Category Archives: INKS

INK REVIEW: Waterman Audacious Red

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Waterman Audacious Red

Merry Christmas!  Posts have been a little light over here and this will be my last post before the end of year. Happy New Year!

I have lots of exciting things planned for 2014, but let’s dive right into the review of Waterman’s Audacious Red.

I wish I had better news for you – seems like the holidays should be full of light and cheer, but Audacious Red isn’t very exciting to me.

I test all new fountain pen inks in a Lamy Safari. I know the pen well, have several (many) of them, and they make a good standard pen for these tests.

Audacious Red Writing Sample

 It’s pretty – and I have to admit that after having written for a week or so with it, I found it more attractive as time went on. It’s not a bold, in-your-face color. It’s just red.

Waterman Audacious Red Sample Writing

The problem I have with this ink is that it’s dry. Oh-so-dry. I used a medium nib in the Safari, but it looks more like a fine. And looking at the writing above, there appears to be some shading, but I actually think it’s where the ink flow couldn’t keep up with my normal-paced writing.

Maybe you have a pen that you’d like to slow down a bit. If so, this Audacious Red could be for you.

It’s not wet enough for me – and it’s not very saturated either. Check out the swabs below for a look at that.

Audacious Red from Waterman – ink swab tests

I’m glad I didn’t invest in a full bottle of this ink. I ended up using it for everyday use, but went back to MontBlanc Winterglow for my holiday cards.

Here’s the full review . . .

Ink Review – Waterman Audacious Red

What did you use for your holiday cards this season?  And!…what is on your wish list this year?  We’re having a not-so-spendy Christmas this year – can’t wait to see what is in my stocking.

INK REVIEW: J Herbin Ocean Blue 1670

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Ink Review:  J Herbin Ocean Blue 

A (mostly) wordless post for this first Monday after Thanksgiving.
Good, clean color.
Starting issues in my TWSBI 540 (B)

Final Thoughts:  It’s ok.  I wish it had some gorgeous, special sheen like the Rouge Hematite. I wish even more that I didn’t have so many flow issues – even with a broad nib.  I like it enough to give it another go another day.

Have you tried J Herbin’s Ocean Blue?

INK REVIEW: Noodler’s Liberty’s Elysium

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Noodler’s Liberty’s Elysium Ink Swab

I’m just going to put it out there right from the start.  I LOVE Noodler’s Liberty’s Elysium. Love, Love, Love.

Blue inks, in general, are just ok in my book. I mean – they’re blue. Blue is a fine color. In fact, I have found two others that I love:  Diamine Majestic Blue (deep color, great sheen) and Pilot Iroshizuku Kon peki (that color and saturation!!), but if I had to choose a “forever ink,” it probably wouldn’t be a blue. I’d go for something a little less conventional.

So why do I love Liberty’s Elysium? It is the color. It is BLUE. A pure, vibrant, gorgeous, non-fussy blue. There are no undertones to the color – just – blue.

I’ve known about this ink for some time. It’s a collaboration between Goulet Pens and Noodler’s Ink….

….It sounds like Brian Goulet wanted a bold blue ink that was also “bulletproof.”  Bulletproof fountain pen inks magically bond with paper fibers in such a way that they are then impossible to remove with water or even bleach – making them more resistant to fraud. As far as I’m concerned, this added feature is just that – a bonus. I’m all about how inks look and how they write.

One of my first impressions was that Liberty’s Elysium is a wet ink. However, after using the ink even just a short time, I didn’t come away with that impression at all. It definitely passed the smear test below.

So, there you have it. I love this ink. I bought a full-sized bottle of it within a day of using it for the first time.

Liberty’s Elysium is available exclusively through Goulet Pens. I’m not affiliated with the Goulets at all. Brush Dance is my gig. I like shopping at Goulet because they offer wonderful service, have great products, and they are a small business doing big things.

INK REVIEW: Noodler’s Gruene Cactus Eel

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Noodler’s Gruene Cactus Eel
The color of this fountain pen ink reminds me of (now-discontinued) Amazon from Caran D’Ache. That is to say, I love this green.  No red, no blue, no yellow – just green.
As an aside, I checked a couple of weeks ago – you can still find the old Caran D’Ache inks in some places if you look around for them. I ended up not buying Amazon – at the time, I wasn’t able to commit to a green 100%, and since that time, I’ve fallen for several other greens and won’t miss Amazon.
Anyway…back to Gruene Cactus Eel.

All of the inks in Noodler’s “eel” line are lubricated. As in, “slippery as an….”  Have you seen the PDF that Noodler’s and Goulet Pens published?  It shows Noodler’s inks and their special properties. Looks like it was last updated more than a year ago, but here you go.

So, what are lubricated fountain pen inks? They are specially formulated inks that could apparently help your pistons (pens and converters) gliding smoothly. These inks may also flow better from the pen due to the lubrication.  I tried to find out exactly what component makes an ink lubricated, but came up (ahem) dry.

Flow was good from this ink in the Lamy Safari with an Extra Fine Nib. Was it better than some other inks? I really don’t think so.

The one big issue that became more annoying the more I used the ink as that it took forever to dry. Even with the extra fine nib. Forever.

So..even though it has amazing color and it writes beautifully, I can’t imagine using this ink on a regular basis because of the dry time.   Check it out below….

I’m not out completely on this or other lubricated inks. If I had a pen with flow issues, I’d probably try a lubricated ink before giving up on the pen.

But what about you? Have you tried lubed up inks? Love/Hate? Or maybe you have a favorite green ink you’d like to tell me all about?

CHECK IT OUT MONDAY: Instagram

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six red pens
I’ve been busy over on the Instagram again.  
Pocket Dept. Notebook and Lamy Safari Fountain Pens

I’m seeing a definite trend.  Ink reviews on the blog. Pen porn over on Instagram. It wasn’t even on purpose – it’s just so easy. And it doesn’t feel like it has to be perfect.

Recent delivery from Goulet Pens

What does the fox say?
I love that this looks like a selfie. haha

If you’ve not tried this, you simply must.
Simply. Must.
Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie & Cocoa Swirl

Tippy top of the Golden Gate Bridge on a Saturday evening
Nib creep is kinda sexy
Always Journey Dreamer Journal from Brush Dance

I also wanted to remind you today that I’m giving away one of the amazing Journals / Notebooks pictured above.

INK REVIEW: Private Reserve Vampire Red

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Happy Almost Halloween!

This isn’t my red – but it is someone’s.

Every so often (in fact, regularly) over on FPN, the topic of blood red ink comes up. People really really crave ink that is blood red. Often, I think they are looking for something that is a bit darker than this, but really . . .

Private Reserve Vampire Red

Blood red, right?

I like it well enough that I left it in my pen and used it for a week or so . . .

. . . but it’s not love.

It’s certainly named well – and that always gets bonus points in my book, but I’m more of a bright red kinda girl. I like (most of) my colors bright and bold.

I first tried Vampire Red on Clairefontaine paper and it really is a good ink. No complaints here at all.

And then gave it a go on Tomoe River Paper . . .

I don’t see too much difference between the two. Sometimes, Tomoe River Paper will make colors really pop.

What do you think? Bloody enough for your Halloween? Trick or Treat!

INK REVIEW: DIamine Wild Strawberry

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Diamine Wild Strawberry Ink Swab

Ladies and gentlemen, it is safe to say…the losing streak of Monday reviews is OVER!  (In case you hadn’t noticed, my last three Monday reviews were not inks I fell in love with.)

But this!  This is an ink to love!  This is Diamine Wild Strawberry. Yum!

Diamine Wild Strawberry Writing Sample

Because seriously. Look at that color!  Wooooo…color like that makes me happy happy!  Similar in color, but with more saturation than R&K Morinda. Very different from Noodker’s Red.

OK.it’s not perfect. There is no shading and I love shading inks.  Other than that, though, it’s pretty darn perfect.

Dry time is a bit long – even with the fine nib I was using, but I can live with that.

Yep. It’s love!  Yaaay!!!

Tell me, what ink are you loving on this week? Is it a red?

INK REVIEW: Private Reserve DC Supershow Green

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Private Reserve DC Supershow Green Ink Swab

First, forgive the swab – not sure why it’s a bit blurry.

Second, this ink isn’t green. It’s teal. More toward the green side of teal, but still – it’s teal.

Private Reserve DC Supershow Green Writing Sample

That aside, I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote the following…..

Was I perhaps blinded by my pet peeve? I think maybe so.  Because looking at it now, DC Supershow Teal Green definitely has something special.  Look at all of that shading.  Now that the bitterness of the name not matching the color of the ink has subsided, even I can admit that there are some really great qualities about this ink.

What is my new bottom line?  The one I’m writing while keeping names out of it?  It’s a good ink. It writes well.  The color isn’t for me.

OK…this is a trend. Three Mondays in a row, I’ve not loved the ink. What is going on here?  I’m going to need to find something really terrific for next week!

INK REVIEW: Private Reserve Purple Mojo

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Private Reserve Purple Mojo Ink Swab

Hello, Purple Mojo!

Words that come to mind….vibrant, in-yo-face color, PURPLE, bright. This is one screamin’ purple ink!

Private Reserve Purple Mojo Writing Sample

It writes quite well. No issues with bleeding, show through, or feathering on my Rhodia paper. There’s even a bit of shading – always nice, yes?

Dry time isn’t really an issue and the highlight test was also fine.

I keep returning to my one lingering question, though. Is Purple Mojo…

special enough?

After falling in love with Mr. President, I just don’t know.  Check it out in the Compare Squares.

Bottom Line:   I like Purple Mojo well enough. I don’t love it.  To me, it’s not special enough in terms of color. But..that is the only thing holding me back and if you love the color, you should go for it because it really is a well-behaved ink.

INK REVIEW: Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi

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Ink Swab – Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi
With the start of autumn, I thought it would be fun to review a fall color. I reached into my bag of brown inks and pulled Pilot Iroshizuku’s Tsukushi.
I’ll start by saying – it writes wonderfully.
Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi Writing Sample
I’m just not a huge fan of brown inks.  And brown inks with red undertones? Not for me, thank you.
Tsukushi is not a super-saturated ink
Tsukushi – does it shade well? Yes, it does!
It’s really a terrific ink in many regards.

Bottom Line: If you like the color, you can’t go wrong with this ink. It’s fabulous in all regards.

Oh, and in case you want to see it next to Diamine Chocolate Brown, here you go and here’s another look at some brown inks.