Ink Review #2648: Kobe Lampwork Museum Maroon

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Today’s ink is Kobe Lampwork Museum Maroon. You can find this ink at some retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Lampwork Museum is a deep maroon, almost a purple.

*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 purple than maroon.

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: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, a tiny bit of gold sheen in large swabs, and no shimmer.

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

Comparison Swabs:

Lampwork Museum is closest to Colorverse Egg Cockle. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Lamy Al-star Purple with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, this is a lovely deep maroon ink. It would be perfect for the fall and winter seasons.

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 #2647: Ferris Wheel Press Blushing Mushroom

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Ferris Wheel Press Blushing Mushroom is from the Down the Rabbit Hole collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Blushing Mushroom is a medium violet with rose 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 lots of rose gold 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: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

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

Comparison Swabs:

Blushing Mushroom is a little warmer toned than Journalize Hecate. Click here to see the purple inks together.

Longer Writing:

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

Overall, I like the color, but it can be rather light in smaller nib sizes. I didn’t have any issues with the shimmer clogging, but the flow is drier than I prefer. I would use this ink in wet, broader nibs to help it flow better and be easily read.

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.

Robert Oster Elements Inks

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Today’s inks are from the Robert Oster Elements collection. You can finds these inks for sale at a lot of retailers, including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Earth, Fire, Water and Wind.

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: Earth and Water have medium shading, Fire has low shading, and Wind has high shading. Water has blue shimmer.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Earth is lighter than Birmingham Antique Sepia.

Fire is similar to a lot of other inks.

Water is closest to Nemosine Blue Snowball Nebula Twinkle.

Wind is close to Sailor Ink Studio 243.

Longer Writing:

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All four had slightly dry flows.

Overall, these are lovely inks. I do wish the flow was a bit wetter, but they are lovely to use in wetter nibs.

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

Ink Review #2642: Colorverse Permanent Black

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Colorverse Permanent Black is from the Office collection. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Permanent Black is more of a medium grey than a 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 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: High

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink worked pretty well, just a little bit of feathering but no bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Permanent Black isn’t close to any of these other black inks-it’s more of a medium grey. Click here to see the black inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Lamy 2000 Black Amber with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, this ink has some pro’s and con’s. Pro’s: it’s water-resistant and it works pretty well on cheap copy paper. Con’s: it’s more of a dark grey than a black and can be too light to be easily read in smaller nib sizes.

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.

Spooky October Ink Palettes

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It’s finally October! Fall is my favorite season, so bring on all the pumpkins and soup and halloween. I love carving pumpkins with my kids-they make the best yuck faces when they try to carve out the seeds. This palette has a few of my favorite inks-I love all Pilot Iroshizuku inks in general, but I especially love Fuyu-syogun and Yu-yake.

It’s soup season! Platinum Carbon Black is probably my favorite of these five inks, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.

Taccia Hokusai-benitsuchi is really underrated. It’s such a good ink for autumn.

Lamy Black is nice and dark, and yet not many people mention it for a dark black.

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

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

Graf von Faber-Castell Inks, Part 2

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Let’s take a look at five Graf von Faber-Castell inks today. You can finds these inks for sale at a lot of retailers, including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Carbon Black, Stone Grey, Hazelnut Brown, India Red, and Burned Orange.

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: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All have low shading.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Carbon Black is similar to Private Reserve Infinity Black.

Stone Grey is a little cooler-toned than Aurora Grey.

Hazelnut Brown is a little deeper than Sailor Spicy Chipotle.

India Red is closest to Organics Studio Mercury Red.

Burned Orange is a little darker in writing than Dominant Industry Earl Grey Tea.

Longer Writing:

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All four had dry flows.

Overall, I love the colors but the flow was a little dry for me-I just wish they were a little wetter.

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

Ink Review #2636: Private Reserve Pearlescent Black Silver

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Private Reserve Black Silver is from the Pearlescent collection. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Dromgoole’s, who has it on sale for half off right now.

The color:

Black Silver is a medium black with lots of silver 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 sooo much 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: 20 seconds

Water resistance: High

Feathering: Medium

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Medium

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

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

Comparison Swabs:

Black Silver is closest to De Atramentis Velvet Black. Click here to see the black inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Franklin-Christoph 45 in Charcoal with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a wet flow.

Overall, I really don’t like this ink. It has a lot of feathering and bleeding and the shimmer clogs and gets everywhere. It wipes off so easy, even onto the opposite page. I can see why this ink is on sale everywhere, because it’s not a good performer.

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 #2635: Private Reserve Black

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Private Reserve Infinity Black is from the Infinity collection. You can find these inks for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens, who has it on sale right now.

The color:

Infinity Black is a 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 has a little bit of black 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: 50 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink worked pretty well, just a little bit of feathering and bleeding in the flex nib.

Comparison Swabs:

Infinity Black is similar to Faber-Castell Carbon Black. Click here to see the black inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Pelikan M205 Moonstone with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, this is an average ink. It’s designed to flow well even when you leave the cap off the pen for a while, but I didn’t notice that it flowed any better than the average ink.

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 #2634: Private Reserve Infinity Red

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Private Reserve Infinity Red is from the Infinity collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Private Reserve Infinity Red is a bright teacher red.

*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 it has a little bit of 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: 60 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 some bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Infinity Red is closest to Monteverde Valentine Red. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a TWSBI Eco Blossom Red with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I could go either way with this ink. It’s fine but not great. It’s supposed to be able to flow even if you leave the cap off for a while, but I didn’t notice that it flowed any better than the average ink.

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.

My 10 Favorite Black Inks

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We’ve been slowly tackling my top ten inks in each color category and today it’s time to have a go at black inks! You can find my top ten by color posts in the favorites tab at the top of the blog. So let’s take a look!

Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi is a fabulous dark ink with a nice wet flow.

Sailor Jentle Black is my go-to black ink. I’m so close to finishing the bottle, which doesn’t happen to me often. I keep it in a TWSBI Mini Rose Gold, and I usually refill it once a week.

Sailor Kiwa-guro is one I reach for when I want a water-resistant ink, but it does have a pretty long dry time.

Aurora Black is a good everyday black. I love using it for taking quick notes in a Pilot Vanishing Point.

I love Platinum Carbon Black. I use it often-it has high water resistance and has a nice wet flow.

Monteverde Documental Black isn’t the darkest black ink on this list, but it’s dries fast and is water-resistant.

Cross Black is a nice well-behaved classic black ink.

Platinum Chou Kuro is wet and smooth and a dark black color.

Nagasawa Kobe 05 Tor Black has a nice wet flow and a little bit of shading and sheen.

Pelikan Edelstein Onyx is on the drier side and tends to tame some of my wetter nibs.

What ink would you add to my favorite black inks? Let me know in the comments below!