I’ve spent a fair bit of time this year exploring the range of “super-shading” inks that have seemingly taken over the ink market, particularly the shading series from Pennonia, some of the lighter colors from Ferris Wheel Press such as the outstanding Madame Mulberry and Dusk In Bloom, and the “Cat” series from Ink Institute. (The Pennonia inks are currently the only ones I’ve reviewed, but I have posts in the works on the others as well.) Shading inks use a desaturated formulation to create varying tones in your writing and lend your lettering a vintage look.
Birmingham Angelfish features a red sheen over a royal blue ink, shown here on Tomoe River paper.
On the flip side, “sheening” inks typically increase the dye saturation for a different effect. Not only does your writing take on a solid, more even tone, but you will see an overlay of red, green, or purple sheen once the ink dries. I’ve always been drawn to the vibrant dark-blue “sheener” inks, such as Organics Studio Nitrogen, Private Reserve D.C. Supershow Blue, and Diamine Majestic Blue, but have tended to experience slow dry times, poor flow, and a lot of smearing even weeks after the ink has dried. It wasn’t until I tried the ink pictured here, “Angelfish” from the Birmingham Pen Company, that I found a blue sheener I’ve been able to use every day.
Pen and Ink Matching: Birmingham Angelfish paired with a Ryan Krusac x Lucky Star Pens L14 (no longer available).
The Birmingham Pen Company is a small pen and ink manufacturer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a focus on small-batch fountain pens and hand-mixed and bottled ink. While I’ve not yet tried one of their pens, a few months ago I purchased several bottles of their inks, including a few from each of their different formulations. For those unfamiliar with the company, Birmingham makes their inks in a variety of formulas, ranging from the quick-drying “Swift” formula to the all-purpose “Crisp". The ink pictured here is from the “Rich” category, “built with a unique vehicle and dye combination to produce vibrant colors and intermittent sheen.”
Sheen from another angle.
I’ve been using Birmingham Angelfish for several months, and I’ve not experienced any smearing, bleeding, feathering, or slow dry times. It’s been a true pleasure to find a super-sheening royal blue ink that produces an effect I love without any of the undesirable side effects. I’m looking forward to experimenting with the other Birmingham colors, including the muted, earthy shades for which the company has become known.
Sheen can be much less visible on more absorbent paper (such as the Write Notepads paper pictured here), but Angelfish still gives you a bit of red!
To my knowledge, Birmingham inks are only sold directly via the Birmingham Pen Company website and not through other retail channels. Birmingham inks are quite reasonably priced, especially for a boutique brand, and are available in three different bottle sizes: 30ml ($13), 60ml ($16), and 120ml ($19). In addition to Angelfish, Birmingham makes three other “Rich” formula inks that are intended to sheen nicely. Be sure to check them out.
This post does not contain affiliate links, and I purchased the inks featured in this post with my own funds, for my own use. The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from The T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program.