Ink Review: Noodler's Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham

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Noodler's Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham
Pen: Kaweco AL-Sport F
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: low to moderate
Saturation: high
Flow: wet
Dry Time: 18 seconds

Just when I thought I'd heard about all of the Noodler's inks, I found out they had a Canadian line! I heard about Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham by listening to Brian Goulet's Q&A a few weeks ago.  He was asked what his favorite ink was that nobody has heard of, and his reply was Noodler's Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham.  As soon as he mentioned it, I knew I had to find some to try.  I went over to Wonder Pens' website and noticed they didn't do shipping to the US (to their credit, they attempted to reach out to me afterwards but I already had some by that point), so an awesome reader of the blog Brad T. ordered some for me and sent it over - thanks so much Brad!

Plains of Abraham is a very unique and interesting ink.  It's a deep blue with a hint of purple tones; definitely very unique.  Despite its high saturation, it has some decent shading which is awesome.  One thing Brian noted was that it is super thick and it flows like tar - he's absolutely right.  It's definitely got a thicker consistency than a lot of inks I've used.  It's not syrup-y or anything like that, but it definitely flows thick.  I've had it in my Kaweco for a couple of weeks and I've not had any issues with flow or clogging, so it doesn't appear to have an effect on ease of use.  The ink was actually formulated and released a few years back and had been discontinued; but it has since made its return and for good reason.  In addition to it being a great color, it has the Noodler's signature bulletproof and eternal qualities for those folks who want their writing to stick around for a while.

The name for this ink is inspired by the Seven Years War and the battle of The Plains of Abraham where the British and French battled for control of the land, which ultimately prompted the "British North America" affecting what Canada is today.  In addition to his usual politically driven name and label, he added the saying "American Canadian Ink for Canada" to the label.

The chromatography of this ink was a bit stubborn.  Not sure if it was the bulletproof properties or the thicker consistency, but the ink just would NOT move any further up onto my sheet than it did.  It did still give a pretty good idea of the colors in this ink - the burgundy/maroon color definitely gives this ink it's purple hue, and it's got some black undertones as well as the royal blue.

The ink is in a league of its own, but the closest comparisons I had were Diamine Registrar's and Bad Belted Kingfisher.  The color sits somewhere between those two.

I really love the blueish-purple tone of this ink.  It's definitely very different than all the other standard blue-black inks that are out there.  I'm kind of disappointed that this ink isn't available in the US, but no matter - we have sources like Wonder Pens who seem to be willing to quote US shipping (which is awesome of them!) and wonderful pen friends like Brad who graciously helped me get a sample.  Yet another reason why the pen community is amazing!  Also, check out Wonder Pens' blog - they have some awesome stuff over there that I've really enjoyed reading lately.

If you're interested in a bottle, reach out to your Canadian friends or hit up Wonder Pens and see what they can quote you for shipping.  You won't be disappointed!

Thanks for reading!
Lori

 

Pen Review: Kaweco Liliput & ECO Leather Pouch

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Kaweco Liliput - Black
Length Capped: 96mm
Length Posted: 125mm
Length Uncapped: 86mm
Section at Thinnest Point: 7mm
Section at Widest Point: 8mm
Weight w/Cartridge & Cap: 9.6g
Weight w/Cartridge & No Cap: 6.7g
Fast Writing: Keeps up well
Line Variation: None
Upside Down Writing: Scratchy, but it works
Wetness: A bit on the dry side
Pros: Very portable, pocketable, good nib, color & finish options
Cons: Very thin and small, easily lost, may be too thin or light for some

I've been on a tiny hiatus from blogging, mainly from having a bit of writers block coupled with being very busy these past couple of weeks.  I'm very glad to be back in the swing of things and bringing you a review of one of my favorite pens - the Kaweco Liliput.

The Liliput is another wonderful pen from Kaweco, that again pushes the boundaries of what all other pen companies have done.  It's a very tiny and portable fountain pen (and I do mean *tiny*) that's easy to drop in a pocket or a bag on the go.  Despite its tiny build, the pen does post and when it does, it becomes long enough for almost anyone to use comfortably - at least length-wise.  I originally got mine with a F nib, but decided to swap it out with the EF that I had on my Kaweco Sport.  I've decided that I really like the EF Kaweco nibs better - that's just the sweet spot for me.  I've also had far less nib issues with their EF nibs than I have with their F nibs.

The Liliput has a very sleek design with it's "pill shaped" body and rounded ends.  One of my favorite parts of this pen is the Kaweco logo on the top of the cap.  The cap screws to close, and screws to post, which I like.  One downside is it does take a few seconds to unscrew the cap and then screw it back on to post - two full rotations each, so beware of that.  The screw to post functionality gives you a nice secure, and full sized pen when writing.  Of course I use the term "full sized" loosely here, as that is subjective - but it's  definitely useable.  If you were to try and write with this pen unposted - if you could do it at all - you'd become fatigued very quickly.  Kaweco has done a good job designing and engineering this pen to be both portable and functional.

The pen comes in several materials and finishes.  I chose the standard black - it's the cheapest option.  From there, you can choose from silver, brass, brass wave, stainless steel, copper and the infamous fireblue (I REALLY want one of these!).  The weight will vary based on which model you get, so be sure to take that into consideration.  I think some folks would like a little bit of weight added to this very light pen, so if you're one of those people and the price increase is no object, I'd choose the brass or copper versions.

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The pen takes short international cartridges, and unfortunately is too small to fit most converters.  The only converter I've been able to fit is the Templar Skinny Mini converter, which is the same size as the SI cartridge.  It holds far less ink, but keeps me from having to buy cartridges and refilling them, so that's a plus.  Keep an eye out for my review on the Skinny Mini very soon (beware, the regular Templar Mini Converter will not fit the Kaweco feeds - more on that soon!).

I've heard many stories of people saying they lost their Kaweco Liliput because it was so small.  This definitely concerned me some when I decided to get one for myself, so I went ahead and added the Kaweco ECO Leather Pouch as well.  I like this pouch a lot because it adds a little bit of substance to the pen when it goes in my bag, so it's easier to find.  It also keeps it from rolling off my desk, which is definitely a plus.  The leather isn't very soft unfortunately, and it has a bit of a "plastic-y" feel to it.  I'm still enjoying using it, but its definitely not what I expected.  Kaweco's brown leather pouch looks to be a little better and softer, so that's an option if you like tan leather (I don't unfortunately).  Nonetheless, it's inexpensive at less than $10, so I can't really complain.  With use, the sleeve form fits to the shape of the pen, making it easy to slide it in and out.  My pen has been completely protected from scratches and dings from day one.

I absolutely love my Kaweco Liliput!  I am going to be tempted to add another to my collection in a different finish - especially the Fireblue.  Despite its size it is very comfortable to use and makes for a nice portable pocket/bag pen.  If you're interested in one for yourself, they range from $55 - $168 depending on the finish.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Ink Review: Private Reserve Avacado

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Private Reserve Avacado - June 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Lamy Al Star (F)
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: high
Saturation: high
Flow: wet
Dry Time: 14 seconds

The final ink in this month's Ink Drop is Private Reserve Avacado.  I've actually had a bottle of this ink for a while now, but just hadn't gotten around to writing up a review.  I forget where I first learned of this ink - I want to say it was SBREBrown's Inkcyclopedia, but I'm not certain.  What drew me to it was its very unique color.  It is a nice deep green, but rather than being a flat dark green, it has a distinct yellow undertone in lighter areas.  It gives some cool color patterns in the ink and sets it apart from all other dark greens I've used.

You may notice that the ink's name "Avacado" is spelled incorrectly.  I've not found a story on why this is the case, but I suspect it was an accidental misspelling.  Private Reserve's website now spells the word correctly (Avocado), but it seems they haven't gotten around to changing the labels (or I just happened to get one of the older ones).  I'm kinda glad I got a bottle of the old label, just so I have it.  

The ink is very well behaved on my Rhodia pad.  No feathering or bleedthrough.  Luckily the ink has no noticeable spread either, and despite it's high saturation level, it does have some great shading.  Very unique.

The chromatography was neat as well.  Yellow and orange is the main component, with a tiny touch of red and blue.

As unique as this ink is, it doesn't compare to anything I've seen.  The closest I've used so far is KWZI Foggy Green, which is darker with more blue undertones.

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One thing I have noticed with this ink is that it tends to crust up under the cap of the bottle.  I'm assuming this is a result of the cap letting tiny bits of air inside, as I've had this ink loaded in a pen for a while and luckily haven't had any crusting issues.  Each time I open the bottle I have to take a paper towel and scrape the ink crust off the edges of the top of the glass - kind of a pain, but at least it's not ruining my pens.

I highly recommend you try this ink out if you're a fan of greens.  It's got a very unique color and the shading is awesome.  You can pick up a 66ml bottle for $11.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Ink Review: Iroshizuku Yama-guri (Wild Chestnut)

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Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-guri - June 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Lamy Al Star (F)
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: low
Saturation: high
Flow: wet
Dry Time: 14 seconds
Waterproofness: only the black undertone

The fourth ink in this month's Ink Drop is Iroshizuku Yama-guri.  Yama-guri, or Wild Chestnut, is an apt name for this ink, which fits right in with the Farmer's Market theme.  A warm, dark brown, the ink reminds me of milk chocolate.

Yama-guri is a very well behaved ink, as is typical of the Iroshizuku inks.  No feathering or bleed occurred in my Rhodia pad, even with the flex nib.  The ink is pretty highly saturated, so there was minimal shading, though I've found that to be the case with a lot of the darker brown inks.  Dry time was a tiny bit high at 14 seconds, and water test shows the only portion of the ink that stays behind is a dark grey or black color.

Chromatography had quite a few colors in the mix - the greyish-black base stayed put, which makes sense based on my water tests.  then there is a dusty purple,, followed by a bit of orange, yellow and pink.  The chroma sheet was nearly identical to the Kobe #3 Sepia I did a few days ago.

Speaking of #3 Sepia, this ink definitely resembles that ink on the page.  In swab form, Sepia is a little more reddish than Yama-guri, but on the page the resemblence is closer.  Yama-guri is a tiny bit lighter with certain nibs.  KWZI Green Gold has some similar brown tones, but is quite different on the page.

I am actually really warming up to some of the brown inks out there.  Yama-guri is definitely one to check into if you're looking for a good brown ink to add to your collection.  You can get a full size bottle for $28 at most US retailers, or you can get the smaller 15mL bottle for $10.50 from Vanness Pens.

Thanks for reading!
ori