Forgotten Ink

For those with a passion—some call it a malady—for the collecting of inks, the hobby has in some ways blown itself out of proportion. What does that mean exactly? It is by no means a dart fired at the makers of fountain pen ink, for they are only following customer demand and produce exactly what the market will allow. Rather, the numbers of available colors in bottled ink have gotten unwieldy for the collector and consequently outstanding shades of ink get lost in the shuffle. There was a time I could look at an ink and recognize the name at only a glance. As the reds and greens and blues multiplied, the browns proliferated, the purples mushroomed and the oranges snowballed, that sort of quick-read identification has become near impossible for anyone but the person who mixed the individual inks, and even they might be fooled on occasion. Most of us now have stacked on shelves inks of exquisite color that lay forgotten behind the heaped bottles of newer mixes.

Say hello again to one of the forgotten. Rummaging through the bottles accumulated on shelves and drawers here, I came upon one from the Caran d’Ache Colours of the Earth series, a red called Sunset. Don’t ask me to count through the different bottles of red ink on those shelves and in those drawers; anybody with a level head wouldn’t hesitate to say, “Too many! You’ll never use all that.” Quite true, but as stated above, a malady is involved. I have so much red ink that the beautiful Sunset ink from Caran d’Ache got lost in the jumble.

Let me paraphrase what this Swiss company says about its line of nine different inks…

Caran d’Ache has drawn on its expertise and mastery of colour to offer lovers of handwriting a collection of inks in nine original tints. These nine inks offer the natural colours of the earth in a rich assortment ranging from sombre to tender to vivacious. The colours are an inspiration, expressing a mood, adding an emotional dimension to words, or marking a special moment—each colour finding its own nuance, with pen playing in perfect harmony.

There is very little exaggerated hype in this product copy. Most of us who collect fountain pen inks would quickly admit that the copywriter has hit the nail on the head in appealing to a customer base. For a look at the nine different tints in the Colours of the Earth series, click here.

Back to the forgotten ink, Sunset. The maker suggests in a further note of copy that the writer ‘Sympathize in Sunset.’ It sounds good, but that particular verb does not come to mind when I look at a sample of Sunset red, or when I see a written passage in this color. I might be more tempted to say something like, ‘Celebrate in Sunset,’ but the next person might also have another idea. There is for sure a good bit of ‘sunset’ in the color, but look at it long enough and several more associations will come to mind. A little of the tropical, of the Hawaiian Punch or the romantic, seasonal, and I can’t help adding, lipstick. Anyone telling you it is a totally unique shade of ink is pretty much out of the loop. A quick comparison reveals that Iroshizuku Momiji, Diamine Classic Red and J Herbin Rouge Bourgogne each come close to the Caran d’Ache Sunset. But that shouldn’t take anything away from the specialness of Sunset.

The sample page of quotes here was written using a Montblanc Generation with a 14 carat medium nib. Just as the copy says, the pen works in perfect harmony with the Caran d’Ache ink, writing smoothly without skips, spits or drag. A short sample of handwriting it is, but looking back at longer pages written in other notebooks with the same ink and the same pen show a smooth flowing curl of ink unwinding prettily down the page. On the downside—though perhaps not for all users—Sunset is a slow drying ink. On a separate page of tests, in writing single characters there was no difference in dryness between three seconds and fifteen. A short phrase of five words required a full minute to dry thoroughly, but then a dryer nib may produce a shorter drying time.

Montblanc Generation

Find myself a little surprised, but why that is doesn't really make a lot of sense. What’s so surprising about a Montblanc fountain pen that writes like a dream? Obviously, I misread the simplicity of the Montblanc Generation design, thinking it couldn’t be anything like the higher end models, the Meisterstück, the Doué and the Famous Name series.

The Generation is a hard pen to find information on. I clicked through a long list of websites trying to find something more specific than what I can see for myself by looking at the fountain pen, but came up dry in the end. I was even unable to learn what year the design was introduced, and when it was discontinued, if that is the case.

First look, first impression—

Unlike some of the Montblanc models, especially those in the Famous Name series, the Generation has clean lines and uncommon sleekness, appearing smaller than other fountain pens by the same maker. Cap and barrel are smooth and uncluttered, with nothing except simple gold cap bands to interrupt the flow of burgundy precious resin from top to bottom. There is a thin band and a thicker one at the bottom of the cap, but the double band somehow simplifies the look even more. The wider of the two bands is engraved with MONTBLANC-GENERATION. The pocket clip too, seems slimmer, simpler than most. As you would expect, the top of the cap has the black disc and trademark white star inside a gold band. The very top of the barrel has a thin gold ring, adding the final touch of trim.

Cap on, the Generation measures 5.5 inches, and posted is only slightly longer at 5.75 inches. Removing the cap reveals another two thin gold bands separated by a narrow black band. The thinner of the two gold bands has four raised ridges at the cardinal points. These tiny ridges, similar to the design of the Lamy 2000, hold the cap on. The 14k gold nib has a sculpted look that is different but extremely handsome. In what I think is a nice touch, the bottom of the barrel where it joins the nib is cut away at a forty-five degree angle.

The pen is light and comfortable in the hand, very probably a perfect balance for those with smaller hands. My hand is not small, but the Generation isn’t at all lost in my grip. I could write with it comfortably for hours.

It comes in black or burgundy, and though I saw photos of models in blue and gold, I think those may be few in number. Even the burgundy model I have is difficult to find on Internet pen sites. The nib is offered in either fine or medium, and for those who prefer, the Generation is also available (and more common) in either ballpoint or rollerball. The fountain pen uses either cartridge or converter.

Writing…

You should not make the mistake I did in thinking that this lower priced Montblanc pen does not come up to the level of the more expensive models. The feeling is now, I may have a hard time letting go of this Generation. It has a smoooooth flowing medium nib, with never a hint of skip. The width of the line is consistent with what is standard for medium nibs, and dead on target with my own preferences. There are two or three pens and nibs in front of me here that I call favorites and this Montblanc Generation jumps right into line with those. A solid pleasure to write with this pen, and just by chance I loaded the converter with an ink that makes both nib and paper sing—Caran d’Ache Sunset.

Think I just may be writing with this pen and this ink for the next stretch of days. It’s an impressive fountain pen.