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Review: Monami Olika Fountain Pen

October 6, 2018 / Supplies / 0 Comments

So the Ooly Splendid Pen is apparently just a repackaged version of the Monami Olika fountain pen, but the latter comes in more default color options and has an extra fine nib available in addition to the fine.

The Ooly pen was impressive for the $5-6 price point and since the Monami is priced the same, I picked up a Monami with the EF nib in black. A neutral color would give the pen more use cases for me, and I wanted to see if the EF nib was as good as the F.

Spoilers: It is. This pen is wonderful.

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Top 3 Pens for Inking

September 27, 2018 / Supplies / 0 Comments

I’ve wanted do some kind of “top pens” post for a while, and with Inktober just around the corner, I figure now is a great time to talk about pens for inking.

Top Overall Recommended

These are my top picks in each category of felt tip brush pen, synthetic hair brush pen, and technical pen, then ranked in order of which I personally use the most. A Pentel pocket brush, maybe two of the Tombows, and a set of Microns, easily arms you for every kind of line you might want to make and can definitely carry you through a month of daily ink drawings.

“Real” brushes and dip pen nibs weren’t considered here since I don’t use them nearly as often and have way less expertise as a result. No fountain pens either, since I don’t use them to draw as much as I use them to write… but recent acquisitions may well change this in time for next year… That category also open up the wonderful world of inks, which is a whole ‘nother ballgame entirely and something I’m still slowly exploring.

So for now, just pens! But no fountain pens. It’s mostly brush pens. No one’s surprised.

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Review: Ooly Splendid Pen

August 26, 2018 / Supplies / 0 Comments

I was up in Ballard recently to drop off copies of my new horror zine, SEARCH PARTY, at Push/Pull. Afterwards, I poked around the neighbourhood a little.

Market Street is aptly named as there are tons of nice little shops lined up along it and near to it, including various things of interest to me: an art supply store, an independent book store, an antiques and curiosities shop, and a few print and frame shops.

I was browsing Annie’s Art & Frame when I found a fountain pen I’d never seen or heard of before — Ooly’s Splendid pen. At a whole $6, I, of course, couldn’t resist.

Pen display at Annie’s Art & Frame.

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Review: Ohuhu Calligraphy Brush

July 4, 2018 / Supplies / 0 Comments

A familiar story: I needed a few extra bucks of stuff to get free shipping on Amazon, so I searched for brush pens and grabbed a cheap one I hadn’t tried before.

No? No one else does this? It’s just me? Well, that’s how I ended up with the Ohuhu Calligraphy Brush, the first piston-fill brush pen I’ve ever encountered.