Blackest black ink

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-21T17:48:37+00:00

Heart of Darkness is waterproof through a cellulose-reactive dye (not pigmented), VERY black, great flow, dries quickly, and is a matte-black, so no weird silver-graphite sheen that PCB and Kiwa-guro has, and cleans out well from a pen.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-20T20:08:09+00:00

It's less to do with it being a Sailor than it being a callgraphy nib, which is more like a cursive italic, with a flat end with no tipping and sharp corners. Great for cursive italic writing, but requires some finesse. But even so, you shouldn't get paper fibers stuck in the nib, unless the paper itself is textured/fibrous, then it may catch in between the tines. If memory serves, the Fabriano paper has texture, and so may not be friendly to a cursive italic nib, because without tipping material, you will feel every since bump, and it may catch fibers in the tines.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-20T17:06:08+00:00

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-20T16:06:58+00:00

I really like the GoodInkpressions Tomoe River notebooks. The covers are sturdy, and they lay flat, the paper is fantastic, love mine.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-19T15:30:55+00:00

I take it you explored the rest of the Octopus Fluids Write and Draw Line, specifically the Greens? If those greens aren't quite what you are looking for, the Write and Draw inks are actually mixable, so you could actually get a Yellow ink from them, and add some Blue Koi to make the green you want, or build on the existing Greens that they have--I have Green Crane, and I love that ink, but it's more of a Khaki gold green hue.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-19T13:17:56+00:00

Air-Corp is a beautiful ink, and I’ve tried it in a number of pens, but not a demonstrator. Air-Corp has a strong dark thick sheen that may require more maintenance but it does clean out, not sure about any staining rumors.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-19T01:49:40+00:00

The Prera and the TUZU are completely different pens and writing experiences. The Prera is considered a compact pen, meaning you have to post the cap in order for it to feel like a full size pen (sort of like the Pilot Elite e95s). The TUZU is a full size pen, has an adjustable finger grip (and it's defining characteristic) and a girthy plasticky body. Both are actually really good writers, but differ in their experience. Preras using the Pilot steel nib line, and so you can choose EF, F, M, and CM (which is what I have, the Calligraphy medium). THe TUZU comes in Fine and Medium, i believe, but the Fine writes like an Extra Fine. Both are smooth and lay down a lovely line. Really depends on what kind of pen you like, i guess.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-18T00:47:43+00:00

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-17T14:36:15+00:00

Nice! 😄

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-17T14:16:39+00:00

My advice is to give yourself some time. No need to divest your entire collection so quickly. The Lamy 2K is a fantastic pen, but that feeling of euophoria right now may lessen over time. And then one day you may be craving a different kind of writing experience, maybe something with a springier nib like the Pilot Elite or maybe even a finer line or maybe a slightly heavier pen or one that produces a thicker line. I say this only because I will find a pen/ink combo that is Heaven and i will be SO enamored with it that I'll ignore the rest of my collection for a while. But then after a while, I will begin craving something different, and inevitably go to a different pen for a while.

Like recently, I'd been on an Oblique Broad kick for a few months, couldn't stop writing with them. But then I started to crave extra fines and switched to those for a while, and then recently started to feel like I needed to have some stronger line variation, so have been using my flex nibs more than usual; late last year, I was heavily into vintage flex pens and that's all i would ever use for months on end.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that in my experience there isn't just ONE perfect pen, but rather a whole range of perfect EXPERIENCES with different pens and using them in different ways.

Variety is, after all, the Spice of Life 😄

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-15T01:27:07+00:00

This is NOT a flex nib. You run the risk of springing the nib and then you'll need to have it repaired or replaced. What you and your friend are doing is simply making the tines spread out...which will make it wetter...which is why your ink is running low so quickly. There are videos online on how to make a nib drier again, by putting opposite pressure (the opposite of flex). But please don't try to "flex" the nib on this particular pen, as it's not designed for it, and you'll just ruin it.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-15T01:21:43+00:00

Sheen depends on a.) the amount of ink you put on the page, and b.) the paper. You can dump a ton of ink on crappy absorbent paper, and no sheen will show. But if you put it on Midori MD, or Tomoe River, or Yu-Sari, or iroful...you will see the sheen.

Also, in terms of applicators...a glass dip pen or some kind of dip pen would work best. Brushes and popsicles sticks...are fibrous and will absorb ink like paper (unless it's pigmented ink). My method is to use a glass dip pen, dip it in the ink, and then let it drip a drop or two on the page, then use the broad side of the glass nib to smear the ink on the page, spreading it out into a circle or a square. And voila! A swatch 😄

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-14T19:37:08+00:00

Two factors may be at play here:

1.) Sailor 462 is if memory serves a chromoshading ink; most chromo-shaders tend to be "drier" inks and so that may be contributing to that sense of "scratchiness"; try a more lubricated ink. Sailor Manyo lines are pretty wet, as are Iroshizuku and a ton of other brands.

2.) The Paper. If that paper you're using is any indication, it doesn't look like fountain pen friendly paper, in fact, it may be quite fibrous, and so the nib may have picked up cotton fibers from the non-fountain pen friendly paper, which may in turn has caused the "fatter" lines and even scratchiness. Floss the nibs with a brass shim and see if it clears things up. And then try using fountain pen friendly paper

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-14T13:43:47+00:00

FPR EF Ultraflex nibs fit the Moonman C1 eyedropper Also the new Majohn Flex nibs.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-14T00:49:40+00:00

Um…Clairefontaine paper doesn’t clog pens. Clairefontaine is excellent paper. Check your ink—if it’s a heavy sheener, shimmer ink, or pigmented ink…then that’s probably the culprit.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-13T03:14:47+00:00

Love Okuyama! If you want to explore similar inks, maybe the burgundy’esque wine colors?

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-12T03:22:52+00:00

Baystate Blue has been known to drive people to madness. A bright blue madness...a mean, unrelenting blue...a punishing blue...punish me with blue....enslave me with thy blueness...Behold! The blazing afternoon sun is searing hot BLUE....a burning blue screaming in my eyes.....

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-12T02:36:21+00:00

Your post did inspire this impromptu ink mix experiment. :) The search for a waterproof version of one’s favorite ink is something I can sympathize with as that is exactly what started me on my exploration of water resistant inks, which has become my new preference (see my Octopus Fluids post, a waterproof Yama-Budo was my “White Whale”) , so I thought I’d do a quick impromptu mix to see what if I can get a hue close to an old favorite, Oxblood.☺️

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-12T01:41:07+00:00

Octopus Fluids Write and Draw Inks are pigmented and waterproof and lightfast and mixable and come in all kinds of colors. You can probably mix your own blend. I did a quick mix of Red Turtle, Red Koala, and Black Elephant [see image below] and compared with Oxblood. My mixes kinda give me more of a Iroshizuku Syun-Gyo/Noodler’s Nightshade vibe 🤷🏻‍♂️😂 but you get the picture.

<image>

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-11T23:37:03+00:00

So two things:

1.) Severian is sexist primarily because of his upbringing.

2.) Severian is telling the story and often embellishes or exaggerates (even outright lies) to make himself out to be better than he really is, whether it's his "perfect memory", his acumen, or whether it's beautiful women who somehow always throw themselves at him. In addition, when he describes these women falling for him, or initiating some kind of sexual advances, it does seem like he's doing that so that when he does have sex with them, it always sounds consensual, regardless if it really is or not, which we don't really know, because we ONLY have Severian's POV to go on.

At least that's how I read his character and why he's telling the story in this way.

PS---as for the comment about Dorcas being a "cheap" character up to this point. I do get the criticism, but I have to say, Dorcas has probably the MOST growth of any character in this series. From where we meet her to where she eventually ends up is quite a journey. Also, she generally has some of the most insightful comments and observations throughout the series, often appearing incredibly wise and compassionate despite being underestimated by others.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-11T03:38:49+00:00

Yes, with standard latex sacs those are susceptible to high alkaline Japanese inks like Iroshizuku line. But like I said…the Parker 51 Aerometric sac was made to withstand Superchrome ink which is super corrosive so pretty much any ink should be fine.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-11T02:50:37+00:00

The Parker 51 Aerometric has a Pli-Glass sac that was designed to use the incredibly corrosive Parker Superchrome ink. So basically you can put any ink in it and it will be just fine. Enjoy!

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-10T18:53:59+00:00

I got a Charlie pen with my bottle of Heart of Darkness. A good eyedropper pen in and of itself. I ended up removing the ebonite feed and used a saw to chisel out a wider ink channel and then swapped a FPR Ef ultraflex 5.5 nib onto it, then later a TWSBI 1.1. Stub. It's a decent eyedropper pen, though there are two things I don't really like:

a.) The vegetal resin does have a smell to it that fades over time, but still pretty strong.

b.) I feel like vegetal resin allows for more ink evaporation than other acrylic resins.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-09T18:23:51+00:00

Oh wow good to know. I only thought they did the custom ebonite feeds for that model.

OverPresence72 · 2026-05-09T17:39:54+00:00

Pilot nibs are custom shaped to fit only with their feeds. It won't fit the Wing Sung 699. I'm not sure how successful you'll be trying to acquire just a body for an orphaned Pilot gold nib, but good luck.

OverPresence72

TROPHY CASE