Guides
5 things nobody tells you about ink testing methods
The order a real ink test runs in, from stating one question to recording a result, and the difference between what you can measure and what you can only observe.
Archive
August 2026
Features
How to test whether a notebook suits your fountain pen ink
Notebook and ink pairings ideas that work for any brand: why sizing decides how an ink behaves, which sheet suits your pen, and a four-mark test to run first.
Reviews
A five-tool starter kit for testing fountain pen paper
Five cheap tools that turn paper opinions into measurements, plus the structured recording habit that makes a year of small tests actually worth something.
Reviews
Stationery collections: what to own before the paper arrives
The short list of tools worth owning before the paper, what each one is for, and the vocabulary you need so a paper description means something in a shop.
Guides
Building a writing setup: what to spend on, what to improvise, and what to skip
A practical guide to setting up a writing desk: what to spend on, what to improvise, what to skip, how to check your position, and an hour of free setup steps.
Guides
Fountain pens setup: fitting everything onto one shelf
Build a fountain pens setup on one shelf with a Pilot Metropolitan, Iroshizuku ink, a Rhodia notebook, covered bottle storage and a rinse station.
Guides
What does a weekend really cost you in fountain pen habits?
A weekend audit of what writing by hand costs, with real prices, a cost-per-page method and the ink bottle outlay most people forget to count.
Guides
A weekend practice plan for learning fountain pens in 2027
Fountain pens learning plan: two days of short, structured drills for pressure, angle and letter shape, with the checks that tell you whether the practice is doing.
Costs
Where do the hidden costs in a fountain pen budget come from?
Fountain pen costs, budgets and the expenses nobody mentions: the full cost of writing by hand, including duty on imported pens, shipping, sales tax.
Industry
4 points on fountain pen costs that matter
Four fountain pen costs decide what a beginner actually pays, namely the pen, the ink, the paper, and the repair bills that follow cheap paper.
Reviews
Starter fountain pen setups, compared by cost per year, not price
Three real starter fountain pen setups costed over five years, so you can see where the money goes and which one actually runs cheapest to write with daily.
Industry
How to judge a lettering, calligraphy or book arts class
How to judge a lettering, calligraphy or book arts class before you enroll: the places that teach, what a good first class covers, and what to ask.
Reviews
Which properties actually differ between beginner fountain pens?
What to compare in a first fountain pen, and how to test it: no brand ranking here. The five things that actually differ between beginner pens.
Industry
Notebook and ink pairings: what independent papermakers get right
Independent papermakers match paper and ink before anything else. Their working habits, and which of those transfer to a home desk setup, reward attention.
Reviews
The one-minute paper test: saving a purchase before it goes wrong
The six properties that decide whether a paper suits your pen, the shop test that reads them in a minute, and why most paper you try should be rejected.
Reviews
Do fiber and sizing decide how fountain pen paper performs?
Fiber, sizing and alkaline reserve decide how paper writes and how long it lasts. What each ingredient does, and what to look for on the package.
Reviews
Stationery collections materials: paper and ink
A practical guide to stationery collections materials: paper acidity, buffering, sizing, ink permanence, and a repeatable way to compare sheets.
Guides
How to keep a fountain pen purchase log and disclose gifts
How to log fountain pen purchases: date every price you paid, keep gifts and loaners out of your total, photograph honestly and disclose free items clearly.
Guides
Fountain pen photography: lighting and backgrounds that work
Lighting, backgrounds and color control for photographing pens and writing samples, plus the reference targets that make one shot comparable to the next.
Costs
Pricing a notebook and ink pairing by the page, not the shelf tag
A cost-per-page model for notebooks and ink, the arithmetic that turns a shelf price into a real number, and why published averages will not tell you yours.
Reviews
Stopping curl, acid and light from ruining stored paper
Curl, acidity and light are what ruin stored paper. What each one does, which damage is reversible, and a storage routine that prevents all three.
Reviews
Stationery collections storage: paper and ink in one afternoon
Stationery collections storage: what actually damages paper and ink, which boxes and sleeves are worth it, and a routine you can finish in one afternoon.
Maintenance
Eight notebook and ink mistakes first-timers keep making
Notebook and ink mistakes beginners make at home: the eight errors that account for most bad first experiences with fountain pen ink and paper, why each happens.
Guides
How to plan a stationery collection: purpose, inventory, buying order and review
Set a purpose for your paper and pen collection, inventory what you own, buy paper, ink and envelopes in order, and review the drawers twice a year.
Features
Seven small paper experiments that each teach one lesson
Seven short experiments on paper itself: grain, sizing, opacity, weight, watermarks, fiber and aging, each with the result you should expect.
Features
Stationery projects: six ways to build one skill at a time
Six small projects that each teach a single skill, from making a paper reference book to pulling a sheet by hand, with what each one is actually for.
Industry
How to judge a paper's quality in a shop before you buy
Where paper quality is decided, how to read formation and the wrapper in a shop, the grain test, and the ink tests to run on one pad before you buy more.
Guides
How fountain pen ink reaches the paper: a beginner's guide
How a fountain pen moves ink, what dye and pigment inks do differently, why paper changes the line, and the two habits that prevent most first-pen trouble.
Reviews
Notebook and ink pairings buying: one starter set
Notebook and ink pairings buying starts with a Rhodia Webnotebook A5, Waterman Serenity Blue, and a Rhodia No. 16 pad for a repeatable control.
Industry
Paper conservators know things most buyers never hear
No interviews here. What published conservation research establishes about paper strength, sizing and aging, and which parts of it should change how you buy paper.