JetPens: the full-selection US-based Stationery and Miscellaneous Store

JetPens.com, based on San Jose, California, is a full-service online stationery and related item stores. They stock pens (rollerball, gel, etc.), pencils, multi-pens, dip pens, fountain pens, brush pens, paintbrushes, and all the accessories such as replacement parts, nibs, ink, and so on. They also stock paper, notebook, diary, planner, all sorts of covers, all sorts of refill pages. They have stamps, stickers, washi tapes, pen holders, pen bags... Basically, if it's related to something writing, they probably have it. Yes, they have wax seal stuff too. They have school / backpacks too, plus other things. 

The prices are quite reasonable, and if you order $35 USD of stuff it's free shipping within the US. 

I originally only saw them as a fountain pen and supplies vendor, but they sell a LOT more than that. This is their Pens menu:

Jetpens' Pens menu... It's that big and detailed!

As the menus indicated, they have full buying guides (linking to their own stuff, of course) on what is best for what purpose. They periodically update old ones and create new ones, as inventory refreshes every year. 

They also have an extensive presence on Youtube. 

If you are in the US, and interested in getting stationery related stuff (not just pens), check out Jetpens.com. 

Fountain Pen Esoterica: What Other Special Fountain Pen Inks Are There?

Previously, we mentioned sheening and shimmering fountain pen inks. But what other types of "special" inks are there? Noodler makes the most of these special inks, so I'll mention a bunch of them here:

Anti-feather ink -- ink designed specifically NOT to feather, even on horrible paper such as newsprint, very opposite of fast-drying. Noodler's version is called "X-feather".  

Anti-freeze ink -- Noodler's makes a series of inks that will not freeze until -20 F that they call "Polar" series. Yes, the pen will still write with temperature below zero! However, it also feathers very heavily. 

Photo by Leo Okuyama on Unsplash

Colorfast ink -- ink that will not wash out, and highly resistant to solvents. These go by various names depending on the vendor. Noodler calls theirs "bulletproof". These inks are hated by forgers and check-washers, who relies on solvents that can dissolve the ink... So they can write in a different amount. Colorfast ink makes that very difficult if not impossible. 

Fast-drying ink -- made to help left-handed writers in a left-to-right writing world, these inks are dry to touch after maybe 10 seconds, even on super-slow paper such as Rhodia paper. 

Highlighter ink -- technically they are made to refill highlighters, but some of them are fountain pen compatible, such as Noodler's Electric Color, Dragon Catfish, or Year of the Golden Pig. 

Invisible Ink -- these are only visible under UV light. Some can be mixed with regular ink, or use alone to send secret messages. 

Iron-gall ink -- some of the earliest ink are iron-gall inks. They use a mixture of iron salts and tannic acid to create a purple-black or brown-black ink. However, these inks are acidic and not suitable for fountain pens. "Modern" iron-gall inks that are marked "safe for fountain pen use" are available, and they make marks that are extremely difficult to erase, as the ink penetrates into the paper deeply. Iron gall ink should NOT be left in a pen that's only infrequently used, even "modern" iron-gall ink. Also see "pigment-based ink".  

Lubricated ink -- some fountain pens are known to be "dry"... they don't feed much ink to the paper, making writing a bit difficult. A lubricated ink can help these pens perform properly. Keep in mind that a "wet" pen (one that already feeds a lot of ink) will likely leak badly with lubricated ink. Also, some older pens with piston type fillers or converters can benefit from lubricated ink. 

Pigment-based ink -- similar to colorfast ink, and iron-gall ink, pigment ink is almost impossible to erase. However, pigment-based ink uses carbon-based pigments, and has a similar drying/clogging problem like iron-gall ink. Either use the pen frequently, or use a different ink. Wash the pen out thoroughly first before loading new ink. 

Security Ink -- another Noodler special, their "Warden" series ink is not only colorfast, it is laser resistant, and they are mixed with a slightly different formula PER BOTTLE, so they cannot be replicated. A forger cannot replicate your signature unless they also stole your specific bottle of Warden ink. Else a forensics expert can tell the difference between the ink used in the signatures even if they are the same brand and color. 

So now you've heard about a couple of the special inks available on the market, esp. those from Noodler. I hope they sound interesting to you, and stay tuned for more fountain pen esoterica!

Fountain Pen Esoterica: Regular Ink, Sheening Ink, Shimmering Ink, Oh My!

Unless you're in the fountain pen community, you would not know there are certain... "fancy fountain pen ink" and new ones developed all the time. Most people expect black ink and blue ink, but there are actually dozens of fountain pen companies all over the world, and they launch new color lines all the time. Some of them can get really fancy, such as sheening ink (shows different colors depending on how much ink you use), and shimmering ink (includes sparkles!)

Photo by David Pennington on Unsplash

SIDENOTE: Fountain pen ink are dye-based, not carbon-based (aka "India ink") If you use carbon-based ink in a fountain pen you'll clog it. Same with "calligraphic ink" unless it is specifically labelled as "fountain pen safe". Calligraphic ink are often not dye-based, but pigment-based, and if they dry inside a fountain pen, the pen is ruined as those will NOT wash out. The pen will be permanently clogged by paint pigments. Calligraphic dip pens, with no feed mechanism, are not affected this way. TL;DR-- ONLY use "fountain pen ink" in fountain pens. 

There are other types of fountain pen ink, but they are more about ink's resistance to environmental challenges, like archival ink (no-fade), water resistant ink, quick-dry ink, and so on. How well they work also depends on what paper they are paired with. And that's another topic altogether. 

Sheening Ink

Sheening ink with its unique dye formulation, forms different colors depending on its concentration. This type of ink is typically slow to dry, and requires a thick pen stroke (made by special fountain pens with stub nib or wider, a cotton swab, or a brush) to see the multitude of colors from a single ink. Sometimes, it's just different shades of the same color, but sometimes, it's distinct colors or mixes thereof. You usually need a fountain pen of at least a broad nib, if not wider, to see the sheening colors, but it is beautiful. Also, you need paper that's NOT that absorbent, because the ink cannot "pool" to create the sheen if it gets absorbed into the paper!

Shimmering Ink

Shimmering ink contains shimmer particles that reflect light, so once they get on paper the inked area will "sparkle" if you shift the paper a bit under the light. However, the particles are known to clog some pens, and requires shaking before use as those particles can "settle" to the bottom of the ink bottle. It is sometimes added to sheening ink so you have an ink that both sheens and shimmers. Similar to sheening ink, they do not dry quickly. And thus, they require paper that are not very absorbent.

Watch Brian Goulet of Goulet Pen show off his "top 10 sheening inks"...  Keep in mind more than a few of these inks are also shimmering inks.  

Conclusion

There are a lot of developments in fountain pen ink, and the best known ones, sheening and shimmering inks, can produce some stunning visuals with the right paper and pen. And they are relatively cheap compared to cost of a new pen, esp. high-end pens, and can add to your enjoyment. 

Crap I Ordered From China; i.e. Bargain Hunting Stationery and Fountain Pen Stuff

 My Aliexpress order is finally here... Only took them 8 days. 

Anyway, adding another fountain pen and and 2 bottles of ink to my collection, which currently consists of:

* Crappy Lamy Safari CLONE from Temu (with included black cart ink, at least 5 if not 10) (about $1.00)

* Jinhou X850 from Temu, black, about $1.50

* Platinum Preppy in see-through blue from Amazon (about $6?)  currently MIA (whole pen case is missing, just need to find it)

* Hero A11 "Black Forest" (new)

* Lamy Safari in Black with Black trim (genuine from Lamy store) (new)

As for ink, I currently have: 

* Banmi Dragon

* Banmi Dolphin

* Generic black cartridge (for the Safari clone)

* Noodler's Blue (was for the Preppy?)

* Karkos Black

* Karkos Blue

* A couple genuine Lamy T10 carts for the Safari, forgot which color(s). 

Ah, but I have the additional stuff coming in from Temu...

* A Jinhou 950 "Blue and White Porcelain" pen for $7.29

* A generic 0.7mm fountain pen with an "art tip" (fude nib?) for $1.59

* 20 more 3.4mm ink carts for $1.19

* 2 generic 3.4mm converters for $2.39 (converts fountain pens to use bottled ink instead of carts)

* A "retractable tip fountain pen 0.38 mm nib" for $1.59

And one more item from Amazon...

* Platinum Preppy M nib black  (I bought a converter from LONG time ago for the blue one, which is MIA)

Now I just need a converter for my Lamy Safari... :) Which is like $5 on Jetpens. I am also eyeing one of their closeout limited edition Safaris for $30... But that'll have to wait when I *do* have money. 

Don't have much in terms of paper, but I did buy a Rhodia A5 notebook at my local stationery store (Patrick and Co) for funsies. It was like $8. Most of my current fountain pen writing was in a diary I bought off Temu, nice paper, but it has a little bit of bleed through. 

This hobby can add up, but if you do a bit of bargain hunting on Temu and such, you'll get a LOT MORE for your money. I am of course NOT saying that these fountain pens are comparable to Japanese (Platinum, Pilot, Sailor), German (Lamy, etc.), muchless Italian (Visconti) craftsmanship, but they are also 1/10 or 1/100th the cost.  Platinum Preppy can be had for $6, but is plastic-y. You need to go up to something like Metropolitan to look less plastic-y. Lamy Safari is also plastic-y and starts at $30 (discounted) or $37 (official store), and you need Lamy AL or Lamy 2000 to get to metal body which costs significantly more. Visconti pens STARTS at $120 and goes up to THOUSANDS of bucks. 

That Hero A11 full metal black cost me less than $5. I think it was $4.25 or so on Aliexpress. 

I think I've wrote enough. Now I need some breakfast.