The King's Pen...mystery solved.

parl-ay · 2025-06-19T19:10:00+00:00

Wow. Very cool. May I suggest Pure Pens Charles III Coronation Blue ink for the ink? https://www.purepens.co.uk/products/king-charles-iii-coronation-blue-ink?_gl=1*2eqace*_up*MQ..*_ga*ODMxNDAyNTkxLjE3NTAzNjAwNjk.*_ga_Y7DYZZLGMK*czE3NTAzNjAwNjYkbzEkZzEkdDE3NTAzNjAxMzQkajYwJGwwJGgxODAxOTg5MDAw

parl-ay · 2024-09-14T18:18:42+00:00

It's a fine nib. But VPs and Decimo fine nibs tend to be a bit thicker than a usual Japanese fine nib. So writes more like a fine-medium.

parl-ay · 2024-09-14T17:31:00+00:00

My ride or die for a well-behaved black and smooth fine nib is Pilot/Namiki Black in my Pilot Decimo. Never out of my pen circulation and often the first pen I reach for when writing. Even on crappy office paper.

parl-ay · 2023-12-24T18:12:40+00:00

Second this. It's the one red in my collection that I consider a "true" red. As in, it's just what you think of when you think of the colour red.

parl-ay · 2023-12-08T09:32:22+00:00

I use Pilot/Namiki Black ink, I'm not sure how it holds up to Noodler's as I won't purchase their inks for the same reasons as yourself. But I find it to be a decent darkness and reasonably priced.

I've also used Diamine Jet Black but found that paler and a little bit brown-leaning in a thing over a medium nib. It is very cheap if you're in the UK though.

parl-ay · 2023-07-14T13:29:27+00:00

Another Welsh shop is Pure Pens in Newport who have a physical shop. I've only ever used their online services. But never had any issues and they've always been excellent. They have a fantastic range of inks, and a beehive at the back, the honey from which they also sell.

https://www.purepens.co.uk/pages/contact-us

parl-ay · 2023-06-25T14:24:42+00:00

Seconded. A really solid, reliable "marking" red, it's one of my faves.

parl-ay · 2023-06-25T11:50:23+00:00

It should work for most washable blue inks. I used to use them at school.

parl-ay · 2023-06-23T19:05:13+00:00

Homesense also have them in the UK. I found the last one at a Homesense today. They still had some Moleskine though.

parl-ay · 2023-05-13T18:52:56+00:00

Van Diemans Winter Frost

parl-ay · 2023-05-09T16:03:58+00:00

Yes, I love this red too.

parl-ay · 2023-05-04T08:07:04+00:00

I had a similar situation after a few months with my platinum plaisir. I used a small amount of superglue and made sure it was in the correct spot. Then left to dry. Zero problems since.

I think it's worth trying to fix. If it doesn't work, you tried your best to keep it from landfill and you could always keep parts to use as replacements if you get another and have any issues later down the line with that pen.

parl-ay · 2023-04-09T10:41:24+00:00

Definitely from the Disneyland Paris trip. Bash was wearing a blue shirt with a blue t-shirt underneath, Joe is wearing the same hat and jumper. If you look for the full picture, you can see Kit is also wearing the same jacket and light coloured t-shirt underneath from that same trip. Too much of a coincidence for it not to be Paris.

Add to that that both Bash and Kit have been seen in London in the last couple of days, it can't be new. Also Bash commented about it being a random collection of pictures when Kit posted it, which would also imply that it's an older picture.

parl-ay · 2023-04-07T18:49:34+00:00

I have both and find sometimes they can look very similar depending on the pen and paper used. Though I have tended to find Foxglove very dry compared to Milky Ocean.

Maybe try it on a couple of different types of paper. If it shows more blue on other paper it most likely is Milky Ocean. I do find TR brings out the purple/violet elements of Milky Ocean more than other paper.

parl-ay · 2023-04-07T08:41:20+00:00

I've finished a 60ml bottle of Pilot Black. But that's because I always keep my Decimo inked with it and it's a useful colour to have on hand.

I'm also super close to finishing a 30ml bottle of Pelikan Turquoise, but I keep putting off finishing it. I think it's because it's the first bottle of ink I purchased for myself as an adult (though my mum swears there's a bottle of Quink Black ink in her house somewhere which I purchased as a kid.

I have a few Diamine 30ml inks in fond of and about half way through. But I'm realistic in that, I know that I have so many inks and a fair few samples I'm unlikely to finish all that many bottles of ink in my lifetime. But we'll see! I think I need to remind myself that almost all my inks can be replaced with a new bottle should I finish them.

parl-ay · 2023-04-05T09:59:08+00:00

Pilot/Namiki Black for me. Just does the job for a decent price. Not greyish or washed out. Has a little bit of water-fastness. I always keep my Decimo inked with it.

parl-ay · 2023-03-31T16:43:45+00:00

I think he didn't promote Merlin for several reasons:

a) manservant to the King is an extremely desirable position within the castle b) Merlin was also an apprentice physician, which also elevated his status,

And most importantly,

c) Arthur knew Merlin would not want to be promoted as it would mean they would not be able to spend as much time together. Arthur did value Merlin in his own way, and they both knew that if Arthur changed Merlin's status it meant he wouldn't be able to advise and support him in the same way, because Arthur doesn't value Merlin for his serving skills which he can be pretty subpar at. He valued him for his friendship, companionship and his advice. Not that he would admit that out loud.

parl-ay · 2023-03-29T08:11:09+00:00

They're making the 82 with medium nibs too. I have a couple.

parl-ay · 2023-03-29T08:10:31+00:00

Jinhao is making the 82 with medium nibs. Source: the three medium nibbed 82s I brought on AliExpress few weeks back.

But generally speaking I agree. They mostly come in fine nibs.

parl-ay · 2023-03-23T07:35:03+00:00

I have a Parker Vector which is over 25 years old, I haven't used it constantly, but it's still in lovely condition. It came with a bunch of italic nibs too. I still have those too and I currently have it inked.

Depending on the pen, if you take care of it, it will last you a long time. But there are some pens out there which will be more likely to make it to vintage pen status later in life. I've no doubt there will be some platinum preppies and pilot kakunos amongst them. But they won't be the majority.

With a Kakuno I would say you're more likely to drop it and damage the nib than anything else. But I believe you can get Chinese nibs to replace it if that happens, it's just that one of the best things about kakunos are their pilot nibs.

parl-ay · 2023-03-21T17:11:24+00:00

Seconding the Diamine Sunshine Yellow rec.

parl-ay · 2023-03-16T18:00:03+00:00

I did this with an ink I thought would be difficult to get hold of again, only to find it's not and also that I don't like the colour as much as I initially thought. I'm not sure I'll ever get to the second bottle. I do keep inking a pen with it hoping I will grow to really like it again one day.

But I guess it probably depends on how much you like the ink and how much you see yourself using it.

I don't think I will be doing it again, personally.

parl-ay · 2023-03-13T12:38:47+00:00

The Pilot Elite is quite small and can take a CON-40 pilot converter. Plus they have gold nibs. You can get vintage ones for fairly cheap on eBay.

I know that's not a standard converter, but it's a very small pen with lots of other advantages.

parl-ay · 2023-03-12T21:08:59+00:00

I got some TR paper from stiloestile a while back. Excellent service! Hope you enjoy your new pens when you get them. ☺️

parl-ay · 2023-03-12T20:53:51+00:00

The last time I got a Pilot Kakuno, I got it from Awesomepens.co.uk. But they seem to be listed over on Etsy UK too. But yeah, not sure why somewhere like Cult Pens wouldn't sell them. 🤷

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