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The cows all fly on aeroplanes Beneath the bright blue sky Up there amongst the wind and clouds Up there, up oh-so high

The snowman is a friend of mine He came to town today He hitched a ride with Santa Claus And rode in on his sleigh

I’ve got quite a few things on my list to review here at Seize the Dave, including: TWSBI Diamond 530 Fountain Pen (my first fountain pen review) Ecosystem Sketchbook Platinum Pigmented Rose Red Ink Everflo Orchid Ink Diamine Indigo Ink Diamine Midnight Ink and lots more. I’m also contemplating adding reviews of loose leaf tea - one of my other passions that seems increasingly out of place on a professional technophile.

Rating: 1.0 January 11, 2011 After I’ve finished writing an ink review, I’m left with anywhere from four to six pens lying around with several milliliters of ink still in them. Typically, I empty the pens back into the ink bottle they came from, in order to save the ink for later. Occasionally, I like an ink enough that it stays in the pen I used to test it until I’m distracted by the next wonderful ink to cross my desk.

Ah, the new year. It always prompts a retrospective of the previous year, and here at Seize the Dave, I am feeling retrospective. Therefore, I’ve taken a look at Google Analytics, and compiled a list of the the top ten most visited reviews of 2010. In order, they were: Pelikan Edelstein Ruby Noodler’s Kung Te Cheng Diamine Oxblood Rhodia Webnotebook Rhodia Dot Pad J Herbin 1670 Ecosystem Notebook Behance Dot Grid Journal Quo Vadis Habana Pelikan Blue Black

Rating: 4.0 January 3, 2011 If J Herbin Café des Isles is the color of coffee with cream, then Terre de Feu is the color of powdered cocoa. It is a lovely milk-chocolate ink with a slight reddish undertone – almost reminiscent of red clay. It possesses a low degree of saturation and a high degree of shading in even a fine nib pen. As with most J Herbin inks, Terre de Feu is slightly watery – as a result, it flows easily, but does not provide significant level of lubrication between pen and paper.

Rating: 4.5 December 24, 2010 Monaco Red is another great red ink from Diamine. It’s an earthy, orange red with brick undertones – very reminiscent of J Herbin 1670. It is less blue than Diamine Red Dragon and less brown than Diamine Oxblood. According to at least one source, this ink was formulated by Diamine at the special request of the Crown Prince of Monaco. I presume the ink was engineered to match the red in the Monegasque flag and coat of arms.

I’m continuing to experiment with my Noodler’s Flex Nib Piston Fill fountain pen. Above is a writing sample with J. Herbin 1670 - their 2010 limited edition anniversary ink. 1670 does some very interesting things when used in a flex nib. A golden/copper tone appears in the heavily shaded areas. In fact, in the right light, it actually shimmers a bit. The script I’m using is an adaptation of the “brush script, broad-edged minuscule 2” from The Calligrapher’s Bible: 100 Complete Alphabets and How to Draw Them.

Above is a writing sample of Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses in the new Noodler’s Flex Nib Piston Fill fountain pen. I’ll have more thoughts about the pen later, but this is my first attempt at using a flex nib fountain pen, and I think the Black Swan ends up shading quite nicely with it. Update: Inkophile has a spot-on review of the Noodler’s Nib Creaper pen. Update: Leigh Reyes has a demonstration using the Creaper and the Black Swan ink to draw.

I just received an order from the Goulet Pen Company. I picked up some large bottles of Diamine Ink, but the main reason for the order was the Noodler’s Flex Nib Demonstrator pen. I will post some pictures and writing samples just as soon as I get a chance to play with it.