Ink Review #992: Kobe #39 Brick

Occasionally I’ll attend a local pen meetup and friends will hand me inks to review. At our last meetup a friend handed me a bottle of Kobe #39 Brick and said “have fun!” My friend got this bottle from Pen Chalet, but they no longer carry Kobe inks, so you can find this ink for sale at other retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Brick is just like it sounds-brick, somewhere between red and brown.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks more purple and has just the barest hint of green sheen.

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 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-there was a little bit of bleeding on Leuchtturm paper.

Other properties: medium shading, tiny sheen, and no shimmer. The sheen was only visible in huge swabs on Tomoe River paper, but not in writing.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in all nib sizes but just a tiny bit of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Brick is lighter than Robert Oster Burgundy and Diamine Oxblood but darker than Diamine Strauss. Click here to see the Kobe inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot Custom 74 Merlot with a medium nib on a Yoseka A5 notebook. The ink had a wet flow.

Overall, I love the wet flow and the shading, but I’m not in love with the color, it’s just not my favorite.

Disclaimer: This ink was provided by a reader 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 in any way.