One of the joys of the fountain pen hobby is finding combinations of pen, ink and paper that work together really well. You find yourself writing with a pen that is supremely comfortable, with a nib that glides along the paper smoothly but with just the right amount of feedback, laying down an attractive line of ink that is neither too wet nor too dry.
In recent years, it has been my practice to pick a different pen and ink combination to use each month, for my daily A5 journal entry. I am using a Ryman A5 page a day diary. For January, I enjoyed writing with a Wing Sung 699, vacuum filling fountain pen with a fine nib. The ink was my own “Slops Blend blue black 2024” representing a mix of inks that I had flushed out of pens cleaned over the course of last year.
The slops blend experiment is somewhat reckless and goes against the usual advice not to mix inks. The risk is that different inks may clash to form a gunge that clogs pens. When mixing ink it is not only the colour that changes but also other features such as the viscosity, drying time and water resistance. But I have enjoyed recycling ink in this way and have been fortunate not to have any problems. It is a gamble, adding a few drops of ink to the bottle, shaking it up and testing the colour. I was lucky to find that my left-overs had produced a pleasing blue-black, that kept its tone and did not fade to a teal colour, as some do. The trick then is to avoid going too far and spoiling the mix.
My Wing Sung 699 seemed to like my slops blend ink. It produced a nice dark blue-black with attractive shading and a nice lubricating quality and did not suffer from the fading and colour changes.
As well as my Ryman diary, this combination was particularly nice on my Stalogy notebook paper. I found myself thinking that I would continue with the same pen and ink for the month of February too. It also crossed my mind that the combination was so enjoyable that perhaps I did not need any other fountain pens and could use this one for everything.
Such thoughts have often arisen but this time, I decided to act upon it and put my money where my mouth is. No, I have not sold or given away all my other pens! But I thought it may be an interesting exercise to simulate having only one fountain pen. I flushed out about a dozen inked pens, keeping out just the Wing Sung. (I have cheated slightly as I did not throw out half used cartridges or syringe out the remaining ink. Instead I have just put aside my inked cartridge pens, in a separate pen cup, for the time being).
I thought that this might give me an opportunity to spend a longer time using the Wing Sung vac filler pen, for diary, journaling, letter-writing, notetaking and EDC. It may be interesting to see whether there are any other fountain pens that I particularly miss, over the month. For example, I recall a holiday abroad some years ago when I badly missed my Parker Sonnet. Then there was an occasion when I was absent from work for a few months due to ill-health. The pen that I missed most was the Cross Bailey Light, in royal blue with Cross Blue ink, that I kept in the office.
Other potential benefits of this little scheme, are that I was able to bring down the number of currently inked pens considerably, when this had been hovering well over 30 a few weeks ago. Also, I have already started to compile a new batch of Slops Blend ink, that I shall call my 2025 crop.
Perhaps this exercise is indicative of a wish to simplify life a bit. I bought around 50 fountain pens last year (mostly not expensive, with about half that number being vintage pens from eBay or pen shows). I, (or more accurately, my wife) decided that this pen buying needs to stop. I am therefore having a 2025 No Buy. The same goes for notebooks and ink, as well as other writing instruments such as ball points, roller balls, gel pens, mechanical and wood case pencils.
I bought no fountain pens in January! Admittedly that is only one month. I will be very surprised if I can keep this up for long but thought I would make public my intentions as a contemporaneous record not only for myself but for readers to witness as well.
Again, I have already cheated slightly, in the impulse purchase of a rather lovely black and gold Cross Coventry ball pen. I have also added a few notebooks to my stash, just in case there is a siege in London. You can’t be too careful.
Fountain pen blog 
Excellent read.
Yes, you can’t be too careful, a siege can happen at any time with no warning. Perhaps an extra pen just in case?
I nearly fell off the wagon this morning watching a review of the Gravitas Special Edition from Kyuseido – Kakari. It was only pricing it against other pens in that price bracket that saved me.
But, there may be a complete collapse of civilisation. I might owe it to those who come after me to ensure a pen supply. I certainly have enough ink for the country to last many years.
Good luck.
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Thankyou for your supportive comments. I am glad that we understand each other. Yes, I have friends who have been corrupted by the Kyuseido Kakari. We all have our weak spots. Recently I felt the tug of a Majohn P139, in orange and black, a piston filler with a number 8 nib option, but I am trying to dig deep to find some self-control.
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I’m finding your “slops” ink very intriguing. I can imagine ending up with a not-too-attractive shade of brown, though perhaps that is coloured by early memories of mixing paint in infant’s school. My experience of “art” being one of constant creative optimism leading to spirit-crushing reality!
My Cross Century II ballpoint is the only such instrument that I’m truly happy with. I keep thinking it’s 20 years old, but apparently now we have to start calling it 25. It was a quarter of a century ago when I bought it – there’s a sobering thought. I hope you get a good quarter-century out of your Cross Coventry.
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Thanks! Constant creative optimism is a good thing to have.
My Slops blend is not entirely down to chance. I mostly use blues and blue blacks. I avoiding adding black to the blend, as it dominates. Occasionally I tweak it, adding a dash of turquoise for example if I think it needs something.
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Coincidentally, I have a favourite Cross Townsend ballpoint pen, that will be 20 years’ old this year. I remember buying it, as a “Wedding present”, not for the couple but for myself, to mark the occasion. I was not invited to the wedding😀
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Rupert, Another very interesting read. I like you am feeling distinct family (wife and daughter) pressure not to buy any more pens, ink or stationery. There are regular mail checks to ensure that I am not sneaking anything through the net!! I am not sure if I could now get through a month with just a single inked pen. Might have to give it a try. I know I have a backlog of pens to be cleaned so that may be a route to a reduced number of inked pens in rotation. Will be intersting to see how you get on, both on the single pen and no buy front. Good luck, you may need it regarding “pen temptation”!
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Hello. I recently discovered your very interesting blog after coming to the realisation that I have become a novice pen collector by accident.
Whilst clearing out a drawer I came across a tray of assorted writing instruments. I seem to have acquired five fountain pens over the years including my late father’s Parker 51, two other Parkers, a Waterman Laureat and a Sheaffer Targa .Also in the stash were the matching Laureat ballpoint, a rolled gold Parker ballpoint, a Cross Century pencil and a rolled gold Yard-O-Led pencil (also my Father’s).
So, is there any hope? I rather like your Wing Sung 699.
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Hi! Welcome along and thank you for your kind comments.
It seems that you are off to a good start with your collection. Hopefully the fountain pens may need no more than a flush through with water. The Parker aerometric filling systems rarely need replacing. You can see whether your father’s Parker 51 was an aerometric or an earlier vacumatic filler.
Yes, the Wing Sung 699 is a good buy. It is a great design (a homage to the Pilot Custom Heritage 823, but with a steel nib and around a tenth of the price tag). I find it an excellent size. It has a fun filling system, a large ink capacity and writes really well. I may have tuned the nib slightly, to widen the tines and improve ink flow.
Enjoy your collection!
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