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Today, March 14 or 3-14 is Pi-Day. Because I got it in my mind I had to get a Pelikan Classic in Cognac last night, I finally decided yes, I’ll buy it today. Thus I’m calling it my Pi-Day pen. I’m also going to make a pumpkin pie because I have the ingredients, and it’s an easy pie for me to make. Is anyone else inspired to make purchases or pie today?

[i couldn't find an existing thread on this, so I'll start this one] What are folks' experience with the new Aurora blue-black so far? I have been extremely disappointed. Admittedly, Aurora Black and (to a lesser extent) Aurora Blue are near-perfect inks in my experience, so their B-B had a high bar to clear. However, it crashed face-first into that bar. The ink has a terrible problem drying out between uses. Even on pens with caps that seal well, I have to dip my nib to get B-B going again- even after just a few hours. Once writing, it is extremely dry, even by the standards of blue-black inks. The color is ok, but the behavior is so bad I'm not sure if I'll be using it much. I'd be interested to hear what other people have experienced. Best Regards, greg

Hello All! I figured the fountain pen network was a good place to ask this question. So, here goes. I'm a writer who still likes to draft my works by hand. Naturally, a fountain pen is a good tool for someone who writes so much. However, I found that I don't need to have a bunch of bottles of ink lying around, since I'm really only partial to black or blue. To that end, I decided to try my hand at making my own ink. I felt that it would be more economical and leave me with fewer bottles (as i could reuse the same one). I am in the process of perfecting my formula for ink that can be stored in powder form and then mixed with water as it's needed. I only intended to make this for myself, but then I wondered if I'm not the only one who'd like the convenience. So my question (finally) is this: Is it worth trying to market a powdered ink, in your opinion? In other words, do you ink experts think there's a market for it? All responses are welcome. I just really want the input. Thanks!!

Recently, I received a new pen from a generous FPN member. I have fallen completely in love, but I have not been able to find a good ink match. The pen is an Esterbrook pink purse pen, so it has the most wonderful 50s pink bathtub color to it. It has an EF nib on it right now (I like this for note-taking). Using it on cheap paper, a drier ink is better for my notes. The inks I have are MB Lavender Purple, Iroshizuku Tsu-kushi, and De Atramentis Sherlock Holmes. I don't want a pink ink as I need it to still write very legible notes in my classes. I still have to try the Lavender Purple, which may work as it is a bit more feminine. What might be a good ink for this pen? Any suggestions are welcome.