Ink Review: Diamine Twilight

April 28, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

Diamine Twilight (Ink Drop - April 2015)
Pen: Lamy EF
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: low to moderate
Saturation: high
Flow: wet

The second ink in this month's Ink Drop is Diamine Twilight (not Diamine Midnight as subconscious seems to think it should be called). It is a dark teal color with fairly decent shading. Being a Diamine ink, it's highly saturated and wet flowing. It reminds me a lot of De Atramentis Pigeon Blue from last month's Ink Drop - just slightly darker. It doesn't feather or bleed on my Rhodia pad, and dries moderately quickly at 9 seconds with my Lamy EF nib.

All in all, Twilight is not my favorite ink in the world, but it's still another great ink from Diamine's vast line. You can pick up am 80mL bottle from Goulet or a similar vendor for $14.95.

Ink Review: Caran d'Ache Magnetic Blue

April 27, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

Caran d'Ache Magnetic Blue (Ink Drop - April 2015)
Pen: Lamy Safari EF
Paper: Rhodia 80gsm

April 2015 Ink Drop is here! The theme is Rain Rain Go Away - quite fitting for this month. First color in the drop is Caran d'Ache Magnetic Blue.

Magnetic Blue is part of the Caran d'Ache Chromatics line. You'll recognize the Chromatics by their cool tilted bottles. This ink is a nice greyish blue with nice flow and not too overly saturated. Despite the medium saturation, the shading is still fairly low. No feathering on my Rhodia pad and ghosting/bleedthrough is non-existent. Dry time was around 7 seconds with my Lamy EF nib with a light hand.

One downside to the Caran d'Ache Chromatics inks is their price. From what I can tell, it is the highest priced ink per mL of all the major brands that I've been exposed to. A 50mL bottle will set you back $33.20 at Goulet or a similar retailer. The bottles are really nice looking and I'm sure that's part of what you're paying for, however I don't think it is enough to justify the price.

I do like Magnetic Blue, though I think that I'd be able to find a comparable color that wouldn't set me back so much. Of course if it's your absolute favorite ink ever, it's certainly going to be worth the price to you.

Ink Review: Noodler's Zhivago

April 26, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

Noodler's Zhivago
Pen: Lamy Safari EF
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm

There's always a lot of talk about Noodler's Zhivago in the fountain pen community. Typically it relates to what color it actually is - some say black, some say greyish-black, some say green and some say green-black. I've seen some reviews and websites that classify this as a black ink, which always surprises me because the green tones are pretty apparent to my eyes. The ink is quite dark and the green can be subtle; so if you have a little bit of colorblindness it may be hard to spot.

If I had to guess I would say this ink is a mix of a fairly bulletproof black ink/dye along with the dark green. When exposed to water, the green washes away, leaving behind a black ink. This is similar to what Nathan did with Liberty's Elysium, where it is "semi-bulletproof." The ink behaves great on Rhodia, and even on my cheap post-it notes with hardly any feathering. Dry time was pretty long at right around 15 seconds with an EF nib. Being as dark as it is, there is no shading to be found.

I love [color]-black inks, and Zhivago is no exception. It reminds me of the Uniball BLX series green-black. I wouldn't mind it if a little more of the green showed through, but it's still a great ink. It does tend to dry on the nib a little and give some starting issues if you leave your pen uncapped without writing for a minute or two, so be mindful of that. You can pick up a bottle from Goulet or a similar retailer for $12.50.

Ink Review: Graf von Faber-Castell Stone Grey

April 25, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

Graf von Faber-Castell Stone Grey
Pen: Kaweco Skyline
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm

I stumbled upon the #1 ink in the Perfect Grey Ink countdown without really looking for a better grey than I already had. I was already perfectly satisfied with Diamine Grey when I decided I wanted to pick up a Kaweco Skyline pen. I knew that I wouldn't have a suitable converter for that pen, so I decided to grab some ink cartridges for it. I went to Goulet's site and did a search for standard international cartridges. I noticed Graf von Faber-Castell Stone Grey, and decided it would go well with my grey Skyline Sport.

When I got my Skyline, I popped in a cartridge and began writing and couldn't believe how much I loved Stone Grey. It is slightly warmer in tone than Diamine grey and something about it just stood out to me. I loved the shading, the tone and how well it behaved. I didn't have the feathering issues I'd had with Lexington Grey, yet the color was extremely close. Dry time is right in the middle of all the inks I tested at 6 seconds with an EF nib.

If there is a downside to this ink, it is the price. At Goulet, a 75mL bottle is $30. Though, as much as I love this ink, I am willing to pay it. Especially since you get such a big bottle. The bottle design is awesome as well, so as soon as I run out of my cartridges, I'll be picking one up.

I hope you enjoyed the countdown! Let me know in the comments or on Twitter what your favorite ink is, grey or otherwise!