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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

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