Ink Review #857: Troublemaker Blueberry
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Recently Shigure Inks sent me their two store exclusive Troublemaker inks. I reviewed Grape Vine yesterday, so today we are taking a look at Blueberry.
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Ink Review #856: Troublemaker Grape Vine
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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 MoreInk Review #855: Blackstone Lemur Lime
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I 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.
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Ink Review #853: Monteverde Blue Black
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We are continuing on with blue black inks this week, today’s is Monteverde Blue Black. I purchased my ink from Pen Chalet.
Read MoreInk Review #852: Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall
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There 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 MoreInk Review #851: Kobe Fragrance of Sumi
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Today’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 MoreThe PenThing Ink Swatch Plot Log
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The PenThing is a pop-up pen shop in Chester, New Jersey. They just released their first self-branded product, The PenThing Ink Swatch Plot Log. It includes 48 pages of white, 120 gsm paper with categories to evaluate your inks.
Each page has spaces for the ink’s name, a swatch, the pen/nib used, date inked, date cleaned, remarks, as well as a 1-10 scale for: saturation, flow, shading, bleeding, feathering, dry time, sheen, halo, shimmer and overall. I like the paper-it’s nice and thick, with very little show through. Since the paper is so thick, the notebook does not lay flat on its own. I also like the categories, the only one I don’t use is halo-the average user doesn’t know the difference between sheen and halo so not everyone would find that category helpful.
Overall, I like this little notebook. It’s useful, has very little show through, and is great for keeping track of ink notes.
Disclaimer: This product was provided by The PenThing for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page.
Ink Review #850: Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai
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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.
Swabs:
In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks more blue with some red 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: 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.
Comparison Swabs:
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.
Longer Writing:
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.