Hail the Snail Mail

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Today let’s talk about the Hail the Snail Mail card subscription! Hail the Snail Mail is a card shop located in San Francisco. They carry all sorts of cards in addition to the subscription. Thanks to the owner, Darcy, for sending some cards my way!

For 2023 the subscription includes 4 cards and an extra. For August the subscription included 4 cards, a multi-colored pencil and an eraser.

This is September’s 4-card subscription. It includes 4 cards and a Uni-ball One pen. I love the celestial theme.

In January they are switching to a two-card subscription. It includes two cards and some stickers. The subscription is $14 per month with free shipping.

Here’s a closer look at one of the cards and the stickers from the January 2024 subscription.

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing what the subscription includes. It’s a great idea for those of you who write a lot of snail mail, or even have a goal to write more cards. Since the papers are all different I wouldn’t suggest using fountain pens on them, but it’s a great way to use your rollerballs and gel pens!

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

Ink Review #2358: Diamine Sailor's Warning

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Diamine Sailor’s Warning was designed by r/fountainpens on Reddit. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Sailor’s Warning is a cherry red with 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 some blue 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: 50 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Sailor’s Warning is a bit more orange than these other red shimmer inks. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Mabie Todd Swan on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a dry flow.

Overall, this is a lovely shimmer ink. It’s a little dry, but I didn’t have any issues with clogging.

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 #2357: Diamine Celadon Cat

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Diamine Celadon Cat was designed by r/fountainpens on Reddit. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Celadon Cat is a pale blue 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 has some shading.

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 some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Celadon Cat is more grey than these other blue inks. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Lamy Safari Turquoise with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a dry flow.

Overall, this ink is too dry for me. I added a drop of White Lightning to it after testing it out and it flowed much better. I like the color and the shading.

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 #2356: ON Inks Peach Candlelight

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Today’s ink is ON Inks Peach Candlelight. This ink was given to me by a pen friend.

The color:

Peach Candlelight is a medium peachy orange.

*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 red than orange,

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, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Peach Candlelight is similar to Maruzen Doukan. Click here to see the orange inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Leonardo Furore with a x-wing harpoon nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a very dry flow.

Overall, I really like the color of this ink. The flow is very dry, but it worked well in wet flex nibs and Pelikans.

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.

Van Dieman's Feline Part 1

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Van Dieman’s recently released the Feline collection, which includes 15 inks. Let’s talk about five of them today. You can find these inks for sale at Vanness Penss.

Swabs:

Left to right: Tomcat, Cheetah Chase, Bengal Tiger Blaze, Kitten Paws and Lion’s Roar.

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: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All had low shading. Tomcat had low red sheen, Cheetah Chase had low green sheen and gold shimmer. Bengal Tiger had gold shimmer. Lion’s Roar had low green sheen and gold shimmer.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Tomcat is a little darker than these other green inks.

Cheetah Chase is a little darker than Diamine Vintage Copper.

Bengal Tiger is way lighter than these other brown shimmer inks.

Kitten Paws is a little pinker than Colorverse Comet SL9.

Lion’s Roar is close to De Atramentis Camelian Red Copper.

Longer Writing:

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

Overall, all five were too dry for me, but the colors are interesting.

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

Ink Review #2350: Robert Oster Vanpen 86

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Robert Oster Vanpen 86 is a Vancouver Pen Shop exclusive. You can find it for sale at their brick and mortar store. Thanks to Vancouver Pen Shop for providing this ink for review!

The color:

Vanpen is a cool-tone 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 has some shading.

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 some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Vanpen is warmer than Montblanc Swan Illusion. Click here to see the brown inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Pelikan M400 White Tortoise with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a slightly dry flow.

Overall, I enjoyed this ink. It’s slightly dry, but works well in a wet Pelikan pen.

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

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Vancouver Pen Shop 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.

October Autumn Ink Palettes

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It’s October first, so it’s time for some new ink palettes! This Platinum Chou Kuro is one of my new favorite inks! It’s smooth, wet and nice and dark.

Octopus Fluids Black Elephant is a really dark black, but it does have a long dry time.

My ten-year-old is obsessed with Harry Potter right now! Sailor Jentle Black is one of my all-time favorite black inks. It’s just so smooth and juicy, and keeps up when I’m writing multiple pages at a time.

Platinum Carbon Black is another favorite black-I love how water-resistant it is!

What inks are you using in autumn? Let me know in the comments below!

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

Ink Review #2349: Robert Oster Free Spirit

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Robert Oster Free Spirit is a Vanness Pens exclusive, in honor of their daughter Lauren.

The color:

Free Spirit is a bright turquoise with purple 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 plenty 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: medium shading, no sheen, and purple shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Free Spirit is a little brighter than Van Dieman’s Icy Great Lake. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Leonarado Furore Grande with a flex stub nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a dry flow.

Overall, this is a lovely ink. It’s a little dry, but other than that it’s really well behaved.

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 #2348: ON Inks Millionaire Dream

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Today’s ink is ON Inks Millionaire Dream. This ink was given to me by a pen friend so I’m unsure of where you can purchase some.

The color:

Millionaire Dream is a medium purple that shades to 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 looks more true purple less blue.

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: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Millionaire Dream is closest to Sailor Manyo Fuji. Click here to see the purple inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Kaweco Al-sport in Red with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a very dry flow-I wrote until the ink dried out.

Overall, the color is great and the shading is amazing but it’s too dry for me to use in long-form writing.

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 #2347: Pelikan Edelstein Apatite

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Pelikan Edelstein Apatite was the ink of the year for 2022 so I’m abysmally late with this post. You can still find this ink for sale at some retailers including JetPens.

The color:

Apatite is a medium teal.

*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 shading.

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: 20 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 some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Apatite it a bit more blue than Sailor Ink Studio 464. Click here to see the teal inks together.

Longer Writing:

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

Overall, this is a lovely ink. It’s a little dry, but other than that it’s really well behaved.

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.