I recently purchased some new Lamy nibs and ink samples from Goulet Pens.

I picked up a 1.1 mm replacement calligraphy nib for my Lamy Safari. Switching it out was easy. The 1.1 mm width is the most narrow one that they offer, but that’s exactly what I wanted. Just thought it would be cool to see a little bit of contrast in stroke. I’m still getting used to writing with a calligraphy nib, but so far, I’m really happy with it.

The other fun thing that I picked up was an ink sample package. These packs include 2ml samples of 8 different inks so you can try them out before you buy a full bottle. The full package is around $10.

I got Trevor’s favorite colors, which included: Diamine Graphite, J. Herbin Orange Indien, J. Herbin Vert Olive, Noodler's Black, Noodler's General of the Armies, Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-ho, Rohrer & Klingner Leipziger-Schwarz, and Waterman Absolute Brown.

I'm creative director at the University of South Carolina, so I'm never using the orange. But the rest of the inks are nice.

I don’t know Trevor, but I like his taste in ink colors. So far, I’ve tried Noodler’s General of the Armies and J. Herbin Vert Olive. Love them both. Definitely buying a bottle of Noodler’s General of the Armies and will likely get a bottle of Vert Olive, too. Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-ho is up next…

Picking good inks has been a problem for me and ordering ink samples is awesome way to experiment inexpensively. If you are looking to try out some different inks, this is the way to go. They offer a service where they send out ink samples every month and while it seems tempting, I don’t use that much ink.

I’m using the calligraphy nib with all the new inks. Having a wider nib really shows off the ink color. Previously, I only had fine nibs and it was tough to really enjoy the different colors. Even with a relatively narrow calligraphy nib, the difference is significant.

I think I'm got all the inks, nibs and pens I need right now. But I could use a pen case...