Currently Inked June 10, 2025

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I’ve been surprised by how many people have commented and said they like the currently inked posts I’ve been doing recently, so let’s do another one! Here’s what I’m using this week: (This post does contain Amazon affiliate links, just FYI.)

Fountain Pens:

This week I inked up a mix of old favorites and new inks to try.

The Pilot Vanishing Point Copper was a limited edition from 2014, which was before I got into fountain pens, but I was able to pick one up as new old stock a few years ago. I love Vanishing Points and have quite a few, but lately I’ve really been loving the fine nibs. I paired it with a Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi cartridge. I don’t often use cartridges, but when I do they are usually Pilot ones. I love that each cartridge is labeled with the ink color.

A reader was super kind and gifted me this Pilot Custom 74 Smoke in fine a while ago. Seriously, I have the best readers. I’ve used this pen almost weekly since I got it. Since I got this pen from a reader I decided to pair it with an ink a different reader recently sent in-Diamine Night Sky. This is a wonderful black ink with silver shimmer.

The Pilot Ishime Navy in fine is one of my all-time favorite pens. It’s gorgeous and feels really good in my hand. I love the color and the lovely fine nib. I used another Pilot Iroshizuku cartridge in Shin-kai. It’s such a good combo, I don’t know why I haven’t paired them up before. This combo may live in my pen case now.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Platinum 3776 fountain pens for years. I’ve purchased like three different ones and always end up selling them because the nib hasn’t been quite right for me. I decided to give this white one a try in a fine nib since I’ve been loving Japanese fine nibs so much right now. My nib sizes have swung widely over the last ten years since I got into fountain pens, everything from double broads and flex nibs to extra fine nibs. I’ve settled on Japanese fine/Western extra fine nibs as the current favorite. I paired the 3776 with Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-ho. I was so sad when I saw that Ina-ho was discontinued. I’ve been asked many times what a good replacement is for it, and right now the closest I can come up with are Inkebara Sand and De Atramentis Yellow Brown.

This Jinhao 80 in brown with a fine nib is full of Sailor x Tinterias Homemade Tortilla. Homemade Tortilla came as a set with Spicy Chipotle. It’s sold out now, but it’s a good shader and flows well. Sailor Maryland is similar but not a dupe.

The Kaweco Sport Iridescent Pearl is so fun and shiny. I love a good neutral colored pen, and this one is neutral while still having character. I used Sailor Tinterias Agave (thanks to the reader who recently sent this ink in!), it’s a lovely blue-grey with shading. I’ll post a review of it soon.

To continue with the Sailor Tinterias theme I’ve got going (I promise this is not sponsored), a reader also sent in Blue Corn, which I used in a Pilot Kakuno Fine. I have a serious love for the Kakuno. It’s a great pen for the price and a good first fountain pen.

Standard Pens:

I’ve gone through three Pentel Energel Clena’s in 0.5 I love how smooth they are, and they flow really well. Each time I run one dry I immediately replace it with a new one.

When I write notes and need to highlight them I reach for the Zebra Sarasa Mark On in 0.5. I love that it never smears when I highlight unlike most of my gel pens that do smear. I have been wishing for a slightly finer tip occasionally, so I’ll probably pick up one in 0.4 next.

The Sakura Ballsign ID Gel 0.5 in Pure Black is slightly chunky for a gel pen, which I don’t love, and the body is rather cheap. I do like that the ink is nice and dark though.

I’ve been trying to branch out and try new things, so I gave the Ballograf Epoca Ballpoint White with a blue medium tip a try. I wish the ink flow was juicier and that the ink was a little darker. It’s fine, but not a pen I would reach for if I had any other options readily available.

I really disliked the Pilot Acro Soft Beige with a black 0.5 tip. The pen is on the small size and the ink flow is stingy. I’m not a fan.

The Uni Jetstream Standard Ballpoint Soft Pink in Black 0.5 is okay but not great. It’s a basic ballpoint.

This Uni-ball Onyx Rollerball Micro in Black 0.5 is a lovely pen for a rollerball. It’s smooth and writes nicely.

Colored Pens:

Currently:

Last night we drove to Coulee Dam (we live in WA state) and watched the laser light show. It was a late night for my kids, but they had fun. Here’s some other things I’m currently doing…

Watching: I’m watching a lot of Youtube lately, everything from stationery to productivity videos. I’m currently juggling three jobs, three kids and lots of projects to keep our home running smoothly, so productivity is really important right now. If you have any good video suggestions, please leave them in the comments below!

Reading/Audiobook: I’m listening to Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I read it in high school but I haven’t read it since, so it was time for another go. It’s a little different than I remember.

Listening: I’ve started working out again after a long break from it. I hurt my back recently and it’s starting to heal, so it’s time to slowly get back to it. Working out means I’m listening to a lot of upbeat music like Lady Gaga.

Drinking: Lime carbonated water. I’m trying to do better at drinking less caffeine and more water (even if it is flavored or carbonated).

Cooking/Baking: Since I’m working so much I’m doing a lot of cooking/baking/meal prep on the weekends. My kids are in love with this baked oatmeal right now. We add whatever fresh fruit we have at the moment and they gobble it up for breakfast.

Making: I’ve been sewing a ton lately. I’m already looking ahead to the fall/winter season and starting to plan my kids winter wardrobes and which patterns I need to sew up for them. I’m currently sewing a Sew Liberated Hinterland Dress using a Green Chambray Shirting from Stylemaker Fabrics.

Hating: Migraines-I’ve had three migraines in the past week and I hate them.

That’s it for me this week! What’s your favorite currently inked?

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This post does contain Amazon affiliate links, but is not sponsored in any way.

Currently Inked: February 9, 2025

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I never know what to post on Sundays. Do I stick to ink reviews and only ink reviews (which can get a bit tedious at times), or do I branch out and do more interesting posts every once in a while? This Sunday I decided to focus on what my daily carry was for this week. Generally my daily carry is different almost every day, mostly because I get bored easily and I really enjoy variety. I don’t know if these kinds of posts are interesting to y’all, but here we go anyway. (This post does contain Amazon affiliate links, just a heads up!)

I placed huge JetPens and Tokyo Pen Shop orders last week, which quickly arrived and I’ve had so much fun testing out new pens. I’ve been in search of new gel pen/rollerball/ballpoint pens to try out. In the past I’ve always used 0.7 standard pens along with large nib sizes, but as I’ve started enjoying paper with smaller grid sizes (like the Sterling Ink 3.9mm x 3.7mm grid), my nib size and standard pen sizes have shrunk as well. Now I’ve been using fine/extra-fine nibs and 0.5 pens. So for my pen orders I stuck to 0.5 sizes for the most part and got just a bunch of different styles to try.

Overall, this week has been rough at our house-most of our household has bronchitis, including me, so that has slowed me down a lot. Being super sick has made me slim down my daily carry quite a bit, and I’ve kept it pretty simple. I didn’t actually plan on writing a blog post today but it’s something I can do from the couch while I watch a movie.

This TWSBI 580 AL fine/Sailor’s Sailor combo is one of my absolute favorites. Sailor’s Sailor is one of my all-time favorite inks and I really enjoy it everytime I ink it up in a pen. I’ve come to the conclusion that I should use my favorite inks and enjoy them rather than hoard them for the future. It helps give me some joy when I’m feeling so crappy. I’ve inked up this combo twice now, and it may just live in this pen for a while. This is my second Pentel Energel Clena, and this one is almost out of ink. It’s smooth and comfortable to use. I almost always have a Zebra Mildliner and a Sharpie with me.

Wednesday’s fountain pen was a Pilot Decimo in Stone Grey (fine nib). I’m pretty sure I’m settling into my brown/neutral pen era, so I’m loving this grey color. The Pilot Vanishing Point used to be my all-time favorite pen but lately I’ve been passing over it for the slimmer Decimo. It’s just a little more comfortable for longer writing. I really want to get a Decimo in this Champagne color. I used to hate the Pilot fine nib so much, they were just way too fine for me, but over time it’s really grown on me and now I enjoy it. I had some issues with this Monteverde Documental Black feathering in this combo, so it’s not a combination I would ink up again. The Staedtler Triplus Fineliner is a pen I had years ago and I wore them out and had to throw them away. I finally got around to replacing them and I’m enjoying them again this time around. I’m leaning more towards the vintage style colors this winter rather than the bright and summery colors. This is my first Pilot ILMILY pen, and it’s been a surprise to me. It’s a smooth writer for a 0.5 tip, and I’ve written multiple pages with it. Again, I always have a Zebra Mildliner and a Sharpie with me.

I tried out Pilot Iroshizuku To-ro for the first time this week and fell a little bit in love. It’s right in-between a yellow and an orange, while still being readable. I love Pilot inks and usually get a full bottle of each one, so I need to pick up a bottle. I tried this Uni-ball One for the first time and absolutely love it. It’s so smooth and the grip is comfortable. I’m adding this one to my frequently used pen case.

I love the Pilot Ishime in Navy I got it a few years ago and it’s almost always inked up. It’s one of my favorite fountain pens, but I do enjoy the fine nib more than this medium nib. It’s full of KWZ Chicago Blue, which is one of my all-time favorite blues and I wish it hadn’t been a limited edition ink. I always seem to fall in love with limited edition inks (why do they do this to me???). This Tombow Mono Graph Lite 0.5 in Smoky Pink is an immediate no for me. I grip my pens pretty close to the tip/nib, and the grip on this pen is way too far away from the tip for me to comfortably use it. The ink is also too pale and stingy for me. It’s going in my drawer of pens to never be used again (maybe I’ll do a giveaway from this drawer eventually). The Zebra Sarasa Vintage 0.5 on the other hand is awesome. I’m glad I picked up both sets of these colors since they are fabulous. I’ve eyed them in the past and always passed over them due to the 0.5 tip size, but now that I’m into that size I finally decided to give them a try. Again, another Mildliner and Sharpie to complete the day.

Here’s some other currently for this week:

Watching: Star Trek Voyager. Yes, I’m a nerd, but I’m enjoying watching these old episodes with my kids. I’m also watching a lot of YouTube videos by Seaweed Kisses. She’s fabulous, and while I don’t share her love of the Moleskine, she and I enjoy a lot of the same pens and inks.

Listening to: My music tastes vary widely from Classical and Opera to Country and Pop. This week I’m listening to Livingston.

Reading: I read/listened to ten books this week (I spent a lot of time reading on the couch while I’ve been so sick, and I’m a fast reader) thank goodness for the Libby/Overdrive library apps. The standout to me out of the ten books was the newest cookbook by Tieghan Gerard called Quick and Cozy. My sister got it for me for Christmas since she knows I’m a big fan of Tieghan’s recipes. I’m just nerdy enough to read a cookbook cover-to-cover (but I’m pretty sure I outed myself as a nerd earlier by watching Star Trek so that ship has sailed).

Drinking: Lemon zinger herbal tea and flavored water.

Cooking: I have Lentil Tortilla Soup going in the crock pot because there’s nothing better than soup when you are sick.

Making: I’m finishing up sewing the Social Sharks quilt by Elizabeth Hartman for my son. I already made him the Dinosaurs by Elizabeth Harman, but now he’s into sharks more.

Hating: I’ve discovered that I absolutely hate Lemon Ginger tea. I know it’s supposed to be good for you, but I’m not a fan.

If you have any fabulous recommendations for me this week, let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which give me a small commission at no further cost to you.