Diamine Music Inks, Part 2

Yesterday we covered the first half of the Diamine Music Set, so today we are going to look at the other half. At Cult Pens you can either buy the inks in the boxed set, or in individual 30ml bottles. As far as I know, Cult Pens is the only retailer that sells them individually.

Swabs:

Left to right: Wagner, Beethoven, Schubert. Tchaikovsky and Handel.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low-there was a little bit of feathering in the flex nib.

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-there is some bleeding in the flex nib.

Other properties: medium shading, low sheen, and no shimmer. I only saw sheen in the flex nib on Tomoe River paper.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as bleeding, so I would not recommend these inks for cheap paper.

Comparison Swabs:

Wagner is a bit darker than Robert Oster Chartreuse and a little less yellow, I like Wagner better though.

Beethoven is not an especially unique color. There are a lot of similar greens out there- Colorverse Shrodinger is a bit warmer, Shin-ryoku is a bit more vibrant.

There are a lot of teals out there similar to Schubert, but I wanted to compare it to other Diamine teals. It’s darker than Steel Blue but lighter than Aurora Borealis.

I swear there are a million blues out there similar to Tchaikovsky, butt two are Diamine Cornflower and Taccia Ao Blue.

Handle is more unique, and my favorite from this set. It is less saturated than both Platinum Lavender Black and Bungubox Sweet Potato Purple. It has just a little bit of green sheen.

The full set inked up.

I used a Lochby Lined Blank A5 notebook (Tomoe River 68gsm). All of the inks had an average flow.

Overall, while I enjoyed all five of these, Handel and Wagner are the two that seem the most unique. I’ve had all five of these inked up for the past few weeks and have been using them daily. I’m in love with Wagner, Schubert and Handel, but Handel is my favorite.

Disclaimer: I purchased these inks myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.

Diamine Music Inks, Part 1

I’ve had the Diamine Music set for quite some time, but I realized I’ve never reviewed it so it’s time to take care of that. At Cult Pens you can either buy the inks in the boxed set, or in individual 30ml bottles. As far as I know, Cult Pens is the only store that sells them individually. The set includes 10 inks based on different composers, so today we are going to take a look at half of them.

Swabs:

Left to right: Vivaldi, Chopin, Bach, Mozart, and Strauss.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low-there was a little bit of feathering in the flex nib.

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-there is some bleeding in the flex nib.

Other properties: low shading, low sheen, and no shimmer. I only saw sheen in the flex nib on Tomoe River paper.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as bleeding, so I would not recommend these inks for cheap paper.

Comparison Swabs:

Vivaldi is similar to 3 Oysters Purple Gray, but is less saturated.

Chopin is an unsaturated neutral, somewhere between blue black and grey. In writing I think it’s closer to blue black. It’s similar to Sailor Jentle Blue Black.

Bach is a warm brown, similar to Robert Oster Golden Brown.

Mozart is a dark red, similar to Robert Oster 1789 Maroon.

Strauss is an unsaturated Red, similar to Organics Studio Mercury Red.

The full set inked up.

I used a Lochby Lined Blank A5 notebook (Tomoe River 68gsm). All of the inks had an average flow.

Overall, I enjoyed using all of these inks. Out of these five I think Vivaldi and Chopin are my favorite.

Disclaimer: I purchased these inks myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #937: Diamine Philip

We are continuing on with our Diamine theme this week, looking at Diamine Philip today. Philip belongs to Cult Pens’ exclusive Iridescink line. I love that Cult Pens has made this ink available in the standard 80ml bottles as well was the smaller “Little Pip” 30ml bottle. Thanks to a local pen friend for donating a sample for review!

The color:

Philip is a dark, rich purple with lots of sheen.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the sheen is a bronzy gold. Not quite gold, but not quite bronze either, somewhere in the middle of the two.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry time: 50 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: no shading, high sheen, and no shimmer. I didn’t notice any smearing issues from the sheen.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was feathering in every nib size and just a little bit of bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Philip is lighter than Purple Rain, similar to PenBBS 95 Lin Huiyin. It’s cooler toned than Lamy Dark Lilac. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the purple inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Sailor Pro Gear Slim Purple Cosmos with a zoom nib on a Lochby A5 blank Refill-Tomoe River 68gsm. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, besides the long dry time this ink is pretty well behaved. I didn’t have any smearing issues from the sheen, and there is plenty of sheen.

Disclaimer: This ink was provided by a pen friend for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #936: Diamine Communication Breakdown

I’ve had a lot of requests for Diamine ink reviews lately, so we are going to dedicate this week to Diamine inks, starting with Communication Breakdown. This ink is a German exclusive, and can be found at Fountainfeder or Papier and Stift. Thanks to a local pen friend for donating a sample for review!

The color:

Communication Breakdown is a vibrant red ink with green sheen.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink shows off some of the green sheen.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-there was some bleeding in the flex nib

Other properties: low shading, high sheen, and no shimmer. There could be more shading, but most of it is hidden under the sheen. The sheen is visible in all nib sizes on Tomoe River, as well as flex nibs on Rhodia and Leuchtturm. I wouldn’t quite call it a monster sheener since it doesn’t sheen on multiple nib sizes on paper other than Tomoe River. The sheen does make it a bit smeary on Tomoe River paper.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was feathering in every nib size and just a little bit of bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Communication Breakdown is similar to KWZ Maple Red, but with sheen added. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M605 White Transparent with a medium nib on a Lochby A5 blank Refill-Tomoe River 68gsm. The ink had a a slightly dry, sticky flow.

Overall, it’s a nice red sheeny ink, but it is a bit smeary on Tomoe River paper and has a bit of a sticky flow which makes it a no for me. I guess I was a bit disappointed by this ink-everyone kept raving about how sheeny it was and no smearing, and I found it to have a little less sheen than expected, and prone to smearing.

Disclaimer: This ink was provided by a pen friend for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #935: Noodler's Tokyo Gift

Noodler’s Tokyo Gift debuted at the 2019 DC Show. This ink is also known as Cherry Blossom Pink, but I don’t think that quite applies-its more of a red. Thanks to Vanness Pens for providing a sample for review.

The color:

Tokyo Gift is a medium red. The ink is described as pink most places, but all I see is red.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has just a little bit of shading and no sheen.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry time: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low-there was some feathering in the flex nib

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 there was feathering in every nib size and just a little bit of bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Tokyo Gift is a little bit darker than Robert Oster Rubine, and a little bit lighter than Robert Oster Red Candy. Click here to see the Noodler’s inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a TWSBI Eco Blossom Red with a medium nib on a Lochby A5 blank Refill-Tomoe River 68gsm. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, this ink is pretty average. A little bit of feathering/bleeding in the flex nib, average flow and dry time, a little bit of shading. There’s just nothing about it that makes it stand out-I could take it or leave it.

Disclaimer: This ink was provided by Vanness Pens for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and this post is not sponsored in any way.

TWSBI 1791 Inks

TWSBI has been around for a while as a pen brand, but they recently branched out into inks as well. Their first inks are a set of 6, which can be purchased together or individually. I purchased my set of inks from Lemur Ink.

The inks come in a nice box, but it’s made of cardboard and it needs the paper band to keep it closed.

The bottles are 18ml glass with red plastic lids.

Swabs:

Left to right: Pink, Orange, Prairie Green, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, Royal Purple.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low-there was a little bit of feathering in the flex nib.

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-there is some bleeding in the flex nib.

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as bleeding, so I would not recommend these inks for cheap paper.

Comparison Swabs:

Pink is similar to both Sailor Ink Studios 130 and Sailor Jentle Sakura-Mori. Orange is close to Diamine Sunset. Prairie Green is darker than Diamine Jade Green but warmer than Monteverde Key Lime Pie. Emerald Green is cooler than Colorverse Arabella but warmer than Diamine Cool Green. Sky Blue is similar to Taccia Sora Sky Blue. Royal Purple is similar to Taccia Murasaki Purple.

I used a Lochby Lined Blank A5 notebook (Tomoe River 68gsm). All of the inks had a wetter than average flow, almost a bit thin.

Overall, I enjoyed these inks. The ink is a bit thin, which makes it flow a bit wet, but I prefer wet inks anyway. The colors are nice, but Pink is light, too light in the smaller nibs. I would reserve Pink for broad nibs, but the others are dark enough for all nib sizes.

Disclaimer: I purchased these inks myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.