Tag Archives: Kyo No Oto

Fountain Pens

January Review: All of the things!

Okay, let’s take a look at what I played with in January. Second January I have been doing all of this by the way! I remember being super frustrated with shimmer inks January of 2022. But I have learned a lot since then – still more to learn tho, haha. Keeps things interesting. 

Pen/Ink Palette:
I went with “Ice” as a theme, and picked out some really pale and icy blues, purples, and teals. I actually enjoyed every single pen/ink combo. It was tough to pick a favorite. One thing that ended up being a little annoying was having my Magic Green and Favorite Purple pen still being inked but I didn’t use them very much. Considering putting one or both of them away.

A blue/purple/yellow sparkly pen placed horizontally above an entry in a notebook listing the name of the ink and pen, a sample of the ink in an ink bottle stamp, and a brief review.
I use a notebook from Ink Flight to record the palette’s I use every month. Here you can see my comments on this combo: “I love this nib! 3 widths, so useful. Pretty blue/purple ink, one of my usual favorite shades. When the shimmer comes thru it is very pretty.” And on the right I list the pen and ink details.

Favorite:
While it was tough to choose, the one that ended up being my favorite combo was a Bonecrusher7 Studios pen, using a custom three-grind pen from Jose Munera, and filled with a limited edition ink, Dawn, from a Dominant Industry and Cult Pens collaboration. The ink really worked well both from the 1.1m stub grind, and the MF grind side. I’ve played with different custom nibs before and often the ink only looks right from one side or the other, so I was happy to find a combo that worked well with all of the grinds on this nib. 

Least Favorite:
This may have been my own fault, but my least favorite combo was an Iron Feather Creative pen, filled with A Watery Star, from Wearingeul. I don’t think it was the pen or the inks fault, but it ended up writing a much different blue than I expected, way darker, and bled thru the paper! Completely wrong from an ink I sampled as a shading medium blue with shimmer! But after a couple of days I got to thinking…I had put Thunderbolt from Diamine in this pen the month before, which looks exactly like the dark ink coming out right now…so maybe the nib wasn’t cleaned out enough? Something to keep in mind when I am cleaning it this time! I am going to use the cleaner liquid this time instead of just water. 

Learned:
I’m betting the things I learn every month will end up being from whatever my least favorite pen/ink combo was. Like, in this case, I learned that even if you THINK the nib is clean, it might not be. And I need to look into some more ways to make SURE they are clean when I am done cleaning them!

Daily Samples:
Okay, I ran into a conundrum. Last year, when I had decided to go back thru every ink brand I had sampled in 2022 and pick up the last couple of each that I hadn’t sampled yet, I ended up with…a lot of inks. More than I could sample one a day in November. I decided not to worry about it at the time haha, and so January 2023 was arriving…I discovered I had enough PenBBS samples for another whole month…which is what I am doing in December. Then the hodge podge that was left meant I needed 10 more samples for the month of January, and since I get 11 with the Ink Subscriptions I get monthly I thought, you know what! And just added them to the Daily Samples for January to fill that out. And I got super lucky! I had only previously sampled one of the inks from the Ink Flight subscription. Hooray! 

Therefore! This section will be just touching on the samples that I did not get in one of my subscriptions. 

Lines of ink colors applied to a Monthly planner section that gives one line to every day. The numbers 9, 15, 22 and 31 are circled.
So many colors! I circled the dates for the inks I will reference below, 9, 15, 22, and 31.

Favorite:
A purple, so surprised. Taccia Naka Murasaki (January 9), a solid cool purple, and has that “dusty” feel that I like. I think this will go quite nicely in any of my purple palettes, and it is on the darker side, so easy to read. Probably going to be a little tough to tell it is a purple in darker lights tho.

Least Favorite:
Another surprise, my least favorite was a brown. (Being sarcastic by the way haha). Kyo No Oto, #10 Ochiguriiro (January 15). It’s a softer brown, which shares a little to a darker brown, has sort of deep yellow tones, and…I just don’t like browns. If you like browns, this is probably a good one tho, it behaved really well on my dip pen. 

Learned:
I don’t think I can completely guarantee that I have no brown ink samples in any of my reviews, but I can certainly try! This is definitely confirming for me that random ink samples are fun but only in small amounts, like the ink subscriptions. I have March figured out but I am going to have to do a think about what I am going to do in April. 

Ink Subscription Samples:
As I said, I actually sampled these in my Daily set, but I still! Gets it’s own section. And I got to play with Lamy inks from Truphae – which I have never tried before – and Anderillium from Ink Flight – which I have tried before, but out of the 7 I had only sampled one before. Also, I keep getting Monteverde pens in my Trupha subscription box haha, and the one from this month has not been tried yet! Next time I need a red pen I guess. 

Favorite:
The Lamy inks were all vaguely sheen-y inks, seemed to be a jewel themed pack. I ended up liking their Azurite (January 22) out of all 11 the best. It’s a very blue purple with a light green subtle sheen. I am guessing the sheen will only present itself in finer nibs by taking one thousand years to dry but otherwise I’ll need a broader nib to get it to show up visibly. 

Least Favorite:
For variety, let’s say the black ink, instead of the brown, was my least favorite…Anderillium, Common Loon Black (January 31). Nothing against the ink really, I just…think black inks are boring. Now! I could be wrong. But currently I have only seen one black ink I really enjoyed, and this was not it. Happy to be wrong some day tho.

Learned:
Well…I guess I confirmed that I am still sus of sheen inks, and I still don’t like brown/black inks no matter what. But maybe I was not paying enough attention…

Whew, let’s see what we’ve got next month, shall we?

Fountain Pens

November Daily Samples, Review: 2022 Samples Review

Whew, using the word review twice in one title is super annoying. I’ll have to think of something better the next time I do this. Anyway – this month’s daily samples are using 8 different ink brands.

A notebook page with a list of inks (these will be shared in the posts below) written in silver ink and then rewritten to the right in the color of the ink named. At the top of the page the text reads “November Daily Samples Year Review” in silver ink.

I pulled each sample randomly from a pile that gives me enough samples for November and January. Then I grouped the inks by brand, so I’ll be showing them grouped like that here. However! I wasn’t thinking and did not take the opportunity to order them by number – if they had one – or by series – if they had one. So, in January, I have to remember that! But, let’s look at the November daily samples:

5 ink sample cards stacked on top of each other. Only the bottom one is visible, and you can see the ink swatch at the top, the name of the brand of ink, the name of the ink, xxxooosssssss, a stamp of a fountain pen nib, a pool of the ink, text at the bottom left reading “22NovVent-5” and on the right edge of the card is the text “standard.” From top to bottom there is a reddish ink, three various brown inks, and a blue ink.
Taccia: Hokusai Benitsuchi, Sharaku Kurocha, Utamaro Usuzumi, Utamaro Ume Murasaki, Hokusai Fukakihanada

Taccia:
Hokusai Benitsuchi: rusty brown, dark red with orange hints.
Sharaku Kurocha: Brown. Very straightforward brown.
Utamaro Usuzumi: Black, slight sheen.
Utamaro Ume Murasaki: A brownish pink.
Hokusai Kukakihanada: Ocean/whale blue – maybe not literally, but that is what it makes me think of?

5 ink sample cards stacked on top of each other. Only the bottom one is visible, and you can see the ink swatch at the top, the name of the brand of ink, the name of the ink, xxxooosssssss, a stamp of a fountain pen nib, a pool of the ink, text at the bottom left reading “22NovVent-10” and on the right edge of the card is the text “standard.” From top to bottom there is a blue, a black, a pink-red, a lighter blue and a light green.
Kyo No Oto: Aonibi Iro, Nurebairo, Iamyou Iro, Hisoku, Kokeiro

Kyo No Oto:
05 Aonibi Iro: Mushy denim blue.
01 Nurebairo: I can’t tell if this is sheen or not? I feel like it is. Super darkest blue with just like…a wet colored sheen honestly?
02 Iamyou Iro: Bright pink, red tones.
07 Hisoku: Light to medium blue, readable, might be chromatic…
03 Kokeiro: Writes out like pea soup, dries to a goose poop greeny brown.

3 ink sample cards stacked on top of each other. Only the bottom one is visible, and you can see the ink swatch at the top, the name of the brand of ink, the name of the ink, xxxooosssssss, a stamp of a fountain pen nib, a pool of the ink, text at the bottom left reading “22NovVent-13” and on the right edge of the card is the text “standard.” From top to bottom there is a orangey-red, a pink, and a light brown.
Kyo Iro: (03) Fushimi’s Flaming Red, (05) Keage Sakura, (01) Cobblestones

Kyo Iro:
03 Fushimi’s Flaming Red: Bright red, leaning towards a dark pink.
05 Keage Sakura: Nice cherry blossom pink.
01 Cobblestones: A really soft brown, or a brown tuned grey? Perfect for cobblestones.

3 ink sample cards stacked on top of each other. Only the bottom one is visible, and you can see the ink swatch at the top, the name of the brand of ink, the name of the ink, xxxooosssssss, a stamp of a fountain pen nib, a pool of the ink, text at the bottom left reading “22NovVent-16” and on the right edge of the card is the text “standard.” From top to bottom there is a brighter red, a more sedate red, and a blackish brown.
PenBBS: (520) Light Snow, (508) Grain Buds, (392) Black Bread

PenBBS:
520 Light Snow: Fall red, orange tones when it’s written lighter.
508 Grain Buds: Makes me think of coffee, both to drink when it’s dark and to stain.
329 Black Bread: Black! A very dark grey is what it dries to.

5 ink sample cards stacked on top of each other. Only the bottom one is visible, and you can see the ink swatch at the top, the name of the brand of ink, the name of the ink, xxxooosssssss, a stamp of a fountain pen nib, a pool of the ink, text at the bottom left reading “22NovVent-21” and on the right edge of the card is the text “standard.” From top to bottom there is a a light maroon, a darker maroon, gold, light blue, and a dark brown.
Vinta: Ubi, Andrada, Pamana, Lakbay, Romblon

Vinta:
Mulberry Ubi 1663: Mulberry purple, dark, only noticeably purple in the light.
Teal Andrata 1898: Dark teal hidden under a purple sheen – or at least it looks like an almost black purple, I suppose it could be read mixing with the teal?
Heritage Brown Pamana 2018: Orangey brown with a green sheen.
Sea & Sky Lakbay 1861: Pretty, light blue, pink shimmer, not sure how much the shimmer comes thru, but when it does, pretty! Kind of dirty looking in the swatch tho.
Black Onyx Romblon 1582: Black/green undertones to the ink, faint dark purple sheen, and a very faint shimmer? Can’t see it in the vial, just the swatches. In writing it’s hard to see because of the sheen so…secret shimmer? I like it tho. For a black ink, nice subtle colors if you look at it right.

6 ink sample cards stacked on top of each other. Only the bottom one is visible, and you can see the ink swatch at the top, the name of the brand of ink, the name of the ink, xxxooosssssss, a stamp of a fountain pen nib, a pool of the ink, text at the bottom left reading “22NovVent-27” and on the right edge of the card is the text “standard.” From top to bottom there is an orange ish, then a yellow, a dark greenish, lighter blue, darker blue, and a bright red.
Wearingeul: Kyonghui, A Star Spattered Hill, Shooting at the Moon, Mature, Stars in Autumn, Human Problem

Wearingeul:
Color of Literature, Project 4, Kyonghui: A sort of tan gold…reminds me of the color you’d see on plastics from the 80’s.
Color of Literature, Project 1, A Star Spattered Hill: A buttery yellow, warm brown tone, gold shimmer. Pretty!
Color of Literature, Project 1, Shooting at the Moon: Dark ink with a faint sheen. The color reminds me of a night sky and that hazy halo that you can see sometimes around the moon.
Demian Literature, Mature: Medium denim blue, grey tones as it dries.
Color of Literature, Project 1, Stars in Autumn: Medium to dark blue with blue shimmer. I feel like I really like this one, the swatch came out really pretty.
Color of Literature, Project 4, Human Problem (Issue): Interesting that an ink called ‘Human Problem’ is the color of blood?

A single sample card, blue ink with a reddish sheen swatch on the top. The text says “Akkerman (00) Royal Akkermanblauw, xxxooosssssss and 22NovVent-28. On the right side of the card the text says “sheen” and there is a pool of ink below a stamp of a nib.
Akkerman: (00) Royal Akkermanblauw

Akkerman:
00 Royal Akkermanblauw: Medium dark blue, reddish sheen, looks purple. Subtle.

2 ink sample cards stacked on top of each other. Only the bottom one is visible, and you can see the ink swatch at the top, the name of the brand of ink, the name of the ink, xxxooosssssss, a stamp of a fountain pen nib, a pool of the ink, text at the bottom left reading “22NovVent-30” and on the right edge of the card is the text “standard.” From top to bottom there is a lighter blue and an orange ish red.
Pennonia: (032) Csontvarys Blue, Draculea

Pennonia:
032 Csontvarys Blue: A sort of sky blue with denim darker blue tones.
Draculea: An orangeish red? Or a reddish orange? Sort of a fall color.

It was nice revisiting these brands. I am looking forward to finishing out these in January!

A notebook page with lines of ink colors on lines numbered 1- 30. At the top in a purple ink is text reading 2022 Review.
Month of iiiiinks!
30 ink vials from the top, only the white caps can be seen, each has 3 stickers. The vials are labeled 1-30, and each has the date 11.22, and each has a single color dot.
Look at all of those pretty vials of ink!
Fountain Pens

November Daily Samples, 2022 Review, Pt.1

Instead of a new ink – despite having like dozens I wanted to try – I decided to look back and pull inks from the brands I had tried this year. The idea came to me when I was looking at the Pennonia inks to follow the Akkerman inks. There were only a couple more than 30 in both brands (- at least when I was looking at them). And that completion rule I have kept bugging me, and I was trying to think of a way to use the extra ones. Maybe I could build a collection that finishes out each brand? I started looking at all of the other brands, and then the part of my brain that thinks it’s an archivist immediately started doing research into my own past. (It was super fun. Like, for real real.) I looked through notebooks, and looked up specific samples, and ended up realizing that there were some brands that would definitely not fit into a single month. Here’s the list of the ink brands I tried since January of 2022, and then the inks I am planning to sample this month:

30 ink vials from top down, the caps are all white, and they have round white stickers with the date.
So many potentially pretty inks!

January: I hadn’t quite figured everything out in January, so I didn’t focus on just one brand this month, instead it was tiny little glass bottles from Yoseko Stationary that I focused on, because they are adorable. Also I am still figuring out Brand vs. Line of ink. So! Much confusion, and this may not be correct, but I’m trying!
Taccia:
1. Hokusai Benitsuchi
2. Sharaku Kurocha
3. Utamaro Usuzumi
4. Utamaro Ume Murasaki
5. Hokusai Fukakihanada

Kyo No Oto:
6. Aonibi Iro
7. Nurebairo
8. Imayou Iro
9. Hisoku
10. Kokeiro

Kyo Iro
11. (02) Fushimi’s Flaming Red
12. (05) Keage Sakura
13. (01) Cobblestones

February: Robert Oster – so many inks! So none for the Daily Samples in November.

March: Kiwi Inks – finished everything they had at the time, I believe, but will definitely be checking back, because these are fun! Their multi-chromatic shading inks are awesome.

April: Ferris Wheel Press – I had tried a couple of samples based on a friend who recommended them. So, when I saw they had these ”collections” of every ink sample, and that there were enough to fill a months worth of daily samples, I was very excited. This is probably what gave me the idea to deliberately try to find brands with smaller libraries of inks to fit it into a month, after the second month in a row of that working out well.

May: PenBBS – these are always named so interestingly, and weirdly accurately. And numbering them just makes me want to GET THEM ALL. Some day.
14. (520) Light Snow
15. (508) Grain Buds
16. (392) Black Bread

June: Sailor Inks + Robert Oster – these both have super big libraries, as previously mentioned for RO, and this set was themed ”America.” I think there are more being added to the Sailor set, because I had to add Robert Oster ”Cities of America” inks to have enough samples for every day and obviously there are more than 30 states anyway. Maybe next time!

July: Vinta – I was SO EXCITED about these inks when I first heard about them (I still am for the record) because they came with stories attached! I enjoyed it thoroughly. Looking forward to more of these! Also the name on the sample vial is not the full name of the ink AND I KNOW IT. I will add them in the review. The full names are what points at the stories involves, so, that is important context.
17. Ubi
18. Andrada
19. Pamana
20. Lakbay (Fairytale Collection)
21. Romblon

August: Wearingeul – I enjoyed the Vinta inks so much that I looked for something like it – something that gave me an excuse to DO RESEARCH. Serious fun. Oh – these vials were ALSO missing very relevant information which I will add in the review… Because it is the stuff that points back to the literature influence, which means I have just…a whole bunch of new books to read. Which is an EXCELLENT outcome. I get to sample pretty inks, learn about authors that are new to me, and read books that are new to me? So excited.
22. Kyonghui
23. A Star Spattered Hill
24. Shooting at the Moon
25. Mature
26. Stars in Autumn
27. Human Problem

September: Akkerman – only ONE LEFT. (I think?)
28. (00) Royal Akkermanblauw

October: Pennonia – This is the one that really triggered my decision to do this theme for November’s Daily Samples! Because there were only two left, and after Akkerman, I thought, you know what…
29. (032) Csontvarys Blue
30. Draculea

Which brings us to November!

When I was putting this together I quickly realized that if I tried to finish the inks with every one of these brand, I actually have about 2 months worth of Daily Samples…so. I’ll do half in November and half in January. Tada! 🙂 I picked the ones I will be using in November randomly, so this should be interesting. If I get all reds and browns I will be SO SAD. So sad.

Since I enjoyed every brand I’ve tried this year, I am looking forward to this! I especially want to play with the Vinta and Wearingeul inks again. They both have story elements to them, and I love that. Mmmm…research.

Fountain Pens

October Pen/Ink Palette: Spoopy Monsters, Review!

10 pens lined up side by side. There are a variety of types. There is a grey one, then white, then swirly purple, darker purple, lighter purple, light green, green and purple swirled, orange, red, and last a yellow.
Spoopy Monster Pens! From left to right, Skeleton, Ghost, Witch, Purple People Eater, Frank the Demonic Octopus, zombie, Frankenstein’s Monster, Pumpkin Head, Vampire, Werewolf.

I really like this theme! I did end up swapping out two pens because Mad Science Pen Company made them with the EXACT names of two of my monsters, and I NEEDED them. Ahem.
Solid palette this month. I think my favorites are definitely split between the Mad Science Pen Company pens and the Sailor pens. But it’s pretty close.

Four Sailor Pro Gear Slim pens, laid out horizontally with their caps off and nibs pointed to the left. The top one is sparkly blue, then a blue-purple, a darker purple and a sparkly purple.
Yep, had 4 entire Sailor pens in my palette this month.

I really like the MF nibs from Sailor and the shape and balance of the Pro Gear Slims. They feel effortless. Pretty pen colors too. And the inks behaved nicely as well.

A purple swirly pen laid out horizontally, with the cap off, nib pointed out the left.
Mad Science Pen Company, Hooded Ranger, Proton

Mad Science Pen Company was someone I’d had my eye on from Instagram for a while. What first hooked me was the ”hooded” aspect. I’d never seen something like that before and I ended up really enjoying the aesthetic. And then I missed a pen that had an awesome color – something lime green, if I am remembering correctly. And so it began – I needed one of these pens. And when the Hooded Ranger popped up in that lovely purple, I snatched it up. I really like the balance of these as well, and the decision to pick up the Ghost and Frankenstein was EASY. So Easy. Look at these!

Two pens laid out vertically side by side. The one on the left is a swirly white, the edge of the cap has a swoopy edge instead of a straight edge, kind of looks like a ghost. The one on the right is a green and dark purple swirly, the top of the cap is a little more squared off than this model usually is, and the cap isn’t a straight line, but sort of angled.
Ghost and Frankenstein, by Mad Science Pen Company.

Now for the rest of these! Check out thoughts below:

  1. Skeleton: Ohto – Tasche FF 10T (?) / Diamine Inkvent 2021 – Ash 
    – solid ink, decent writing experience, tiiiiiny pen
  2. Ghost: Mad Science Pen Company, Modified Clingman – Ghost (F) / Vinta Inks, Fairytale Collection – Clouds of Grey
    – switched to Mad Science Pen Company pen on the eleventh. I love this ink, the shimmer is gorgeous. LOVE this pen, writes well, good weight. The nib got a little clogged once or twice, but it cleaned up okay. Also? When this shimmer gets on stuff, it STAYS.
  3. Witch: Mad Science Pen Company, Hooded Ranger – Proton (F) / Wearingeul, Yi Sang Series – Soyeongwije 
    – Gorgeous dark purple ink, shimmer comes thru beautifully. Nib gets clogged – this is not the nib I got delivered with this pen. It took a bit to get unclogged. Gorgeous pen!
  4. Purple People Eater: Sailor Limited Edition Pro Gear Slim Sapporo – Demonstrator Wisteria Purple (MF) / PenBBS – #095 Lin Huiyin 
    – LOVE this pen model, works deliciously. Does not like to be left uncapped – takes a second to start flowing again. Subtle purple ink, really solid performance.
  5. Frank, the Demonic Octopus: Sailor Professional Gear Slim, Manyo – Dianthus (MF) / Diamine Inkvent 2021- Nightshade 
    – Yep, several pens inked that are the same model, BECAUSE I love it. Tada. I love this ink. It is blue, is it purple? Why not both!
  6. Zombie: Esterbrook JR Picket Paradise – Key Lime (F) / Wearingeul Flowing Leaves
    – Continued from September. Love the pen performance. I did hit a clog or two, rinsed it and realized it had run out of ink the first time haha. Beautiful ink, shimmer comes thru great, fun shade.
  7. Frankenstein: Mad Science Pen Company, Modified Ranger – Frankenstein (F) / Kyo No Oto – Moegiiro 
    – Switched to the Mad Science Pen Company pen on the 11th. Beautiful pen, love it, good nib performance. Fun ink color, dark with light popping thru in shading, performs great.
  8. Pumpkin Head: Kaweco AL Sport Limited Edition – Orange (F) / Troublemaker – Mango
    – This nib is still a little wonky, feels like I need to hold it at a low angle to get ink to flow. This ink is super shady – in a good way – and I love it, the dark pops thru in the shade.
  9. Vampire: Monteverde Strata – Red (F)  / Diamine 2021 Inkvent Vintage Copper
    – Sometimes ink does not flow great, but pulled from Sept, writing well enough. I love this ink, the end.
  10. Werewolf: Esterbook JR Pocket Paradise Pocket Pen – Yellow (1.1m Stub) / Van Dieman, Midnight Collection – Howl at the Moon
    – This nib is FUN, and the ink is readable! I like how the dark comes thru, shimmer shows up pretty.
“October Palette Pen Test” in a dark purple ink. On the following lines “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Is written in 10 different color inks. Two grey, three purple, two green, one orange, one red, and one yellow.
October Palette Pen Test!
Monthly Pen/Ink Journal, with the ten combos sampled out. The text is the brand and name of each pen and ink, which you can find in the list above. The comments on how each pen/ink performed is captured in the same list above.
October Monthly Pen/Ink Journal!

I was impressed with these. Couple of wonky ones but not bad enough that I couldn’t use them. Very pleased!

Fountain Pens

October Pen/Ink Palette: Monsters/Spoop

A purple notebook and pen holder. There are 10 pens on the left, 9 of them in loops, 1 loose. From top to bottom, a light silver, a darker grey, a blue, purple, white swirl, a dark purple, a light blue/purple, a light green, a dark green, an orange, a red, and a yellow. Above the notebook/pen case is a 3 pen pen case, with the Forever Purple and Blue pens, and the Magic Green pen. On the right of the notebook/pen holder is a purple notebook with two stickers on it. In the top left corner the sticker is 4 ghosts looking out of a front door and a welcome mat. In the bottom right hand corner is a green octopus with a red knit hat and a blue flannel coat. He has a fountain pen in two tentacles, a pumpkin in another, and a coffee cup in another. He is sitting in a pile of autumn leaves.
These are the pens and Captain Log I will be using for October!

Yeah, the theme for this month is definitely not hard to puzzle out – Halloween is in October, Monsters and Spoopy things are Halloween related, therefore! Yeah, it’s not hard. I actually ended up picking out the inks themselves and then relating them to “monsters” – although that word was definitely stretched to fit in several cases…

I concentrated on Purple, Greens, and Oranges, specifically in a saturated fashion. After a WHOLE MONTH with only my one usual Forever Purple in September, I was very excited to play with purples again! Which, ahem, has nothing to do with why I picked purples, I mean, purples are totally a Halloween color, right? Right.

I am using a lot of shimmer, and a lot of inks from my August Daily Samples – Wearingeul – and I am very excited. So, let’s take a look at what “spoopy monsters” I used to justify the colors I picked!

On the left side is a grey ink paired with a silver pen, a silver ink paired with a dark grey pen, a sparkle purple ink paired with a purple and white swirly pen, a dark purple ink with a dark purple pen, and a blue ish ink paired with a blueish pen. On the righ side is a sparkly green ink paired with a light green pen, a light green ink paired with a dark green pen, a bright orange ink paired with a bright orange pen, a dark orange ink paired with a sparkly red pen, and a yellow ink paired with a yellow pen.
All 10 ink sample cards paired with 10 fountain pens.
  1. Skeleton: Ohto – Tasche FF 10T (?) / Diamine Inkvent 2021 – Ash 
  2. Ghost: Pelikan M205 – Moonstone (EF) / Vinta Inks, Fairytale Collection – Clouds of Grey
  3. Witch: Mad Science Pen Company, Hooded Ranger – Proton (F) / Wearingeul, Yi Sang Series – Soyeongwije 
  4. Purple People Eater: Sailor Limited Edition Pro Gear Slim Sapporo – Demonstrator Wisteria Purple (MF) / PenBBS – #095 Lin Huiyin 
  5. Frank, the Demonic Octopus: Sailor Professional Gear Slim, Manyo – Dianthus (MF) / Diamine Inkvent 2021- Nightshade 
  6. Zombie: Esterbrook JR Picket Paradise – Key Lime (F) / Wearingeul Flowing Leaves
  7. Frankenstein: Kaweco AL Sport Aurora Limited (F) / Kyo No Oto – Moegiiro 
  8. Pumpkin Head: Kaweco AL Sport Limited Edition – Orange (F) / Troublemaker – Mango
  9. Vampire: Monteverde Strata – Red (F)  / Diamine 2021 Inkvent Vintage Copper
  10. Werewolf: Esterbook JR Pocket Paradise Pocket Pen – Yellow (1.1m Stub) / Van Dieman, Midnight Collection – Howl at the Moon

(Also the two forever pens and the magic pen – but technically they are not part of this palette, so! I will not be including them in this list.) 

I am very excited about the purple Wearingeul ink and the Vinta. Those look very promising in this dip test:

Each line is written in a different color. Each line reads the “monster” it is inspired by, and the phrase “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” I will describe the color of the ink and then the “monster” it was inspired by. . Dark Blue: “Oct “Monster” Pen Palette Dip Test” Dark grey: “Skeleton,” Ash Light Grey: “Ghost” Clouds of Grey Dark purple with shimmer: “Witch” Soyeongwije Purple: “Purple People Eater” #095 Lin Huiyin Blueish: “Frank, the Demonic Octopus” Nightshade Green: “Zombie” Flowing Leaves Light Green: “Frankenstein” Moegiiro Orange: “Pumpkin Head” Mango Red: “Vampire” Vintage Copper Yellow: “Werewolf” Howl at the Moon
October Monster INK Palette – it should say! Since I used a metal dip pen to sample each one.

Howl at the Moon seemed like an ink that is to pale to use very much when I first sampled it back in December, but now I have started using stub nibs and I want to see how well the ink shows up from a broader nib! And I got the Troublemaker ink in the September Ink Flight and I fell instantly in love, so barely looked at other oranges when I was picking those out haha. Oh! And Frank, the Demonic Octopus is a reference to a creature my Game Master for a game of Dungeons and Dragons introduced, we fought, and my character – an ambulatory wheelchair using Wizard Librarian, who casts spells with a fountain pen and ink – got a bottle of demonic octopus ink. 🙂 Really I am excited about all of these inks, but thought calling out those specifics would be fun.