My Pilot Custom 742 with SU (Stub) Nib

Many of my readers know my love for fountain pens with stub nibs, especially in my TWSBIs and Pilot Preras. I was doing a bit of research and checking out other Pilot nib offerings when I came across one of their nibs called “SU” which they call stub nib. There were only a handful of reviews that showed a writing sample from this nib. I took a chance (gut instinct) and ordered this nib in my first Pilot Customer 742.

I am thrilled to have added this Pilot pen to my fountain pen collection. I’m enjoying the writing experience and how lovely this SU nib writes. It’s a smooth nib with some slight feedback. There’s also some feedback noise as I write for extended periods of time. This could be a result of my hand becoming tired which results in a heavy hand while writing.

Side profile view of my SU nib
The underside of my SU nib

My SU nib creates some nice line variations and makes my handwriting have a bit more flair and style.

Pilot Stub Nib versus TWSBI Stub 1.1 Nib

Naturally, I have to compare this Pilot nib with my TWSBI nib.

When I look straight on into my SU nib, the shape is square. A boxy shape with slightly curved corners. On my TWSBI, the nib shape is more rectangular.

I created a writing sample to show how my TWSBI stub 1.1 nib, my Pilot SU nib, and my Faber-Castell Hexo with medium nib compares. At the time I originally drafted this post, they were the only three pens I had inked.

My Pilot SU nib writes slightly smaller than my TWSBI stub 1.1 nib. In the down strokes, there is hardly any noticeable difference. The horizontal lines is where I can see a difference and the Pilot nib produces thinner lines. Also, my Pilot SU nib produces a “crisp” writing style where the edges are a bit sharper.

The more I write with my Pilot nib, the more I sense a different writing feel and style. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with a Pilot 14k gold nib versus a TWSBI steel nib. I’m also sure the shape of the nib has a lot to do with the unique writing experience. I would say this Pilot nib is in the range of 0.8mm to 0.9mm.

If you are not used to writing with a stub nib, it may take some time to get used to this nib’s writing style. This SU nib’s unique square shape has a different feel than what I’m used to writing with a rectangle shaped nib. Every time I pick up my Pilot pen and start writing, I have a “wow” moment and then happily continue writing in my journal. For me, this is definitely an unusual and unique nib and I like how how it writes on paper and how it adds a bit of flair to my handwriting.

Note: This Custom 742 is not available in the US market.

Pen: Pilot Custom 742 with SU (stub) nib

Ink: Kaweco Summer Purple

Paper: Rhodia

I’m Still Here

I wanted to let my blog readers know that I’m still here. I’m still playing with my fountain pens and inks though in limited numbers and in short lengths of time.

Every few days, I have access to my studio desk where I can actually sit for an hour or two checking my emails and taking care of household activities. I no longer keep a daily BUJO or bullet journal. I resorted to creating a monthly calendar (two-page spread) that lets me easily see when things are due or need to be taken care of.

Here is the current state of my studio desk where I quickly cleaned out my Jinhao 159s and 82s. Yes, I stumbled upon some colorful 82s that needed to be cleaned before filling with ink. A short lived rabbit hole with my 82s.

The bottom four sections are from my Jinhao 82s. The top section is from my 159

I need to take a few pictures of my colorful 82s and create some writing samples. I have a blog post sitting in my drafts folder and I hope to publish this within the next two weeks.

I finally jumped off the fence and I have in my possession a Pilot Custom 742 with a PO (posting) nib. I’ve been writing with this lovely pen & nib combination for the last few evenings when I have a few minutes of free time to play. This PO nib is awesome for times when I want to write with an extra fine nib that is smooth (with some slight feedback) on all types of paper. There is something special about this nib.

My Pilot 742 collection is now complete.

I’ve been working on reviews for each of my 742 nibs. I had to dig deep into last year’s pictures to find the photos I took of the nibs and writing samples. I had started my blog posts for my SU and WA nibs last year and I forgot to finish them. I hope to publish these over the next few weeks.

Jinhao Pens: Jinhao 159 with Fine nib and 82 with Extra Fine nibs

Pilot Pens: Pilot Custom 742 with SU (stub), WA (waverly), SF (soft fine), and PO (posting) nibs

Quick Watercolor Sketches and a Prompt

The month of April has turned into a busy month for me and I haven’t had much time for sketching. I was staring at all my currently inked fountain pens (two dozen) and knew I would not have time to use them. So, I ended up dumping the inks and cleaning all the pens except for one that I used for my bullet journal (BUJO) and journaling.

When I had a few creative minutes available, I brought out my watercolor paints and created a few sketches. Right now, this is quick and easy solution for me to keep my sketching momentum going as well as interest.

The first sketch was a scene from my trip to our local farmer’s market. Most of this was from memory and I wanted to create a two page spread with loose sketches. I used my Preppy filled with Document Urban Grey permanent ink. I mentioned a few times before, I’m enjoying this lighter grey ink color for outlining my sketches. I used a water brush to apply the water color paints straight from my pans onto my paper.

I’m trying to keep my sketches light and using a lot of white space (highlights) from the paper.

Later in the month I found a few minutes to create another sketch of a few flowers blooming in our garden. Again, I used my Preppy with Urban Grey ink for the outlines and I used my water color paints for this sketch.

Prompt: I recommend taking a trip to your local farmer’s market. Take pictures of the different stalls and offerings. Create a sketch that combines several items you’ve seen and sketch/incorporate into a two page spread.

Pen: Platinum Preppy 02 Extra Fine nib

Ink: DeAtramentis Document Urban Grey (permanent)

Watercolor: Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor paint

Brush: Pentel Water Brush in size small

Journal: Stillman & Birn Alpha A5 Softcover

Journal Cover: Lochby Field Journal

Back to My Pen & Ink Sketch – Vintage Sewing Machine

It was back in February that I shared my work-in-progress sewing machine pen & ink sketch. I finished it a few weeks ago and I wanted to wait until I posted my three-part series on my sewing conservation adventures to finally post this completed sketch with my vintage machine.

I knew I needed space to capture my machine and I created my initial sketch across two pages in my art journal.

I sketched this over a few days in my studio. I used my artist creative license to capture what I wanted. I tried to sketch the basic shapes and I ended up sitting in front of my machine and seeing different angles each day. On paper, some areas appeared to be the correct perspective while other areas captured another. I decided to just go with it and this ended up being a unique sketch for me.

Since I was using my creative license, I decided to leave out a few details and just use a wash of color. I left out the details in the oval brass logo. I also left out the “Singer” brand name over the light housing.

To bring a bit more life to my sketch, I did add in the some bright golden ink to represent the decals around the sewing machine bed and to give a pop of color. My machine shows faded silver and gold decals and my creative license allowed me to show a brighter yellow swirls of color.

As I was creating the initial sketch, I forgot to center my machine across the two pages. To fill in the blank space on the right side of my page, I added a few spools of thread.

I enjoyed using Thunderstorm for the blue/black wash on the body and the bed of my machine. Instead of using a dull black ink color, the underlying inky colors of Thunderstorm added quite a bit of personality to my sketch.

Pens: TWSBI GO with Stub 1.1 nib. TWSBI Swipe with Stub 1.1 nib. Platinum Preppy with 02 Extra Fine nib.

Inks: Robert Oster Thunderstorm, Blood Rose, Steely Days, African Gold, and Melon Tea. Van Dieman’s Inks Morning Frost. DeAtramentis Document Grey.

Journal: Stillman & Birn Beta softcover A5 (5.5″x8.5″) 270gsm

Journal Cover: Lochby Field Journal A5 waxed canvas in Brown

Still Life: Singer Featherweight 221 vintage sewing machine (1938)

My Singer Featherweight 221 Sewing Machine – Part Three

I mentioned in another post I had removed the old incandescent light bulb in my machine and replaced it with a new bright LED bulb. The new light would flicker when turned on. I decided to leave it alone and do more research.

When I was sewing my earlier stitch samples and later a sewing machine pad, I ended up using my desk lamp to see what I was sewing. The lamp light was not bright enough. I researched a few LED light fixtures with a magnetic base so I could attach the light to my metal face plate. I decided against spending more money and I wanted to keep the face plate clear so I can quickly fold up the bed when not in use. My machine pad keeps the folding bed from hitting against the thumb screw that holds my face plate in place.

I kept tinkering with the on/off toggle light switch and getting a flickering light. I was hoping that one day it will just turn on and stay lit. It’s kind of like when I gave my machine a good oiling and greasing and left it alone overnight and the next day my machine came alive. I can hope, right?

After a few weeks of playing with the switch, my light fixture came alive and was shining so brightly. I can now see what I’m sewing!

I currently have to jiggle the switch a bit to get the light to turn on. I will eventually have to take apart the light switch, but I’m putting it off for another day. I just want to sew for now.

I uncovered a few pictures I had taken during my conservation project and had forgotten about them until now. I wanted to share the pictures to show that with a bit of elbow grease a vintage machine can show it’s underlying beauty and personality.

Here’s what my feed dog and screws looked like before.

I tried to use my Flitz polish, but that did not work at removing what appears to be rust over real metal. I ended up using my sewing machine oil and just coating the feed dog and screws and let it sit on a towel. I wiped off the oil and installed it back onto my machine. A week later, I removed the feed dog and screws and gave it a good cleaning with my machine oil and now it’s looking quite a bit better.

Here is my tarnished brass logo badge.

Here is what it looks like after cleaning with my Flitz polish. There is still some tarnish along the edges which I will leave for now. It adds a bit of vintage character.

I did remember to take a picture of one of my attachments before cleaning and polishing. Here’s my vintage Tucker or Pintuck attachment with some bits of rust and grime.

Here is what it looks like after giving it a good scrubbing. I feel better about handling my attachments when they have been cleaned and not worry about getting remnants of grime or the bad smell on my hands.

I forgot to clean the presser foot bar. I had not noticed it until the light on my machine started to work and lit up my sewing machine bed. It really does stand out against the areas I already had cleaned and scrubbed.

I decided not to remove the pressure foot bar, but just clean and polish what I could see and have access to.

My throat plate does not have the stitching guide lines. I know a few sewing folks would lay down tape and mark 1/4″, 3/8″, or 5/8″ seam lines. I prefer not to damage the machine’s paint any further. I ended up with a seam guide that screws into the machine’s bed.

There’s ample room to slide the guide towards the right for larger seam widths. The guide includes the thumbscrew to hold the seam guide in place while sewing.

The seam guide is thin enough (3/16″) and it does not interfere with needle bar screw assembly when the bar is lowered. For me, this is a valuable and extremely useful sewing machine accessory and it doesn’t scratch the surface of my machine’s bed.

Here’s my before picture taken at the antique shop.

Here’s my after picture with the majority of my machine cleaned up. I’ve been sewing on it every three days or so and plan on sewing on heavier fabrics to test my machine’s capability. I need to give my machine another good waxing to add a bit more protection to the paint and decals.

I believe that wraps up my conservation blog posts on the initial care and maintenance on my lovely vintage sewing machine. It’s been a fun and exciting adventure for me and I learned so much in the process.

My Featherweight was a fantastic find for me and it’s the perfect size. I like the compact size as I have limited space in my studio. Right now, my machine is sitting on a small rolling cart when not in use. It’s light enough to pick up and carry to my desk when I’m ready to sew a project. I use a towel underneath my machine to help dampen the sound and also to lesson any bounce or rattling on my desk.

Thank you for your patience and following along in my conservation adventure.

Waxes/Oils: Flitz metal polish used on the nickel, chrome, and brass items. Sew-Retro sewing machine oil used to lubricate the moving parts and in the oil holes of my machine.

Other Accessories: LED light bulb (110volt, bright light) and Seam Guide from The Featherweight Shop. Kai 5100 Series 4″ scissors.

My Singer Featherweight 221 Sewing Machine – Part Two

I’m back to talk about the next part of my vintage sewing machine conservation project.

Now that I knew my Featherweight was sewing beautifully, it was now time to start cleaning my machine. I decided to start with the chrome pieces that I had access to. I went to my local mom and pop hardware store and was shown various bottles of chrome polish. I gravitated towards this Flitz branded polish as it was advertised as eco-safe, acid-free, non-toxic, and a non-flammable polish that contains no ammonia or abrasives.

I was able to clean up a few of the vintage feet that came with my machine. I forgot to take a before picture. Trust me when I say the pieces had lots of grime and rust spots.

I bagged and labeled each sewing attachment/accessory.

Here’s an original box that was included with my machine.

Here’s the original manual for the zigzag attachment. It’s in great condition as it was folded and stored in the original box.

Remember my decorative faceplate covered in grime and who knows what?

I gave it a good scrub using the Flitz polish. On the left is the before picture of my faceplate. On the right is the after picture with the first layer of cleaning.

I must have spent an hour cleaning and polishing up the scrollwork on this plate. I’m glad I took a picture as I can still see some yellowish-grime along the lower edge of the plate. Looks like it needs a second round of light scrubbing and polishing.

I decided to clean my machine in sections from left to right. The following picture shows the components to my upper thread tension knob assembly that I took apart. I lined up the pieces and took a picture so I would remember how to put the pieces back together. I had a system where I put all corresponding parts in a small plastic snack size bag. That way screws and bits and bobs did not get mixed up with other components from another area of my machine. This process allowed me to grab the bags of parts and clean them and put them back in their associated bags. Once the left section of my machine was cleaned and waxed, I grabbed my bags and started to install the clean parts and pieces.

I apologize for not having additional pictures of my cleaning process. I’ve been wearing gloves to protect my hands from the grime and the polish and the waxes I’ve been using. I was elbow deep into the cleaning process and I forgot to stop and take pictures.

Locally, I was not able to find a small bottle of kerosene and ended up ordering a 32oz bottle online. I needed the kerosene to clean up the old oil, varnish, rust, and grime from the feed dog and other internal components. The feed dog was caked with rust and dried up unknowns. I will see how far I can get this piece cleaned up.

Once I was done cleaning the components on the left side of my machine, I moved over to the right side and took apart the hand wheel and the stitch length regulator.

When I removed hand wheel and the stitch length regulator, it allowed me access to the internal major arm shaft. Here I made sure to oil the shaft and interconnecting pieces.

Here’s what I removed from my machine: hand wheel, stop-back motion knob, hand wheel washer, and stitch regulator (bagged) waiting to be cleaned and polished.

As I was removing external pieces and parts from my machine, it became clear that I needed to clean and wax my machine while the parts were off. I spent some time carefully cleaning and waxing all the black painted areas of my machine including the arm areas. It definitely made it easier.

I used a cleaner and polishing wax from The Featherweight Shop and it did a decent job with cleaning up the grime. I decided to hold off in giving my machine a second layer of wax. I’m still looking for a good polishing wax to use on the painted surfaces.

I’m holding off from cleaning the motor. I will have to unscrew the motor from the machine and lift the motor up so I can clean the remaining grime and I’m sure I’ll find additional bits of spider parts.

Note: I wanted to stop and take some time to reflect on this restoration project I’ve been working on. I found that using the word “restoration” did not fit what I was doing. The words “preserving” and “protecting” kept popping up. That’s what I was doing for my vintage machine.

Cleaning supplies used: Dozens of Q-tips, large microfiber cloth that I cut up into smaller manageable sizes, blue shop towels, old hand towel, small trash bag, disposable gloves, small snack size baggies, and lots of patience.

Waxes/Polishes/Oils: Flitz metal polish used on the nickel, chrome, and brass items. Sew-Retro sewing machine oil used to lubricate the moving parts and in the oil holes of my machine. Sew-Retro grease used on the gears and to fill the grease tubes in the motor. Sew-Retro Clean used to clean the black painted areas. Sew-Retro Shine wax to protect the black painted areas.

Other Tools: Flat head screw drivers in various sizes and lengths. Wera is wonderful brand of slotted screw drivers with good torque for those stubborn screws. A bright LED head lamp that tilts up and down to see into the nooks and crannies. A bright LED flash light.

My Singer Featherweight 221 Sewing Machine – Part One

In my previous blog posts from a few weeks ago, I shared a sketch of my vintage Singer Featherweight sewing machine that I’ve been working on. I thought it was time to share my new adventure.

I felt a bit overwhelmed in restoring my vintage sewing machine. I had no previous knowledge or experience with vintage machines let alone take them apart. That led me to doing lots of research and watching lots of restoration videos. There were times when I had to stop working on my sewing machine and take a break. More research and more videos were watched.

While I was hand turning the hand wheel over a few days, I must have loosened the dried up oil (varnish) and crud. I could see the needle bar moving slowly up and down. Like turtle-slow movements.

I had a brilliant idea of trying to use the bobbin winding feature and see how fast the motor ran. Once I unlocked the hand wheel and pressed the foot pedal, the motor was humming and the bobbin winding wheel was moving fast. This confirmed the motor was fine and again I did not see any signs of smoke.

I decided not to worry about cleaning the outside of my machine and focused on cleaning and oiling the inside. To have better access to my machine, I removed the fold-up side table on the left side of my machine by removing two screws.

I started with the bottom of my machine and removed the metal oil pan plate. The oil drip felt pad was fairly new with no signs of oil or grease on the pad and very little debris. I gave it the smell test and I hardly noticed any bad smell from the pad. No need to replace the pad.

I found the bottom gears and components were surprisingly clean. Maybe too clean as there was hardly had any old grease to clean up. I did notice the moving parts including the bushing and shafts looked rather dry.

Another thing I noticed was the lack of lint and thread in and around the machine. I checked in the bobbin area and found no signs of thread. I knew that rogue threads wrapped around the bobbin system would cause the machine to lock up. That wasn’t the case with my somewhat locked machine.

My hubby mentioned that the owner probably had maintenance done on her machine and for whatever reason, the machine sat for years without any use.

I took my designated sewing machine toothbrush and brushed the lower bevel gears out to remove any old grease. I then grabbed my Sew-Retro grease and placed the new grease into the gear’s teeth. I slowly turned the hand wheel to disperse the grease onto the other moving gear. I used the Sew-Retro oil and added oil to the oil holes and areas where I could see any metal parts trying to move.

I replaced the rubber feet and it took me awhile to remove the old rubber pads as they were stuck in place and required a screw driver to dig them out.

Once I was finished with the bottom of my machine, I put back the oil drip pan cover and screwed it down with the thumbnut.

The next item on my list was to replace the old belt. Once I removed it from the hand wheel and the belt pulley drive, I noticed the old belt had a permanent “v” from years of non-use.

I replaced the old belt with a new SUPERBELT that was much softer and produces less strain on the motor.

I continued to oil the topside of my machine through the open oil holes on the body. I removed the top thread spool plate and found a second set of gears (upper bevel) that needed to be cleaned and then applied new grease to the gear’s teeth. I hand turned the wheel slowly to get the grease dispersed and spread to the other gear. I also oiled a few areas where metal moving parts made contact with other metal pieces.

I manually turned the hand wheel several times to get the gears moving. I let my vintage machine sit overnight to soak in the new oil and the new grease before I attempted to turn the hand wheel again.

The next day, I immediately noticed the hand wheel was moving freely as I spun it towards me. I also noticed the thread take up lever and the needle bar was moving smoothly and quickly. No resistance at all. I threaded my machine and plugged my foot pedal into an outlet. I pressed the foot pedal and my machine came to life. I was able to sew a few rows of stitches.

The straight stitches were absolutely beautiful.

From the previous picture, the external areas of my vintage machine still looks dull and dirty with layers of grime. In my next Featherweight blog post, I will uncover what I used to clean up the chrome and make it shiny again. Stay tuned!

Supplies used: Toothbrush, dozens of Q-tips, large microfiber cloth that I cut up into smaller manageable sizes, blue shop towels, old hand towel, small trash bag, disposable gloves, and lots of patience.

Oils/Grease: Sew-Retro sewing machine oil used to lubricate the moving parts and in the oil holes of my machine. Sew-Retro grease used on the gears and to fill the grease tubes in the motor.

Other Tools: Flat head screw drivers in various sizes and lengths. Wera is wonderful brand of slotted screw drivers with good torque for those stubborn screws. A bright LED head lamp that tilts up and down to see into the nooks and crannies. A bright LED flash light.

My Two Black Fountain Pen Inky Colors

I found this blog post in my drafts folder from late last year and I forgot to share it. I thought I would go ahead and publish it for those of you who were curious about these limited edition ink colors.

There were two inks I received back in June of last year. I wrote a blog post for each ink color and forgot to show writing samples and swatches together.

I currently have two pens (GO with Medium nib) inked with each color. I’ve been writing with these pens for a few days and wanted to share some of the writing and sketching experiences while using these two black ink colors.

At first, one would think a black ink is basically a black ink color. True. For me, it’s much more than the basic black color. These two inks have their own unique personalities and I like each of them for what they show on paper.

SHOGUN

Let’s start with my first black ink called Shogun. The base color of this ink is a true neutral black ink color. When I say neutral, it does no possess any other underlying color(s) other than black or dark gray.

When I applied water to this ink, the underlying color I saw is a neutral gray color. I really enjoyed this neutral ink’s personality/characteristic. It’s a lovely and subtle black ink color.

Sheen: There is a slight dark sheen in this ink. It’s not noticeable in regular writing, but I can see it in my swatch.

Shading: There’s not much shading that I can see in this ink and from my writing samples.

Shimmers: The shimmers at first appear to be pink. When I look at the shimmers in the bottle it appears to be more rose gold or coppery-like. It’s a gorgeous shimmery color.

PATINA ROARING BLACK

This beautiful ink appeared on my radar because of the swatches I saw on social media. Since I was in a black inky mood, I thought I would give this ink a try. If some of you have been following me for a few years, you know that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with some of the earlier FWP inky colors that were too light in color to write with and also too dry to sketch with.

This particular inky color changed my mind about FWP. My swatch showed quite a bit of personality for a black ink. It showed a lovely blue underlying color along with golden shimmers. My swatch also showed a lovely robust red sheen. Oh and who could not resist the cute perfume-looking bottle?

Sheen: A bright and lovely red sheen can be seen on my swatch.

Shading: There’s not much shading that I can see in this ink and from my writing samples.

Shimmers: This ink has golden shimmers.

If I looked straight on at the writing sample I did with both inks, they looked very similar in color. The only way I could tell them apart was when I used my water brush and painted over the lines. Shogun has a neutral gray underlying color while Patina Roaring Black has a lovely blue color.

Shogun (top) and Roaring Patina Black (bottom)

I just realized that FWP Patina Roaring Black has been sold out. That makes sense since that was a limited edition ink. A very nice and very similar inky replacement would be Diamine Tempest which comes in a 50ml bottle. Tempest is actually a dark blue ink with golden shimmers with a slight and subtle pinkish sheen. It’s not an exact match, but fairly close.

Inks: Jacques Herbin Shogun. Ferris Wheel Press Patina Roaring Black. Diamine Tempest (Red Inkvent Calendar)

Pens: TWSBI GOs with Medium nibs. Lamy Al-Star Marron with Fine nib.

Journal: GLP Creations The Author Tomoe River Paper 68gsm

Another Jinhao x159 with (#8) Extra Fine Nib

I wanted to provide one more Jinhao x159 blog post for those who are interested in how their Extra Fine nibs behave.

I had written in my previous blog post that I already have the Avocado Green version of this pen with an Extra Fine nib and it wrote like a wet EF. I was curious to see if another EF nib would write the same way. I went ahead and ordered the orange version.

After my orange pen arrived, I checked the nib with my loupe. I could tell the nib was going to write well. I examined the feed and found the familiar blue ink that Jinaho uses to check their nib’s writing experience. I removed the section from the body and dropped in some water and let it run through the feed until the water came out clear.

I filled my orange pen with Brandy Dazzle and did a writing sample comparison. My sample shows my orange pen writes a bit finer than my green pen.

The nib writes smooth with just a tiny bit of feedback.

The line differences between these two Extra Fine nibs could be the result of the different inks I’m using. I find Oklahoma City to be a bit on the wet side and Brandy Dazzle to be a tad bit drier.

I’m happy to see the EF nibs, in general, write well on non-fountain pen paper and shows no bleed through. I have several desk journals I’ve been saving for my finer nib pens.

The EF nibs can handle shimmering inks without any issues.

Pens: Jinhao x159 with Extra Fine nibs in Orange and Dark Green

Inks: Diamine Brandy Dazzle (shimmer) and Robert Oster Oklahoma City

Journal: GLP Creations The Author Tomoe River Paper 68gsm

One More Nib Holder

Prior to last year’s DC Pen Show, I had mentioned to Rich (River City Pen Company) that I needed one more nib holder. I saw several holders in various resins and colors, but I could not find one that spoke to me. So, I decided to wait. Priorities took over with art supply acquisitions, a few more TRP pads of paper and then more bottles of inks and more Col-o-ring swatch cards were needed.

At some point I saw Rich had posted some new nib holders he had made and I was a bit late to that party and a few that I was eyeing were already sold out. I reached out to Rich to see if he had any resins available and would he be able to make another one. Little did I know I could pick any available resins he had, choose my nib holder style, and how many cutout bands I wanted. We exchanged the necessary information which set my nib holder request in motion.

A few days later, Rich sent me a message with a video of my new nib holder. It was gorgeous! I could not wait to see it in person.

Swipe left or right on the next picture to see this lovely nib holder and the lovely swirls of colors.

I’m so happy that I trusted my gut instinct and went with this lovely resin called Voodoo Vineyard. The swirls of colors include pink, coral, green, yellow, and purple.

This is a lovely contoured nib holder with a single band (cut out). Did I mention the swirls of colors are gorgeous?

I currently keep a JoWo nib in this colorful nib holder. My family of nib holders is now complete.

Voodoo Vineyard
Pink, green, & white Diamondcast

Barrier Reef

Nib Holders: River City Pen Company in Voodoo Vineyard. Also in Pink, green, & white Diamondcast and Barrier Reef

Nib: JoWo #6 in Fine