I’ve heard about Troublemaker Inks a lot lately, but unfortunately they aren’t currently accepting new orders. I was so excited when Shigure Inks offered to send me their two store exclusive Troublemaker inks-Grape Vine and Blueberry. Let’s take a look at Grape Vine today.
Read MoreI enjoy supporting lots of fountain pen retailers, one of which is Lemur Ink. They offer free shipping over $20 and have a variety of products-I usually order my TWSBI pens from them. When I went to the San Francisco Pen Show this year, I got to meet John, the owner of Lemur Ink, and pick up a bottle of their exclusive Blackstone ink, Lemur Lime.
Read MoreWe are continuing on with blue black inks this week, today’s is Monteverde Blue Black. I purchased my ink from Pen Chalet.
Read MoreThere are some inks that have been sitting in my drawer forever, waiting for attention. Paper Plume Bayou Nightfall is one of these inks, it belongs to the Papier Plume New Orleans collection. I purchased my sample of ink from Vanness Pens.
Read MoreToday’s ink is Kobe Fragrance of Sumi. It’s an interesting ink-it’s scented with the traditional sumi India ink stick. I purchased my sample of ink from Vanness Pens.
Read More
Most of the time I just review whatever inks are next on my list, but sometimes I like to do a theme for the week. This week’s theme is blue-black inks. Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai, aka “Deep Sea” is an ink I use often, and I was surprised when I realized I’ve never actually reviewed it. A pen friend was very kind and gave me my bottle, but you can find this ink for sale at Pen Chalet.
The color:
Shin-kai is a medium blue-black.
In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks more blue with some red sheen.
Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.
Dry time: 15 seconds
Water resistance: Medium-some of the ink washed away but you might still be able to read what was written.
Feathering: Low-there was a little bit of feathering in the flex nib on Leuchtturm paper.
Show through: Medium
Bleeding: Low-there was some bleeding in the flex nib.
Other properties: medium shading, low sheen, and no shimmer. The sheen is only visible in large nibs on Tomoe River paper.
On Staples 24 lb copy paper the ink feathered in all nib sizes and had a little bit of bleeding.
Shin-kai is similar to Lamy Blue-Black, but I do prefer Shin-kai. Click here to see the Pilot inks together, and click here to see the blue-black inks together.
I used a Lamy AL-star Pacific Blue with a fine nib on Tomoe River paper. The ink had a lovely wet flow.
Overall, I love this ink, and use it often. I love the color, shading, wet flow, and quick dry time. Since I only have the small 15 ml bottle, I’ll buy a full-size bottle when it’s gone.
Disclaimer: This ink was given to me by a pen friend. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does contain affiliate links, but this post is not sponsored in any way.
Robert Oster Astorquiza Olive is a Bauer Inks exclusive. They had a table at the SF Pen Show, and when I saw some art that had been done with this ink I knew I had to give it a try.
The color:
Astorquiza Olive is dark, and somewhere between brown and green. I think it leans just a bit more toward green, but it can go either way depending on the lighting.
In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink more green and matte than on the Col-o-ring paper.
Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.
Dry time: 10 seconds
Water resistance: Low
Feathering: Low-there was a little bit of feathering in the flex nib on Leuchtturm paper.
Show through: Medium
Bleeding: Low-there was some bleeding in the flex nib.
Other properties: medium shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.
On Staples 24 lb copy paper the ink feathered in all nib sizes and had a little bit of bleeding.
Astorquiza Olive has a lot more brown in it than other olive inks. to Click here to see the Robert Oster inks together, and click here to see the green inks together.
I used a Kaweco Al-sport Rose Gold with a broad nib on Tomoe River paper. The ink had a dry flow. You can see in the last paragraph where I primed the feed a bit since it was so dry.
Overall, I don’t love this ink as much as I thought I would. The color is interesting and it dries quickly, but the flow is a bit dry for me.
Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and this post is not sponsored in any way.
The YAFA table at the 2019 SF Pen Show got most of my money. They are the US distributor for Monteverde and they had a great show price on their inks this year. One ink I picked is Monteverde 2019 DC Supershow Teal. It debuted at the 2019 DC Pen Show in August, and is now part of the standard line. You can find this ink for sale at Goulet Pens.
The color:
DC Supershow Teal is a beautiful medium teal with shading.
In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink appears a bit less green with the tiniest hint of pink sheen around the edges. It’s almost nonexistent sheen.
Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.
Dry time: 15 seconds
Water resistance: Low
Feathering: Low-there was a little bit of feathering in the flex nib on Leuchtturm paper.
Show through: Medium
Bleeding: Low-there was some bleeding in the flex nib.
Other properties: medium shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.
On Staples 24 lb copy paper the ink feathered in all nib sizes and had a little bit of bleeding.
DC Supershow Teal is closest to Robert Oster Marine, but Supershow Teal has a much wetter flow than Marine does and Marine has more sheen. Click here to see the Monteverde Inks together, and click here to see the teal inks together.
I used a Pelikan M600 Turquoise with a broad nib on Tomoe River paper. The ink had an wet flow.
Overall, this ink was an insta-buy for me when I saw it. I love the flow of Monteverde Inks, they perform well and I love teal, so it’s a win for me! At a show price of $5 per bottle, I couldn’t pass it up and I don’t regret it!
Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and this post is not sponsored in any way.
Papier Plume Marina Green was released at the 2019 San Francisco Pen Show. I picked up a bottle at the Papier Plume table but they still have some in stock on their website and Vanness Pens has some in stock as well. I like the Papier Plume bottles but I dislike the wax seals on top. The idea is great but sometimes the wax drips down too far and then it’s hard to get the bottle open. This bottle I had to cut a bunch of wax off before I could get the bottle open.
The color:
Marina Green is a bright medium green with some shading. I would almost call it a lime green on this Col-o-ring paper.
In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks darker and more matte.
Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.
Dry time: 15 seconds
Water resistance: Medium-some of the ink washed away but you still might be able to read what was written.
Feathering: Low-there was a little bit of feathering in the flex nib on Leuchtturm paper.
Show through: Medium
Bleeding: Low-there was some bleeding in the flex nib.
Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.
On Staples 24 lb copy paper the ink feathered in all nib sizes and had a little bit of bleeding.
I think the closest ink I have is Robert Oster Green Green. Click here to see the Papier Plume inks together, and click here to see the green inks together.
I used a TWSBI Eco Transparent Green with a medium nib on Tomoe River paper. The ink had an average flow.
Overall, it’s a bright fun green. It would be a great ink to use in the late spring and summer.
Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and this post is not sponsored in any way.
Hi, I’m Kelli, and I’m the brain behind Mountain of Ink. I’m a homeschooling mama of three littles, full-time student, aspiring photographer, amateur chef, and lover of all things stationery. I think any day that doesn’t involve learning and playing with ink is a day wasted. On my site you will find fountain pen, ink, and paper reviews, along with stationery bits and bobs along the way. You can find me @mountainofink on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
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