The Laban Greek Mythology Inks continue to impress me with their range of colors, and today I’ll look at the two excellent greens from the lineup (though one I would characterize as a bit more blue/teal). Either way, as someone who loves ink in both of these particular shades, both the Poseidon Green (Blue?) and Hera Dark Green have become standbys in my work pens.
Laban Poseidon Green (or Blue? or Teal?)
First up is “Poseidon Green,” which I view as more of a teal/turquoise blue, but whatever you might call this color, I love it. It’s actually the first ink from this series that I tried, and it has some wonderful shading properties in a nib that provides line variation, especially in those places where the ink pools on the paper. Laban nailed the color matching here. Poseidon (Roman equivalent: Neptune) is the ancient Greek god of the sea, and while this particular color may not necessarily evoke the ocean where I personally go to the beach, they’ve attempted to capture the blue of the Mediterranean islands.
Not a trident, but a fountain pen!
Laban Hera Dark Green
Hera Dark Green is more of your traditional dark green “workhorse ink”. Hera (Roman equivalent: Juno) is the ancient Greek goddess of marriage and “the home,” so I’m not sure I see the connection between the dark green color of this ink and Hera’s traditional affiliations, but it’s a lovely ink nonetheless. As with Poseidon, you’ll experience some shading, with dark teal and grey undertones. Both Poseidon and Hera are drier inks than some of the other Laban colors like Athena Grey, Artemis Navy Blue, and Demeter Brown. That’s not to say they hard-start or dry up in the pen, and I’ve never had that issue with either. It’s more that I’ve noticed they take very little time to dry, making them quite good for work. These are two of the better Laban inks for working on cheaper papers at the office.
Takeaways and Where to Buy
Laban continues to impress me with the Greek Mythology series. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s one of the few ink lines where I purchased a bottle of every color as quickly as I could, but again that says just as much about my personal fascination with mythology as it does about their excellent quality.
You can purchase the Laban Greek Mythology Inks directly from us in the T.G.S. Curated Shop, priced at $25 for a 50ml bottle. At this point, I’ve almost made my way through the entire lineup of the Laban Greek Mythology inks, and have reviewed Athena Grey and Artemis Navy Blue, Apollo Orange and Aphrodite Pink, and Ares Red. Some really interesting options remain, including Demeter Brown, Hermes Sky Blue, and Zeus Purple. Stay tuned as I round out this series of ten!
My Leonardo Momento Zero Maestro in Burkina Celluloid, alongside my Montblanc 146 UNICEF (with the small sapphire on top).
Bonus! The Return of Two Favorite Pens with New Nib Grinds
Back in September at the San Francisco Pen Show, I left a handful of pens with Gena at Custom Nib Studio for modification. Just before the Arkansas Pen Show, I received my pens in the mail, including two to which Gena had added their “Perspective” grind that I love so much. Both of these grinds are just as good as the original I had added to my Pelikan M800 Stone Garden and reviewed last year. You’ll notice that both pens I’ve used for today’s ink reviews feature Perspective nibs, which I highly recommend to those who are looking for some of the line variation of an Architect without the sharp edges. Plus, you get the ability to change line width from EF to Medium by adjusting your writing angle!
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