Upcoming Ink Reviews - The Perfect Grey

April 20, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

There is something about grey fountain pen ink that appeals to me. I like them better than black inks because they have a bit more character in my opinion. Oddly, I have always loved the color grey - I understand how a lot of people think that's weird - but I have always gravitated toward grey items. I have been on a hunt for my favorite grey ink, and I believe I may have found it!

Along this journey, I experimented with 5 different grey inks, all of which were really great inks. Over the next week or so, I'll be posting reviews of each of these inks, counting down from my least favorite to my favorite. Be sure to check them out and let me know in the comments or on Twitter what your favorite is!

Ink Review: Noodler's Nightshade

April 19, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

Noodler's Nightshade
Pen: Pilot Metropolitan M
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm

I love Noodler's Nightshade. This ink has such a unique character - I've yet to find another ink that exactly matches it. It is a deep maroon color, but in certain lighting it can give off a dark greyish-purple look. For a dark and fairly saturated ink, it gives quite a bit of shading with my Metro's medium nib.

Aside from the amazing color, Nightshade is a wonderfully well-behaved ink. I was able to get some feathering on a cheap post-it note, but aside from that there are no negative effects. Even the ink splatter had no bleedthrough on my Rhodia pad, and even minimal ghosting.

The Nightshade bottle has a picture of the Solanaceae, or Nightshade flower. It is a very diverse species of purple flower that grows on every continent except Antarctica, and has some 2700 species.

This will continue to be one of my favorite inks; the more I use it, the more I love it. If you're a fan of the old version of Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses, this isn't TOO far off from that. You can pick up a bottle from Goulet or a similar vendor for $12.50.

Ink Review: Diamine Red Dragon

April 17, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

Diamine Red Dragon
Pen: Lamy Safari EF
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm

Diamine Red Dragon was the second contender in my quest to purchase a bottle of red ink. I ultimately chose Diamine Oxblood over Red Dragon, however that decision shouldn't deter you from this awesome ink.

Red Dragon is a highly saturated deep, vibrant red ink with minimal shading. Like a lot of Diamine inks, it behaves well on a lot of different papers. Even on absorbent copy paper, Red Dragon had minimal feathering in my experience. I tend to really dislike "pinky" reds that have very low saturation and give a "watery" look on the page; Red Dragon is a really great option if you happen to agree with me on that, because it is quite the opposite of a pinky red.

What is unfortunate about the Diamine inks is that they recent underwent a price increase, and a fairly significant one at that. The 80ml bottles are now $14.95 as opposed to $12.95, so that may very well be a deal breaker for a lot of you. To me, it's still a lot more affordable than some of the "designer" inks like Iroshizuku and the Pelikan Edelstein line, so I'm willing to spend the $15. Diamine has a massive variety of color and the properties are awesome, and the large bottle size will last you quite a while.

Pen Review: Kaweco Skyline Sport

April 15, 2015 by Lori Beck in Pen Review

Kaweco Skyline Sport (Grey) EF
Ink: Graf von Faber-Castell Stone Grey
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Pros: Nib, color, weight, portability, design
Cons: Few converter options, almost too light, very small for some, no Kaweco tin :(

The first time I saw the Kaweco Sport pens, I thought they were less than beautiful. I didn't get the giant octagonal cap especially. But after hearing so many people rave about their Kawecos, my interest was piqued. The one thing that was stopping me was the gold-plated nib and trim on the Classic Sports. I am not a fan at all of gold furniture on anything, especially pens. When I discovered the Skyline Sport had been released with rhodium-plated trim and in a grey color, I had to get one to try out.

When I received my Skyline, the first thing I noticed was that it didn't come in the cool Kaweco tins. I had thought that all of the Kaweco Sports came in one of the tins, but the Goulets let me know that only the AL-Sport comes in it now. I was lucky to have a Twitter follower offer to send me one of his extras, which speaks to just how amazing the pen community is.

As you may know, the Kaweco pens are very small, and because of that, they do not fit a standard international converter. There are a few converters out there that will work, including Kaweco's squeeze converter and the Monteverde Mini Converter. Not many people care for aerometric converters, myself included, and I've read mixed reviews on how well the Monteverde Mini Converter fits in this pen. Luckily, I stumbled across one of SBREBrown's videos on a Kaweco Sport, and he had been sent the Templar Mini Converter. I'm intrigued by this little thing, so I may end up picking one up - if I do, I'll be sure to review it! For now, I chose to pick up some standard international short cartridges to try out. Being that I love grey ink and this is a grey pen, I chose Graf von Faber-Castell Stone Grey. Spoiler alert: I LOVE THIS INK. Review to follow.

Kaweco is a German brand, and have German nibs on their pens - so they run close to what a Lamy nib size would be. I chose the EF because of this, and I was not disappointed. I always worry that an EF will write scratchy out of the box, but this one was quite smooth. The rhodium plating looks very sharp, and I love how the Kaweco logo is stamped into the nib. I'm not sure why I'm drawn to their logo, but I really love that thing. They included a sticker in the box with the pen, and it now has a place on the front of my Macbook Pro.

The pen is very lightweight which adds to the portability aspect, though some would say it feels kind of cheap. Honestly, I just don't get the cheap vibe from this pen. Looking at pictures online, you would think that it's just a cheap plastic pen, but I'm very impressed with the craftsmanship and the quality. For the price, it really can't be beat. I love the grey color, and the finial with the Kaweco logo on it is a nice touch.

The pen when capped can very easily fit into the palm of your hand. For some, writing with it unposted is impossible, but posted, the pen's weight is very balanced. I hardly ever post my pen, but this one doesn't change in balance at all and is actually more comfortable for longer writing sessions.

I am very happy with this pen. If you've been debating getting one, trust me, you need to do it. It writes like a dream, never skips or hard starts and is a great pocket pen. The Skyline Sport is available in 3 colors, Black, Grey & Mint. The Mint and Grey are both new colors to the Sport line and the pen community are going crazy for both of them. You can pick them up at Goulet or a similar retailer for $25-$27 (for some reason JetPens has the EF listed at $27 and the others at $25).