Pilot Iroshizuku – Yama-budo
Phew. I love this ink. I waited nearly forever to try it because I didn’t think I would like it. And then – boom! Instant love.
It looks a little too bright and a little too pink in this swab. The real color is that of crushed grapes.
Seriously, you’ll love it.
Hello, Puccini!
Giacomo Puccini fountain pen ink from De Atramentis is the kind of ink I could really love. The color is a rich, dark purple – eggplant. It writes very well – no issues with flow, no feathering, bleeding, or showing through to the other side of the paper. (The smears you see above are user error – I turned the sheet of Rhodia dot grid paper over and it was still wet.)
This Puccini might be love!
There is zero – zero – water resistance.
Want to know a little secret? I love the “shreds” that tearing paper out of a notebooks leaves behind. Crazy, right? Crazy, but true. Mr. Pentulant hates them – cracks me up.
Anyway, I bought my sample from Goulet Pens and this ink has since been discontinued. I love it, but I also love Alexander Hamilton. To be honest, I find myself wondering if it’s the same ink. A long time ago, I asked Brian Goulet if there was a way to tell which of the various De Atramentis inks were which of the other De Atramentis inks – there’s not. So disappointing. In any event, if you love Pucccini like I do, you might take a look at Hamilton and see if you love him, too. I think you will.
De Atramentis is famous for making a zillion inks. And then they take some of them, add a little scent and name it something else. Some, they add the name of a famous person and then sell both of the inks.
I don’t think De Atramentis Aubergine is the same has Alexander Hamilton. Buuuut…the side of the bottle does say Aubergine. Which really just means purple (or eggplant, apparently).
I generally like De Atramentis inks. It’s a little annoying that they (nor no one else) has a color chart showing which inks are related to which others. If you know of such a chart, please let me know.
xo
Diamine Amazing Amethyst: rich, deep color without being dull or muddy. I’ve not tried this one in a pen you. Have you? I hope you love it so I can love it, too.
xo
Happy Valentine’s Day!
With all of the pink and red out there today, I thought I’d do something a bit different and show off a beautiful purple ink that I love – PW Akkerman’s Simplisties Violet. This is an ink that I’ve reviewed in the past and absolutely loved. The fact that the ink comes in the best bottle ever is just a bonus.
xoox
With its super-bright purple/pink hue, Magic Fairy from De Atramentis is a bold choice for fountain pen users. I’m not sure there are many practical uses for the ink, but I’m not sure that matters either. The heart wants what the heart wants, after all.
The ink performed well for me at first with no skipping, no bleeding, and no showing through. Initially, I didn’t think there was much potential for shading, but the strokes above and a closer look at some of the other writing makes it seem that with the right nib, one could expect some degree of shading.
I was prepared to like Magic Fairy and then this started happening as I wrote more with the ink:
See the spreading? It was really hit or miss. The word “tiny” above is just terrible, but the word “because” looks just fine. Look at “first,” though – the thin downstroke of the r combined with the other issues makes me think that what I’m dealing with here is inconsistent ink flow.
I’ve written with Magic Fairy a couple of times since completing the review and it definitely has a consistency issue for me. J Herbin’s Rose Cyclamen is a close color match and I’ve not had a bit of trouble with it. For this reason, I’ll not be buying a bottle of Magic Fairy anytime soon.
I bought my sample of this ink from Goulet Pens. It is either out of stock or no longer being offered by them. It is available for sale on the De Atramentis site, however.
Have you tried this one? Did you find it to be inconsistent? Are there inks that have no practical application that you just can’t stay away from?
Bordeaux: is it red or is it purple?
OK, seriously, I love Alexander Hamilton. And this ink from De Atramentis isn’t bad either. Ha.
This dark and dusky shade of purple really does it for me. Check out my full review and then go get yourself a bottle of this yummy yummy ink.
Rohrer & Klingner is a brand that doesn’t get a whole lot of attention.
I’ve not written with Alt-Bordeaux, but I have enjoyed other R&K inks and this is an interesting purple that leans toward red – aptly named.
While today isn’t Friday, I need to mention how much I enjoy Fashionable Friday from The Well-Appointed Desk. Pretty pretty.
January 2015 Ink Drop from Goulet Pens
I received January’s Ink Drop from Goulet Pens earlier this week.
I usually super-saturate cotton swabs with ink before swiping across the paper, but this time, I barely barely got the cotton wet with ink. I thinking maybe this gives a more accurate idea of what the ink would look like from a pen? If you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them.
I’m about to reveal the inks from top to bottom. If you don’t want to know, this is the time to look away.
And the theme? Safe for Work
I like most of these inks – going to have to look at the De Atramentis a bit more, though. What are you thinking? Safe for work?