The Pens that joined me for that Plane trip to Sydney...who made it?

A cheap flight, school holidays, a chance to climb Sydney Harbour Bridge? OK!

My trusty Rickshaw Bags Moleskine notebook at the ready:


now I ponder: which pens will I take? I only have 24 hours so not many. Here's what came....

From top down:
TWSBI 580 AL. Love how this pen looks; especially inked here with Pelikan Edelstein Amethyst;
(of course) OMAS Paragon 80th Anniversary in Grey with a Fine Extra Flessible nib and inked in an unlabelled OMAS red(ish) ink; and
Karas Kustoms Ink version 1. A lovely and pure aluminium shine (inked with Sailor Jentle Sky High - my latest favourite blue). I might add that Writing about this pen is always a challenge as the name requires the author to separate the pen from its liquid internals).

First things first: who will survive the plane trip?

All pens were inked (yes a risk; but a nice test). And I had worries for all of them:

• the Karas Kustoms "Ink" will look horrid if it's stained in the sins of my experimentation. 
• the TWSBI should be fine if I twist that piston to remove any air; but what if it's not? An Amethyst explosion? 
• the OMAS is such a lovely pen; and the celluloid just magic. White swirls of cumulonimbus tinged in splatters of red? Cataclysmic!

Writing in my Moleskine on the aeroplane all seemed OK (all Karas, all fine).

Landed. More writing (OMAS now) and the pen is a joy (whew); 

although it bleeds right through the very non-fountainpen-friendly Moleskine paper! 

One more pen to go. I decide to go to the TWSBI as the darker Amethyst ink should be able to be seen over the bleed through - yes, it's good; I can read it fine. 

Wait. My fingers, what the...?

TWSBI just couldn't hold it in for the full plane trip! 

Thankyou Pixar

So Quillophyles, there you have it. TWSBI was the loser in this little plane test; but it really wasn't a total disaster. A bit of a leak; a little ink on the fingers, a smudge on the paper (but nothing really to speak of) and no significant damage (hasn't even stained the Rickshaw). 

Thankyou for reading this little experiment.  Until next tine, here are a few gratuitous shots from my trip...

View from Circular Key Railway Station

Sydney Botanical Gardens (as well as the next two photos)