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Kala Nostalgia Abstraction Moonlight Tide Kala pinks are made in Taiwan. As of this day, there are 4 series of inks: This, I believe is my 167 review 1) The grey scale Nostalgia Gemstone (12 pigment inks) 2) The subtle Abstraction (12 pigment inks) 3) The punchy Neon (12 pigment inks) 4) Non-pigment Island N°38 Series (18 inks). All bottles are 30 ml. I have to admit, I’ve fallen in love with these inks. I like the smaller bottles and subtlety of colours, especially for artwork. On the downside, they are not easy to find, unless you live in US or the Far East and they can be quite pricey, compared to Noodler's ink for us living in North America or De Atramentis/ Octopus pigment for those who live in Europe for ex. This is what they’re website says about the abstraction series: “Inspires the writings and sketching sailing in a dream-like illusion. Featuring low-chromed pigment ink with full of imagination for distinctive fountain pen users, there are 6 colors with higher saturation and 6 brighter colors to choose from”. Moonlight Tide is subtle dark grey pigment ink. Extremely enjoyable to write, sketch with this wet, well lubricated, waterproof ink. There was some bleed through on copy paper and on Iroful when I flexed the unyielding Nib creaper. Ink needs to be completely dry to be waterproof, especially for those who practice sketching with fountain pen. Chroma: Writing Samples: I used a Hongidan M2 with an Ef nib for both ultra extra fine line ( reverse) and Chinese Ef. Hence CH EF. A Jinhao 450 with fude nib was used instead of Stub and a nib creaper with a pseudo-flex nib. Dry times are longer with the wet Hongdian than the dry Lamy Safari on Rhodia; they are longer on Japanese Paper. (normally double the time) Photo: Note the contrast between Rhodia (left) and Iroful (right) Comparison: Water test: Left side 10 seconds under running water. After 24 hours. It seems a bit of ink has been removed. Paper is a Mnemosyne. Art Work: I did a lot of artwork, most of them scrapped, and bit on the wacky side: Lady in Grey (rough sketch) Part of the Inktober yearlong challenge, the first prompt of the year was was sunrise. I made several drawings, This is one of them. The wacky dead tree is done with Kala Moonlight tide. The rest is a lot of mixes and dilutions of the following inks: Noodler's Polar Brown/Polar Green and Lexington Gray / Red Rattler Red / Jacques Herbin rue de la Verrerie. Talens Mixed media sketchbook. This take was inspired by the Sunrise, sunset song/scene from the Fiddler on the roof. This is an anthropomorphic depiction of the scene: Kala Nostalgia Abstraction Moonlight tide Jacques Herbin rue de la Verrerie, Noodler's Eel Red Rattler Red (diluted) and good old cat and mouse at the sunrise... Kala Nostalgia Abstraction Moonlight tide Kala Scapolite (the supposed grass ) Noodler's Apache sunset J Herbin rue de Verrerie · Pens used: Hongdian M2 Ef (EF reverse), Lamy (EF/F/M/B), Jinhao 450, Noodler’s Nib creaper · What I liked: Colour, especially in drawing, wetness and lubrication. · What I did not like: Not easy to find, pricey, long name. I’m not sure if these subtle greys make a dent for those who write. · What some might not like: AFOPI (Abnormal fear of pigment inks), price? · Shading: If there is some, I don’t see it. · Ghosting: No. · Bleed through: Yes, on cheap paper, and a bit on Iroful when I force flexed the nib creaper. · Flow Rate: Wet · Lubrication: Gorgeous. · Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. · Start-up: Ok · Saturation: saturated · Shading Potential: Dismal · Sheen: No. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): No. · Clogging: Did not notice. · Cleaning: Like most pigment inks, the more the ink stay in your pen, the more time it takes to clean. · Water resistance: Excellent. · Availability: 30 ml bottles, Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

Hello all FPNers! Today I have in review a very interesting and unusual tool from the Ystudio design. For a long time I wanted to buy something unusual, not classic, and began to look at faceted pen (hexa- and octa-gonal design) from different brands. Actually, having seen this unusual design about six months ago, he laid down an idea for my mind (like in the “Inception” by Christopher Nolan) and a week and a half ago, accidentally hitting the manufacturer’s website, flipping through the pages, I couldn’t resist and wrote to contact – and I have this handsome in hand:) Ystudio Brassing – Portable Fountain Pen (made in Taiwan) link to model on offsite So: the tool is a straight form, I would even say, exquisitely simple shape of a hexagon and is literally associated with the shape of a classic pencil. The all parts is made of brass and coated (anodized?) with matt black lacquer (powder?). Filling system is cartridge/converter, international format. The cap on frictional and closes with a characteristic click, while keeping very tight. Since this model is a product of a design studio that does not produce its own nibs, the tool uses a nib unit manufactured by Schmidt, which consists of a plastic collar with plastic feed and nib placed on friction. It seemed to me a very interesting design for positioning the nib in section, which is also made of brass. In contrast to the usual mounting design, where the thread for the NU (nib unit) is located inside the section, this model uses a special collar(from brass also) that locks (clamps) the NU from the converter side, like a nut. The solution is very simple and elegant, this solution allows you to positioning nib relative to the main body as it is convenient for the owner and can be easily changed at any time. Also on the section there is a sealing rubber o-ring that contributes to a tight connection of the body with the grip. The collar on converter seemed interesting to me too: as it seems to me, the guys replaced the standard steel collar to their own brass ring so this element correspond to a single concept. Attention to detail is just great! This model is named a portable fountain pen and due to its simple design, the cap lacks a clip, but the top has an “eyelet” at the same minimalist style that allows you to attach this pen to a strap, chain or similar. The brass body is coated with black lacquer (powder), but the ribs remain in their natural golden color, which gives to pen an additional aesthetics. One of the faces bears the studio’s logo – Y in a circle and brand – ystudio. Nib: the nib is quite ordinary by modern standarts, golden in color, size 5, quite rigid and very smooth right out of the box, there were no problems with it from the first filling. The nib has an ornament, the dimension of the nib in the center of the geometric shape is M and SCHMIDT IRIDIUM POINT – manufacturer info. I will say right away that I am impressed by the fact that the information on the pen is applied in the classical way under the press, and not, as many studios do now, by the laser engraving. In my opinion, the stamping adds weight to the brand, although this does not affect the quality :). An interesting accessory comes with pen is a maple wood case, painted in black. In the head of the case there is a special hole where the cap is tightly inserted and fixed with a leather strap (which is also included in the kit), after which the fountain pen can be closed into the cap and screwed by thread with bottom part. The cap opens/closes in 1.5 turns. Overall dimensions: folded length – 138.5mm, without cap – 119mm. The diameter of the body along the edges is 12mm, and along the faces – 10.5mm, the diameter at the grip is 8mm. The full weight of tool (with a half-filled converter) is 45.6g, and without cap it is 28.7g. The weight of the wooden case is 22.9g, the length is 138mm, and the diameter is 20.8mm. Minutes of history: On their website, the guys posted a video about the concept of their studio and their instruments, and the concept is very simple. Not in the sense that 1 + 1 = 2, but in the fact that it is based on simple human feelings: love, tenderness, regret, memories, that we forget in our electronic age of gadgets and crazy speeds. Hey people, you needed stop, breathe, think, to finally come to visit your parents and grandparents just to drink tea, and not to run in to give medicine and run on. Everybody is needed love your loved ones while they are alive, write letters to friends, do not be afraid to express your feelings now, use pens if it is difficult to express in words – the writing is concentrates everyone! The line width by right side is 0.4mm. The pressure allows you to slightly increase the feed and line up to 0.7mm. The reverse side writes very thin and transparent with a line width of 0.2mm. The flow is normal, both sides write smoothly. At the end: a very unusual and conceptual tool. I really liked the design. The grip is probably a bit thin for my hands, but I understand that, this is done due to the concept of linear design. In general, for those who thinking about new unusual tool (may be gift for Christmas?) for themselves (loved one), I advise you to pay attention to this brand. And when unpacking you will clearly feel the feeling of a gift (see below in update). The cost is average, in addition, it includes delivery by courier service DHL, which in a pandemic time is the fastest, in my opinion (to me was delivered in 4 days !!!). A little more photos (with open the box) by the link: http://lenskiy.org/2020/11/modern-ystudio-brassing-portable/