Occasionally I’ll attend a local pen meetup and friends will hand me inks to review. At our last meetup a friend handed me a bottle of Kobe #39 Brick and said “have fun!” My friend got this bottle from Pen Chalet, but they no longer carry Kobe inks, so you can find this ink for sale at other retailers including Vanness Pens.
Read MoreJ Herbin Rouge Opera is another reader-provided ink. You can find this ink for sale at Pen Chalet.
Read MoreRobert Oster first released this ink as Rivers of Blood, which is still the name you can find it under at Pen Chalet where I purchased my ink. According to Robert Oster’s Instagram post, “Courtesy note: Blood Crimson is the common name of the newly released Fountain Pen Ink colour announced as Rivers of Blood. That name was of historical significance with horrific undertones and we respect the thoughts of those who brought this to our notice. UK and European stockists will be offered the colour name Blood Crimson. [Some retailers in other regions may carry the colour as Rivers... due to early stocking arrangements and recent stockists will carry it as Blood Crimson. We trust you accept our sensitivity and respect to the feelings of our community.]” So even though my sample is labeled as Rivers of Blood, I’m going to use the updated name of Blood Crimson. I love that Robert Oster was so responsive to customer concerns and did his best to adjust.
Read MoreWe are going to take a look at one more Pilot Iroshizuku this week before we move onto something else, Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao, aka Morning Glory. I purchased my bottle of ink at Pen Chalet.
Read MoreWhen I first discovered fountain pens I bought a sample of Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-same, aka Scotch Mist, quickly used up the whole sample and then forgot to buy a bottle. It’s one of those inks I just kind of forgot about until a reader sent me a sample for review. As soon as I saw it again I remembered how much I liked it, and that I’ve never reviewed it. You can purchase this ink at most pen retailers, including Pen Chalet.
Read MoreI’ve been trying to make it through all of the standard Pilot Iroshizuku inks lately, so I was excited when a reader sent me a sample of Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-iro, aka Sky Blue. You can purchase this ink at most pen retailers, including Pen Chalet.
Read MoreThis year the Fountain Pens UK Facebook group teamed up with Diamine to create two new purples: Monboddo’s Hat and Scribble Purple. Since we already looked at Monboddo’s Hat, today we are taking a look at Scribble Purple. Thanks to Vanness Pens for sending a sample over for review!
Read MoreWhen Nock Co. released their Seed cases I immediately knew I wanted one, but I wasn’t sure what color I wanted. When I looked over the Nock Co. table at the San Francisco Pen Show I saw this case and fell in love because teal is everything, and knew I wouldn’t be leaving the show without one. The Peacock/Violet Special Edition A5 Seed uses a peacock green exterior with violet interior, and a mint zipper. This case is all my favorite colors and matches my Rickshaw 6-pen roll perfectly.
Read More
This year the Fountain Pens UK Facebook group teamed up with Diamine to create two new purples: Monboddo’s Hat and Scribble Purple. Today we are taking a look at Monboddo’s Hat. Thanks to Vanness Pens for sending a sample over for review.
The color:
Monboddo’s Hat is a medium purple with a slight red undertone.
In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink shows just a little bit of gold 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: None
Show through: Medium
Bleeding: None
Other properties: low shading, low sheen, and no shimmer.
On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes but just a tiny bit of bleeding.
Monboddo’s Hat isn’t as red as Lamy Dark Lilac but has more red in it than Sailor Ink Studio 750. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the purple inks together.
I used a Platinum 3776 Nice Lavande with a broad nib on a A5 Yoseka notebook. The ink had an average flow.
Overall, It’s a fun purple. It has less sheen than I expected, but still interesting and dries quickly too.
Disclaimer: A sample of 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.
We are wrapping up this week’s Ferris Wheel Press theme with the Charger Set that includes 5ml sample vials of Candy Marsala, Tanzanite Sky and Bluegrass Velvet. Thanks to Vanness Pens for providing samples for review. You can purchase these inks in the charger set, or as individual bottles: Candy Marsala, Tanzanite Sky and Bluegrass Velvet.
Left to right: Candy Marsala, Tanzanite Sky and Bluegrass Velvet.
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 some feathering on Rhodia.
Show through: Medium
Bleeding: Low-there was some bleeding on Rhodia and Leuchtturm.
Other properties: medium shading, some sheen, and no shimmer. Only Tanzanite Sky showed any sheen-and then only on Tomoe River paper in large nib sizes.
On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as a little bleeding.
Swabs:
Candy Marsala is a little less saturated than Monteverde Cherry Danish. Tanzanite Sky is similar to Robert Oster Dragon’s Night. Bluegrass Velvet is similar to both Lamy Amazonite and Monteverde Iced Cookie.
I used an A5 Yoseka notebook. All of the inks had an average flow.
Overall, while generally well behaved, I find Candy Marsala a bit too unsaturated. I enjoy both Tanzanite Sky and Bluegrass Velvet, but both are very similar to inks I already have.
Disclaimer: These samples were 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 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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