Kinokuniya

Kinokuniya is a Japanese book, magazine, and pen/notebook/paper and supply store on The Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue) between 40th and 41st Streets. A large store with two levels and sitting twenty-one blocks due north from my other favorite Japanese-products store, Muji, Kinokuniya stocks everything you could imagine for reading and writing and more. My first visit to the store there was a demonstration on how to make Tatami sandals, with people invited to bring their own sandals in for a tune up. I've purchased some really great vinyl journals and paper from Kinokuniya in the past, and really enjoy looking around the downstairs area.

On a recent trip I decided to take a better look at the pen section, which had overwhelmed me in the past. In taking my time I was really pleased to spot the small labels telling me the name and price of each pen, as well as finding the sample pens to try out. And I recognized some pens from JetPens or reviewed on The Pen Addict that I had wanted to see up close, and so got a chance to play with them. In particular, I tried the Pilot Hi-Tec C pens, and chose three of the 0.5mm for my collection: Blue/Black, a really deep shade I liked a lot; Violet; and Bengara, which is a soft brown with a hint of pink or red to it. The 0.5mm were very close in feel to the 0.4mm, but the former had a bit more slip to it on the paper and felt just a little looser and sloppier. The 0.3mm and 0.25mm both felt scratchy and tight, and I didn't like how they resisted the paper.

I purchased many more pens and will post on these later, as well as two notebooks from Apica that I liked. The two pics above, which I managed to snap without disturbing anyone, show the pen display from a distance and a side view of one-half of the notebook/paper section.

There's Something About 6th Avenue

I was running an errand late morning across town on 14th Street when I went to get off the bus at 6th Avenue. I looked out the door windows and couldn't believe what I was seeing--about a half dozen police in SWAT/Terrorist mode, cradling what looked like Tec 9s. And that was it, just these guys, one patrol car, and nothing else.

Really strange even for New York, and so I think there must be some kind of void at 6th Avenue and 14th Street. This is just the place where I spotted the Cat on the Head, and now these guys. No one could figure out what they were doing in front of an empty store for rent. I took the pics and then skedaddled, 'cause it was obvious they didn't like people taking snapshots.

Something Different For Lunch

I do enjoy the curried chicken I've been making the past few weeks. Eating the same thing every day doesn't bother me, in fact I rather like it. And the chicken isn't always the same; sometimes I grill chicken breasts on my little indoor grill, sometimes I use canned chicken breast, which is saltier and has a very different texture. I will also add different ingredients to give it a slightly different flavor, e.g. the cayenne pepper I added to this last batch has really given some heat to the curry.

But I've also thought about trying something a little different. What about tuna, that's always a good choice. As I'm not a big fan of casseroles, I thought I'd just stick to the curry recipe with the albaccore tuna. And I decided to give in to a temptation I've had for quite some time by buying a 4lb can of tuna from Costco. I've wanted buy one of these for the longest time; they are used for industrial-sized lots of tuna salad, but I could never really bring myself to get one. What would I do with such a large can, how would I use it, why would I want it? Well, now I've gone and done it! The pics are of a regular sized can of tuna and the gigantic 4lb can. The cats will get their share, sans curry powder, and we'll all be happy. Bon Appetit!

Pilot G-2 Colored Gel Ink Pens

One of the great things about September and the new school year are all the great supplies that seem to some out of nowhere to be placed front and center in drugstores, supermarkets, 99 cent shops, and anywhere else moms may be shopping for their kids. So a few days ago when I was browsing in the pen aisle at my local Rite Aid I saw packs and packs of Pilot G-2 pens--blue, black, and a three-pack of tuquoise, purple, and pink. While I love the G-2, I'm spending my time with a cute fountain pen and am not really interested. But suddenly I felt my hand reach out and secure a pack of multi-colored 07s. And here they are.

The ink flow is amazingly smooth, and I love 2 of the 3 colors. For some reason this pink isn't flowing very well, even though I'm using a light grip. It's fighting the paper, and I'm not wild about the color. I'd rather have a stronger pink, but it might need a breaking in period working the point. Of the three, the turquoise and purple are the ones I really want to use. The pink I'll probably keep for highlighting or something. The colors don't bleed through the Doane Paper, although there's definitely a shadow but not too dark to make a difference. I like the way they feel, and plan on using them often.

Inks I Have Known

These are all of my bottled inks, swatched on a sheet of 80 g/m Rhodia lined paper. My favorites to use are the two workhorses, Noodler's Legal Blue (which has an antique look and feel to me of slightly faded blue) and the Iroshizuku Syo-Ro (pine tree dew, a deep turquoise). But I love them all, really.

Private Reserve's Black Magic Blue is very intense, and I feel the black in it more than see it. J. Herbin's Bleu Nuit is very denim-y, softer than the Private Reserve but definitely not as green as the Legal Blue. The Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun, a grayish-blue, is more gray than I thought when compared to the blues. Poussiere de Lune is a beautiful purple, not deep or bright but muted. Diabolo Menthe and Bouquet D'Antan are beautiful and delicate. And then there's Perle Noir, a good black for every occasion, and Noodler's Boston Brahmin Black, a special edition ink that seems more muted than the Perle Noir.

J. Herbin Diabolo Menthe ink

I love different and unique colored inks, and the minute I saw the box of J. Herbin Diabolo Menthe ink I knew I had to try it. And I do love the color, an icy-pale green with some blue in it that reminds me of Key West or the Caribbean. Unfortunately, it isn't very dark and I can't see using it as an everyday ink. I used it in a Hero 266 fine point fountain pen, but don't think it would be any darker in a medium nib pen. However, I am thinking of using it as a highlighting ink when some of the preppy pens get here. That may work out better, we'll see.

It Works.

I was very intrigued by OfficeSupplyGeek's post on creating your own highlighter, especially the part about filling the barrel with ink. I wasn't too sure I wanted to mess with silicon grease, but I really wanted to try this. Then I read Future; Nostalgic's method using PTFE tape instead of silicon grease, and knew I had to give this a go. Several hardware stores weren't sure what I was talking about when I asked for PTFE tape for pipe joints, but I finally found one that had it and only charged $1 for the roll.

I decided to try it first with one of my trusty Rotring Surf medium nib fountain pens. I emptied and washed the pen and let it dry, then followed the instructions quite easily. I wound the tape counterclockwise, trying not to be too loose or too tight. Filled the barrel with water and passed that test. Finally, I filled the barrel with Noodler's Legal Blue, and everything worked perfectly. No leakage at all, and I don't have to worry about refilling a converter. I did leave a piece of tape on the side, it was pushed up during the tightening process and looks like a tag of some kind. I kind of like the way it looks, but I'm also leaving it so I'll remember what this is and not try to take apart the barrel by mistake.

So of course I wanted to try again, this time using my much loved Faber Castell Ambition black resin medium nib fountain pen. This pen has given me some problems, because I've had a hard time finding a converter that will fit it or stay put. I love the pen but hadn't used it as much as I wanted to because of the leaky converter. I could have just gone back to ink cartridges, but by that time I had expanded my collection and kind of forgot about it.

Once again, I wound the tape and fitted the barrel to the nib. But there was too much tape and the barrel got stuck. Oh well, try again. Hmmm, I didn't know the nib came out of the metal attachment, but it's got a threaded area that may leak. Let's tape that and put it back together so there won't be any problems down the line. And let's try again with the barrel. And again. Finally, on the fifth try I was able to get the two pieces together.

I have to admit that by that time I was really tired of this whole project and just wanted to try out my pen. So I skipped the water test (risky!) and went straight to filling the barrel with J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune ink, moon dust purple and the first bottled ink I'd ever purchased. Filled the barrel, tightened everything, and it worked. No leaks, and some fine writing.

I think for the next few days I'll be keeping these in a vinyl carryall I've got, just in case. This is so much fun, and I can't wait to try this on a few Preppy pens I bought off eBay. (The top photo is of my Faber Castell pen and the J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune ink.)