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Y'know, it's kind of hard to live up the quality of reviews by folks like LizEF or Yazeh or the very much lamented late Sandy1. Years back, FPN folks like me would print off a sample sheet on a laserjet - there were several formats here on FPN - write a few lines, maybe use two or three nibs, flick some water on an inked grid, and Hey, presto! , we had a review to post. Now we have paper chromatography, a score of different papers, scads of pens and nibs, videos, microscopic measured photos, and some amazing artwork. Sincere kudos to all concerned, but I'm perhaps just not up to that level of review. But it is possible to describe some of the experiences we get with inks. Some of these experiences don't translate (yet) into posts on FPN. Short of the John Waters movies with scratch-n-sniff cards, we can't recreate odours of inks for people reading online. The exact feel of a pen nib on paper with an ink doesn't come up in a display, unless the video records a hideous scraping noise coupled with fulsome curses from the writer. We generally can't experience watching the ink drying and setting on paper, looking from various angles, even if we can see a video. So, with that in mind, here is a set of written experiences with a recent ink purchase that might evoke some common experiences with readers, especially the process of choosing new inks and then trying to source them. I suppose that these are indeed "Inky Thoughts". Like everyone here, I read ink reviews and news on novel or recently issued inks with interest. In recent times, I've significantly cut back on buying inks, especially after a friend from FPN suggested that I take an inventory of my ink stash. Yes, yes, I knew that I had the odd box or two, several drawers full of ink, but who knew that I had enough to see me through and beyond my dotage ? Of course, not realising that I possess so many ink bottles could well be a clear sign of that dotage, even if earlier than my years would suggest. Nonetheless, I had pulled back on the throttle of purchases sharply, down to perhaps two or three bottles in a year. That same friend has most generously sent me a few bottles in the last year, so I've been even less inclined to buy more ink. At the same time, I've been eking out the last drops of some KWZI IG Red that I'd purchased a decade back in a group purchase of inks here on FPN. I have loved writing with that ink. It has been water resistant, writes well on almost any paper including thermal receipts for credit cards, darkens to a more sedate shade than inks like Herbin Rouge Opera, flows well in the pen without appreciable nib creep, doesn't gunk up a pen where it was used for months, starts well, never "bloops" in giant globs on a page. It has been in every way, my "go to ink" where I want to use a colour that draws some but not excessive attention in my notes and writing. I had purchased a massive quantity of the KWZI inks, especially that IG Red, and I foolishly thought I'd find something similar if that ink wasn't continued in production. Several sites showed the KWZI IG Red ink as available, but e-mails to the sites yielded exactly zero replies. Surely there were substitutes close in character ? A source should just pop up with a touch of research. But I was wrong on that point. Finding a water-resistant ink that was a decent match for KWZI IG Red wasn't very easy at all. There are plenty of red inks available, but I wasn't determining one that was close to my desires in a similar ink. I even experimented with mixing some Platinum pigment inks without notable success. I could use an ink like Montblanc Alfred Hitchcock, a great colour despite the lack of water resistance, but that ink has become Unobtainium in nature. I tested a fair number of inks, finding modest matches in qualities but not very close to the KWZI ink. I won't write out a tedious list, but between the inks in my significant stash and new inks, the testing was reasonably thoughtful. I also came to realise that I indeed liked the iron gall darkening effect my steadfast KWZI had provided, even if slowly deteriorating as the years past as the iron gall component in those bottles aged. I looked around extensively on FPN, even going back many years to see if I could source an ink that would satisfy my desires. Despite ordering and testing inks, in addition to gifts and suggestions from a supportive friend, I was frustrated in the quest. Perhaps I was being too picky and specific ? It became apparent that I would have broaden my scope and to look outside North America to other ink makers. Somewhere in my research on FPN and a number of other pen&ink sites, I read that Ostrich Ink, or more formally, Tianjin Ostrich Ink Co., Ltd., made iron gall inks. Some further research revealed that Ostrich makes a red iron gall ink named Rosefinch. I couldn't find any FPN reviews on this ink; indeed, reviews for Ostrich inks on FPN were few, far between, and years old for that brand. For some odd reason that I cannot clearly articulate, I pondered if if Ostrich ink was something worth pursuing. Ostrich, after all, is a Chinese ink maker, and so I might have to order from overseas, something I very seldom do (excepting the half-dozen bottles of Kiwa-guru that I ordered a long time back from Japan). I found that it wasn't on the sites for the North American places where I've previously purchased ink, and even scant on eBay. But. There was one vendor here in the United States, specifically in Rhode Island, carrying the ink : Pen Savings. I emailed the site, not especially expecting a reply, given my poor luck of late with enquiries. I asked about the ink characteristics for drying and water resistance. To my vast astonishment, I had a reply in less than an hour with crisp succinct information from Chris, who I assume is the owner/operator of the company. Several other e-mails bounced back'n'forth with almost the speed of a tennis ball, and an order for two affordable bottles of Rosefinch was placed. I "rounded the order up" with some 18 mL bottles of Ostrich "sheening inks" simply out of my personal cheapness in not wishing to pay shipping. Five days later, the order appeared, shipped across most of the continental United States, including a holiday weekend. Everything arrived in good order, meticulously packed. I am immensely pleased with this transaction and I will be recommending this vendor to friends. So. What am I getting in the delivery ? I am not one of those people who creates "unboxing" videos, so a written description will have to suffice. First, the Ostrich packaging for the iron gall ink is every bit as good as one finds with inks like the Montblanc limited editions, actually better. The box has a gullwing sort of opening from the bottom, including some type of magnetic catch to hold it in place. Within the box is a vellum type material foldout brochure which is elegant in form. The bottle is cradled in a velvet like support, underlayed with some kind of foam or polymer to protect the bottle. In all truth, I was gobsmacked at the quality of packaging for an ink at this price point. MB LE inks going for twice the price are, in my considered opinion, not even fractionally as well protected, let alone showing the kind of impression that the Ostrich IG ink packaging provided. The packaging has a bit of a chemical odour, perhaps because the box is cellophane wrapped and then transported from China. For clarity, I would add that the ink does not have a scent of that type. I removed the bottle from the box and carefully swirled the ink around the bottle to ensure that the dye/pigment and iron gall components would be well mixed. So. How does the ink perform ? "The ink performs quite nicely" would be a decent summary for the Ostrich Iron Gall Rosefinch ink. The ink flows reasonably smoothly but not excessively, laying down a bright cardinal red line. The lubrication of the ink is good with sufficient resistance to let a cursive italic nib "bite" very slightly in making variable width lines. Here in the Southwest, the ink dries in less than five seconds, varying a bit with the width and amount of ink deposited. Thin lines dry in a second or two. Since this is "fresh" iron gall ink, the colour visibly darkens in less than thirty seconds, and after a minute-plus reaches a deep red colour. Washing a fully-dried written page under running water removes the darker colour, leaving behind a lighter brighter shade of red, with a slight pinkish halo. The essential written materials are entirely preserved. Rosefinch may not be "waterproof", but it is highly water resistant. My writing is done with a Pelikan M250 burgundy pen with a cursive italic nib. The nib would be described as a medium CI, with good but-by-no-means gushing characteristics. Time will tell, but I may well have found the worthy successor ink that I was seeking. And. I also have four "sheening" inks from Ostrich to play with in the coming weeks. The Green Emerald and Purple Amethyst in particular show some promise in quick swabs made this morning. But I have much testing to perform on the Rosefinch ink before I embark on using those other inks... As "An Ink Experience" goes, this has been a good one. John P. P.S. Given the world that we live in, I suppose I should make some statement about I paid for my own inks and my comments are my own. FWIW, I do plan to try some of the other Ostrich IG inks in the coming months. Make what you will of that intention.

Ostrich Flower Series ink inter-mix, on Flickr pretty much self explanatory I suppose ... anyway after the initial sampling I posted while ago. I go out and do the inter-fix. This is how I do it, I use industrial / lab syringe to measure exactly 0.6ml each of 2 ink and had them mixed in a 2ml lab sample vile ( the same kind of plastic container usually ink sampler come in but its 2ml instead ). I had them then stored in cool covered ( no light ) for about 3 weeks to made sure the mix do not come with some unexpected chemistry experiment. Then its onto the color table, all are put onto the paper using a Glass Dip pen, paper is Rhodia dot pad paper, and 3 patches of standard graphic use graphite pencil 2B,4B, and 6B are included for those who want to colour balance the photo for better accuracy. Some surprise in the mix but most are expected. I think I might go off& get some extra bottle of certain colours to made a full 30ml of a certain mix This is how the ink come in ( 15ml per bottle X 12 colours )

Ostrich ink is a very very old name in ink manufacturing in China and last year they bring out their first ever set of color ink in the form of the " Flower Series " at 15ml ea. for a collection of 12 colors; I recently get hold of a set of this in the plain form ( there is also the same set but with gold glitter ). A lot of back and forth communique with the factory tech finally get me informed that while the ink is not marketed or intentionally designed for mixing it is none the less mixable. So I set out to do a sampling of the ink and the combo The combo will have to wait a bit later but I've shoot a sample of the ink as they are The text is written with a 3B pencil and the gray card is a Kodak 18% gray for those who know how to color balance it; the paper is Rhodia dot pad. I forget to put the name of one of the color, that one is termed y the Mfr " Withered Sakura "