WithoutInk

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Ink Reviews

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I love doing ink reviews. I really love them. Inks are awesome, they can be used to draw out emotions and reference your current mood or attitude. When I commence my various ink reviews, I normally load a pen or two, use various test papers (anything I can write on), fill at least one page in my Habana Notebook, lastly I write a review – on my ink review form. Once that’s done, I post it on various social media outlets, and sometimes reference them in the videos I shoot. [Read more…]

J Herbin Ambre De Birmanie Ink Review

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J Herbin Amber De Birmanie [full size photo] – This color is pretty cool, I really dig it. It has a nice bit of shading, and looks really nice on bright white paper. Its a warm ink that is rather fun to play around with.

A friend from work thinks it reminds him of a color, found in some Starbucks coffee drink. I don’t personally see it, but hey each to their own. I think it reminds me of Diamine Pumpkin (I will be reviewing Diamine Pumpkin soon).

I inked the J Herbin Ambre De Birmanie in my Reform 1745 German piston filler fountain pen. It seemed to play pretty nice in this specific pen. There was a bit of show through and a tiny bit of bleeding on the Hammermill Laserprint I used for the test. I found it to play a bit nicer on Bagasse paper. An odd observation I found — on the Laserprint paper, the pen felt dry. The line didn’t look really wet, but it seems that the dry test proved otherwise. Not 100% sure what that’s about, but it actually took a bit to dry all the way.

All in all this ink is really a fun color, and is a great conversational ink. I got some nice comments at work the other day. I think this pen would really shine with a broader nib and or flex nib, something to really bring out the shading.

Here are some of the other J Herbin Inks I have reviewed.

J Herbin was established in 1670, when Louis XIV, the Sun King, was 32 years old.

M. Herbin was a sailor, and from his many journeys to India he brought back to Paris formulas for manufacturing sealing wax. His special lacquer formula improved the quality of the seals in adhesion and neatness, helping him to become famous throughout the kingdom.

j-herbin-logo

J. Herbin is also the oldest name in ink production in the world.

By 1700, the company was producing “l’Encre de la Tete Noire,” followed by “Perle des Encres,” (The Jewel of Inks) and “l’Encre des Vaisseaux” (The Ink of Ships).

J. Herbin made ink for Louis XIV, and a black ink for the sole use of Victor Hugo, author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables. These formulas still reside in our company archives in Paris.

This ink was purchased from: Peartreepens.com

Diamine Turquoise Ink Review

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Diamine Turquoise [full size photo] – Wow, what a vibrant little ink we have here. Its just the right color of turquoise for me. I prefer it like this than too much green. This color pops on the page, its another one of those inks that tempt you to use it. A tiny bit seductive if you will. I enjoy using this color at work, as it garners some attention anytime I use it.

The ink flows really nice, even in this cheap Hero 329. It always starts when I put it to the paper. Nice bit of shading even in this fine of a nib. It seems to lubricate the tip a bit, this translates into a slightly smoother writing experience even though the nib is a tiny bit scratchy.

I cant wait to see how this differs with the Visconti Turquoise that just arrived yesterday. All in all I really enjoy using this color and, I will definitely be purchasing a bottle of it soon. Well, that is – unless the Visconti works better for me.

Please note that the review was using a Waterman Phileas & the photo below was using a Hero 329.

Diamine Turquoise + Hero 329

About Diamine Inks:

Ink Manufacturer’s since 1864 Diamine Inks relocated to this purpose built ‘state of the art’ factory in Liverpool in 1925, where they successfully carried on using the traditional methods and formulas for ink production. Over the years the company was taken over many times and relocated yet again, but throughout the DIAMINE TRADE MARK and production methods survived symbolizing the finest quality in Fountain Pen Inks, Calligraphy Ink, Drawing Ink and Writing Inks.

I purchased this ink from: Peartreepens.com (Fountain Pen Ink Samples Program)

Waterman Black Ink Review

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Waterman Black [full size photo] – This is only my second black ink and of the two I really like it the most. Its a very deep true black. Waterman Black ink is nice and wet, but is very well behaved. This ink dries really fast and doesn’t seem to feather or bleed through paper at all, as far as I can tell. The ink lubricates very well and starts right away. No real delay in using it at all. There is a tiny bit of shading, which is fine since I rather prefer solid dark black. On the other hand my Diamine Onyx Black has a lot of shading and looks a bit muted.

I currently have this ink loaded in my Vintage Conway Stewart Dandy #720 fountain pen. I love the way it writes, and I know its safer than many other inks out there for this vintage pen. I do find some nib creep in the Conway Stewart, but I think that is because of the primitive feed. Nothing too much to worry about in other pens I have tested it in.

I have enjoyed this ink so much that I recently purchased Waterman Havana Brown. I suspect I will eventually own all of the other Waterman inks as well. The properties that make up this ink are ideal. This is an ink I can recommend, if you are looking for a nice solid ink!

This ink is available on Amazon: Waterman Black 2oz Ink Bottle

Waterman Black + Conway Stewart Dandy 720

Pear Tree Pens Ink Sampler

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I recently purchased two ink samplers from Pear Tree Pens. If you haven’t checked out their site, I recommend you do so. What is pretty cool about this retailer is that they sell an ink sampler. For $4.99 you get to choose four inks to try. They bottle up approximately 1cc of each of the four inks you specify and vacuum seal the package. This is a great way to try a few inks without buying full bottles.

Pear Tree Pen ink samples

Seeing as how I am new to the Fountain Pen world, I decided to order two sample packs. They consisted of:

Aurora Blue
Diamine Turquoise
J Herbin Eclat De Saphir
J Herbin Rose Cyclamen
J Herbin Vert Pre
Noodler’s Baystate Blue
Noodler’s Dragon’s Napalm
Noodler’s Habanero

Pear Tree Pens Sample Pack

Pear Tree Pens Sample pack

Yesterday, I decided to flush some of my pens and fill a couple with the sample colors. Resistance is futile. You will enjoy these inks.

First up, Diamine Turquoise. Very pretty color. I filled it in one of my inexpensive Hero’s #329.

Diamine Turquoise & Hero 329

Next up, Noodler’s Baystate Blue, I filled this in a Platinum Preppy. Baystate colors have a higher alkaline content and should not be mixed with other inks. They have also been said to damage certain fountain pens. Since this is the first time using it, I used a $3 Preppy – just in case. The color is extremely bright cobalt blue – very intense I can see why people would risk an FP with this stuff. It is magnificent.

Noodler's Baystate Blue & Platinum Preppy

J Herbin Rose Cyclamen, I love this color – very vivid and it flowed very well in my Pilot 78g. While not an everyday color, it makes me smile.

J Herbin Rose Cyclamen & Pilot 78g

J Herbin Vert Pre – This is an awesome color, and I foresee it being in my ink rotation for a long time. I love this lime green. Its soft and bright all at the same time. My wife didn’t like it at first but its growing on her.

J Herbin Vert Pre & Hero 330

Aurora Blue. Not as brilliant as the Noodler’s Baystate Blue… But its close, also a much safer ink to play around with. Its a little dark in this photo but I used a vintage Esterbrook and it flows pretty wet. I would say this is a pretty nice well rounded blue.

Aurora Blue & Esterbrook LJ

Once I run these colors through, I will reink the pens with the remaining colors. I personally cannot wait to try the J Herbin Eclat De Saphir. Something tells me I am going to love it.

Here is a link to all the full sized images: flickr

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