KWZ IG Blues

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Let’s take a look at five KWZ Iron Gall blue inks. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: IG Blue #1, IG Blue #2, IG Blue #3, IG Blue #5, IG Blue #6

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 40-90 seconds

Water Resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All five had low shading.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering in every nib size and few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

IG Blue #1 is more grey than these other inks. IG Blue #2 is darker than IG Blue #1.

The ink gets progressively brighter the higher the number goes. #6 is brightest.

Longer Writing:

All of the inks had average flows.

Overall, I enjoyed all five of these inks. They do require a bit more care than the average ink because they are iron gall, but they are worth the extra work.

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

KWZ Blue Blacks

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Let’s take a look at two KWZ blue black inks: IG Blue Black and Blue Black. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Blue Black and IG Blue Black.

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 40-50 seconds

Water Resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: Both had low shading.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering in every nib size and few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Blue Black is lighter than Bungubox 4B. IG Blue Black is darker than the rest of these inks.

Longer Writing:

I used Pilot Vanishing Points with a Taroko Enigma Notebook. Both had average flows.

Overall, I really like both of these inks. I prefer the color of the IG Blue Black over the regular Blue Black, but you can’t go wrong with either one.

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

PenBBS Season 27 Part 5

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Let’s take a look at four inks from PenBBS Season 27. I purchased my inks from Vanness Pens, but they are no longer carrying the brand so I’m unsure of where you can purchase them.

Swabs:

Left to right: 521 Heavy Snow, 522 Winter Solstice, 523 Slight Cold and 524 Great Cold

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 15-40 seconds

Water Resistance: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All four had low shading. Great Cold had low copper sheen.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering in every nib size and few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Heavy Snow is lighter than Diamine Robert.

Winter Solstice is brighter than Diamine Music Strauss.

Slight Cold is similar to Colorverse Schrodinger.

Great Cold is less saturated than Robert Oster Thunderstorm.

Longer Writing:

I used a Mabie Todd Swan with a Taroko Enigma Notebook. All four had average flows.

Overall, I think Great Cold is my favorite out of the four-I just really like the color and it’s well behaved.

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

Esterbrook Aqua & Aqua Shimmer

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Let’s take a look at Esterbrook Aqua & Aqua Shimmer. Both inks have the same base but the shimmer version has gold shimmer added. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Aqua is a medium blue.

Shimmer Version:

Aqua Shimmer is the same medium blue but with 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 has just a little bit of 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: 60 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, tiny red sheen, and gold shimmer.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Aqua is similar to PenBBS Su Wu. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Aqua Shimmer is a little bit darker than Diamine Jack Frost.

Longer Writing:

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

Overall, they’re a good basic blue. The shimmer version didn’t have any clogs. There’s nothing about these inks that makes them stand out from the crowd. I could take or leave them.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

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

Ink Review #2292: Ferris Wheel Press Definitely Peachy

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Ferris Wheel Press Definitely Peachy was from the Summer 2020 collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Definitely Peachy is a pale peach, right in-between pink and orange. It looks different depending on the paper used.

*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 pink.

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: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

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

Comparison Swabs:

Definitely Peachy is closest to IWI Grain Rain. Click here to see the orange inks together.

Longer Writing:

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

Overall, the color is interesting but in writing it’s way too pale and dry. It’s a no for me.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

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

New Dominant Industry Inks

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Today let’s take a look at three new Dominant Industry inks: Evening, November Leaves and Winter Pine. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Evening, November Leaves and Winter Pine.

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 20-40 seconds

Water Resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All three had low shading.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering in every nib size but no bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Evening is similar to Vinta Maskara.

November Leaves is just a little brighter than Wearingeul Potato of Spring.

Winter Pine is close to PenBBS Yangzhou.

Longer Writing:

All had dry flows.

Overall, all three were way too pale and dry for me. In longer writing, even in medium and broad nibs, the writing was hard to read.

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

Ink Review #2288: Robert Oster Sparkle Fairy

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Robert Oster Sparkle Fairy is a Vancouver Pen Shop Exclusive. You can find this ink for sale at their brick-and-mortar store.

The color:

Sparkle Fairy is a bright sunshine yellow with green 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 has quite a bit of 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: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

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

Comparison Swabs:

Sparkle Fairy is closest to Van Dieman’s Hastings Caves. Click here to see the yellow inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Kaweco Al-sport Red with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a dry flow.

Overall, this is a really interesting color combo with the green shimmer. I didn’t have any clogging issues.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

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

Wearingeul Kim So Wol Literature

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Today let’s take a look at four inks from the Wearingeul Kim So Wol collection. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Half Moon, Song of the Reed, Flowers on the Way and Flowing Leaves.

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 30-70 seconds

Water Resistance: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: Three had low shading and Song of the Reed had medium shading. Half Moon had blue shimmer and Flowing Leaves had silver shimmer.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering in every nib size but just a little bit of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Half Moon isn’t super close to any of these other grey shimmer inks.

Song of the Reed is a little more yellow than Inkebara Earth.

Flowers on the Way isn’t super close to any of these other pink inks.

Flowing Leaves is a little darker than PenBBS Forgive Green.

Longer Writing:

All had dry flows.

Overall, all four were too dry for me. I don’t think I have a favorite-they were all about the same for me. I could take or leave them.

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

Ink Review #2283: Colorverse Under the Shade

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Let’s take a look at Colorverse Under the Shade from the Joy in the Ordinary collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Under the Shade is a medium grey.

*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 shades quite a bit.

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, no sheen, and no shimmer.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Under the Shade is darker than Diamine Silver Fox. Click here to see the grey inks together.

Longer Writing:

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

Overall, I enjoyed the color, but the flow is too dry and it can be too light in smaller nib sizes. I think there’s better grey inks out there than this one.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

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

Wearingeul Natsume Part 1

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Today let’s take a look at three inks from the Wearingeul Natsume collection. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: I Am A Cat, The Mind and A Watery Star

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 30-100 seconds

Water Resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All three had low shading. I Am A Cat had gold shimmer and A Watery Star had blue shimmer.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering in every nib size but just a little bit of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

I Am A Cat is closest to Diamine Snow Storm.

The Mind isn’t super close to any of these other greys.

A Watery Star is much lighter than these other blue shimmer inks.

Longer Writing:

All had dry flows.

Overall, all three were too dry for me, and can be too light in smaller nib sizes, so I would stick to medium and broad nibs. I Am A Cat also took way too long to dry for me.

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