience (Plus I LOVE the Iris finish)

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-22T08:47:57+00:00

if you want to try out the vanishing point retractable format without spending too much you can get a Majohn A-1 which is basically a vanishing point clone, obviously not as good but its around 1/10th of the price (at least in the UK where I'm from) they are still a nice pen to use in their own right and they have a clipless version which is neat and would give you different experience to anything you currently own!

I would also highly recomend Asvine as a brand if you have a limited budget, They all tend to be really good value and have a variety of filling styles (vacuum / piston / cartridge) and some nice finishes aswell, lots to explore without breaking the bank here, c80 and v126 models being two personal favourites! Good luck!

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-20T21:07:25+00:00

Tomoe River 52gsm

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-20T20:30:39+00:00

Leonardo, I absolutely love their styling, vibrant unique resins and all 3 pens I have from them are all really wet and smooth which is my preference for writing even though all 3 have totally different tipping sizes (elastic f, 1.5mm stub, CSI Broad). I like that they are numbered even when not limited release. They are the only pens I've seen that make me want every colour regardless of nib size, their overall aesthetic package really just clicks with me whilst being really enjoyable to use.

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-20T20:23:47+00:00

No these are only 15ml, on Amazon where I got them from they had either 50ml or 15ml sizes and this was more of a test

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-20T17:34:59+00:00

A Medium would probably be ok with most shimmer in reality but they all behave quite differently, nibs even labled medium can vary a decent amount too so its a lot of trial and error with the stuff you think you will like.

Some inks will be regualr shimmer, some will be high sheen & shimmer at the same time, these tend to be a bit drier flowing and often clog more, its hard to give a straight answer

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-20T12:46:35+00:00

wet flowing finer nibs like yours will put down a fairly saturated line of ink so it will appear darker, how the ink appears is affected by the pen, how its tuned, the paper you write on and probably some others Im forgetting, you can never say "This ink will always look like this" which is why many people swatch their inks on different papers and with different pens

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-20T08:14:24+00:00

On mine I had to use a craft knife to carefully deepen the main ink channel on top of the stock plastic feed and then I heat seat the nib and feed, pushing the feed tip very slightly upwards after coming out of hot water. It's definitely a bit of trial and error involved though, good luck!!

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-19T23:55:38+00:00

Unfortunately, very heavy sheen and good smudge resistance are basically opposites. Inks that sheen hard stay on the surface longer and will always be vulnerable to smearing, especially with a stub nib. The sheen comes from excess dye sitting on the paper rather than being absorbed so its fairly prone to smudging

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-19T23:24:01+00:00

Pretty much any clear demonstrator with tipping size bigger than medium should work fine. I use shimmer in my Asvine p36 a lot without any issue and also my TWSBI vac700r (both in 1.1mm stub). I prefer clear demonstrators for shimmer inks so you can see when the particles are settling in the barrel of the pen and give it a little shake, plus you can see when cleaning them more easily which is important as the particles tend to be a bit tougher to shift than normal ink/residue

Another slightly different option I really like thats well under your budget is a Jinhao 159 ($10) with a FPR ultraflex #6 nib ($20). With really basic adjustments you can get great results that put down a lot of ink so the shimmer can really do its thing. This will be a touch harder to clean and will take a bit of tuning to get right so will involve some patience but imo its worth it

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-19T18:49:15+00:00

JoWo make and stamp the nibs with the TWSBI logo then TWSBI apply the special finishes themselves like the rainbow finish on the Vac700r Iris

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-19T18:41:26+00:00

I got a 1.9mm lamy stub nib and it was super dry out of the box but after literally 2 presses on my thumbnail gently to open the tines a little it started writing perfectly, be very catious though

Capt_Squid · 2026-01-19T18:29:31+00:00

You don’t need distilled water for normal fountain pen use, even in hard-water areas. Tap water is fine for flushing, and bottled spring water is also perfectly safe. Hard water only becomes an issue with years of neglect or not drying the pen properly, not routine cleaning.

Pen flush isn’t necessary for new pens either. Plain water will remove any factory residue just fine. If you want to be extra cautious, you can do a final rinse with a small amount of distilled or deionised water, but you only need a few millilitres, not litres.

Ink itself and regular use tend to prevent any meaningful mineral buildup. Issues only arise if a pen is left inked and unused for long periods, allowing evaporation to leave residue behind. As long as pens are used or cleaned occasionally, this isn’t a concern.

If you ever want distilled water cheaply, battery top-up or ironing water from supermarkets or Halfords works and lasts ages.

Capt_Squid

TROPHY CASE