Category Archives: INKS

INK REVIEW: Private Reserve Buttercup

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Hello, Buttercup!

Yellow inks are tough. This one is so pretty in person – Private Reserve Buttercup.

The problem with yellow inks, of course, is – how do you use them? They aren’t very practical other than for highlighting (and, frankly, I just use a highlighter for that).

I used this color for about a week in my work notebooks, but it was just too hard on my eyes when I went back to look at the notes later. Too bad, really.

So..I don’t know…but, still, I am rather fond of this ink.  Look at the shading . . .

It’s nice, right?

Buttercup writes well enough – perhaps a little slow-flowing even in my Lamy Safari with a broad nib. It almost GLOWS with color.

What is your bottom line on yellow inks? Love them, hate them, would never even bother with them? If you’re using yellow inks for something other than highlighting – let me know – I’d love to discover a new use for this pretty Buttercup.

INK REVIEW: Diamine Ultra Green

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Diamine Ultra Green Swab

 With the demise of Caran D’ache Amazon Green, I have been on the lookout for another green that I can love as much.  Maybe Ultra Green from Diamine is it.

I tested Ultra Green on a variety of papers including famed Tomoe River Paper. While I have some issues with Tomoe River Paper (it crinkles like mad and needs to be treated gently for this reason), I also think it is fantastic to get a true read of the color of an ink. Rather than being absorbed into the paper, the ink seems to sit on top of the paper – there is never even a little bleed-through or feathering with Tomoe River Paper.
gorgeous color

I love the clear and crisp qualities that this ink has to offer. Great clean green with good saturation (so important to me) and even a little shading.

In some ways, maybe I like this ink even better than Amazon from Caran D’ache.  Look at the highlighting test and the smearing (well, the lack of smearing).

Diamine Ultra Green Writing Test on Strathmore Cotton Paper

I love the swab below. The variation of color . . .

Diamine Ultra Green Writing Test on Clairefontaine Paper

Yep! This might be my new green – might have to do more testing first, though, yes?

Diamine Ultra Green Writing Test on Tomoe River Paper

Do you have a favorite green? Tell me all about it!

FRIDAY FOLLOW: Instagram

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If you’re not on Instagram, you’re really missing something.  
In no particular order, here are some of my more recent Instagram images . . . 
The Waterman Edson Twins (they are not identical)
VW swag for Baby O (because, really, how cute is this?)

An inky project I’m working on

Love #inkinthesink

Right?

My TWSBI Collection makes me swoon just a bit.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Doesn’t everyone meal plan with a #wetnoodle?

My beloved Montblanc Boheme collection.

I opened Mr. Pentulant’s textbook, took this picture, and then promptly closed the book.  

And here’s a listing of just some of the people I follow…

Gourmet Pens

Ed Jelley

Ellina

Pablo Garcia Melnick

Gerald Taylor – aka MyCofeePot

Chrissy Sparks

PenAddict

What I love about Instagram is that most of the people I follow post more than just pens. It’s a real glimpse into the person and what is important in his/her life.

Here’s my Instagram link.  Where is yours?

INK REVIEW: Noodler’s Heart of Darkness

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ink swab – Noodler’s Heart of Darkness

Almost Wordless Wednesday

This is one crazy black ink!

Noodler’s Heart of Darkness Writing Sample

Tested on Rhodia Dot Pad.
I thought this reminded me of Invincible Black – but it’s blacker (more black?) than that and there’s nothing about this ink that felt..scary.  Just perfect, perfectly saturated black. BLACK.

 Revised Bottom Line:   It’s love! Woooo!!

Oh..and apparently, I had more to say about Heart of Darkness than I thought I would – so much for Wordless Wednesday!   Guess I’m just pentulant that way 😉

INK REVIEW: De Atramentis Alexander Hamilton

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I had no idea Alexander Hamilton was so sexy. 

I’m clueless as to why this ink from De Atramentis was named Alexander Hamilton, but I love it just the same.

Let’s have a closer look….

beautiful shading
deep rich purple

The full review…

Alexander Hamilton is well-behaved in the pen. Perhaps a bit wet with the broad nib, but I can work around that.  In fact, I tried the same ink one other time and loved it then, too.

The color is darker than a traditional (perhaps the better term would be royal) purple and I think this makes it suitable for use in almost any setting. Of course, I work from home and no one but the dogs are judging the ink colors in my notebook.

I love it!  If you’re at all into purples, you should consider Alexander Hamilton from De Atramentis.  Again, look at that shading!

I used a sample for this test, but I’m definitely adding a full bottle to my wish list.

What about you? Love purple? Hate it? What is on your wish list?

Oh! Almost forgot…in case you’re curious.

INK PREVIEW: Sailor Jentle Epinard

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Oh man. I hate this ink. Lots of others love it – and I’ll admit that I have nothing against it other than the color.

Sailor Jentle Epinard is just not for me.

It even has some pretty nice shading.

If you can get past the color. Epinard.

But I can’t.

I used a TWSBI with a stub nib for this review. I’ve mentioned before and I’m saying again, I don’t think stubs are for me, but that has nothing to do with this ink. I just don’t like it.

In fact, I loaded up my pen, wrote a tiny bit with it and immediately rinsed it right out my pen. So glad I only had a sample and not the full bottle.

Love it, hate it?

INK REVIEW: Noodler’s Navajo Turquoise

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This is a tricky review for me because I can’t decide between..

Do I like it?
Do I love it?

I loved it at first – amazing color and saturation (the  two most important things to me in an ink). There is some fun shading. It wrote well in the Lamy Safari.

But then I started wondering…

It’s a bit smeary.  The water test as ungood (it’s a word).

So in the end – I didn’t buy a full bottle of Navajo Turquoise. I want to look at other turquoise inks and find THE one.

So let me ask you. Which is your favorite turquoise? Or maybe you love turquoise so much that you have many different bottles of various turquoise inks?  Tell, tell.

INK REVIEW: Diamine Flamingo Pink (Second Look)

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Diamine Flamingo Pink

Woooo!!!

This is my second look at Diamine Flamingo Pink.  Here’s my first test run of this fabulous color.

Dude.

Go buy this ink.

Flamingo Pink Ink Swabs (3, 2, 1)

I really didn’t think I’d ever buy a pink ink. I mean, seriously? Pink?

But how could I resist this perfect color? It’s bright! Bold! OMG! Serious color.  Seriously serious color.

And do you see it?  That pink-to-orange shading?  It may be glowing a bit in my scans, but the color is there – it’s an orange-ish pink. And it is…wow. I’m swooning over here.

Handwritten Review of Diamine Flamingo Pink
Can you spot the write-o?

QUICK LOOK WEDNESDAY – Six Pretty Colors

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Sometimes, I want to play with my pens, inks, and papers, but can think of nothing to write.

The first step is to write the name of the ink and the name of the pen (see above). I just noticed that each ink is from a different manufacturer – nice.

Apparently, the last resort is to write things that I overhear from the television (see below).

It was actually quite a bit of fun – watching and scribbling, changing pens and writing a bit more. I love the way the entire sheet of paper looks – each color is pretty amazing on its own, yes?

Let’s take a closer look . . .

Above – DeAtramentis Alexander Hamilton. I love this purple. It’s so rich and deep in color – nice saturation. I don’t see this ink discussed much on the various forums, but I think this is a purple that could be used anywhere.  (more on that another day)

Below – Private Reserve Spearmint. One of my favorite green inks. It looks a bit dark here to my eye, but it is usually quite cheery.

Do you have a guess as to which show I was watching at the time?

Below – Montblanc Hitchcock. A gorgeous blood red ink if I ever did see one. Some really pretty shading in there, too. I have to confess, I have a quite a lot of this in my cabinet. Shall I keep it forever? Use it as if I’ll never run out? Or maybe even sell some?

Below – Noodler’s Habanero. A favorite. That shading. The brightness of the color. Need I say more? Mm..wait, I already did right here.
 

By the way, the above quote is the one that seems like the one that would tell the secret of what I was watching. Have you guessed it yet?

Above – Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun. I wonder if I only could have one ink, if this would be it. Check out my big review here. It is crazy CrAzY to think that I, lover of bright and beautiful colors, would be so taken with a gray ink, but there you go.

Above – Diamine Majestic Blue.  Easy to see why it’s one of my favorites, yes?  So pretty.

And, so, there we have it – six pretty colors. All so different from one another and yet all so wonderful.

Which show was I watching?  Downton Abbey, of course!  Have you seen it? Highly recommended.