Ok, so I was pretty good this past weekend, all things considered. I managed to keep the 2025 Arkansas Pen Show haul down to one pen, two nib grinds, and two inks. I’ve become much more deliberate about not accumulating stuff unnecessarily and taking a longer-term approach to bigger-ticket items (such as some more expensive vintage pens I’m considering). Here, the pen I purchased was one that I’ve been considering for at least a year; the nib grinds were to pens that I use a lot but need to tweak to make them a better fit for my handwriting, and the two inks were likewise long-sought additions to my everyday rotation.
My Lamy 2000 in Stainless Steel (Broad Nib), ground to a Kodachi.
Arkansas Pen Show: A Great Show for Nib Grinds
Because the Arkansas Pen Show tends to be hyper-local and vintage-heavy, it can be easier to have nib work done because there simply isn’t as much demand/competition for the slots as at the larger shows. While Matt Chen (Matthew’s Nib Works) was definitely occupied all weekend, the wait didn’t ever seem to be longer than 2 or 3 people, and I had no trouble obtaining walk-up time to have two pens ground. I added Matt’s Kodachi grind to my Lamy 2000 in Stainless Steel and my broad Schon DSGN Monoc nib, both of which were a bit too broad and wet for me to use regularly. The Kodachi grind is a newer fascination of mine, as it offers what I consider to be similar line variation to an architect nib without some of the sharper angles and edges of that grind. On his site, Matt describes the Kodachi as “a grind made to emulate brush strokes with thin vertical lines, thick horizontal lines, and a sharp hairline at high angles,” and his particular take is inspired by the Naginata Togi developed by Yukio Nagahara. You can read more about the different grinds that Matthew offers here.
My Schon DSGN Monoc nib, formerly a broad, ground to a Kodachi. The natural shape of the Monoc lends itself to this grind but is not as pronounced as the Lamy 2000 grind, above.
While I’m planning a longer, more comprehensive post (as well as a video) on nib grinds, I will go ahead and note that these more complex grinds can be proportionately more expensive so you should plan accordingly. Matthew charges $80 for a Kodachi grind, compared to $30 for a general adjustment and $50 for a more “basic” grind such as an italic or stub. Before you invest in a grind like this, you definitely want to try a similar pen with a similar grind, and the optimal place to do so is at a pen show. Most nib workers have their own take on each grind, and most will have a selection of “tester” pens that you can write with at their table.
Matthew Chen’s table features a full set of pens (Pelikans) with all of the various nib grinds he offers. You can test them out yourself before you make a final decision.
Writing samples with the two Kodachis that I had ground at the show.
Some of my doodles from the tester pens at Matt’s table.
In-Person Pen Selection: The Best for Unique Materials
After the show, I went to visit our friends at Vanness Pens. I’ve been coveting one of the Leonardo Momento Zero Nuvola fountain pens for some time, though I didn’t want to order online because this specific material features a grey/cream swirl that can vary wildly from pen to pen. I was able to go “behind the curtain” at Vanness and look at all of the various pens they had in stock to select my favorite, along with a medium nib with plenty of tipping.
I prefer the Leonardo Momento Zero Nuvola with a balanced mix of grey and cream.
Two New (To Me) Inks from P.W. Akkerman: No. 7 and No. 18!
I have far too little Akkerman Ink in my collection, and I regret having sold off many of the colors over the years. The bottles are superb, in that they feature the signature inkwell in the neck that makes it easy to fill a pen, no matter the nib size. The two colors I chose were No. 7 (KoninginneNach-Blauw) and No. 18 (Garuda Rood). No. 18 is a burgundy/maroon, and No. 7 is a blue-black with grey undertones. I love both of them and have waited far too long to add them to my collection. The “rumor” (which to my knowledge has never been denied by either party) is that Akkerman inks are private-labeled by Diamine, so these are all excellent safe inks that will work well in most fountain pens. I have never had an issue with any Akkerman ink and have used them regularly in my rotation over the years.
Which one is your favorite? I’m digging the slight multi-shading effect on the Akkerman No. 7. Just don’t ask me how pronounce it.
If you’d like to see a real-time unboxing of everything I brought back, plus some extended discussion of the two nib grinds PLUS real-time writing samples and ink swatches, you can view the full video on YouTube here.
I think I’m going to call this one the “all the things” table, since we’ve added a bunch new items ranging from new Jetstream Lite Touch pens to the Uni Signo DX gel pens! Come see these in person this weekend, and I’m in the process of loading them onto the site as well.
Physical Shop and Future Pen Show Schedule
We’re open today (Saturday) from 10am-6pm, and will be having special hours next week because on Thursday night I’m off to the Atlanta Pen Show, where I will be sharing table space with Hinze Pens. Be sure to stop by because we will have a fun selection of highly curated items at the Atlanta show, including Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters, lots of Lochby pouches and notebook covers (including the new A5 Field Folio), and maybe some of the new pens we’ve been stocking, depending on space! Since I won’t have a lot of space, I’ll have to curate my selection this weekend, but I am open to requests if you reach out before Tuesday or Wednesday and I’ll do my best to make it happen.
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