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BEFORE you start throwing things at me for asking a question which has likely been asked many times, I'm new to TWSBI (and fountain pens in general). I'm looking to buy a TWSBI Diamond 580 in "Iris' because it looks great. But it's not cheap so I kinda want this one to be the one I'd use for my day to day writing. Now, I have an older but basic Parker fountain pen, uses a converter, steel nib noted as 'medium'. That's all I know about it. (Aside from it gives a little too much feedback for my liking) Writing on normal 7mm ruled notepaper (nothing fancy) using Parker Quink ink (all I currently have, that'll change). The line width, for what I'd call 'normal' handwriting size sometimes gives me closed loops on the e's. For that reason I thought PERHAPS a fine nib might be a better option? On the other hand, it wouldn't show off a nicer ink as well as a medium nib would. For what it's worth I intend to use Diamine Inks, primarily. And while I'll practice on cheaper notebooks and copy paper I do have a couple of pads of Rhodia and Clarefontaine paper 'for best'. Maybe those with experience of 580s and both M and F nibs using Diamine ink could comment as to whether the TWSBI M writes toward the Fine or Broad side of things (if that makes sense). If anyone is able to give me any guidance as to what else I might do / check / think about to help me decide between a medium or fine nib, I would very much appreciate it.
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My latest ink is Diamine Kensington Blue I'm reviewing two similar Diamine blue inks separately, this one, Kensington Blue, and Florida Blue. They are quite similar, but Kensington Blue is a more general blue, a more muted colour. I would call it an everyday blue ink. Kensington Blue is a very good blue ink. It flowed beautifully while I was writing with it, and lubricated the nib so well that it wrote smoothly across the page. I really enjoyed writing with it. Although it felt nicely wet to write with, it was a quick drying ink. Although this isn't a waterproof ink, it shows good water resistance, as do many Diamine blue inks.Bearing in mind the paper I use is thick with a shiny surface, and I used a Lamy M nib, this ink only took 5 secs to dry. That's very quick on this paper.It flows through the pen very well and lubricates the nib very well. I saw no skips or hard starts while I did swabs and dry time tests.It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles, 30ml plastic refill bottles or International sized cartridges.Diamine sell it directly to end-users on their web-site.It's a reasonable price.
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I've recently reviewed 3 golden or brownish Diamine inks; Amber, Golden Brown and Antique Copper, so now I'm moving onto a couple of greens that I have. This one is Kelly Green. I know it's a popular bright green, but this is the first time I have ever tried it. It is my understanding that it was named by FPN's Ann Finley I'm not usually a fan of light green inks, especially when I can't read them easily on paper, but this one was a pleasant surprise in that respect. It is dark enough to read easily, while still being a bright green ink. The best of both worlds. It's noticeably darker and easier to read on paper than Diamine Jade Green (still to review), P.I. Chiku-rin and J.Herbin Apple scented. The P.I. Chiku-rin swab on the review form came from a swab card taken from a sample. I no longer have any. It's a bright Spring-like green ink. The colour of brand new yellowish-green leaves opening on trees in Spring. It leans more towards the yellow side of the colour spectrum than the blue side, and I like it for that. I found it lovely and smooth to write with, very good flow and lubrication, and saw some shading, particularly with my Pelikan M400 EF nib. It almost becomes more concentrated when using a fine nib as opposed to the more yellow hue that comes across with broader nibs. It gets a big thumbs up from me. This isn't a waterproof ink, but it has reasonable water resistance. The pool of water was left on the test patch for 30 seconds then was blotted off with kitchen roll.Bearing in mind the paper I use is thick with a shiny, smooth surface, and I used a Pelikan EF nib plus a Lamy 1.1mm nib, this ink took 16-18 secs to dry.It flows very well and lubricates the nib very well. I saw no skips or hard starts despite leaving the pen uncapped while I did all of the swab tests.It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles or 30ml plastic bottlesDiamine sell it directly to end-users on their web-site.It's a reasonable price.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Skull & Roses ink. Diamine Skull & Roses is a Diamine Exclusive ink made specially for sale in Germany. I’ve seen it for sale on “Fountainfeder” and on “Papier & Stift” websites as well as on Amazon. I only have a sample bottle, so I can’t post a picture of the 80ml glass bottle. This is a saturated dark blue ink with red sheen. It doesn’t have quite as much sheen as the Organics Studio high sheen inks, but has more sheen than what you would call a “standard” ink. In my opinion, Diamine Sargasso Sea is a similar standard ink that you could compare with Skull & Roses. It’s a redder leaning blue than the more teal Jalur Gemilang, the other Diamine exclusive, I recently reviewed The fact that it’s a saturated ink that has good sheen, without having too much sheen, comes with a few benefits: It’s a very good blue colour, whether you can always see the red sheen or not. It easily washes off of my hands with cold water and a bit of bar soap (definitely not like Organics Studio Nitrogen, Ralph Emerson, or Henry Thoreau) and it easily flushes out of my converters and pens just using water. It didn’t suffer from any hard starts or non-starts when I put the uncapped pen down to do swab tests, dry times and water resistance. It dried quite quickly on most reasonably absorbent papers and once dry it didn’t smudge or smear. I tested for this by rubbing repeatedly across my writing. I saw no blue or red on my fingers, and no smudging on the page. I really enjoyed writing with it. However, I tend to use more blue inks than any other colour. With these high sheen inks showthrough and bleedthrough can be a problem. There was showthrough on several of the papers I wrote on, but I could still have written on the reverse of some of them. The red sheen is usually more visible when using pens with wetter flow and broader nibs. Flow Rate: Very good.Lubrication: Very good.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Highly saturated ink.Shading Potential: Some shading with finer nibs.Sheen: Good red sheen.Banner Generic 80gsm lined pad.Ciak by InTempo.Field Notes.Hibonichi Techo: Tomoe River 52gsm - Slight.Moleskine Clone (UK)Silvine NotebookWhitelines.Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Seen on some papers with wetter B nib.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen.Staining (pen): Not seen after several days in the pen - easy clean-up with water.Staining (hands): Easy clean-up with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof but has some water resistance.Availability: Exclusive to Germany available from: Papier & Stift, Fountainfeder and Amazon.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Majestic Blue A medium to dark blue ink from the standard range, Diamine Majestic Blue seems to be discussed more frequently than most other Diamine inks. Many love it's strong blue colour and red sheen, while some report problems like it stains hands and pens. I must admit I haven't written with it for ages and am guilty of letting my half full, old style 80ml bottle, sit around, unused, in a box. I took it out and examined it carefully. First I tipped it upside down and can report there was no sign of any sludge in the bottom of the bottle. Then I turned it up and removed the cap. No signs of any sludge there either. I filled my Lamy Al-star converter with it. Then left it on my table for a few days. When I went back to the pen, it started writing straight away. No hard start. It didn't skip once, nor did it blob anywhere. It was neither particularly wet nor dry, and it felt smooth and lubricated on my Xerox smooth Colour/Mono laser 100gsm paper. It's very attractive red sheen was really obvious, as was it's saturated blue colour. Don’t have any concerns about not being able to get Parker Penman Sapphire ink. Diamine Majestic Blue is just as good! I will take a photo to show the red sheen, and will report back on whether or not the converter is stained when the pen is emptied. Flow Rate: Good. Neither particularly wet nor dry in the pen & paper combinations I used.Lubrication: Good with all 3 Lamy nibs I used.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Very saturated.Shading Potential: Some seen.Sheen: Red sheen noticeable.Show-Through:Clairefontaine Crokbook Paper.Hobonichi Techo paper.Oxford paper.Midori paper.Field Notes.Cheaper generic 80 & 90gsm printer papers & lined pads.Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen even on Field Notes.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Two washes with bar soap. More required with liquid soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, but shows a little water resistance.Availability: Available from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Prussian Blue A blue-grey or blue-black ink from the standard range, Diamine Prussian Blue is a nicely saturated colour with a vintage look to it. It’s darker, less green leaning and more saturated than Indigo, and it flows better and feels more lubricated when writing across the page. Prussian Blue was the first modern synthetic pigment. It’s a dark blue pigment also known as Berlin Blue or, in painting, Parisian or Paris Blue. It’s prepared as a very fine colloidal dispersion because the compound is not soluble in water. Prussian Blue is also the traditional “blue” in “blueprints” and as the basis for “laundry blueing.” (Source - Wikipedia) I filled my Lamy Safari and my Lamy NexxM converters with it. Then left them on my table for a few days. When I went back to the pens, they both started writing straight away. No hard starts. They didn't skip once. It exhibited excellent shading and it didn’t feather or spread on any of the papers I used it with. It didn’t show through on the HP paper either. Although it showed through slightly on some the papers listed, it didn’t show through as much as the scans suggest, and you can easily write on the reverse of all of the papers I used it with. It's not sold as a waterproof ink but showed some water resistance. Flow Rate: Good - neither particularly wet nor dryLubrication: Good - felt smooth across the pageNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: SaturatedShading Potential: Shading seen especially with F nib.Sheen: None noticed, though I’ve seen sheen in some pictures.Show-Through:Clairefontaine CrokbookField NotesHobonichi Techo paper.Tomoe River 52gsm paper (not very much)Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen on any paper even Field NotesNib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days - very easy clean-upStaining (hands): Very easy clean-up off of skin.Clogging: Not seen.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, but shows good water resistance.Availability: Available in 80ml and 30ml bottles plus cartridges from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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I've heard that the release date for these new inks is 4th November; Fountain Pen Day, so I'm posting separate reviews for them on here. I assume they will come in the same type of bottles as the previous set of shimmer inks, but I haven't seen the retail bottles yet. Currently I only have samples that Diamine very kindly sent me to test, and to review 'if I wanted to', but I've noticed that my samples don't need much shaking to mix the particles in, and the pens need very little shaking once they are filled.Generally speaking, I found all 12 of these new shimmer inks to be wetter than all of the other shimmer inks I have used.I have had these inks in these pens for over 2 weeks now. Every pen/ink combination has started straight away without a problem, and I have experienced no stopping or skipping.Some take longer to dry than others, and a couple just soaked into the paper straight away. The most saturated inks will show through and bleed through on cheap paper.None of them are waterproof inks. Diamine Shimmer 'Cocoa Shimmer' is a cocoa brown ink that is less red than Diamine Rustic Brown. It's a reasonably well saturated ink with gold shimmer. The gold shimmer shows up easily. I used a Libelle that has a M nib and I had no trouble seeing the gold effect. This one dries more quickly than some of the others. The first picture is a scanned review form, and the second is a photo. These have been adjusted with Photoshop to get the colour you see to look as close as possible to the actual ink colour.
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The inks are released in full bottles of 50ml, the shimmer inks priced at €10.95 and the normal at €7.95. See the bottles and ink swabs here https://www.lacouronneducomte.nl/webstore/main/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=diamine%20ink-vent&language=nl&utm_source=nieuwsbrief20200319&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=diamine_inkvent_nl Saw it first by lurking on reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/fl5nsc/diamine_inkvent_released_as_full_size_bottles/ https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/fl5kxz/diamine_release_2019_inkvent_calendar_inks_in/
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Champagne dear? Don't mind if I do! Black n red, Taroko Breeze and Fabriano Notebooks respectively,
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I think this just started today. I've wanted to test out some Diamine inks. I think this is a decent way to do it . . . a 5 pack for $25.99 https://www.massdrop.com/buy/diamine-30-ml-ink?utm_source=linkshare&referer=JQZE4E
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine November Rain ink. Diamine November Rain is a Diamine Exclusive ink made specially for sale in Germany. I’ve seen it for sale on Fountainfeder, Papier & Stift and Seitz-Kreuznach websites as well as on Amazon. It comes in 30ml bottles and 80ml bottles. I only have a sample bottle, so I can’t post a picture of the 80ml glass bottle and box. This is a saturated dark green ink with red sheen. It doesn’t have quite as much sheen as the Organics Studio high sheen inks, but has more sheen than what you would call a “standard” ink. In my opinion, Diamine don’t have a current similar standard ink that is is very similar to November Rain, although Dark Forest is probably the closest. November Rain a blue leaning green. More green than Lamy Petrol and Organics Studio Henry D Thoreau Walden Pond. I would describe it as similar to a dark conifer green forest. The fact that it’s a saturated ink that has good sheen, without having too much sheen, comes with a few benefits: It’s a very nice green colour, whether you can always see the red sheen or not. It easily washes off of my hands with cold water and bar soap (definitely not like Organics Studio Nitrogen, Ralph Emerson, or Henry Thoreau) and it easily flushes out of my converters and pens just using water. It didn’t suffer from any hard starts or non-starts when I put the uncapped pen down to do swab tests, dry times and water resistance. I like that about these inks. It dried quite quickly on most reasonably absorbent papers and once dry it didn’t smudge or smear. I tested for this by rubbing repeatedly across my writing. I saw no green or red on my fingers, and no smudging on the page. I really enjoyed writing with it. With these high sheen inks showthrough and bleedthrough can be a problem. There was showthrough on several of the papers I wrote on, although I could still have written on the reverse of all them with no problem. The red sheen is usually more visible when using pens with wet flow and broader nibs. Flow Rate: Very good.Lubrication: Very good.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Highly saturated ink.Shading Potential: Some shading with finer nibs or dry writing pens.Sheen: Good red sheen.Show-Through:Oxford 80gsm lined pad.Royal Recycled.Tomoe River 52gsm - Slight.Rhodia Bloc.Whitelines.Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Seen on a couple of papers with my wet B nib.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen.Staining (pen): Not seen after several days in the pen - easy clean-up with water.Staining (hands): Easy clean-up with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof but has some water resistance.Availability: Exclusive to Germany and available from: Fountainfeder, Papier & Stift, Seitz-Kreuznach and Amazon. I found Fountainfeder offers the lowest price including shipping, especially when you buy two 80ml bottles.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Imperial Purple ink Imperial Purple is a true purple that leans more towards the blue side of the colour spectrum. It’s an ink from the standard Diamine ink range. It’s a saturated ink that can show a little shading with finer nibs. I found it flowed well with all of the pens I tried it in, felt neither wet nor dry, and it’s lubrication was nice and smooth across the page. My review was written on cheap printer paper, that is quite absorbent, and I saw no spread or show-through. The lines were crisp and it dried quickly. On Field Notes paper it didn’t spread or feather, and only showed through a little. Writing on the reverse side of all of the papers I used would be acceptable as show-through doesn't look as bad on paper than when it is scanned and shown on screen. It's not sold as a waterproof ink but showed good water resistance. I used running water on the right half of the water test square. Purple inks are quite difficult to represent accurately on screen, I've done my best to get this to match the colour that it is on the paper. Flow Rate: Good - neither particularly wet nor dryLubrication: Good - felt smooth across the pageNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: SaturatedShading Potential: Some shading seen with F nib.Sheen: None noticed.Show-Through:CiaK by InTempoOxford paperSilvine NotebookRhodia GraphField NotesHobonichi Techo paper.Tomoe River 52gsm paper (not very much)Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen on any paper I used, even Field NotesNib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after several days in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Easy clean-up off of skin with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, but shows good water resistance.Availability: Available in 80ml and 30ml bottles plus cartridges from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Meadow ink. Diamine Meadow is an unsaturated, yellowish green, dye based ink. Its from Diamine Inks standard range. This is a darker and greener shade than J.Herbin Vert Pré/Apple scented and P.I. Chiku rin, and a lighter and less gold/brown shade than R&K Alt. Goldgrün and Sailor Waka uguisu. In fact I dont have an ink really similar as a comparison. I found it quite an unusual ink to write with. Sometimes it shaded a lot and felt wet and lubricated, particularly with my M and B nibs, yet when I first used it in my Lamy 2000 with F nib, it felt drier and less lubricated. It seems to behave quite differently depending on the pen, its nib, and the paper. Flow Rate: Good. Felt wet with my M & B nibs.Lubrication: OK - better with M & B nibs.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Unsaturated ink.Shading Potential: An unusual shading ink, quite variable.Sheen: None seen.Show-Through:Tomoe River 52gsm.Tom Bihn Lined.Generic 80gsm lined pads.Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen.Nib Creep / Crud: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the pen.Staining (pen): Not seen after several days in the pen - easy clean-up with water.Staining (hands): Easy clean-up with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof but has surprisingly good water resistance.Availability: Available from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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My latest ink is Diamine Turquoise As I said in my review for Diamine Havasu Turquoise I have been collecting turquoise inks and samples since I bought a bottle of Caran d'Ache Caribbean Sea. There are several inks that are a good alternative for that deleted ink. The best match I have found so far is Kaweco Paradise Blue and I will be posting a review of that ink soon. Diamine Turquoise is another good replacement if you want a blue turquoise. It's lighter and comes across as slightly less saturated than Havasu Turquoise, and that makes it more like a turquoise ink than a sky blue ink. I'm not sure you would need both Havasu Turquoise and Turquoise in one ink collection though. I have previously reviewed Diamine Steel Blue ink and a similar shade Diamine Soft Mint. I will also be reviewing Diamine Marine. Although this isn't a waterproof ink, it shows good water resistance, as do many turquoise inks.Bearing in mind the paper I use is thick with a shiny surface, and I used a Lamy M nib, this ink took 16-18 secs to dry.It flows through the pen very well and lubricates the nib very well. I saw no skips or hard starts while I did swabs and dry time tests.It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles, 30ml plastic refill bottles or International sized cartridges.Diamine sell it directly to end-users on their web-site.It's a reasonable price.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Sepia ink. Sepia usually means a reddish brown colour, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia. Sepia was commonly used as writing ink in Greco-Roman civilisation and remained in common use until 19th century. Diamine Sepia is an unsaturated, yellowish brown, dye based ink. Its from Diamine Inks standard range. Diamine Sepia is lighter and more yellow than both Diamine Autumn Oak and Warm Brown. Its also lighter and less saturated than Diamine Ochre. I found it an interesting ink to write with. With my B nib it shaded a lot and felt wet and lubricated, yet when I used it with my F & M nibs it felt less lubricated although it flowed well. Its behaviour seems to be quite pen and paper dependant. Flow Rate: Good. Felt wetter with my B nib.Lubrication: OK - better with B nib.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Unsaturated ink.Shading Potential: A shading ink, quite variable.Sheen: None seen.Show-Through:Slightly on Tomoe River 52gsm.Slightly on Oxford Pad.Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen.Nib Creep / Crud: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days in the pen - easy clean-up with water.Staining (hands): Easy clean-up with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof but has quite good water resistance.Availability: Available from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets
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I've heard that the release date for these new inks is 4th November; Fountain Pen Day, so I'm posting separate reviews for them on here. I assume they will come in the same type of bottles as the previous set of shimmer inks, but I haven't seen the retail bottles yet. Currently I only have samples that Diamine very kindly sent me to test, and to review 'if I wanted to', but I've noticed that my samples don't need much shaking to mix the particles in, and the pens need very little shaking once they are filled.Generally speaking, I found all 12 of these new shimmer inks to be wetter than all of the other shimmer inks I have used.I have had these inks in these pens for over 2 weeks now. Every pen/ink combination has started straight away without a problem, and I have experienced no stopping or skipping.Some take longer to dry than others, and a couple just soaked into the paper straight away. The most saturated inks will show through and bleed through on cheap paper.None of them are waterproof inks.Diamine Shimmer Enchanted Ocean is a blue-black ink that is similar to Diamine Twilight in that it leans a little towards the green end of the colour spectrum. It's a well saturated ink with silver shimmer. The silver shimmer shows up quite easily. I used a Waterman Man 200 that has a M nib and I had no trouble seeing the silver effect. This ink is quite wet. The first picture is a scanned review form, and the second is a photo. These have been adjusted with Photoshop to get the colour you see to look as close as possible to the actual ink colour.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Coral ink. Diamine Coral is from the standard ink range. It’s an interesting colour. Bright and vibrant. Think the colour of cooked salmon, a pink that’s almost orange. Or an orange that is almost pink. Although it’s not a dark colour it’s still a saturated ink. I found it flowed very well with all of the pens I tried it in, felt quite wet to write with, and it’s lubrication was nicely smooth across the page. I noticed nice shading, plus an element of pinkish sheen that seems to have a halo effect around the ink. My review was written on 100gsm smooth coated paper, that is not very absorbent. I saw no spread or feathering, no show-through, no bleedthrough. The lines were crisp, it didn’t take long to dry on most of the papers I tried it on. On Tomoe River 52gsm paper it took 12-15 seconds to dry and that was it’s slowest dry time. It's not sold as a waterproof ink and it showed no water resistance at all. It stained my hands, particularly near to my fingernails. It took me several washes with bar soap before my hands were clean. It didn’t stain my pens or the insides of my converters that I rinsed out with warm water as usual. On Field Notes paper it didn’t spread or feather. Writing on the reverse side of all of the papers I used would be acceptable as show-through doesn't look as bad on paper than when it is scanned and shown on screen. I’ve seen some reviews of Diamine Coral that make it look more cerise pink than it is. It’s not like Diamine Cerise ink, and I included that ink for comparison to show you the difference between Cerise and Coral. Two inks that look close to Diamine Coral are Noodler’s Dragon’s Napalm and Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu gaki. Winter Persimmon is a good description of the colour of Diamine Coral. Lamy Coral is more red and so is De Atramentis Coral Red. Flow Rate: Very good- quite wet.Lubrication: Very good - felt smooth across the page.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Saturated.Shading Potential: Some shading seen particularly with F nib.Sheen: Some sheen with a pink halo effect.Show-Through:Oxford paperField NotesTomoe River 52gsm paperSpread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen on any paper I used, even Field Notes.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after several days in the pen.Staining (pen): Not seen after several days - easy clean-up.Staining (hands): This can stain your hands. Use bar soap for several washes or Lava soap.Clogging: Not seen.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, and shows no water resistance.Availability: Available in 80ml and 30ml bottles plus cartridges from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Brilliant Red ink. Diamine Brilliant Red is a mid-red dye based ink that could be viewed as a “standard daily red.” It’s neither too pink nor too orange and is from Diamine Inks standard range. Diamine Brilliant Red isn’t a heavily saturated red, it’s less saturated than Diamine Poppy Red and Sheaffer Skrip Red, but it’s that type of bright red. I found it flowed well in the pens I used it with and I saw some shading particularly with the finer nibs. It looked more saturated with my Lamy B nib. Lubrication was good, and it felt smooth writing across all of the papers I used. Flow Rate: Good. Not really wet and dries quickly.Lubrication: Good. Smooth across the paper.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Not heavily saturated ink.Shading Potential: Some shading seen.Sheen: None seen.Show-Through:Rhodia Dot Pad - just a littleTomoe River 52gsmSilvine lined padGeneric lined padField NotesSpread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days in the pen - easy clean-up with water.Staining (hands): Easy clean-up with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof and has no water resistance.Availability: Available in 80ml glass bottles, 30ml plastic bottles and cartridges from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Orange ink. Diamine Orange is a saturated orange dye based ink that I think is the perfect orange. It neither leans towards the yellow end of the colour spectrum, nor the red end of the colour spectrum and is from Diamine Inks standard range. Diamine Orange is a well named ink. It does “what it says on the jar” absolutely spot on orange. More orange than Blaze Orange and Sailor Jentle Apricot, but not quite as “retina searing” as Pumpkin. I found it flowed well in the pens I used it with, although it felt very slightly dryer than Coral and Peach Haze. Lubrication was good, but I would have liked a little more. No shading or sheen noticed. I haven’t had this ink in my pens for an extended period, but I know that many orange or yellow inks can have a tendency to cause “ink crud” on some pen nibs. Flow Rate: Good.Lubrication: Good. I would have preferred slightly more.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Saturated inkShading Potential: No shading seen.Sheen: None seen.Show-Through:Rhodia Dot PadTomoe River 52gsmOxford lined padSpread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen, even on Field Notes.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days in the pen - easy clean-up with water.Staining (hands): Easy clean-up with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof and has no water resistance.Availability: Available in 80ml glass bottles, 30ml plastic bottles and cartridges from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Peach Haze ink. Diamine Peach Haze is a saturated orange dye based ink with a slight pinkness about it. It’s a well-named peach or apricot colour and is from Diamine Inks standard range. Peach Haze is more orange than Diamine Coral, Noodler’s Dragon’s Napalm and P.I. Fuyu gaki, but more pink than Diamond Orange, Noodler’s Operation Overlord Orange and P.I. Yu yake inks. I found it flowed well in the pens I used it with, although it felt slightly dryer than Coral. Lubrication was reasonable, but I would have liked more. No shading or sheen noticed. Flow Rate: Good. Felt slightly dry in the pen & paper combinations I used.Lubrication: Not bad - I would have preferred more.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Saturated inkShading Potential: No shading seen.Sheen: None seen.Show-Through:Hobonichi TechoRhodia Clic BlocSilvine NotebookField NotesTomoe River 52gsmGeneric 80gsm lined padsSpread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen, even on Field Notes.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days in the pen - easy clean-up with water.Staining (hands): Easy clean-up with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof and has no water resistance.Availability: Available from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Violet ink. Diamine Violet is a typical violet purple that leans slightly more blue than red, but is a really attractive colour. It’s an ink from the standard Diamine ink range. Compared with some other lavender/lilac/violet inks it’s a more saturated ink than it first looked, and it can show plenty of shading with fine or medium nibs. I found it flowed well with all of the pens I tried it in, felt slightly wet, and it’s lubrication was really nice and smooth across the page. My review was written on coated printer paper, that isn’t very absorbent, and I saw no spread or show-through. The lines were crisp and it dried quite quickly for this paper. On Field Notes paper it didn’t spread or feather, but I saw some slight show through and bleed through. However, writing on the reverse side of all of the papers I used would be perfectly acceptable as show-through doesn't look as bad on paper than when it is scanned and shown on screen. Violet is not sold as a waterproof ink but showed some water resistance. Flow Rate: Good - quite wetLubrication: Good - felt smooth across the pageNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: SaturatedShading potential: Shading seen with F & M nibsSheen: None noticed.Show-Through:Oxford paperSilvine Notebook (not much)Rhodia Graph (not much)CiaK by InTempoField NotesHobonichi Techo paperTomoe River 52gsm paperSpread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen on any paper I used, even Field NotesNib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after several days in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days - very easy clean-upStaining (hands): Easy clean-up off of skin with bar soap.Clogging: Not seen.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, but shows some water resistance.Availability: Available in 80ml and 30ml bottles plus cartridges from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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Today I'm reviewing Diamine Macassar A dark brown ink from the standard range. The word ‘macassar’ means a kind of oil that men formerly used on their hair to make it shine and lie flat. Makassar is a spelling variant. Makassar is also a former name of Ujung Pandang, a seaport on SW Sulawesi in central Indonesia. Flow Rate: Very good. Quite wet in the pen & paper combinations I used.Lubrication: Good with the M nib on several different papers, a bit more would have been nice with the Safari F nib.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Good.Shading Potential: Some seen with the Safari.Sheen: None seen.Show Through:Tomoe River 68gsm.Cheaper generic 80 & 90gsm printer papers & lined pads.Field NotesTom Bihn LinedWhitelinesSpread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Only a little seen on Field Notes.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Easy clean-up with bar soap. Two washes required with liquid soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Quite water resistant, but not sold as waterproof.Availability: Available from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.
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This is my review of Diamine Monaco Red. I decided to try a sample of this ink because I happened to be browsing on Goulets Pens web-site and noticed that it is one of their selections for their group of red inks. It's the type of 'blood' red I like, not too far along the orange scale and not too far along the blue scale. It has a hint of brownness to it, but is less brown than Oxblood. I have almost finished regrinding my Mb Boheme nib from a B to something less broad, although I'm not absolutely sure what it is yet. However, I wanted to try writing with it so I filled a cartridge with this rather nice red ink. As usual for a Diamine ink, it's a well behaved ink. It's saturated and shows some shading. I found it flowed smoothly across the page, and had no problems with lubrication in the Boheme or the Plumix stub nib that I used. This ink exhibits a little showthrough and a few dots of bleedthrough on my thick Xerox ColorPrint paper. This colour was specially formulated for his Serene Highness Prince Rainier 111 of Monaco and the Grimaldi family in conjunction with a presentation of a limited edition fountain pen. On the whole I prefer Diamine Red Dragon and would rather buy that than Monaco Red. However, if I couldn't get Red Dragon, Monaco Red would be a good substitute. Red Dragon is a little more along the blue scale giving it a shade or so more pinkness. For me at least, that makes Red Dragon perfect. Monaco Red looks a shade or so more brown.The water test on the review form shows this isn't a waterproof ink, but the fact that there was some water on the surface underneath it, that soaked into the paper, shows there is some water resistance.Bearing in mind the paper I use is thick with a shiny surface, and I used a M (?) nib, this ink only took 18-20 secs to dry.It flows through the pen well and lubricates the nib well. I saw no skips or hard starts while I did swabs and dry time tests.It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles, 30ml plastic refill bottles or cartridges.Diamine sell it directly to end-users on their web-site.It's a reasonable price
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I've heard that the release date for these new inks is 4th November; Fountain Pen Day, so I'm posting separate reviews for them on here. I assume they will come in the same type of bottles as the previous set of shimmer inks, but I haven't seen the retail bottles yet. Currently I only have samples that Diamine very kindly sent me to test, and to review 'if I wanted to', but I've noticed that my samples don't need much shaking to mix the particles in, and the pens need very little shaking once they are filled.Generally speaking, I found all 12 of these new shimmer inks to be wetter than all of the other shimmer inks I have used.I have had these inks in these pens for over 2 weeks now. Every pen/ink combination has started straight away without a problem, and I have experienced no stopping or skipping.Some take longer to dry than others, and a couple just soaked into the paper straight away. The most saturated inks will show through and bleed through on cheap paper.None of them are waterproof inks.Diamine Shimmer Moon Dust is a light/medium grey ink that is darker than Diamine Silver Fox, but not as dark as the previous Night Sky dark grey shimmer ink. It's easy to read though. It's not a particularly saturated ink and comes with silver shimmer. It makes this a great silver ink. The silver shimmer shows up quite easily. I used a Lamy Nexx M that has a M nib and I had no trouble seeing the silver effect. This ink is quite wet and has lovely shading. The first picture is a scanned review form, and the second is a photo. These have been adjusted with Photoshop to get the colour you see to look as close as possible to the actual ink colour.
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