In Link Love

Link Love: Looking Forward, Looking Back

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Link Love: Looking Forward, Looking Back

The end of the calendar year always provides a mix of posts looking back over the year and looking forward to the new year. I can’t help but filter 2021 through the lens of the pandemic. The news of the Omicron variant has only exacerbated the likelihood that 2022 will be our third year in a pandemic. While I love pens, ink and stationery, I am curious how another year of the pandemic will affect supply chain problems, inflation and other unforeseen forces that might impact our hobby — and the world at large.

I will try to be positive about 2022 and hope that it brings about a clear end to this life-altering pandemic.

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In Ink Review

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 10 Ferris Wheel Lady Rose In Gold

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
12 Days of Inkmas: Day 10 Ferris Wheel Lady Rose In Gold

I was a real pr*ck this year when I picked my Inkmas inks. Ferris Wheel Press LadyRose in Gold ($20 for 38ml bottle) is the second ink I chose that is/was a limited edition ink. I didn’t do this to torture you, I promise. I just wanted to share some of my favorite inks with you.

Lady Rose in Gold is one of those not-quite-brown, not-quite-pink inks PLUS it has wonderful gold shimmer in it that makes it truly unique.

The rosy color is definitely that of old rose petals and the gold shimmers like the rim of a fancy tea cup. This ink totally remind me of a set of vintage floral tea cups.

When writing with a finer nib, I see less of the shimmer but all of the faded rose color of old wallpaper. This ink is all Miss Havisham vibes — at least to me.

On Tomoe River 68gsm paper, the ink does tend to look a little lighter but it still has that feeling of a well-loved heirloom, a faded, ditzy print quilt or the sun faded cover of an old book.

Trying to find a pinkish ink with shimmer in my ink collection was more challenging than I expected. I realize with almost 1000 inks in my collection that’s hard to believe but its true! I even hunted for non-shimmer pinks and I had nothing like it at all. I suspect that part of the appeal of Lady Rose in Gold is that it is so unlike anything else in my ink collection.

I guess, my advice regarding inks like Ferris Wheel PressLady Rose in Gold, is not necessarily to give in to FOMO but, if you see something that truly speaks to you, invest in it. Yes, I’ve bought lots of inks just because it was the “in thing” to get at a pen show but sometimes, something crosses my path that just feels right. When that happens to you, my advice is to buy it, before its gone.

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In Ink Review

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 9 Kala Island No. 38 Sweet Potato Balls

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

It’s hard to decide what my favorite food is at the holidays, but I admit that my family’s sweet potato casserole is really high up there on the list. We steam fresh sweet potatoes, then add peaches, pecans, brown sugar, butter and a few toasted marshmallows at the end. It’s sweet and decadent and I love it.

So when I saw Kala Island No. 38 Sweet Potato Balls (30mL for $13), I decided it would be a fun ink to try for Inkmas.

Sweet Potato Balls is a rich orange which really looks like fresh steamed sweet potatoes. There’s no shimmer sheen in this one, but you can get some really nice shading.

In terms of comparison, I think It’s probably closest to Lamy Bronze. J. Herbin Orange Indien isn’t a bad match for the darker bits, and Mont Blanc Lucky Orange is quite a bit lighter and brighter.

If you’re looking for a reddish orange with nice shading, I’d give Sweet Potato Balls a try!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 8 Kingdom Note Dangouo Konpeito

Author Jaclyn MyersPosted on 1 Comment
12 Days of Inkmas: Day 8 Kingdom Note Dangouo Konpeito

For my next Inkvent adventure, I thought I would spend some time with an ink that’s a little more obscure. I scanned my ink collection with one goal in mind: could I find an ink that would be new to both Ana and Jesi? Pretty lofty goal, but let’s give it a go.

I remembered a series of inks I purchased directly from Japan. There are five inks in the “Dangouo” series which are part of the the larger “Japanese Biological Series.” The Kingdom Note website describes “Dangouo” as “popular among divers due to its small size and round and lovely appearance.”

The series as a whole is a post for another day, but for Inkmas I focused in on the green ink of the group called… are you ready for this name?…. Konpeito (Eumicrotremus asperrimus). The Kingdom Note site says this particular ink is named for “a dangouo whose name is already cute.” There have already been several great green inks this Inkmas, including Pen BBS398 and Van Dieman’s Styx Valley Forest Green (Green is the Well-Appointed color after all!)- so we have a lot to live up to!

An Inkmas Wreath

One thing I noticed immediately is that this is one of those inks where the ink is not a very close match to the color of the bottle. In the world of green inks Konpeito is somewhere between what I would consider “jade” and “olive” greens. It is darker than other lime greens I have, but lighter than forest greens. It has yellowish undertones instead of blue undertones like the emerald shades I own.

Of the inks I have swabbed in my collection Konpeito is probably closest to Robert Oster Jade. It is a little lighter than the Jade and has less shading and much more subtle sheen. When it does sheen however, it sheens towards black similarly to the Robert Oster Jade. Although I love the complex brown sheen of inks like Sailor Epinard, it’s nice to have an olive-ish green that doesn’t lean brown and stays true to green.

In writing (and doodling) it has just enough shading to make the color interesting. Although it is missing the pizzazz of shimmer or mega-sheen, it gets full marks from me for the shade/ hue of green. I’ve shared similar sentiments before, but it always seems to be worth repeating: sometimes just the right color is the ultimate pizzazz.

Extra pizzazz points when the ink shade matches a pen in my collection this well!

Although obtaining a ink from Japan requires some extra hoops and shipping costs, I’m not a total grinch because this ink is still available at the Kingdom Note site at the time of publishing this post. I would also be curious to compare this ink to the another olive-leaning ink (Pen BBS #342 Matcha Green Tea) Ana suggested in her epic More than Top Ten Fountain Pen Inks post. I’ve been meaning to pick that ink up for months. Do you think Santa is still taking last minute requests?

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In Ink Review

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 7 Pennonia Mustvörös

Author Laura CameronPosted on 6 Comments

After I found a great green, I decided to search for a beautiful red. Again I hit up new-to-me ink brands and ended up ordering Pennonia Mustvörös (60mL for $13).

Mustvörös is Hungarian for young wine, and this red definitely leans toward wine colored. It went down almost a brick or blood red, but dried nicely into a more wine color. This one doesn’t have any sheen or shimmer, but it shades really nicely.

When I went looking for comparisons, I didn’t have anything that was super close. Kyo-No-Oto 6 Adzukiro was probably the closest. Birmingham Pen Co. Mt. Washington Sunset was close, but a little more orange (as was Duquesne Incline Red Station). I also looked at a few of the Mont Blanc reds, but those weren’t right either.

I’m always happy when I add an ink to the collection that doesn’t have an exact match since it’s a new shade to me!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 6 Pen BBS 398 Morning Ink

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
12 Days of Inkmas: Day 6 Pen BBS 398 Morning Ink

I am not sure what the general consensus is in the pen community about Pen BBS ink but it is in my TOP FIVE brands. I freaking LOVE Pen BBS ink. Their colors are wonderful, I’ve had no issues with staining or clogging, they make far and away THE BEST shimmer inks and their ink prices are the best. Pen BBS large hexagonal 60ml bottles with the embossed caps are really unique. If you haven’t added any Pen BBS inks to your collection yet, what are you waiting for?

All that to say, if you’ve been reading this blog for any time you’ll know that green is my favorite color (see the header above) so I’m always looking for the perfect green ink. Not too light, not too bright, not too dark. Finding the perfect green has been the most challenging ink to find.

Pen BBS does make one of my favorite greens thus far, No. 224 Tolstoy. It matches my Ranga Bamboo pen perfectly and the two have become an inseparably pair. For everyday use, Tolstoy is a little darker than my dream green so my hunt has continued. Pen BBS No. 398 Morning Ink (15ml bottle for $8) was my next foray into citrus greens. It’s a much brighter green. Why it’s “Morning Ink” I can’t fathom. No. 398 is a brighter, lighter citrus-y green with lots of shading though.

In writing, there are points where the shading is a little too light for my liking however. If I were to use a more cream or ivory colored paper stock, I think I’d lose the writing altogether.

On Tomoe River 68gsm, Morning Ink looks a tiny bit lighter than on our standard Rhodia testing paper.

When compared to some of the myriad of other citrus green inks in my stash (a term stolen from my knitting posse), you’ll see I have several that are quite similar.

When spread out, it’s a little easier to see the subtle differences in the inks. Pen BBS No. 159 Bitter Herb is another citrus green ink that I really like from Pen BBS. It’s a bit darker than No. 398 Morning Ink which is a little more festive. Pen BBS No. 398 is probably closest in color to Diamine Light Green. Robert Oster Australis Tea is a little muddier version of a very similar color.

I think Pen BBS No. 398 is a fun, citrus green but not my “grail green”.

Do you have a color that you are always on the hunt for the perfect ink to match? The color of your childhood roller skates? The color of your grandmother’s wallpaper? The color of the flowers in your wedding bouquet?  Have you found it yet?

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In Ink Review

12 Days of Inkmas: Day 5 Diamine Earl Grey

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

Diamine Earl Grey (30ml for $7.50) is probably my favorite grey ink. Anyone present at last week’s Patreon-only meet-up wouldn’t believe me because I unceremoniously spilled the entirety of the bottle off my desk onto the floor. Trust me when I say I was doing my tired floors a favor. The floors now have a lovely Jackson Pollock-spattered treatment to them that at least give them character which is more than they had before. At least it was a good ink color!

Diamine Earl Grey is similar to Sailor Jentle Chu-Shu in that both these inks are a cool, purply grey though Earl Grey is ever so slightly darker. What I would give if Diamine would scent Earl Grey with a little bergamot so it actually smelled like a delicious cup of tea!

I confess that, in writing, Earl Grey is cooler grey than what actual Earl Grey tea looks like but I will forgive Diamine their creative liberties because this ink is such a lovely grey color. Is it too much to ask for Diamine, a UK-based ink company, to actually mix an ink that looks like English Breaky, Builder’s Brew or Darjeeling? Embrace your Englishness, Diamine, give us your pinky’s-up most-tea-ish tea colors! Please?!?!

Regardless of the lack of genuine tea-like color, Earl Grey is still a favorite, even after it stained my hands for three days. The ink has a great range of shading from deep grey to pale lavender. No sheening though.

On both Rhodia and Tomoe River paper, Earl Grey gives a full range of shading, dries in a reasonable amount of time. Diamine Earl Grey is a more cost effective option than Sailor Chu-Shu and available in the smaller 30ml bottles as well as the massive 80ml tankards that are still cheaper than the 50ml bottles from Sailor.

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