ink

Rating: 4.0 February 8, 2011 Platinum Pigment Rose Red is my first experience with pigment-based fountain pen inks. The vast majority of fountain pen inks are dyes dissolved in water or other solvents, but pigment-based inks have micro-particles that are suspended in solution. They are specifically formulated for fountain pens, with particles small enough and solvents benign enough that they won’t clog the feed or interfere with the capillary action of the nib.

Now that I’ve made it through all of the samples of Diamine ink that I was sent, I’m happy to pass some of them on (the others I will keep to provide comparisons on future reviews). Each sample is about 15ml (half a 30ml bottle). So, for a chance to win samples of Diamine Imperial Purple, Diamine Red Dragon, and Diamine Midnight, just leave a comment on this thread. You will have until Midnight EST on February 11th to enter.

Rating: 4.5 February 1, 2011 When I first put Diamine Midnight to paper, I thought to myself that it was a nice, but not particularly interesting dark blue ink. Then I looked closer, and closer, and closer – and got drawn right in. For those willing to pay attention, this ink has a wonderful sense of depth that captures the variability and mystery of the nighttime sky. In fact, in the more saturated sections, there’s a hint of red that peeks out, giving it an almost sinister look.

Rating: 1.0 January 11, 2011 After I’ve finished writing an ink review, I’m left with anywhere from four to six pens lying around with several milliliters of ink still in them. Typically, I empty the pens back into the ink bottle they came from, in order to save the ink for later. Occasionally, I like an ink enough that it stays in the pen I used to test it until I’m distracted by the next wonderful ink to cross my desk.

Rating: 4.0 January 3, 2011 If J Herbin Café des Isles is the color of coffee with cream, then Terre de Feu is the color of powdered cocoa. It is a lovely milk-chocolate ink with a slight reddish undertone – almost reminiscent of red clay. It possesses a low degree of saturation and a high degree of shading in even a fine nib pen. As with most J Herbin inks, Terre de Feu is slightly watery – as a result, it flows easily, but does not provide significant level of lubrication between pen and paper.

Rating: 4.5 December 24, 2010 Monaco Red is another great red ink from Diamine. It’s an earthy, orange red with brick undertones – very reminiscent of J Herbin 1670. It is less blue than Diamine Red Dragon and less brown than Diamine Oxblood. According to at least one source, this ink was formulated by Diamine at the special request of the Crown Prince of Monaco. I presume the ink was engineered to match the red in the Monegasque flag and coat of arms.

I’m continuing to experiment with my Noodler’s Flex Nib Piston Fill fountain pen. Above is a writing sample with J. Herbin 1670 - their 2010 limited edition anniversary ink. 1670 does some very interesting things when used in a flex nib. A golden/copper tone appears in the heavily shaded areas. In fact, in the right light, it actually shimmers a bit. The script I’m using is an adaptation of the “brush script, broad-edged minuscule 2” from The Calligrapher’s Bible: 100 Complete Alphabets and How to Draw Them.

Above is a writing sample of Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses in the new Noodler’s Flex Nib Piston Fill fountain pen. I’ll have more thoughts about the pen later, but this is my first attempt at using a flex nib fountain pen, and I think the Black Swan ends up shading quite nicely with it. Update: Inkophile has a spot-on review of the Noodler’s Nib Creaper pen. Update: Leigh Reyes has a demonstration using the Creaper and the Black Swan ink to draw.

I just received an order from the Goulet Pen Company. I picked up some large bottles of Diamine Ink, but the main reason for the order was the Noodler’s Flex Nib Demonstrator pen. I will post some pictures and writing samples just as soon as I get a chance to play with it.

Rating: 4.0 December 07, 2010 Diamine Sepia is a wonderful fall color, reminding me of golden fields of wheat that sway in the wind of a cool November day. It is a golden-brown ink with a low level of saturation and an amazing ability to produce beautiful shading. While the color of some inks varies with the shade of paper, Sepia is consistent, appearing just slightly darker on the off-white paper of a Moleskine journal than on the bright-white paper of a Rhodia pad.