Cut 'Em Things

 I've previously tried the Sailor Shikiori Tokiwa matsu in cartridge form on Sailor Lecoule and I loved it. This is one of the greens that I see so much use and I thought I should get myself a bottle.  I loved it in Lecoule's Medium-Fine nib and I love it more in European-sized medium nibs. Twsbi 580 Diamond Medium with Sailor Shikiori Tokiwa-matsu That is, IF I can find one available locally. As of now, there are some people on Shopee selling samples of this (Jentle) and it's alright in the mean time.

As mentioned in my previous entry , I've ordered new Toho Sangyo Urushi Tubes from Fishingshop.kiwi , which is based in Japan. I genuinely have no idea what is the use for these Urushi Lacquer tubes from sport fishing companies but I am glad they have it. Some people buy this from Amazon for Kintsugi repair but are instantly disappointed since this specific Toho Urushi is not approved for tableware.  Look at how many Urushi tubes I ordered lol. Short feedback for Fishingshop.kiwi: Date of ordering was April 23, 2021. I have to wait for them to check stocks before I can pay them. After a quick e-mail follow-up, I only got the confirmation from them on April 27, 2021, which means I can finally make the card payment. I paid immediately after receiving. There were a few hours that lapsed before my order status updated to "paid" I was kind of expecting that they'd be shipped out before the Golden Week starts. But they didn't. I had to wait for the Golden Week to end be...

 Everything went south after using the Vinta Dugong Bughaw (Blue Blood) ink in this Zebra G Nib Titanium and Jinhao X750 mod. This pen had seen heavy use and probably over a dozen ink refills over the few weeks (less than a month) that I've owned it. It was a fun flex pen but there is nothing to be sad at for this whole setup is dirt cheap. If you're planning to use sheening inks on this Jinhao X750 Zebra G Nib setup, make sure you have enough research about the inks you want to use. The Vinta Dugong Bughaw, while gorgeous on paper, is one nasty thick ink. It would be perfect for feeds with wide channels.  Side note: you can score this feed to create deeper channels. The part of the feed where the ink channels are shallow, is where most of the ink dried up. The photos you above are the Nib and Feed after being soaked for 5 days on warm water with mild soap. I keep the water warm by replacing it few times a day.

 Checking out my Urushi Preppy pens in the middle of curing time. I planned a 48 hour curing time for my sealing layer of my 4th base layer. 4 primer layers might sound overkill but I've sanded too much on some parts that the substrate gets exposed. So this is like  a do over thing. They should be okay by tomorrow evening.  I'm impressed by how smooth and shiny they look but in reality they are not perfect and there are small bubbles here and there. Definitely spend some more time applying Urushi coats and make sure get very good lighting.  There is about 20g left in my Urushi tube. I have no spares left and the fishingshop.kiwi order looks like it hasn't been shipped yet and as of this writing, the Japanese Golden Week just started. This is going to be a long wait to finish these Preppies. If you are interested in how I got this all started, here is a link to my previous blog post .