Review: TWSBI Eco Neon Green - Right foot oblique medium grind

I’ve reviewed the TWSBI Eco not long after it was released in Singapore way back in Jan 2016. I even give one away. This time I am not so much reviewing the pen as reviewing the nib. If you are looking for a review of the pen, check out my review here.

So why am I reviewing the nib this time, what’s so special? I purchased a TWSBI Eco Neon Green from Straits Pen with the express purpose to get Sunny of Straits Pen, one of Singapore’s nib worker, to grind the nib to a right foot oblique medium.

What is an oblique nib?

An oblique nib is a nib cut at an angle of usually 15 degrees from either the left or right side to the opposite side. What makes it a left or right foot is the slant. A left foot oblique nib, if you are looking with the nib facing you, will have the angle going from the upper right to the lower left. A right foot oblique nib will be going in the opposite direction. Now most of the time when you see a pen manufacturer offering oblique nibs you can safely assume that they are left foot obliques because those are meant for use by right handers. I, on the other hand, am a left handed writer, so I was recommended to go for a right foot oblique nib by the Chief Poisoner.

How to hold an oblique nib correctly?

Depending on how the nib is grind, each nib will have a particular sweet spot. For a right foot oblique grind and it’s being used by a lefty, the nib has to be turned inwards towards the writer, whereas if it is being used by a righty the nib needs to be turned away from the writer. For a left foot oblique grind, you got to flip everything around.

In my opinion, a right foot oblique grind will be excellent for lefties who write hook handed. As each writer has their own particular way to hold their pens, it is best to be able to try the grind in person before committing to it.

My right foot oblique grind

Sunny has done a good job with my nib. His grind has keep the edges sharp that gives me crisp lines. At least I was totally clueless about the need to turn my nib inwards. I was holding it in the regular way I do all my pens. I was not getting the line variation I was expecting but with just a slight turn what a difference it yield. It was significantly less feedback-y than before and I am getting much better line variation than before.

Personally I have always lean towards extra fine or fine nibs in general but with my exposure to the right foot oblique nibs, I feel ready to branch out to broader nibs, especially if they are right foot oblique nibs. One thing to note for right foot oblique nibs, selling them will be a problem because of the specialised nature of them and the world we are living in is a right handed world. However if you are patient to find the right buyer, I am sure you can find a buyer if you decide to sell it.

Additional Readings:

• Nibs.com’s nib customisation page 1, page 2
• FPQuest’s review of the Pilot Vanishing Point with a left oblique nib
• On Fountain Pens’ review of Pelikan Oblique nib

Review: Leveneger Empyrean

My thanks to Louisa for the ink sample!

This is my first time using a Levenger ink. My first impression is it’s a super wet ink that feathers in my Kokuyo and TWSBI notebook. It fairs much better on my Traveler’s notebook and Rhodia paper though there is still some borderline show through on both.

Empyrean is a blue ink that has some shading properties. It lubricates my Japanese F nib, making it write smoother than it normally does. Plus, it has a red sheen when the ink pools. I must note the feathering might be due to water evaporation from my sample. My thanks to Lousia for the sample!

Similar Inks:

• Noodler’s Aesthetic Bay Honourable Blue
• Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue
• Waterman Inspired Blue

Review: Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book

My thanks to Glenn for the gift of the Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book!

Some years back, I was reading all about the rage for Maruman Mnemosyne Word Book as a ink swatch booklet but I couldn’t find it anywhere in Singapore so I got an alternative from a now closed stationary shop. It was the 111 Sheets Word Cards by Raymay. It worked well but the size and shape of the cards are just too long and narrow for my preference. Now in 2017, the Chair at the Well Appointed Desk has swooped in to save the day with her Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book. It is printed at Skylab Letterpress and designed by Ana specially as an ink swatch booklet.

It retails at USD$10 (excluding shipping) and has 100 rounded edges pages. Each page is made of 160 gsm natural white paper that’s cut to a 5cm by 10cm size and then sandwiched between thicker card stock on the front and back. It is secured via a binder ring which allows rearranging of the cards. The Col-o-ring is a much better size with more than enough space for a large colour swatch and some written notes.

The paper is smooth but not wholly without texture. If you hold it against the light you can see very slight ripples on the surface of the paper. The European paper chosen can present sheen if the ink has sheening properties. Shading comes up beautifully on the Col-o-ring book.

Currently the Col-o-ring books are not available locally but you can order them from directly from Well Appointed Desk or from Anderson Pens, Vanness Pens, Wonder Pens (Canada) and they are coming soon to Cult Pens (UK), Notemaker (Australia), Pen Classics (New Zealand).

Additional Readings:

• The Pen Addict’s review of the Col-o-ring book

Review: Robert Oster Signature Emerald

Emerald is a vibrant and strong green ink by Robert Oster. It shades very well, going from a dark green to a light green. It feels slightly drier in my Pilot fountain pen but it might be due to the pen and ink combination. Emerald is one of the best shading greens I’ve seen in a while. If you are looking for a vibrant green that has a ton of personality you can’t go wrong with Robert Oster Signature Emerald.

Similar Inks

• Blackstone Daintree Green
• Montblanc Irish Green
• Diamine Sherwood Green

Review: Monokaki A5 Lined Notebook

Monokaki literally means thing(s) write, if you break the name up into the foundation parts. As a name of a notebook I think it is very apt. Monokaki is an A5 size notebook that comes in the lined format. It has 160 pages of fountain pen friendly paper. I’ve purchased this notebook a while back from Straits Pen for SGD$15. It is also available in B5 and B6 sizes, lined or blank. Straits Pen only carry the A5 lined option.

Monokaki comes with a white cover that’s has pencils, fountain pens and ink wells motifs lining the border. It gives me great hope for the notebook. The acid free light cream coloured paper is stitched bound and glued in sections. I found no feathering or bleed through even when putting it through its paces with a 1.5mm nib. Show through can be obvious depending on the colour of ink you use because of the thickness of the paper. The lines are printed a grey blue that’s neither distracting nor hard to see. The spacing between lines is a wide 9mm. It is wider than what I am used to. Monokaki lies flat for the most part once the spine is broken in.

Immediately after the cover is a dark blue card stock that’s thicker than the cream paper. This thicker card stock is glued to the cover on the inside edges, when you open the notebook you can feel the two different paper curving at different degrees. I would have much rather the cover and the thicker paper to be completely glued together. However, this is just a minor nitpick though for this impressive notebook by Masuya Paper. The paper has a better dry time and is less crinckly than the fabled Tomoe River paper but offers a similar performance in terms of its ability to handle wet fountain pens.

Additional Readings:

• Inky Passion’s review of Monokaki
• Pete Denison’s review of Monokaki

Review: Rohrer and Klinger Alt-Goldgrün

Goldgrün is translated from German to gold-green. This is a very apt name for the ink. It’s an interesting blend of green and yellow. It’s appearance changes quite a bit depending on the pen and ink combination you use. Personally in my F nib, it is looking more green than gold. This is an interesting ink and I can see why people love it.

Similar Inks:

• Kyo no Iro Kokeiro
• Noodler’s Army Green
• Sailor Jentle Waka Uguisu