Here are a couple of quick ink reviews on inks that I was using over the weekend. The first, Kaweco Palm Green, was a pleasant surprise, although it's not really a color that I'd find myself using all that often. Like all Kaweco Inks, it's low-maintenance, if not a bit pricy in bottle form. The second is Iroshizuku Asa-Gao ("Morning Glory"), which I really like, though I found it too similar to more economical colors like Waterman Florida Blue in order to justify paying the premium price for Iroshizuku. The most pleasant surprise was the pen that I used for the second review, a Noodler's Ebonite Konrad "Dixie Methuselah," courtesy of PenChalet. A full review will be coming in the next couple weeks, but after some less-than-stellar experiences with Noodler's pens, I'm really enjoying the Konrad.
This ink has a great bottle design. The bottle is plastic, so I'm not sure how functional it is for long term storage/hoarding of ink, but it's a deep bottle and great for filling pens with large nibs.
Ink Review: Organics Studio's Edgar Allen Poe Raven Red
Those of you clamoring for more fountain pen related content--I've heard you! I do have to say that I'm still (very) engaged in my pencil kick right now, but of course I keep four or so fountain pens at the ready. This morning I inked up my Edison Pearlette with Organics Studio's Edgar Allen Poe Raven Red, from their "Masters of Writing Series." This ink was introduced, I believe, at the 2013 Baltimore Pen Show, where I picked it up directly from Tyler. Raven Red is a very nice well-behaved ink that works well on office/student quality paper, as I understand most of Tyler's ink range is designed to do. The only nit I have with EAP Raven Red is the tendency for the ink to crust up a bit on the nib, which is a property somewhat common to red inks and not at all unique to this one. (Yes, I'm talking to you, Visconti Bordeaux.)
I love the color of this ink--it's reminiscent of Montblanc's Limited Edition Alfred Hitchcock, which is perhaps my favorite red ink of all time. I've added my earlier reviews of MB Hitchcock and MB Bordeaux to the gallery below, for comparison purposes.
Ink Review: Diamine Red Dragon
I've never really gotten into Diamine inks, for whatever reason. I think I find the vast array of colors so intimidating that I don't know where to start, combined with the fact that they typically come in a massive 80ml bottle. Back when I was a Goulet Pens Ink Drop member, however, I received a sample of Red Dragon, and I instantly took to this ink. At this year's Atlanta pen show, I picked up this 30ml "mini-Diamine" from the Vanness Pens table, which to me is a great size since I wasn't sure how I would like the ink in heavy rotation.
I think I'll definitely pick up a larger 80ml bottle of Red Dragon once I use up the 30ml.
Red Dragon is fairly saturated, but not saturated enough to smear or bleed a lot. Performance may very depending on paper quality (with very, very cheap paper seeing some bleedthrough), but I have been satisfied. The color is great for a "red ink person" like me: it's not quite "blood red" like some swabs of Diamine Oxblood I have seen, but it's still got a lot of depth and doesn't have the generic "fire engine red" color that you see in other inks, like Skrip (though that particular ink does have its place). Overall, this one has seen regular use since I acquired it, and it will continue to find its way into the rotation.
So far I've reviewed Nioi-Sumire, Miruai, Yama-Dori, Souten, and now Shigure. I currently also have Oku-Yama, and am thinking about picking up Tokiwa Matsu and Doyou just so I can say I've reviewed the entire line, although those colors interest me less (at least, without seeing them in person, that is).
Ink Review: Sailor Shigure
This shot gives you a pretty good idea of the deep purple color.
For some reason, this ink was incredibly difficult to photograph and get accurate color reproduction. Some of these pictures make the ink look purplish blue-black, but it's really just a very deep purple, which shows more if you are using a broader nib. Of course, here I'm using a Japanese XF, so I've probably caused the issue myself, but oh well.
Sailor apparently has replaced the old Jentle Ultramarine with two purple options: Nioi-Sumire, which is a personal favorite of mine and leans heavily to the blue end of the spectrum with purple undertones, and Shigure, which is a deep purple. I'm not going to bore you with a discussion of the ink properties other than to say that I've found all of these new Sailor inks to be nearly identical in that regard (read: quick drying, no-bleeding, no-feathering, and overall excellent). Next up will be Oku-Yama (the "new" Grenade).
Again the writing here, other than the "swab", appears somewhat more black than it does in real life, at least on my computer screen. The pictures below are better, IMHO.
Complementary Bottle of Delta Black Ink, courtesy of 2014 D.C. Pen Show. I believe this is the same smaller bottle that you receive with certain Delta pens, such as the Journal.
Ink Review: Delta Black
This bottle of Delta black ink was provided to the first 200 D.C. Pen Show attendees on Saturday and Sunday. I had never tried Delta Ink before, and I've been pleasantly surprised by its performance. I would compare the Delta to Aurora in terms of smoothness and flow, but it doesn't have the deep black color that the Aurora does. In terms of color, I would compare this ink to Lamy black, in the sense that it has almost purplish undertones. It's a pretty ink, with some character. It dries very quickly and I found that it works well on my cheap work paper. I'm not sure that I would buy another bottle after I use this one up but I'm definitely going to continue with this ink in the rotation from time to time. The small bottle is approximately 30ml and fits nicely in my briefcase, so it's a good fallback to have if I'm on the road and need to refill.
Delta Black Ink reviewed on Exacompta card stock with a Delta Fusion 82 (medium nib).
That's all from me today. Since it's Labor Day, I'm off work so I'm going to take advantage with a short post. See everyone Wednesday!