Ink Review #1943: Sailor Iris

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Cult Pens recently teamed up with Sailor and created some store exclusive inks. Let’s take a look at Sailor Iris first. Thanks to Cult Pens for sending this ink over for review!

The color:

Iris is a deep blue violet.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has some copper sheen.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Iris is a little bit lighter than Krishna Winter V-3 and a little less purple than Diamine Night Shade. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer writing:

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

Overall, I really like this ink. It’s super smooth, writes great and is well behaved. It’s also more affordable than other Sailor inks at $17 for 50ml.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Cult 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.

Ink Review #1942: Laban Artemis Navy Blue

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Laban Artemis Navy Blue is from the Greek Mythology collection. Thanks to Goldspot Pens for sending this ink over for review!

The color:

Artemis is a deep navy blue.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has 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.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering but no bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Artemis is similar to Sailor Shikiori Yonaga. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot VP Wish with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, I enjoyed this ink. It’s a nice dark color and well behaved too!

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Goldspot 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.

PenBBS Season 11

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Let’s take a look at 4 inks from PenBBS Season 11: 131 Eagles Over London, 132 American Volunteer Group, 138 Spessartine and 141 La Libert e Guidant le People. I got these inks from Vanness Pens, but they no longer sell them so I’m not sure where you can pick some up.

Swabs:

Left to right: 131 Eagles Over London, 132 American Volunteer Group, 138 Spessartine and 141 La Libert e Guidant le People

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 20-30 seconds

Water Resistance: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: Three inks had medium shading and Eagles Over London had low shading.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Eagles Over London is lighter than Monarca Mar Caribe.

American Volunteer Group has more green in it than these other browns.

Spessartine is close to Kobe 25 Tarumi Apricot.

La Libert is close to Monarca Arena Blanca.

All the inks had a dry flow except Eagles Over London which had an average flow.

Overall, none of these inks wow me. Out of the four I think Eagles Over London is my favorite, but all are pretty well behaved.

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

Blue Ink Part 2

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Here are swabs for all of the blue inks I have reviewed so far. If you click on the swab it will take you to the review of that ink. I will update this page every time I review a blue ink.

There are too many swabs to fit on one page at this point, so you can find part 1 here.

Ink Review #1937: Vinta Pamana

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Vinta Heritage Brown Pamana 2018 is from the Series 3 collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Pamana is a rich tobacco brown with green sheen.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink is darker with more sheen.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Pamana is closest to Jacques Herbin Terre d’Ombre. Click here to see the brown inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Montegrappa Copper Mule with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a slightly dry flow.

Overall, I’m not a big fan of the color, it’s just too red for me, but it’s well behaved.

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

Ink Review #1936: Van Dieman's Huon Midwinter Festival

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Van Dieman’s Huon Midwinter Festival is from the Tassie/Seasons collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Huon Festival is a deep brown with lots of gold shimmer.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink is mostly shimmer.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Medium

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Huon Festival’s base color isn’t close to any of the other brown shimmer inks I have. Click here to see the brown inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M200 Gold Marbled with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow but clogged quite a few times.

Overall, I like the color-it would be perfect for Thanksgiving cards, but there are too many issues for me: bleeding, feathering and clogging. There are better behaved shimmer inks out there than this one.

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

Ink Review #1935: Van Dieman's Tiger Snake

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Van Dieman’s Tiger Snake is from the Tassie/Seasons collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Tiger Snake is somewhere in-between brown, yellow and green. It’s a tiny bit more brown so I’m gonna run with that.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks more brown than it does on the Col-o-ring card.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering but no bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Tiger Snake is more yellow than Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-ho. Click here to see the brown inks together.

Longer writing:

I used an Opus 88 Green/brown with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a dry flow.

Overall, this is a really unique color, but the flow is too dry for me.

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

Ink Review #1934: Kobe 52 Shioya Vintage Sepia

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Nagasawa Kobe 52 Shioya Vintage Sepia is from the standard collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Shioya Vintage Sepia is a medium chestnut brown.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks almost purple.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Shioya is a little lighter than Kobe 16 Nada Brown. Click here to see the brown inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M800 Renaissance Brown with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a wet flow.

Overall, this is a lovely brown ink, perfect for the fall season.

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

November Foliage Ink Palettes

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We are deep into November and I’m here for all the fall colors. In November I reach for oranges and browns, especially close to Thanksgiving. Colorverse Martian is an ink that’s grown on me over time.

Pastel inks are in fashion right now, so why isn’t anyone talking about Diamine Warm Brown? It’s a lovely pastel brown.

Birmingham Golden Ale was from the now discontinued ink subscription. I wish it was still available because it’s such a good color!

There are so many good inks in this one! KWZ Old Gold is one of my must-haves for fall. Let me know what inks you’re using for November in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. This post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #1933: Private Reserve Invincible Black

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Private Reserve Invincible Black is from the Invincible collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Invincible Black is an unsaturated medium black.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

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

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: High

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Invincible Black is similar to Monteverde Documental Black. Click here to see the black inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot Custom 823 in Smoke with a broad nib on an Odyssey notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, this is a great basic black ink-no shading or sheen, average dry time and high water resistance.

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