This time I did a slightly better job at timing my mid-April same ink refills so I have less holdovers. As well, I spread out the pen cleaning over a few days which made things easier. I got a lot of new inks right at the end of April which made for fun May ink fillings.

HOLDOVERS (In order of appearance in line-up)

Pen: TWSBI Diamond 580 - Orange EF
Ink: Lamy Blue
This one was actually inked in March. Somehow I managed to lose track of it at the end of March and through April. Then I found it stuffed in a drawer. So, out it comes again. It still works fine!

Pen: Platinum 3776 Sai M
Ink: Sailor Jentle Shigure
As readers will recall, I had almost used up Shigure in my Platinum 3776 Sai at the end of March but I had to refill it for a one-day trip to NYC. I continued to happily use this pen/ink combo in April, refilled it once or twice…and somehow, ended up with half a converter-full at the and of April. So, I’ll continue on until it’s finished. This time there will be no more refilling!

NEW (In order of appearance in line-up)

Pen: Edison Nouveau Premiere - Lilac 1.1
Ink: KWZ Brown Pink
I’ve been eyeing a few KWZ inks for some time now including this one. Brown Pink is an interesting colour to be sure but it’s got great shading. That’s why I paired it with the 1.1 stub.

Pen: Lamy Al-Star LE Blue Green B
Ink: KWZ Iron Gall Turquoise
I first heard about KWZ for their iron gall inks so I had to get some to try. Great shading and sheen so I paired with a wider nib. I only have 1 Lamy stub nib and that one went on the next pen on this list.

Pen: Lamy Al-Star LE Copper Orange 1.1
Ink: Akkerman 22 Hopjesbruin
I read some good reviews about Ackerman 22 so I picked up a bottle. Then I read 1-2 negative reviews. Thankfully, so far I like it. Since this is a yellow ink I paired it with the 1.1 stub so that it shows better. But the shading in this ink does a pretty good job of putting some body into the ink.

Pen: Lamy Studio Wild Rubin 14k EF
Ink: Callifolio Grenat
I can’t really remember where I heard about Callifolio inks but I recall they were generally favourable…and they come in a cool triangular bottle…

Pen: Franklin-Christoph Pocket 40 Blue-Violet and Ice 1.1 (eye dropper)
Ink: Callifolio Bonne Esperance
Ditto for this as for Grenat. I’ll say that both Callifolio inks are not very saturated and the colours are not intense. They shade though.

So, the Pocket 40 is a tiny pen and it uses short international cartridges. It came with one that I used up and I’ve been refilling it since. But it doesn’t hold much ink so I’ve been wanting to make the Pocket 40 into an eye dropper pen.

Pen: Franklin-Christoph Model 20 Translucent Bronze Matsyama Needlepoint (eye dropper)
Ink: Diamine Sepia
I knew when I got this pen that I would have to make it into an eye dropper. I thought Diamine Sepia would be a good match…But using Sepia and a Needlepoint was probably not the best idea since it lays down very thin lines. I’ll see how it goes.

Pen: Franklin-Christoph 66 Stabilo Ice Music (eye dropper)
Ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Asa Gao
So I finally used up the Yama Dori that I had in the FC 66 since January. A large pen body eye-dropper filled plus a needlepoint nib meant the ink went a long, LONG way. This time I swapped the Music nib from the FC 20 so that I wouldn’t run into the same long-lasting issue. Asa Gao + Music Nib = SHEEN.

Pen: Lamy 2000 EF
Ink: Omas New Grey
Gosh, I had a sample of this and I had no idea it was so light. I’m not sure this ink will stay in this pen for long. As I mentioned, I like to keep dark greys and black in this pen. It’s one of my go-to meeting pens.

So how many pens do you have inked up for May? What are your favourite pen and ink combos?