One Pen One Month Challenge

[bemon]

I threw up the white flag this month. My work volume is approaching idle and lay offs are inevitable. In fact a good chunk of my company has been laid off actually. I'm just part of our digital team so we still have a little bit to do.

 

I've done whatever work I can, and along side that I built a new bedroom set for my daughter who's staying with family for two weeks. I read a little, organized the attic, fixed some things around the apartment and even fired up the Playstation for the first time in 5 years. I found a puzzle game that keeps my mind occupied, but it's also fairly repetitive. Without work and without parenting responsibilities there are A LOT of hours in a day.

 

So I've been tinkering with pens as well. Assuming life gets back to regularly scheduled programming I'll try the one month challenge again. For now, I'm looking for things to fill empty hours with.

Edited March 20, 2020 by bemon

[inkstainedruth]

 

I see Pelikan royal blue - I want it to turn black

no colours any more, just Pelikan brilliant black

I see people using shading inks and quickly turn away

I like to see sheening ink each and every day

 

Sounds like Ron Zorn on a bender. When he goes wild and crazy he switches from 4001 Royal Blue to 4001 Brilliant Black.... I have to remember that when I have him work on one of my pens to PLEASE then let me ink it up with Brilliant Black to test it.

I like a lot of blue inks -- but 4001 Royal Blue is not among the things I love....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[NumberSix]

I went back to Blue on my P51 after 2 days of Black (Iro Take-sumi). This time, Quink Washable Blue. It's not very different from the 4001 Royal Blue, though it seems like it dries a bit lighter on my clairefontaine journal pages.

 

I broke down and ordered a bunch of inks and 4 cheap pens to play with. By the time they arrive in a few days, I will have basically made it through all of March with just the one pen. It's been a good exercise.

[NumberSix]

Today is the last day of my March Challenge, with my Parker 51 vacumatic.

 

I am ready for a change and the ability to write with more than one color of ink. But I have to say that if I were stuck with only one pen, I would be perfectly happy with this one. It feels good in the hand, looks nice, and holds a (bleep)-ton of ink. (which it does not gush out onto the paper)

 

Not bad for a pen that's around 70 years old.

 

I admit I have also enjoyed the decreased clutter on my desk. Normally I have two coffee mugs full of highlighters, Pilot G2s, etc. And whatever FPs I have inked are laid out flat, anywhere from two to 7 or 8 of them.

 

I have my little experiment, too, which is the Parker 45 I left in the closet at the beginning of the month, still loaded with the Quink Black cart. It's only been four weeks with a non-problematic ink. So I expect it will start right up when I try it tonight or tomorrow. But I am still curious.

[sandy101]

Glad it worked out. It really changes your perspective on pens, doesn't it?

[como]

I am pretty sure I cannot achieve the one pen one month challenge. In fact as most of us have been on lockdown, I have been thinking of doing "All Pens One Month Challenge", which I find it more possible .

[NumberSix]

Tonight, I now have seven pens inked. My fingers are covered in half a dozen different colors. And my desk is a cluttered mess.

 

Thanks, I hate it.

 

All these samples I bought and these new cheapie pens to test them? It may all be going into the closet immediately.

[DrDebG]

Tonight, I now have seven pens inked. My fingers are covered in half a dozen different colors. And my desk is a cluttered mess.

 

Thanks, I hate it.

 

All these samples I bought and these new cheapie pens to test them? It may all be going into the closet immediately.

 

 

Patience. You need to come down off of Mt. Olympus slowly . . . like re-entry.

 

Soon, you will be back to earth with the rest of us poor souls.

[sandy101]

 

 

Patience. You need to come down off of Mt. Olympus slowly . . . like re-entry.

 

Soon, you will be back to earth with the rest of us poor souls.

 

Yes. I used a heavy pen for my one pen one month challenge. I noticed a big difference when I started using my #3776 again. It took my had a week to adjest to using lighter pens.

[NumberSix]

As we approach May 2020 and continue to social distance, I have decided to work another self-challenge - this time a little modified.

 

For May, I will use two pens:

• Red Parker 45 in EF
• Turquoise Parker 45 in F

To keep it simple, I orders two twist converters just now from Vanness. I do have one squeeze converter, but my other three P45s have all been rocking cartridges. (yes, I know I can refill carts and sometimes do, but I wanted to get a couple of new converters anyway - dang, they ain't cheap, though, or I would have ordered 4 of them!)

 

The plan for this Two Pen One Month Challenge (TPOMC) will be to run one pen in Black and one in Blue-Black.

 

I have these inks on order as of today:

• Pelikan 4001 Black 62.5ml
• Waterman Mysterious Blue 50ml
• Kaweco Midnight Blue 30ml

Don't need the black (I have 4 bottles of different blacks, and I like them all), but I wanted to try the 4001 to go with my 4001 Royal Blue (currently in my Parker 51 vacuumatic). And I only have a half bottle of Quink Blue-Black for the other one. Plenty of blue-black ink for a month in an EF or F pen, but I wanted to try some other affordable Blue-Blacks.

Edited April 27, 2020 by NumberSix

[MadAsAHatter]

I just now completing the one pen one month challenge, mostly by necessity and not as much by choice. Most of my writing is done at work and very little at home. As I work in a lab that is doing COVID testing I didn't want to have all my nicer pens up here like normal. I decided to bring all my good ones home and leave a Jinhao X450 at work for use. I swapped out the Jinhao M nib for a Bock F and then filled it with Noodler's Legal Blue. I don't feel hindered at all only sing one pen and sort of a little less burdened by the decision of which pen to use today. The only thing that I feel is lacking slightly is having one with black ink, but at the same time I can do without.

 

I think once I feel comfortable bringing my other pens back to work I'll switch to a 2, maybe 3 pen system. I'll do one blue ink & the other black ink. The possible 3rd would be blue-black. I'll use those for a month then switch.

[NumberSix]

The only thing that I feel is lacking slightly is having one with black ink, but at the same time I can do without.

 

I usually try to keep a Blue and a Black inked up. But in my March challenge, I was just running blue in my Parker 51 (Pelikan 4001 royal blue at first; later, Quink Washable Blue).

 

After about two weeks, I switched the ink out for black. But it felt so weird to write in black after using nothing by blue ink for weeks that within about a day I had switched back to blue!

[NumberSix]

The plan for this Two Pen One Month Challenge (TPOMC) will be to run one pen in Black and one in Blue-Black.

 

 

Well, now, those carefully laid plans gang'd right the aft agley. I have been on a pen spending spree in the last week. When it's all said and done, I shall have acquired 10 fresh pens (and a new gold nib to upgrade one of my existing pens).

 

There's no way I am going to be able to just put these items away in the closet all month, as they begin arriving in the mail over the next week or two.

 

My mistake in planning was to allow for a second pen to be inked and used for May, I think. Once that door is open. . .

[sandy101]

Maybe you should try and use all you pens in one month. Having used just one - then maybe attempting to do the total opposite might give you some insight.

 

two extremes to try out.

[MuddyWaters]

I went back to Blue on my P51 after 2 days of Black (Iro Take-sumi). This time, Quink Washable Blue. It's not very different from the 4001 Royal Blue, though it seems like it dries a bit lighter on my clairefontaine journal pages.

 

I broke down and ordered a bunch of inks and 4 cheap pens to play with. By the time they arrive in a few days, I will have basically made it through all of March with just the one pen. It's been a good exercise.

What happened to the take Sumi?

[NumberSix]

Maybe you should try and use all you pens in one month. Having used just one - then maybe attempting to do the total opposite might give you some insight.

 

two extremes to try out.

Hehe, that's kind of what I usually do, give or take a few pens. But if it's a "Challenge", then who can resist?

[NumberSix]

What happened to the take Sumi?

Nothing. It worked great. I just found that I was preferring Blue at the time, and I didn't expect that to be. (I thought I was looking for some variety)

[GreenMountain]

Oh, I couldn't do it. I have 7 or eight in use and take each one for a little spin daily so that they don't dry out. I suppose I could try whittling them down one by one, but I'd still like to have a few colors ready for a change in mood.

[MuddyWaters]

Bump to this nice idea.

 

I will try to use a moonman c1. It has a large ink capacity and though the nib is not spectacular, there will be no excuse not to write, unless the weird shape really wears on me.

[NumberSix]

Awesome plan. I had a really good experience back in March.