Ink Review #1318: Sailor Shikiori Yonaga

I’ve had a sample of Sailor Shikiori Yonaga sitting in my drawer for a while and never played with it much so it’s time for a full review! I purchased my sample of ink from Anderson Pens.

The color:

Yonaga is a dark midnight blue.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has some interesting purple and 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: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

Other properties: medium shading, medium purple and green sheen, and no shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering and bleeding in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Yonaga is closest to Sailor Ink Studio 943. Click here to see the Sailor inks together, and click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Kaweco Al-sport Rose Gold with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a wet flow.

Overall, it’s a nice dark blue, smooth with some interesting sheen.

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.

Ink Review #1317: Robert Oster Sterling Silver

I’ve been waiting for a dark silver shimmer ink for a long time, so when I saw Robert Oster Sterling Silver I knew I had to give it a try. You can find this ink at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Sterling Silver is a perfect liquid silver color.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks perfect, dark silver with plenty of silver shimmer.

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: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: low shading, tiny black sheen, and silver shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Sterling Silver is darker than Diamine Snow Storm and Moon Dust, and less purple than PenBBS Ice Lake. Click here to see the Robert Oster inks together, and click here to see the grey inks together.

Longer writing:

I started with a Kaweco Al-sport Anthracite with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook, but holy clogged mess Batman! So I switched to a Sailor Pro Gear Slim Purple Cosmos with a zoom nib, and the ink performed much better. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, I love this ink for its color but have some reservations on the flow. It’s so pretty, but performs best in broad, flex and zoom nibs. I still have a bottle on my wish list because I love the color so much, but will stick to the larger nib sizes.

Disclaimer: 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 #1316: Robert Oster Violet Dreams

Robert Oster Violet Dreams is from the Shake ‘N’ Shimmy collection. I purchased my sample of ink at Pen Chalet (aff. link).

The color:

Violet Dreams is a light heather purple.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has lots of shading and shimmer.

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: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, no sheen, and gold shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Violet Dreams is a little more red than Robert Oster Violet Clouds. Click here to see the Robert Oster inks together, and click here to see the purple inks together.

Longer writing:

I used an Esterbrook Estie Lilac with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, this is a lovely spring shimmer ink. It’s well-behaved and a pretty color, but it can be rather light in smaller nib sizes.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does contain affiliate links but this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1315: Robert Oster Envy

Robert Oster Envy is from the Shake ‘N’ Shimmy collection. I purchased my sample of ink at Pen Chalet (aff. link).

The color:

Envy is a bright apple green.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has plenty of shimmer but 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: 15 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, no sheen, and green shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Envy is darker than Diamine Golden Oasis but lighter than Organics Studio Frog Green. Click here to see the Robert Oster inks together, and click here to see the green inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M600 Vibrant Green with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, it’s a lovely summery apple green with plenty of green shimmer. It’s a little unusual for a shimmer ink just based on the green shimmer instead of silver or gold, but that just makes it unique. It might make a good Christmas green ink as well.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does contain affiliate links but this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1314: Monteverde Yosemite Green

Monteverde Yosemite Green is from the Monteverde standard lineup. I purchased my sample of ink from Pen Chalet.

The color:

Yosemite Green is a dark Christmas green.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of pretty 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: 15 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, tiny red sheen, and no shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Yosemite Green is closest to Taccia Midori Green. Click here to see the Monteverde inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Sailor Pro Gear Shamrock with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a wet flow.

Overall, I really enjoyed this ink. It’s a pretty color, flows well and is affordable too!

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does does contain affiliate links but this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1313: Diamine Tropical Glow

Diamine Tropical Glow is from the 2016 Shimmertastic collection. I purchased my sample of ink from Vanness Pens.

The color:

Tropical Glow is a bright medium teal.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of sheen and lots of silver shimmer.

Writing samples:

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: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: low shading, tiny red sheen, and silver shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in most nib sizes but very little bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Tropical Glow is closest to Organics Studio Alanine Aqua and Robert Oster Morning Shine. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the teal inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Lamy Safari Turquoise with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, I enjoyed this ink. It’s a lovely color, has some pretty shading and shimmer and even a little bit of sheen. It did have a little bit of skipping in the smaller nib sizes due to the shimmer so I would stick to medium nibs and larger.

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.

Ink Review #1312: Monteverde Valentine Red

Monteverde Valentine Red is from their standard lineup. I purchased my sample of ink from Pen Chalet.

The color:

Valentine Red is a vivid medium red.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a tiny bit of bright yellow-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: 15 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

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

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Valentine Red is a little less orange than both Monteverde Ruby and Love. Click here to see the Monteverde inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot Vanishing Point Galaxy with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, this is a lovely, well-behaved red ink. It’s just not my favorite tone of red-it’s still a bit orange for me on some papers.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does does contain affiliate links but this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1311: Sailor Manyo Ume

Sailor is one of my favorite ink brands, so I’ve been excited to try more from their Manyo line; Ume is from the second Manyo collection. Thanks to Phidon Pens for sending this ink over for review!

The bottle:

Ume comes in a 50ml square glass bottle.

The color:

Ume is a dark maroon red.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has some pretty 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: 60 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

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

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Ume is a bit more brown than most of these other reds. Click here to see the Sailor inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot Custom 74 Merlot with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a wet flow.

Overall, this is another lovely Sailor ink. I was a little worried it might be too close to Sailor Oku-yama, but you can see from the comparison swabs above that they are actually pretty different.

Disclaimer: This ink was provided by Phidon 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.

Ink Review #1310: Graf von Faber-Castell Garnet Red

Yesterday we took a look at Graf Von Faber-Castell Moss Green, so let’s look at Graf Von Faber-Castell Garnet Red today. Thanks to Phidon Pens for sending this ink over for review!

The bottle:

Garnet Red comes in a gorgeous 75ml glass bottle.

The color:

Garnet Red is a dark unsaturated burgundy.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of shading but 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: 60 seconds

Water resistance: Medium-this ink is advertised as water resistant, but mine isn’t fully water resistant.

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Garnet Red is a little darker than Diamine Crimson, but a little lighter than Diamine Burgundy Royale. Click here to see the Faber-Castell inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M205 Star Ruby with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a dry flow.

Overall, this ink is a lovely wintery red color and comes in a gorgeous bottle, but the dry time is a little longer than I’d like, the flow is dry and it isn’t as water-resistant as it’s advertised.

Disclaimer: This ink was provided by Phidon 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.

Ink Review #1309: Graf von Faber-Castell Moss Green

I’m stuck on red and green this week since Christmas is coming up, so let’s take a look at Graf Von Faber-Castell Moss Green. Thanks to Phidon Pens for sending this ink over for review!

The bottle:

Moss Green comes in a gorgeous 75ml glass bottle.

The color:

Moss Green is a dark grass green.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of black 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: Medium-this ink is advertised as water resistant, but mine isn’t fully water resistant.

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Moss Green has more yellow in it than PenBBS Zi, but less yellow than Diamine Sherwood Green. Click here to see the Faber-Castell inks together, and click here to see the green inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M600 Vibrant Green with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a dry flow.

Overall, I enjoyed the color of this ink, and it behaves well in a wet broad nib. The bottle is pretty, but it was a little less water resistant than expected.

Disclaimer: This ink was provided by Phidon 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.