Fountain Pens

August Pen/Ink Palette!

Tada! Pens and inks. I usually only ink 7-9 pens but! I am experimenting with a new carry case AND. August is the one year anniversary of me getting into all this. So! I’m going a little extra this time…

My theme is sunset, I was trying to think of good colors for the last month of summer and it made me think of a day ending, as the summer ends, and then I thought of a sunset! The idea of a sunset made me really happy at the wealth of colors I could try out. So that’s what we’re doing!

There are two columns of pens and ink sample cards laid out side by side. The left column starts with a dark green, then a blue, then a darker blue/purple, then purple, then a slightly lighter purple, and last a rose magenta color. The right side colum starts with a darker orange, then a slightly lighter orange, and then another slightly lighter orange, then a peach, then a darker yellow, and last a lighter yellow. The names of the pens and the inks are listed below the photo.
August 2022 Pens and Inks

1. Hong Dian 5019, Lan Tian – May Flowers (EF) / Ferris Wheel Press Moonlight Jade 

2. Sailor Pro Gear Slim Mini – Night Blue (MF) / ColorVerse Cat 

3. James White – Nebula (Custom Nib) / Ferris Wheel Press Tumbling Time Blue

4. Sailor Pro Gear Slim – Purple Northern Lights (MF) / ColorVerse 54 Hayabusa Glistening

5. Esterbrook JR Paradise Pocket Pen – Purple Passion (F) / Van Dieman Beetroot Relish

6. Bearbarian Woodworking – Copper Eclipse Sunset, Diamine 2021 Inkvent Raspberry Rose

7. Conklin – Coronet Orange (F) / Kakimori Apricot Tea (Edit – switched Apricot Tea out for Kyo Iro Moonlight of Higashiyama on 8.1.22)

8. Kaweco AL Sport Limited Edition – Orange (F) / Ferris Wheel Press Pumpkin Patch

9. Leonardo Officina Italiana Brooks PM4 Limited Edition – Supernova (F) / Diamine Inkvent 2021 Wonderland

10. Esterbook JR Pocket Paradise Pen – Orange (EF) / Diamine 2021 Inkvent Peach Punch

11. Esterbook JR Pocket Paradise Pocket Pen – Yellow (EF) / Sailor Ink Studio 770

12. Majohn Wancai Mini Fountain Pen – Transparent Clear (F) / Diamine 2019 Inkvent Golden Star

(You may notice the two yellow inks are in different pens than the picture shows, my mistake! The list is correct, the photo is not. And also – Apologies – I can’t seem to find links for the Diamine Inkvent inks – they originally came out in an advent calendar in 2021 or 2019. The place I grabbed bottles no longer has them – seems to be a very limited run.)

Now, where am I going to put these 12 pens you may be asking! I technically have pen loops for 7 pens across my two main portfolios. I can squeeze in 2 more by putting a smaller pen – like a Kaweco – across the top of my weekly portfolio, and another one clipped into the card slots in my larger portfolio. So that gives me 7 in my main portfolio and 2 in my weekly. See why I usually try to stay under 9 pens? Haha.

A couple of weeks ago I discovered Galen Leather makes tiny little cases for Kaweco pens. I clearly needed one, since I have entirely too many Kawecos. Once I got it I figured out I could fit 3 small pens in it. Tada! Space for 12 pens.

Here’s the thing – If all 3 of my smaller pens are in the extra tiny case, then I don’t technically have a second spot in the weekly portfolio. Oh no…but! I also picked up a full size pen case at the same time as the tiny one – and I happen to be using three Esterbrook pens this month. So! I’ve got 3 Esterbook in a big pen external case, the Sailor Mini, Orange Kaweco, and the clear Majohn in the tiny external case, and the rest of the pens in my large portfolio. Yay! This should be fun.

A purple folio with space on the right for a notebook. The one there is a more blue purple, with three stickers on it. One in the bottom right says “Don’t believe every thought you think.” And to the right is a unicorn with pink hair and sunglasses holding a sparkly fountain pen the same height as the unicorn. And above those is a lightbulb with a black cat and a garden inside. On the right side of the portfolio is 4 card slots, and 6 pens. The card slots are holding a grey cat paper clip, and two ring splints. Set on top of the portfolio in the center is a purple external pen case that has space for 3 pens. And on the top right corner of the notebook is a smaller purple case, one pen rests inside, and 2 pens are set below it.
Purple Portfolio from Galen Leather, all 12 pens, and a fresh purple notebook!

First Impressions!
I got the pens inked this morning and I usually fill them with a syringe, so sometimes I need to do a little bit of manipulation to get them to write. Then of COURSE I have to test them…ahem.
– Magic Green – writes as well as always! (Knock on wood).
– Blue Sailor – gorgeous. I love the mini slim, and I love the MF nib!! And Cat is one of my favorite inks. Gorgeous all around.
– Sparkle Stick – had a little bit of trouble trying to prime the feed on this one, so I rinsed it, and eventually got it to write, and this ink is going to be awesome in this custom nib.
– Forever Purple – also writing wonderfully as usual!
– Esterbrook Purple – very pleased, writes well, solid color. It’s a PURPLE without SHIMMER and I like it. How dare.
– Custom Swirly – yeeees I was worried the nib in this one would be wonky, but no! Writes well out of the gate, and this is a fun ink to play with.
– Conklin Orange – this ink is WEIRD. It had a weird consistency in the first place, and it feathers like bonkers on the page…I’m going to give it a couple of days but I might end up swapping this ink out.
– Kaweco Orange – ink is struggling to flow. I need to check the nib and feed alignment, I’ll keep using it and see if I can’t loosen it up. I think I saw a post about this with like, a nick name, because this happens commonly? Haha. I’ll look for it.
– SuperNova Wonderland – writing beautifully as it did all thru July!
– Esterbook Orange – ugh. Would not write right away – unsure why, although it does have an EF nib – but no shimmer in the ink?? I let it sit for a while and it started to write, but it’s still struggling. I’ll let it sit for a longer time and see what happens.
– Esterbook Yellow – same problem as the orange, so we’ll see how it does tomorrow maybe?
– Clear Shiny Yellow – pen is so wee and tiny and cute!! I hope this nib can handle a shimmer ink… I put a shimmer ink in this because it is truly gorgeous…
Check it out:



Keep in mind, this is all after a single use, testing the pens and inks for the first time. So much can change in a month! I will naturally complain on twitter, ahem, but I will also post a review type thing at the end of the month. It will be less in depth and more…Spoon’s weird opinions! Yay!
Enjoy!