Looking back at the inks I used in 2023, there are a few that have stood out really well - remaining in rotation for way longer than other inks. The most standout ink that I used in 2023 is without a doubt Robert Oster Midnight Mumbai. It is a truly spectacular ink with incredible sheen and yet, it is surprisingly well-behaved. It dries fairly quickly, does not clog your pen and is easy ty to clean. This is easily my favourite ink of 2023. Unfortunately, I never got a bottle, but have been kept supplied with samples by fellow Hyderabad Fountain Pen Collective regular Vikas.

I am usually fond of saturated innings, and haven’t really given much of a thought to the more subtle attractions of the less saturated inks. That changed in 2023. I had an early indication that I was missing out on something when I used Herbin Larmes de Cassis. I found it soothing and calming, and the overall effect was quite pleasing.

Then I came across the beautiful Sailor Manyo Nekoyanagi, thanks to Harish, one more of our regulars at our monthly meetings. I was completely taken with the multicoloured output of a seemingly dull ink. The seemingly watered down purple shades and sheens as it dries, and the result looks quite spectacular. This went to the next level in the Sailor Manyo Haha - a pale blue-green that bursts into purple and exhibits extreme shading. These two have remained in rotation from the time I could get my hands on them - I still am working my way through the samples Harish gave me, but bottles of both are on my to-buy list.

The last ink on my list is yet another low saturation one - the Pelikan Edelstein Rose Quartz. While this has nowhere near any of the magical qualities of the Manyo inks, it is a beautiful colour that has a decent amount of shading. This has become a personal favourite ever since I was able to get a bottle at the Pelikan Hub.

The Jinhao Dadao 9019, which everyone has been singing the praises of, made its way into my currently-inked list. The pen punches way above its weight considering its price. It’s well-built, has a large ink capacity and the nibs have been performing well straight out of the box.

Share your take on fountain pens and related things in one (or more!) of our upcoming issues.

Any and all content you share will belong to you and will be credited to your name (or a pen name of your choice) and linked to any of your online profiles. Ideal content would be a write-up between 200 and 400 words with 1 to 5 images.

Here are a few things that can go in the Fountain Pen Weekly:

• Pen / ink / paper ownership experience

• Favorites in FP, ink, paper etc.

• Your social handles with your FP content - Insta, FB, Twitter, Reddit

• Any FP-related content you want to call out - articles, podcasts, videos.

If you have any other ideas as well, do share, and I will be happy to think about it.

That’s all from me this week.

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Issue#20