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Kala Nostalgia Gemstone Sillimanite According to the Shigure Website: “The KALA Nostalgia Gemstone Series is themed around precious gems. These practical water-proof inks use black and gray pigment to create 12 unique greyscale and dark colors. KALA Nostalgia inks are made in Taiwan.” You can check the whole lineup at https://www.kalaink.com/gemstone-series_en/ I have been enjoying Kala pigment inks for some time and it’s a pity they are not as readily available as other inks. I beleive they are only sold by Shigure inks and Jetpens in the US. For a cute 30 ml bottle, you pay the same amount as a bottle of Noodler’s 90 ml bottle Inks are waterproof/ resistant i.e. if you use them in watercolour a bit of ink is removed if not dry enough. They are dream inks for (inspiring) artists, especially for cross hatching. They are also fabulous for everyday writing, if you like different shades of grey. Now for Sillimanite: it's a pure pencil grey with excellent lubrication, making the scratchy Kukuno Ef nib sing. For me it’s drawing/ doodling/ sketching ink. I enjoyed this ink so much that I’ve been procrastinating posting this review, filling my pens twice. Dry times are short on Rhodia, but the wetter the pen, dry times lengthens as usual on Japanese paper. If you want it a pencil hue, go for a dry pen, otherwise a wetter pen might be needed. There’s subtle shading but let’s say it won’t by any prizes 😛 Ink in general is well behaved and there’s acceptable ghosting on copy paper, unless you use a gusher. Chroma: Writing Samples: Photo: Comparison: Water test: Left side 10 seconds under running water. Art Work: I practiced different styles of drawing with this ink. Most are rough sketches, I can blame the rough quality on the holiday season but to be frank it's mostly because of my impatience and lack of experience I called it Lady Eve, though I wonder if she is an ancestor of Lieutenant M'ress from Star Trek animated series Paper is Talens. Red ink is Octopus Write & Draw Red Duck Background is a mixture of De Atramentis Document/ Artist Cyan in a brush pen, a very difficult to control as it binds immediately to the paper. a quick sketch with a Pilot Kakuno Ef This was inspired by Shop around the corner 1940 movie. Sketch was done whilst watching the movie. The background ink is J Herbin Terre de Feu. · Pens used: Pilot Kakuno Ef, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1), Kanwrite with semiflex Ahab nib. · What I liked: Colour for drawing, behaviour. · What I did not like: Maybe price, for me it’s a drawing ink. Learning to spell Sillimanite Very long name · What some might not like: Pigment ink, colour doesn’t change much even with a wet pen. · Shading: Subtle · Ghosting: Faint on cheap paper, unless using wet pen and are heavy handed. · Bleed through: Same as above. · Flow Rate: Wet · Lubrication: Excellent. · Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. · Start-up: Great · Saturation: Medium. · Shading Potential: There’s some. · Sheen: No. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: A bit with a wet flex, applied heavily. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): No. · Clogging: Did not notice. · Cleaning: Surprisingly easy, but with pigment ink, · Water resistance: Very Good. Some ink will wash away. · Availability: 30 ml bottles, Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

This is my 2nd pigment ink review from this brand. The first one is here. Kala inks are based in Taiwan and make mostly pigment inks. According to https://geology.com/minerals/hematite.shtml: Hematite is one of the most abundant minerals on Earth's surface and in the shallow crust and the most important ore of iron. For what is worth Hematite (which means blood red) is one for the oldest pigments and was used for the cave painting by our ancestors These are some modern Hematite pigments. Kala Hematite resembles the top right (Blue Ridge Violet Hematite). It is dusky dream grey, purple, not as wet as Scapolite, but slightly sluggish. It is pleasing, soothing colour, especially with broad and fude nibs. Lets starts with the Chroma: Comparison It has also a beautiful green/ gold sheen on Mnemosyne paper under artificial light: Writing samples: Midori TR 68gr Photos: Rhodia Maruman Cheap paper front and back Water resistance: Note: under running water it was fine, but the moment I dried it with a paper towel, this happened and finally a fun sketch of a favorite ink character: · Pens used: Lamy Safari (Reverse Fine/ Fine/ Medium /Broad) / Kanwrite Ultraflex / Pilot Plumix · What I liked: Very easy to clean. Pleasing / tender colour. A pleasure to write with. · What I didn’t liked: It’s iffy water resistance. If you spill water, you’re ok, however, if you try to dry it up you will make a mess. · Shading: Only wide a fude nib. · Ghosting: Yes, On cheap paper · Bleed through: Yes, with absorbent papers. · Flow Rate: Good. · Lubrication: Good. · Nib Dry-out: Not noticed. · Start-up: No problem. · Saturation: Dark. · Shading Potential: Only with a fude nib · Sheen: With some papers, like Mnemosyne. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not noticed · Nib Creep / “Crud”: No · Staining (pen): No · Clogging: No. · Cleaning: Very easy to clean…. · Water resistance: See for yourself · Availability: 30 ml bottles Comments appreciated but absolutely not necessary

Kala inks are based in Taiwan and make mostly pigment inks, the Gemstone (variations on grey), Abstraction (variations on Khaki, Grey and Purple) and Tribute to Neon (highlighter), They have also 3 series of dye-based inks, as of now (2023). This is my first pigment ink from this brand. According to https://geology.com/minerals/scapolite.shtml "Scapolite is a name used for a group of aluminosilicate minerals that includes meionite, marialite, and silvialite" No comment Now about the ink. Chroma: Kala Scapolite belongs to the Gemstone series. It is a dark green, grey. With finer nibs it’s almost black. It needs a drier, wider nib, in order to enjoy the green. It reminds me of Noodler’s Zhivago or dark El Lawrence. Comparaison: Ink is very wet, to the point I can easily write/sketch in reverse with a European fine nib. I am not a fan of pale/ pencil greys or grey blacks. Initially I thought, I should have gone with a paler green, grey, yet I’ve been refilling my Lamy Safari, constantly with it. I really like writing and sketching with it. Writing samples: Rhodia TR 68 gr Photo of the scan above: Marumann Midori Cheap Paper (Front) Cheap paper (back) This ink is water resistant but not 100% waterproof. Rubbing or washing it will spread the green dye, which makes it perfect for washes. A simple wash on Canson Water colour paper: A sketch I did for inktober (shadows) - Note I used a wet brush to float the green dye about. (my apologies to Georges de La Tour) I had to use a pen cleaner for the Safari. Note this was after the half a day of soaking in water.... Ironically the Pilot didn't need that much cleaning... · Pens used: Lamy Safari (Fine/ Medium /Broad) /Pilot Kakuno (M), Kanwrite Ultraflex /TWSBI Go Stub, · Shading: Only wide a fude nib. · Ghosting: Yes On cheap paper · Bleed through: Yes, with absorbent papers. · Flow Rate: Very wet · Lubrication: Great. I enjoyed reverse writing with a Japanese M · Nib Dry-out: Not noticed. · Start-up: No problem. · Saturation: Dark. · Shading Potential: Only with a fude nib…needs a dry pen · Sheen: Faint · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not noticed · Nib Creep / “Crud”: No · Staining (pen): No · Clogging: No. · Cleaning: Lamy Safari needed a pen cleaner. · Water resistance: See for yourself · Availability: 30 ml bottles Comments appreciated but not obligatory