Seven Orange Inks

I’ve been on an orange kick. It all started innocently enough back in May, and then over the last few days, I’ve inked seven pens with seven different orange inks.  CrAzY!

I won’t have room to go into great detail on each ink here, but let’s explore a little, shall we?

Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki Writing Sample

Pilot Iroshizuku’s Fuyu-gaki runs a bit toward the red side of orange. It writes wonderfully, doesn’t display much shading, and is an all-around nice ink.

Fun with ink splatters. I did these on Word Cards that I got from Jet Pens. The paper is more like a thin watercolor paper than writing paper.

Moving on . . .

Montblanc Gandhi Writing Sample

Montblanc Gandhi fountain pen ink is no longer available. It can be found on eBay (I’ve been thinking about selling my spare bottle, but I’m not sure I want to let it go, you know?)

The ink is such a pretty pretty orange, lots of good shading, and is definitely one to try if you can find it.

Spatters, anyone?

Diamine Amber is next on our hit list . . .

Diamine Amber Writing Sample

Diamine Amber is just so light and feels a bit dry. This ink is in a Lamy with extra-fine nib and that may be part of the issue, but I’ve had other orange inks in the same pen and they’ve not been this light. I like inks that work in all of my pens (makes life easier, you know?) and with so many orange options available, I’m not so keen on this one. Others seem to like it.

And look at the spatters – good saturation there, friends.

Montblanc Gandhi isn’t the only game in town . . .

De Atramentis Gandhi Writing Sample

This was my first time using this ink and for some strange reason, I didn’t have high expectations. Silly me – it’s a perfectly fine ink. Some shading, writes quite well. No reason to be concerned. It’s really not like Montblanc Gandhi – not that it matters, I think it would be a little silly to compare the two just because they share a name.  I like it.

I also think I did a pretty good job on the spatters here . . .

Next up . . .

Noodler’s Apache Sunset Writing Sample

People are generally coco-crazy for Noodler’s Apache Sunset.  Even using an extra-fine nib, I can see the potential here. Absolutely insane shading. The color is very orange. People who don’t like this ink seem to say that there is no practical application for it – I’m not sure I understand. Maybe they feel that way about all orange inks?

So . . . check out the spatter. See the streak? Please know that I waited a full 24 hours after creating the spatters before scanning. THE INK WAS STILL WET!  Insanity.  (Even more insane – you can see this streak on other images, too…arrrgh. I need to figure out how to clean my scanner.)

Anyway . . .

Dude. Check out Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-yake . . .

Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-yake Writing Sample

Shading, saturation, great orange color – maybe a little red in there. Yu-yake is bright and cheerful. Writes like a dream. A new favorite of mine.

I’ve had good experiences with all Pilot Iroshizuku inks. They are a bit more expensive than other brands, but they are incomparable in terms of overall brand quality.

Last, and certainly not least:  Noodler’s Habanero.

Noodler’s Hanbaero Writing Sample

It’s been awhile since I’ve had Noodler’s Habanero in a pen. I’m not sure why. I fall in love with it every time. The beautiful shading, the gorgeous orange that reminds me of autumn.  Yum.

The only issue is that it seems to stay wet forever. Though, apparently, not as long as Noodler’s Apache Sunset.

That’s it!

Which are your favorites?

xoxo

9 thoughts on “Seven Orange Inks

  1. Among these my favourite would be Habanero. However as you pointed out, it dries way toooooo slowly. My Apache Sunset too. Even after an hour it's still not dry! I tried to grade my students' homework once with Apache and Habanero and you can imagine what a painful procedure it is. I simply couldn't turn the page…

  2. Nice concise review of orange inks, thanks.
    Noodler's Cayenne could be a close approximation of Montblanc Gandhi.
    It is a darker redder orange than Noodler's Habanero.

  3. ***UGH***

    I HATE re-writing posts! You are SPOT-ON regarding Apache Sunset; being still “new,” I often ask people about this ink, and the few (MAYBE 3?) that don't like it, ALWAYS qualify by stating that they don't like orange. FUNNY that you got that.

    If this is some sort of faux pas I apologize in advance; if you EVER decide to sell that MB “Gandhi,” please keep me in mind. Between college and grad school I ran a south indian restaurant and the colors did, and continue, have a unique and knee-buckling beauty. MB really did a great job of catching that “saffron” quality so beautifully. Those people (I will call them GOUGERS) that sell colors like RACING GREEN and GANDHI are offensive, even if I did have the money.

    Cheers and thanks again for a GREAT round-robin review!

  4. Pingback: INK SWAB: 106/365 – Diamine Amber | Pentulant

  5. Pingback: INK SWAB: 140/365 – Noolder’s Apache Sunset | Pentulant

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