u/USG-1

I'm using a Sheaffer Connaisseur <M> Herringbone, with Diamine Sapphire Blue ink. The paper is Cosmo Snow. It's super smooth and quite old. 😄

I've been writing on many different types of paper lately and I forgot just how good Cosmo Snow is. Nothing comes close. It reminds me of Sinead O'Connor's 'Nothing Compares' song.

I like Tomoe River-S and TR 68-S but after finishing a page of Cosmo Snow I was completely spoiled again. It has a wonderful surface and it's a fabulous paper for colors and nuances. The only caveat is that as supplies dwindle, the quality of the paper left is not as consistent as it was before it was discontinued.

But this post is not about how great Cosmo Snow paper is, it's about making an A5 twin ring Notebook. For this one I used white 22pt chipboard for the cover and I was immediately sorry. I should have used a color or even black, but somehow white got into the mix and well, here it is... (I once made a Pink notebook, but that's a story for another day.... 😄)

On a positive note at least I didn't make it too thick... 😄

I haven't used the Lamy C-1 in a long time and it was completely dried out. I had to syringe a little water into the converter to get it back in action, and once I did the rehydrated Aurora Black was writing like a champ. I even got a little sheen out of it.

So OK, now show your notebooks..... 😄

A friend of mine is looking for a blue ink like the blue Pilot V5 ink.

No shading, very opaque.

Something like Baystate blue.....

So they're looking for a vibrant bright blue ink that doesn't shade or sheen....

I Googled some writing samples of Pilot V5 ink to see what the color looked like and I found this amazing display of what someone could do with a liquid ink rollerball:

https://preview.redd.it/after-using-fountain-pens-this-pilot-v5-feels-so-good-v0-qy6q6ut5bh651.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=cb5138a8217a58649edd71cffdd0085df272852a

Need suggestions:

• Jinhao 9019 <F>
• Sailor Shikiori Souten
• Iroful Paper

Some inks with similar colors and a scrap page of ink testing on Iroful paper.

Note a slight wooliness with Tsuyu-Kusa, which is unusual for Iroful.

• Jinhao 9016 <FPR Ultra Flex nib>
• Pelikan 4001 Blue Black ink
• Tomoe River 68-S paper

Today I'm using my favorite Asvine pen, the C80<F> with Bungubox First Love Eternal pigment ink on Life Bank Paper 84.9gsm.

73gsm Canopus is on the bottom rung on my top 7 white paper that does not feather list. It was developed by Yamamoto as a replacement for the discontinued Cosmo Air Snow. Unfortunately it didn't live up to it's hype.

This list undergoes continuous revisions:

1. Cosmo Snow (when available)
2. Iroful
3. b7 Natural
4. Tomoe River52-S
5. Kokuyo Century Thin 52
6. Tomoe River68-S
7. Canopus

Special consideration:

*****Midori MD: Bullet proof, shows color, sheening, shading and nuances but is not a white paper

There were 21 writing samples with my usual inks and pens: I'm only showing the failures

• 8 of them feathered
• 2 had difficulty writing on the paper.
• There was some bleeding through

A few years ago I was in a quandary. I was using an APICA A5 twin ring notebook and loved the form factor but hated the paper. I wanted the same notebook but with the paper of my choice, (which was Cosmo Snow, Iroful, or Tomoe River). It was not to be found, so I bought an inexpensive binding machine on Amaz, which came with all the accessories I needed, and started to make my own notebooks. The only other thing I needed was a paper cutter, which I already had. Easiest thing in the world to do.

I'm using a Parker 51<F> from 1946. It was given to me by a friend who was in the Navy at the time and used it to write letters to his wife. It has not been restored or polished. It's been dipped into Diamine Oxford Blue.

u/penguinpencollector, u/Lithium466

Pelikan M1000<EF>,

Bungubox Pigment,

First Love Eternal,

Tomoe River 68

Currently inked with Pilot Tsuwairo Blue

I'm still trying to figure out how to get the text under the pic....

Top to Bottom:

Blue: <SF> Sailor Ink Studio #973

Red: <B> Pilot Tsuwairo Blue (pigment)

Green: <EF> Hokusai Koiai

Blue: <B> Platinum Blue Black