There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
Sailor Fude de mannen pen, bread and butter pen here. $15. Bent nip allows various line weights by tipping the pen, or very sharp lines by flipping the nib. I think there is a term for this, but I mean writng with the tines facing the opposite way.
Mnemosyne pad from maruman. Super smooth paper. I use dip pens on it, but the paper easily gets soggy if too much ink is used with a dip or brush pen. Can hold up to those as well if your careful. I just love the smooth feal of pulling a fountain pen across this paper. And they have spirals in two sizes I use a lot. The A5 and A5 with no lines or dots.
Platinum Carbon black ink (I keep the bottle in its box in my bag). What I was told from my manga teacher in Japan, "Platinum used to only make Carbon ink in cartridges. But manga artists loved the ink so they were constantly emptying cartridges into a bottles to use with a converter. So now Platinum bottles Carbon Ink." It is a dark strong ink that I love. I also use a sailor black as well at times that is almost as good.
Uni Kuru Toga pencil. I do not recommend this pencil for drawing. It turns the led after each push. But for drawing, I usually do not push hard enough to turn the lead, and also I like when the led gets a big flat spot I can use for wider lines. But it is super fun to watch the gears turn as you write and I needed a 0.3 pencil to force myself to lighten my push and grip. The main reason I started using a fountain pen :-)
Pilot Futayaku(?) brush pen. Recommended to me by Matthew Southworth, comic artist for comics like STUMPTOWN (oni press). Very cheap pen, but hard to find in the states. I don't use brush pens much, but works great for me for learning. Two size tips helps as well.
Pilot Leather 3 pen holder. This was around $20 I think? The Sailor is a long pen (about 16cm) and just fits. And the fat white out pen I am using now fits as well. I have a good luck charm from Samukawa Shrine my wife got for me. It is to help creativeness. And a few business cards and a small sticky note pad.
And other stuff. Eraser guard, ruler I trimmed the end off so it fit in the pencil case. Pencil case that unzips and works as a pencil stand. OH, the lead holder is huge. I have two, a big fatty and a slimmer one. Makes gesture sketches stay gestures before going in with the smaller pencil.
Cheers and ink on!!
EDIT: Started on phone, came back on PC to add details