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Fingers Were Meant to be Inky

/ / Ink, Paper, Reviews / 2 Comments

Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book Review

Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books & Inky Paraphernalia, including a dip nib, ink samples, a palette knife, cotton swabs, and a whole bunch of ink swabs

Origins

If you give a nerd a fountain pen, chances are, he’s going to want some ink to go with it. If you give him a sample of ink, he’s going to ask for more. Once you clean out Vanness, Goulet, and Anderson of samples, he’ll start asking for full bottles. After you buy him 1,000 bottles of ink, he’s going to need some way to catalog and organize all the colors he’s amassed at the expense of your bank account (five points if you get the book reference). If only someone made books of small, loosely bound cards out of ink-friendly paper that he could use for this purpose!

Enter… Read More

/ / Paper, Reviews / 2 Comments

Greenroom Recycled Notebooks Review

The three Greenroom Recycled Notebooks showing the three cover designs

I’m just going to get it out now. I have a problem. A paper problem. Well, it’s not the paper that’s the problem. I’m the problem. Or more specifically, my infatuation with paper is the problem. I have far more notebooks than I could ever use. Yet I still buy more. Why? Because I want them. I need them. If I don’t have them, I’ll just die. I know that may seem like a gross exaggeration, but I’m holding to it.

On a recent trip to Target, I thought I heard someone calling for help in the stationery aisle. I dashed over there to find that it was… Read More

/ / Fountain Pens, Ink, Paper, Reviews / 1 Comment

Quick Look: Cheap Composition Notebooks

The covers of Five Cheap Composition Notebooks, four from Norcom (Brazil, Colombia, USA, Vietnam) and one Casemate (China)

“Back to School” Means Dirt-Cheap Notebooks! Are They Any Good with Fountain Pens?

Fountain pens are wonderful. That’s a given. But because they use water-based ink, they’re really not suitable for most run-of-the-mill paper (see what I did, there?). Fountain pens aren’t very popular in the US, so most of the everyday paper found here is a poor match for pens that use water-based inks. Ballpoints and gel pens effectively make up the entirety of American daily writing instruments, so manufacturers only need to supply paper that works well with those inks…which, really, any crappy paper can do.

So that leaves us poor fountain pen users stuck buying higher quality paper, mostly imported from France or Japan. These papers are great, but they’re pretty expensive compared to… Read More

/ / Babble, Fountain Pens, Ink, Paper, Reviews, Social / Leave a Comment

I’m Now on Facebook

Visit me on Facebook at the Fingers Were Meant to be Inky Page

I’m not a big Facebook user, primarily because they refuse to notify me ONLY when someone tags/mentions me or posts to my wall. I got tired of wading through pictures of people’s lunch and reading vague and cryptic “some people” complaints. If they’re going to notify me of everything, then I don’t have the time for it.

That said, I know that’s where the majority of people hang out and where they look to share content and engage with each other. So I finally got around to making a Facebook page specifically for posting my reviews and posts related to fountain pens, ink, and paper. I’ll be posting all my old reviews, new reviews, and other fun stuff.

So if you use Facebook, be sure to stop by to say hello or to follow me there. Thanks!

Fingers Were Meant to be Inky on Facebook!

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Kyokuto F64° Notebook Review

Kyokuto F64° Pocket-Sized Notebooks Kyokuto F64° Pocket-Sized Notebooks (Ruled & Plain)

A Tale of Six Notebooks, a Chinese Pen, and a Whole Lot of Feathers

This was supposed to be a short, quick review. But it turned into a genuine saga.

I love notebooks. I have piles of them that I’m not sure I’ll ever get to use. But I keep buying them because I’m looking for the PERFECT notebook. As I’ve been trying different brands, paper types, styles, and bindings, I think I’ve identified exactly what I’m looking for. Unfortunately, I don’t think it exists. With the thousands of different types of notebooks out there, you’d think I could find a handful of options that suit my needs. But you’d be wrong…. Read More