Ink Review #289: Birmingham Aluminum

Today's ink is Birmingham Enterprise Tower Aluminum. I purchased my sample of ink from Birmingham Pen Co. The ink is available in 5ml samples and 30ml bottles. 

The color:

Aluminum is a dusty blue, not quite grey. When wet, the ink appears darker and lightens as it dries.

In large swabs and ink drops there is a some black sheen, but it does not show up in writing.

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

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Medium-some of the ink washed away but you might still be able to read it.

Feathering: Medium-mostly on Rhodia, but on Leuchtturm in the flex nib as well.

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-mainly on Rhodia.

Other properties: Low shading, a tiny bit of sheen, and no shimmer. The sheen only shows up in large swabs on Tomoe River paper.

Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (top to bottom for mobile RSS):  Birmingham Fair Wheel Blue, Birmingham Aluminum, and Birmingham Steel Blue. Click here to see the Birmingham inks together.

Robert Oster Evening Sapphire, Noodler's Legal Blue, and Abraxas Blau-Schwarz. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer writing: 

I used a Pelikan 400N and a medium Pelikan M400 White Tortoise on Tomoe River paper. The ink had a wetter flow.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this ink on Rhodia due to the feathering, but give it a try, you might love it.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself. All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page.