Ink Review #141: PenBBS 41 Yunnan Blue

Today's ink is PenBBS 41, which was provided to me by Vanness Pens. Vanness is the first place to carry the ink in the United States, as far as I know. I couldn't find the name anywhere in English, so thanks to a few helpful people in the Pen Addict Slack room, I found out the name of this ink is Yunnan Blue. 

The color...

Yunnan Blue is a medium blue with a little bit of pink sheen. 

Warning about this ink: it has a very strong chemical smell.

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-only in the flex nib, but on all papers.

Other properties: Medium shading, medium sheen (only shows up on Tomoe River paper)

On 32 lb copy paper, there was a little bit of bleeding in the flex nib, very similar to how the ink behaved on the other papers. There was also a little bit of feathering. 

Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (top to bottom for mobile rss): Diamine Asa Blue, PenBBS Yunnan Blue, and Robert Oster Soda Pop Blue. Click here to see the PenBBS inks together. 

Sailor Jentle Sky High, Papier Plume Calle Real, and Diamine Florida Blue. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan m400 White Tortoise with a vintage 400N nib. In the flex nib the ink was a bit of a gusher. 

When I do ink reviews, I only fill the flex pen half way so I don't waste ink. This ink was so wet in the flex pen that I actually had to refill the pen before I could finish. 

Overall, this ink can be hard to find, I really hate the smell of the ink, and it does have some bleeding in the flex nib. I use flex nibs a lot, so it's not a great ink for me. If I want a medium blue, I would reach for Robert Oster Soda Pop Blue before this one.

Disclaimer: This ink sample was provided to me by Vanness Pens in exchange for an honest review. All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page.