September 23, 2023

2300 Inks!

September 23, 2023/ Kelli McCown

We have surpassed 2300 ink reviews so it’s time for another favorites post! Today is the first day of fall so we’re going to focus on autumnal inks! Today I’ve been inking up all my favorite fall inks and pens.

Reds:

I love all four of these!

Pinks:

Pink isn’t really a fall color but there are still some good deep pinks.

Oranges:

Gimme all the orange inks in fall! Monteverde Fireopal is a favorite in the autumn.

Yellows:

I wasn’t a big fan of KWZ Honey when I first tried it but it has really grown on me and now it’s a favorite!

Greens:

I love all the olive greens in fall.

Teals:

Sailor Yama-dori is a long time favorite of mine. It’s just so good!

Blues:

Diamine Tudor Blue is probably my favorite fall blue.

Purples:

Colorverse Pillars of Creation is so under-rated! Why is no one talking about this ink?

What are your favorite fall inks? Let me know 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.

September 22, 2023

Conklin Cool-toned Inks

September 22, 2023/ Kelli McCown

Let’s take a look at five Conklin inks. You can find these inks for sale at Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Classic Black, Denim Blue, Kelly Green, Deep Blue and Israel 75.

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: Medium

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

Other properties: All had medium shading. Israel 75 and Deep Blue had medium red sheen.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Classic Black is a little darker than Callifolio Noir.

Denim Blue is a little darker than Taccia Ainezu.

Kelly Green is similar to Diamine Spruce.

Israel 75 is a bit darker than Deep Blue.

Longer Writing:

All of the inks had average flows except Denim Blue, which had a dry flow. I used a Taroko Enigma notebook.

Overall, there’s a bit too much feathering and bleeding for me. They’re not bad inks, but not the inks for me.

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

September 21, 2023

Caran d'Ache Chromatics

September 21, 2023/ Kelli McCown

Let’s take a look at three Caran d’Ache inks from the Chromatics collection. You can find these inks for sale at Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Vibrant Green, Magnetic Blue and Hypnotic Turquoise.

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 30-60 seconds

Water Resistance: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All had medium shading.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Vibrant Green is brighter than Robert Oster Evergreen.

Magnetic Blue is more blue than these other blue blacks.

There are lots of other similar inks to Hypnotic Turquoise.

Longer Writing:

All of the inks had average flows. I used a Taroko Enigma notebook.

Overall, all three are lovely and well-behaved. Magnetic Blue is my favorite out of the three just because I like the color.

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

September 21, 2023

Green Inks Part 2

September 21, 2023/ Kelli McCown

Here are swabs for all of the green 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 green ink.

There are too many green inks to fit on one page so here’s part 2. You can find part 1 here.

September 20, 2023

Callifolio Blue Blacks

September 20, 2023/ Kelli McCown

Let’s take a look at five Callifolio inks. You can find these inks for sale at Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Noir, Gris de Payne, Byzance, Bosphore and Botany Bay.

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 40-80 seconds

Water Resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All had medium shading.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Noir is a little darker than Colorverse Daehan Jeguk.

Gris de Payne is more blue than Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun.

Botany Bay has a slight teal undertone, Bosphore is slightly grey and Byzance is more of a true blue black.

Longer Writing:

All of the inks had dry flows. I used a Taroko Enigma notebook.

Overall, all five had nice shading but were way too dry for me. I would stick to wet pens like Pelikans with these inks.

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

September 19, 2023

Octopus Write & Draw Part 3

September 19, 2023/ Kelli McCown

Let’s take a look at five Octopus Write & Draw inks. You can find these inks for sale at Vanness Pens. These inks are pigmented, so make sure you take extra care in cleaning out your pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Blue Chameleon, Blue Sloth, Blue Lynx, Violet Lion and Violet Raccoon.

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 30-40 seconds

Water Resistance: High

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: None

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

Comparison Swabs:

Blue Chameleon is similar to Akkerman Party.

Blue Sloth is close to Taccia Asahanada.

Blue Lynx is lighter than Laban Hermes.

Violet Lion is a little lighter than Diamine Festive Joy.

Violet Raccoon is less saturated than PenBBS Azalea.

Longer Writing:

All of the inks had slightly wet flows. I used a Mabie Todd Swan on a Taroko Enigma notebook.

Overall, I enjoyed all five of these inks. They’re water-resistant and slightly wet, which makes them great for art. Blue Chameleon is my favorite out of the five simply because I love blue black inks.

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

September 18, 2023

Akkerman Dutch Masters 6, 8 & 10

September 18, 2023/ Kelli McCown

Let’s take a look at three Akkerman inks from the Dutch Masters collection. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: 06 Lievens, 08 Rusidael’s and 10 Van Huysum’s.

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 40-60 seconds

Water Resistance: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: Low-medium shading and 08 had low copper sheen.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Lievens is less saturated than these other red inks.

Ruisdael’s is similar to Octopus Blue Chameleon.

Van Huysum’s is close to Inkebara Highlands Green.

Longer Writing:

All of the inks had dry flows.

Overall, all three are well behaved, but a bit dry for me. I wish they were a bit wetter, but other than that I enjoyed them.

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

September 16, 2023

BENU Talisman Cat's Eye

September 16, 2023/ Kelli McCown

At the San Francisco Pen Show 2023, Luxury Brands of had a display of BENU pens. I found the Talisman Cat’s Eye fountain pen and immediately knew I needed one. This is the first BENU pen I have seen that actually appealed to me-most are too glittery or showy. Thanks to Luxury Brands for providing one of these pens for review! You can find these pens for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The pen is made of resin and is 5.45 inches long when capped. The cap is a screw cap. The pen weighs 20 grams.

The pen is 6.56 inches when posted.

The cap posts nicely.

The cap is 2.5 inches long and super sparkly.

Here’s a close up of the cap.

The medium steel nib is engraved with Schmidt Iridium Point.

The section is 10mm and has a very small step to the threads and barrel.

The nib is smooth and didn’t have any issues. It’s a very stiff steel nib, no softness or flex to it.

When inked with Diamine Aurora Borealis (one of my favorite teal inks) the writing was smooth and enjoyable.

With cursive again I had no issues with the nib.

The section is a good fit for my hands-not too big or too small. I love how sparkly the pen is and how well the steel nib performs. I would absolutely buy another BENU pen-perhaps the Tiger’s Eye next time.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Luxury Brands for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This post is not sponsored in any way.