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Rating: 4.0 September 14, 2010 Some inks are simply too appropriately named. Diamine Oxblood is one such ink. It is a well-behaved red-brown that falls firmly into the “dried blood” category. If you’ve ever brought a juicy steak home from the butcher and taken a look at the butcher paper, you know exactly what’s in store for you. Oxblood is highly saturated with a surprising level of shading. On both the off white of Moleskine paper and the bright white of Rhodia paper, this ink creates a bold, bloody line.

Rating: 5.0 September 07, 2010 I love red inks, and Diamine Red Dragon has just won a place in my top three. I’ve had a lot of experience with J. Herbin, Iroshizuku, and Noodler’s inks, but, up until recently, had no experience with Diamine inks. I’d read many flattering things about them online, so I figured that I should give them a shot. The lovely folks at Diamine were nice enough to send over six bottles for review, and Red Dragon is the first of them.

The September Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper is now live at the Office Supply Geek website. I’ve got two articles featured - my review of Noodler’s Kung Te-Cheng ink and my review of the Quo Vadis Habana notebook. Be sure to stop by and check out all of the great reviews and articles about pen, pencil, and paper.

Rating: 4.0 September 03, 2010 In addition to writing ink reviews, I love to cook. Over the years, I’ve compiled all of my favorite recipes into a Moleskine journal so that I have my very own recipe book. For a long while, I used a Sharpie pen, which has a high degree of water resistance. After my switch to fountain pens about a year ago, though, I recorded recipes in whatever fountain pen ink I had in a pen at the time – which, as I found out the hard way last week, generally have a very low degree of water resistance.

I am not afraid to rust, Or to gather a little dust – A cobweb here, some mildew there, And the charming scent of must. But to be left without a care, Like a sock upon the stair – Alone, ignored, barely discussed – Would be more than I could bear.

My ink collection keeps growing, and the organizer I have for them currently is beyond full - it’s about to start overflowing. As I was juggling ink bottles yesterday, I began thinking - if I had to downsize my collection (as opposed to finding a bigger space to store them, which is what I’m actually going to do), what inks would I keep? I’ve narrowed it down to five: J. Herbin 1670 - I like red inks, and this is my absolute favorite.

Good morning, pretty sleepyhead. I miss you as you lie in bed, While hiding from the morning light, And trying to extend the night. You turn and shut your weary eyes, While, up above, the night-time skies Transform into a golden day; You fight to keep the world away. So now I sit and watch the clock. With every tick and every tock, I count the minutes patiently, And wait for you to come to me.

TIME! There is not enough time enough there is not enough time enough there is not enough TIME! Tick. Tock. Tick tock. Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock Incessant ticking of the clock Incessant ticking never stops – it’s Quarter ‘till five Ten ‘till four Five ‘till three Three ‘till two Two One TIME! Alarm goes off. Get out of bed. Get dressed. Brush teeth. Get in car. Go to work.

Rating: 4.0 August 18, 2010 J. Herbin Rouge Caroubier (red carob) is a bright red the color of cherry gumdrops. Using it makes me want to run out and buy a big bag of Swedish Fish, as it has low saturation, giving the ink a somewhat translucent feel – just like gummy candy. It exhibits a moderate level of shading in both calligraphy and fine nibs. Like other J. Herbin inks, Rouge Caroubier flows well.

The mushroom people are always dreary. They never smile and they’re never cheery. They build their houses under rotting logs And spend every day in the stinking bogs. I think you’d be likely to wear a frown If you had to live in the mushroom town.