Currently Inked: February 16, 2025
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Last Sunday I did a Currently Inked post, and most of you seemed to enjoy it, so we’re going to do another one today (this post contains Amazon affiliate links, just FYI). We still have bronchitis at our house, so I’m keeping my daily carry setup pretty simple. I stuck to fine/medium nibs and mostly black inks.
This Pilot Kakuno Green with a fine nib came in the mail last week and I inked it up and fell in love. For the price point it’s really great-smooth and lovely in the hand. The Zebra Sarasa Mark On 0.5 Black is a fabulous gel pen, one I think I’ll use often. That’s not a surprise-so far I’ve loved all of the Zebra Sarasa pens I’ve tried, including these Zebra Sarasa Vintage pens. The Steadtler Triplus Textsurfer is a good flexible highlighter in a nice neutral color. I always have a Sharpie on hand.
Last week I got asked why I always have a highlighter and a sharpie with me. When I write out my to-do lists I usually use a standard/gel pen in my planner. Then I highlight my top three priorities and cross each one out with a sharpie as I complete it. When all three highlighted tasks are finished I go through and highlight the next three until all tasks are done.
I purchased this Anodized Aluminum Faceted "Pocket Six" Fountain Pen like 5 or 6 years ago at the San Francisco Pen Show and it’s basically been inked up with Monteverde Documental Black ever since. I actually don’t think I’ve ever cleaned it-I just put a new cartridge in it with the same ink every time it runs dry. It’s small but mighty. This Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 3 color is a little girthy for me, but I enjoyed the 0.5 tip size. I love these Writech Dual Color Gel 0.5 in Navy Blue and Persian Red-I purchased them in a bunch of colors, and so far I love all of them. I like this Kokuyo Mark + highlighter in gray and of course I have a sharpie.
This TWSBI Mini in Rose Gold (medium nib) has been inked up with Sailor Jentle Black for weeks. I think it’s my sixth time filling it. It’s just such a good combo that I don’t have any plans of separating the combo anytime soon. I fell in love with the Zebra Sarasa Grand (in white) months ago, and have switched out the refill 4 times. Right now it has a Sarasa Dry 0.5 refill in black. It used to have a 0.7 refill until I switched to smaller grid paper, so I downgraded to a 0.5 refill. It’s still pretty juicy on nice paper so I could even go down to a 0.4 refill (0.5 is the perfect size on crappy paper). I love these Staedtler Triplus Fineliners, especially in the wintery colors. The Monami Essentisoft Highlighter in brown is a nice highlighter-pale and a good neutral color.
I don’t remember which Kaweco Sport with a fine nib this is-I always get the color names mixed up. It’s full of Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi, which is a fabulous combo. I loved using it in my journal. The Uni One F Gel Pen in Pink Beach with a 0.5 black refill is wonderful-smooth and a perfect size in the hand. I saw the Pilot Juice 0.5 in Classic Green online and knew I had to try it out. I love Pilot Juice pens, and I love this Classic Green ink color. This Pilot Kire-na highlighter is terrible-the tip is too floppy and the ink is too pale.
I ventured away from black inks for one day with Diamine Canalside in a Pilot Custom 74 in Forest with a medium nib. Canalside is a really good wintery green, classic and smooth. In the past I’ve loved Pilot G2’s, but recently I’ve steered away from them. They’re just not quite juicy enough for me. I put a Pilot G2 0.5 black refill in this Pilot G2 Limited Premium Gel Rose Gold body, and I’m just not a fan. It’s okay but not great. The Muji Gel Pen 0.5 in blue is so good. It’s smooth and comfortable to write with. I just ordered some more in black since I only had it in blue. I hate this Morris Just Click Highlighter in Gray. The clicker is terrible-you extend the tip and it gets stuck that way. It went in my never-to-use-again drawer.
The Pilot Kakuno in Blue with a medium nib is full of Platinum Carbon Black. I’ve been using this combo to re-swab some of my ink bottles. I love how water resistant it is. The bottle lives on my desk and I use it often. This TUL gel pen in 0.5 is so nice and juicy-I love it. I also love the Pentel Energel 0.5 Blue Black. I love blue black pens so much-I need to get more of them ASAP! The Tombow Kei-coat Highlighter in brown is a nice highlighter, the color is just a little too warm for me.
Here’s some pens I inked up to test out inks for ink reviews-here’s a few of my first impressions: I’m loving the three Diamine 160th Anniversary Inks (I’m pretty sure Wax Seal is going to be one of my new favorite red inks), as well as Teranishi Guitar Classy Burgundy. Ink Institute Fortune Bunny is ok, but not fabulous.
I’m not a fan of Ink Institute Shuinandong Smelter and Dominant Industry Atlantis-they are too pale to be easily read. I love both Teranishi Emotional Olive and Lady Emerald. Emotional Olive has some fabulous shading. Diamine 160th Anniversary Tariff Teal is a wonderful dark petrol teal.
The Pilot Kakuno in Green showed up in the mail last week and I quickly ordered a blue one. I love how smooth the nibs are, especially for the price. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the size-I wish it was just a little bit smaller. Now I need to pick up some in the new Madoromi Color Series. I’m waiting for someone to have some in stock
This week @daniellekindsfater on Instagram sent me some stickers to try out and I’m in love. They are super good quality and amazingly detailed. They are going in my journal right away. The fountain pens and dragons are my favorite.
This week I’ve been working on re-swabbing my bottled inks. I love rediscovering inks I’ve forgotten about. I’m swabbing by brand and by color, which helps me find what I need quicker. I’ll do a blog post about the process when I’m done.
Here’s some other currently for this week:
Watching: I’ve been re-watching some episodes of the Big Bang Theory and M.A.S.H. Both are funny, and have cheered me up while I’m still feeling ill.
Listening to: this week I listened to a lot of Taylor Swift with my teenage girls (they are huge fans, I am not).
Reading: I read/listened to eight books this week. I just started re-listening to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The last time I read it was in college so it’s time for a re-read.
Drinking: Blue Lotus with Raspberry Torani Syrup.
Cooking: Today I’m making BBQ Beer Pulled Chicken Tacos with Ranch Corn Slaw in my Crock Pot. It’s a family favorite and I love how flavorful it is.
Making: I’m sewing up some Denver Totes by Sotak Handmade. I love Sotak Handmade patterns. I’ve made at least 25 of her bags/pouches (mostly for gifts) and the instructions are clear and well-written.
Hating: I’ve discovered that I absolutely hate full cast audiobooks. I’m old-fashioned-I grew up with Harry Potter audiobooks narrated by Jim Dale. He did a fabulous job of doing all the different voices while still feeling cohesive. Full Cast Audiobooks have multiple narrators and just grate on my nerves for some reason. I have no idea why.
Burning: Capri Blue Volcano candle in Copper, exclusive to Nordstrom. I love burning candles-I find them relaxing and pleasant. I always have a candle burning on my desk.
Shopping for: I’ve had multiple Platinum pens in the past (all with large nib sizes), but the nib has never been quite right for me. Now that I’m transitioning into smaller nib sizes I’m considering giving Platinum pens another go, probably in a fine nib. I saw this Platinum 3776 Century Shape of a Heart Bluebird Fountain Pen and I fell a little in love. The pen looks fabulous, but that’s way too much money for me to spend when I’m unsure if I will like the nib, or if it will work for my handwriting style. I’m also considering picking up TWSBI Eco’s in Creme, Caffe and Espresso with fine nibs. I’ve had my eye on them for months, so it might be time to finally pick up one or two.
If you have any 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.