Ink Review: Waterman Harmonious Green

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Waterman Harmonious Green - May 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Pilot Metropolitan M
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: moderate to high
Saturation: medium
Flow: wet
Dry Time: 9 seconds

As soon as I inked up Waterman Harmonious Green, it immediately reminded me of the green ink that is ink the Pilot Precise V5 and V7 pens.  Before I used fountain pens, the V5/7 and the Pilot G2 in green were my most used pens, so I had a little bit of flash back when using this ink.  Admittedly, I liked the green ink that was in the G2 a lot more than the V5/7; so Harmonious Green isn't my favorite green, but it's still a good one.

A great characteristic of this ink is its shading.  I got quite a bit even with my medium nib, so with a stub or broad nib, you will likely get even more.  The ink is about a medium on the saturation scale, which probably contributes to the shading characteristics.  The ink flows nice and wet and has a very decent dry time at 9 seconds.

Amongst the swabs that I have currently, Harmonious Green sits between Noodler's Bad Green Gator and Diamine Woodland Green.  It's a lot lighter than Green Gator, and a tad bit darker than Woodland Green.

Waterman Harmonious Green is really a nice, neutral, well behaved ink.  If you're nostalgic for your old Pilot Precise V5/7 green pen, then you may like this one.  You can pick up a 50mL bottle from Goulet or a similar retailer for $11.00.

Ink Review: Platinum Pigmented Rose Red

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Platinum Pigmented Rose Red - May 2015 Ink Drop 
Pen: Pilot Metropolitan M
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: low to moderate
Saturation: low
Flow: medium
Dry Time: 15 seconds

The next ink in the Goulet Ink Drop this month unfortunately didn't appeal to me much in terms of color.  If you know me personally you know that I'm not a fan of pink, and despite it being called "Rose Red," the ink is definitely pink rather than red.  Platinum's Pigmented series of inks were created to be a fountain-pen friendly ink that is water-resistant.  Vintage pigmented inks were not meant for use in fountain pens as they typically cause clogging.  As I understand it, they contain "particles" which would cause clogging issues in the feed system.  According to their website, Platinum's pigmented inks have "ultra-fine" particles, so that isn't an issue.

Pigmented inks are highly favored by the artist community for ink washing since they are waterproof.  So if you are an artist, you should definitely check out this line.  Platinum markets their pigmented inks as "quick-drying" but I just didn't find that to be the case.  With my medium nib, it took 15 seconds to try, so if you're ink washing that might be a pain for you if you're trying to do things quickly.

Shading was fairly low with my medium nib.  The ink isn't highly saturated from my experience, but it does flow nicely, though not extremely wet.  As I mentioned the dry time is fairly high at 15 seconds, so it may not be well suited to left-handed writers.  I did test the waterproofness and it performed quite well; so if you're looking to do some ink washing, this should do quite nicely for you.

Considering I don't care for pink inks, this one just didn't do it for me - but that doesn't mean it's not for you.  Performance-wise it's a nicely behaved ink, and is as advertised.  If you'd like to pick up a bottle, you can get 60mL for $20 at Goulet or a similar retailer.

Ink Review: Platinum Mix-Free Sunny Yellow

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Platinum Mix-Free Sunny Yellow - May 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Pilot Metropolitan (M)
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: moderate to high
Saturation: low to medium
Flow: medium
Dry Time: 8 seconds

I'd heard a lot about the Platinum line of inks, but hadn't had the opportunity to try one yet.  Luckily, Goulet Pens always comes through with new and interesting inks to try in their Ink Drops.  Platinum Mix-Free Sunny Yellow is an ink that is specifically designed to be mixed with any of its sister inks in the Mix-Free line.  I'd heard that there was some confusion around the name "Mix-Free" because some folks took that to mean that it *shouldn't* be mixed, when in fact it's just a somewhat poor translation of the term "mix freely."

The other inks in the mix free line include pretty much every color of the rainbow, along with black, to give you free reign to create any color that you wish.  Platinum has a nice little chart that shows what a 1:1 mixture of any of the inks will look like.  I wouldn't mind trying this out one day just to see what kind of results I can get.  To date, I've only mixed one ink - the Pen Addict "Scabix" mix of Rohrer & Klingner Salix and Scabiosa.  That result was awesome, so I can only imagine what kind of fun a full rainbow of colors could be.

Sunny Yellow is a pretty basic yellow (likely because it's meant to be mixed), but I was surprised by the shading that the ink gives.  I expected the Mix-Free line to be pretty muted and dull, like a lot of the pen manufacturer inks are - but surprisingly it was anything but that.  I'm not even a huge fan of yellow, but if I were I could see myself using this as a stand-alone ink.

Along with a good bit of shading, the ink flows really well from a medium nib.  It's not hugely saturated, but from what I've experienced, most yellows and oranges aren't.  It has a very decent dry time at 8 seconds as well.

As you can see from the swabs, Sunny Yellow almost exactly matches De Atramentis Mahatma Ghandi in swab form.  On paper, Mahatma Ghandi is slightly different in that it doesn't shade nearly as well, and is a little more neon and "glowy" on the page.

I think Sunny Yellow has prompted me to give the Platinum Mix free inks a try.  Goulet sells a sample kit of those inks, so I might give them a try.  If you're interested in a bottle of Sunny Yellow, you can pick up a 60mL bottle for $20.  Definitely not cheap by any means, but you do get a decent volume.  I would probably try the samples first to get an idea of what colors you want to mix, and then spring for the bottles.

Ink Review: Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses

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Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses - May 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Lamy Al-Star 1.1 stub
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: moderate to high
Saturation: high
Flow: wet
Dry Time: 20 seconds

The name 'Black Swan in English Roses' is one of the coolest ink names I've seen.  One thing that Nathan Tardiff of Noodler's doesn't lack is creativity, and that shows in this second May Ink Drop sample from Goulet.

Black Swan in English Roses is a deep cherry red that quite aptly resembles the pedal of a red English Rose.  What I love about this ink is that it doesn't sway maroon or pink, but is a true deep red.  Being a Noodlers, is it very saturated and wet flowing, making it rich and eye-catching on the page.

There is quite a bit of shading with my 1.1 stub, which adds to this ink's character.  Dry time was a bit on the high side, though not terrible at 20 seconds.  With a regular F nib, it is right around 11 seconds.  Aside from the ink's awesome deep red color, it is also partially bulletproof, completely forgery resistant, and also partially waterproof.

Compared to some of my other red ink swabs, Black Swan in English Roses most closely resembles Noodler's Antietam, with Diamine Oxblood in close second.  It a bit dustier in swab form, but shows up more brightly on paper.

I really enjoyed Black Swan in English Roses.  I think I would prefer this color over its sister ink, Black Swan in Australian Roses - an ink which has been surrounded by a bit of controversy when it's color formula was changed.  The bulletproof and forge-resistant properties are another big draw.  If you're interested in a bottle for yourself, you can pick it up for $12.50 from Goulet or similar retailers.