Old School

Speaking of old fashioned, and we were, I recently discovered the pleasure of bottled ink.

I've always had fountain pens, but I used cartridges. Unrestrained ink seemed like a mess waiting to happen.

Got a bottle to try out in a drawing pen and discovered, it wasn't that much of a mess. I followed a link to Noodlers Bottled Ink, color Antietam. I bought one and filled my editing pen. This ink looks like dried blood. While that may be an acquired taste, I think it's swell. A metaphor, don't you know.

Of course, one thing led to another.

Voila! I don't have enough fountain pens for all the lovely inks.

Not much of a mess means I haven't spilled a bottle refilling a pen, but I do usually end up looking like this.

Fortunately, fountain pen ink isn't permanent.

Most of it, anyway.

Besides, no matter how old one is, fountain pens have a style, gel pens can't provide.