Ink Review #1404: Kyo-no-oto 08 Moegiiro

Kyo-no-oto 08 Moegiiro is the replacement of Kyo-no-oto 08 Urahairo which we reviewed yesterday. You can find this ink for sale at Pen Chalet (aff. link) and Vanness Pens.

The color:

Moegiiro is a bright lime green.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink is darker where it pooled and has some 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: 10 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

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

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

Comparison Swabs:

Moegiiro is darker than Diamine Kelly Green and brighter than Sailor Ink Studio 867. Click here to see the Kyoto 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 super dry flow.

Overall, like other Kyoto inks I like this ink best in a wet broad nib. It’s very dry and could benefit from a drop of White Lighting, it’s a lovely bright color though.

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

Ink Review #1403: Kyo-no-oto 08 Urahairo

Kyo-no-oto 08 Urahairo was originally released in Fall 2018. I find it so confusing when Kyoto gives two inks the same number. I understand that when they run out of stock of the first one they create another one and use the same number, so we will look at Kyo-no-oto 08 Moegiiro tomorrow. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Urahairo is a pale sage green.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink is darker where it pooled.

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: Low

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

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

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

Comparison Swabs:

I don’t have a close match for Urahairo, most of these are cooler toned except Robert Oster Lemongrass, which is warmer. Click here to see the Kyoto inks together, and click here to see the green inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a TWSBI Eco Transparent Green with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a super dry flow.

Overall, I like this ink best in a wet broad nib. It’s very dry and could benefit from a drop of White Lighting. It can also be a bit pale in the smaller nib sizes.

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

Ink Review #1402: Ferris Wheel Press Strawberry Macaron

Ferris wheel Press Strawberry Macaron is from FWP’s Spring 2020 collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Strawberry Macaron is an extremely light baby pink.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks a little darker, more visible.

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: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering but no bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Strawberry Macron is warmer toned than Octopus Fluids Cherry Blossom and much lighter than Sailor Jentle Peche. Click here to see the FWP inks together, and click here to see the pink inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Franklin-Christoph 45L Salmon Glow with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a dry flow.

Overall, this ink is way too light for me to use for anything but art. It’s a solid no for me.

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

Love & Hate Inks

Happy Valentine’s Day y’all! This weekend I’ve been playing with some of my favorite pink inks for Valentines and it made me think about some of the inks I absolutely love and some I can’t stand to use. I love reading about other peoples’ favorites so here are a few inks I both love and hate.

Inks I Hate:

Noodler’s House Divided is probably the #1 ink I hate. Why? Because not only does it feather like a baby duck, it also tends to separate dyes-the red stays where you put it but the blue underlying dye separates out and travels up to an inch away from the red. I get that the ink creator was trying to make a political statement with this ink, but I prefer the ink to say what I want it to, not what someone else does.

Organics Studio Amino Acid seems like a normal blue with a little bit of shimmer, right? Well, it seems fine at first but over time the ink broke down which not only damaged the paper I wrote on but also ate some of the interior of one of my pens, so this ink is a no-go for me.

3 Oysters Navy Blue had a weird thick, stringy consistency. I greatly disliked the ink just based on the flow and consistency. It didn’t smell weird and I know it was a fresh samples so it wasn’t moldy or anything, just had a funky consistency.

Tono & Lims Universe and Moon. Universe is a clear ink with silver shimmer which weirdly reminds me of sparkly nail polish top coats from my teenage years. Both of these inks fluoresce under UV light so I know they have some use out in the world, but not in my world.

Inks I Love:

Platinum Carbon Black is an ink I always have in a pen, it currently lives in a TWSBI Mini Rose Gold. I use it almost everyday. It’s highly water resistant and gives a great writing experience.

Sailor Ink Studio 224 has awesome shading and is a little more readable than the ever popular Sailor Ink Studio 123.

KWZ Butterscotch aka Meet Me in St Louis 2019 is such a great ink I wish I had ten bottles of it. It’s smooth and has the most gorgeous shading. I use it constantly in the autumn. I might cry when my bottle is empty.

Sailor’s Sailor is a beautiful blue, shades really well and is nice and smooth. It’s just an overall great ink.

Pilot Iroshizuku Tsutsuji is a fabulously bright, fun ink. It’s well-behaved and has a nice wet flow.

So now it’s your turn! Let me know what inks you love and hate in the comments below.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1401: Ferris Wheel Press Pink Eraser

Ferris wheel Press Pink Eraser is from FWP’s Spring 2020 collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Pink Eraser is the perfect name for this ink-it’s the color of most pencil erasers.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks less saturated.

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: Low

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

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

Comparison Swabs:

Pink Eraser is closest to Robert Oster Sushi. Click here to see the FWP inks together, and click here to see the pink inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a TWSBI Eco Pink with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a dry flow.

Overall, it’s more readable than some of the other light pinks I’ve tried lately like PenBBS Xu Zhimo, but it’s still a bit too light in some of the smaller nib sizes. I like this ink best in a wet broad nib,

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 #1400: Kobe 61 Yuki Gosho Cherry Blossom

Valentine’s Day is on Sunday so this week we’ve been focusing on pink inks! Today’s pink: Nagasawa Kobe #61 Yuki Gosho Cherry Blossom (say that five times fast…). You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Cherry Blossom is a very light bubblegum pink.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of yellow shading.

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: None

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

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering but no bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Cherry Blossom is closest to Thornton’s Highlighter Pink. Click here to see the Kobe inks together, and click here to see the pink inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Sailor Pro Gear Sparkling Pink with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a dry flow.

Overall, this ink can be rather light in the smaller nib sizes, but works pretty well in a broad nib. I do wish it was wetter though.

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 #1399: Ferris Wheel Press Lady Rose

Ferris wheel Press Lady Rose is from FWP’s standard lineup. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Lady Rose is a medium unsaturated mauve.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks more purple than pink.

Writing samples:

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

Dry time: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

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

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

Comparison Swabs:

Lady Rose is darker than PenBBS 178 Rose Quartz. Click here to see the FWP inks together, and click here to see the pink inks together.

Longer writing:

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

Overall, it’s another unsaturated light pink which seem to be rather popular lately. I found it to be too dry and light for everyday use, but it can be lovely in a wet flex nib or for art.

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 #1398: PenBBS 178 Rose Quartz

PenBBS 178 Rose Quartz is from PenBBS season 13. This ink is based on the Pantone 2016 Ink of the Year-Rose Quartz. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Rose Quartz starts as a pale beige when wet and dries to a pale rosy pink.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink is very light, even where it pooled.

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: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Rose Quartz is right in-between PenBBS Xu-Zhimo and Ferris Wheel Press Lady Rose. Click here to see the PenBBS inks together, and click here to see the pink inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Sailor Pro Gear Sparkling Pink with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, this ink is a gorgeous color but it is very pale. It worked well in a broad nib but I wouldn’t use it in anything smaller.

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 #1397: PenBBS 140 Bloom

PenBBS 140 Bloom is from PenBBS season 11. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Bloom is a medium coral pink.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has lots of gold 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: no shading, no sheen, and gold shimmer.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Bloom is very close to Diamine Pink Champagne. Click here to see the PenBBS inks together, and click here to see the pink inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a TWSBI Eco-T Coral with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a dry flow.

Overall, this ink is generally well behaved except the flow is a little dry. It’s not any better than Diamine Pink Champagne, and they are very similar so you probably don’t need both.

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

February Hearts & Flowers

I have a love/hate relationship with February. By now it always feels like winter should be over but it’s not. I love having flowers in the house during February just because it makes winter feel a little lighter.

Valentine’s Day is halfway through February, but it’s also my birthday. I always try to make cookies with my kids on Valentine’s so they have fun decorating and I get a birthday cookie out of the deal.

My in-laws gift my kids with Conversation Hearts every February. It’s a fun tradition that the kids love. Everyone agrees that the pink ones are the best, right?

At the end of February I’m just ready for spring to come already, and flowers are usually the first sign.

I hope everyone is having a great February! What’s your favorite ink today? Let me know in the comments below!

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