Wiser Web Wednesday – a semi-regular link to posts of interest from around the web, by those far wiser than myself:

 

Goulet Pens Blog
Your mileage will vary with certain fountain pen inks, depending on the pen, nib and paper, and I’m sure we all have our favourites.

If you are looking for a starting point as far as “wetter” or “drier” inks are concerned, the Goulet Pens blog has you covered:
Top 10 Wet and Dry Inks

 

The Gentleman Stationer
More on the ink front, as Joe looks at some most suitable for marking up documents or writing. Of course the obvious answer: “all of them” probably isn’t 100% accurate.

For me, it can be as simple as lighter blue against the black of printed documents when a conservative approach is required, running to vibrant green and orange (like Joe) when I can, particularly for a contrast to my handwritten words during editing.

Either way, we no doubt all have our preferred approach. Here, Joe’s recommendations are on point as always:
Best Fountain Pen Inks for Editing and Annotation

 

Three Staples
Another of Matt’s guest posts has piqued my interest — this time a ballpoint, in the form of the Pilot Fumi Raku, a pen I have never heard of.

Like Matt, I do find the design compelling, yet as suggested in the post, it is a ballpoint — not that there is anything wrong with that! Simply perhaps a “con” on the balance sheet when weighing up value for the price point.

Either way, another great review:
Pilot Fumi Raku Touki Ballpoint Pen

Oh and I’m sure the Fumi Raku would write extremely well in a DIY’d mini Field Notes notebook. Complete with three staples and all.

Nice one Jinnie:
Field Notes DIY: Mini HELLO Memo Books

 

Fountain Pen Follies
A great review of a similarly great-looking pen case from Kaweco, suitable for the Sport range of pens from the same manufacturer.

I get the feeling that the Traveller case has been designed by people who use and care about fountain pens

A solution for the common occurrence of your Kaweco Sports swimming around or being lost down the slots of a standard pen case?

It appears so:
Pen Case Review: Kaweco Traveller Case

 

Pens! Paper! Pencils!
Interesting. I’m not sure what else I’d say about this pen (to be fair of course I’ve never had one in my hand). Probably best left to someone who has then:

I just don’t quite get it. I don’t think the extension piece is a gimmick: Kaweco’s a small company and I think they make products that they like to use themselves. Someone at Kaweco loves this pen, I’m sure

On face value I’d have to agree with Ian. That said, hats off to manufacturers who at least give something different a try. The Sport range from Kaweco isn’t exactly your standard pen, and look at the popularity of that line.

This time though I might wait for whatever may come next:
Kaweco Supra Fountain Pen Review

 

Brewing Coffee Manually
I’d not heard of the Kalita Kantan portable coffee brewer to this point.

The Kalita Kantan is a 3.5 inch by 4 inch disposable pour-over brewer made of cardboard and an attached filter. They are sold in packs of thirty and are completely flat prior to folding for use

A nifty little device which might come in handy when your luggage space is tighter than you’d like, or perhaps if you prefer a drip filter rather than the immersion style brew of that perennial traveller the AeroPress.

Definitely a great option to consider when next brewing on the go — and the handy brew guide in this post will get you started:
How to Brew with the Kalita Kantan

 

Barista Magazine Blog
Although not knowledgeable enough on the subject to have an opinion either way myself, those in the industry often have their preference on the conical vs flat burr grinder debate.

While there was a lot of variation, most people gravitated towards the lighter roasted coffee on the conical burr grinder. However, there was a fair amount of disagreement and many people voted for the other three options as their favorite brew

An experiment like this probably tells us there are far more variables impacting taste in coffee than the type of burrs in the grinder.

When we are talking the lower end home consumer market there isn’t a lot of choice, where you will find mostly conical burrs, and as we’ve seen above, this probably doesn’t matter too much.

One thing to remember though at the lower end — burrs please, definitely not blades:
Conical Versus Flat Burrs? Tasters Decide in Compak Workshop

 

Perfect Daily Grind
Fifth generation coffee farmer Juan Alfredo Pacas, with some insights into coffee, and the importance of continued learning.

The most important thing that a consumer can know is the amount of hands that have touched the coffee that they are having in their coffee shop.

As the quote above would suggest, a little learning on the part of the consumer is arguably some of the most important of all:
Producer Opinion: Why I Always Want to Learn More About Coffee