If you’ve never used metallic ink before, it’s well worth taking your time to get used to its characteristics. The ink is a suspension of gold coloured particles and needs to be treated differently to other inks. Stirring before use is very important (I prefer mine stirred, not shaken!), and I would recommend a simple non-absorbent improvised stirrer such as a stiff wire tie from product packaging or a piece of straight plastic. Anything that can be wiped off for later use, or discarded. The particles may settle during long jobs so re-stir periodically.

Practice is important to find which of your nibs work best with metallic inks, and how it performs with your writing style. Obviously dark papers and cards yield the best results. I used this Classic Gold on a deep red envelope for a Valentine card, with a William Mitchell No. 2.5 Round Hand nib from my 35 year old set, and it looked great. The results were very pleasing.