Search the Community

Noodler’s Upper Ganges Blue This is an ink that you would either love or hate. It's a sky blue ink, with very fast drying times and then nothing moves it. It hates Japanese Ef steel nibs, wet pens and flex nibs. It'll almost bleed through anything. Ironically the line was thicker when I wrote reverse with Japanese Ef nib. It's very paper specific, Rhodia, Midori and Maruman Mnemosyne. But don't try writing with a gusher/flex nib combo. It'll eat your paper. Let's start with the chroma: Writing samples: While the colour of the first three lines look different it's the scanner not ink. It didn't like the TR at all. Look at the bleeding and bleed through with EF, reverse Ef, fine, flex and fude. Ironically it likes only M and B nibs Massacre of Hammermill Water test: It doesn't budge. Comparison: As usual an art work. This naïve work was inspired by Tara Brach's quote: When we trust that we are the ocean, we are not afraid of the waves. The paper is Fabriano Water colour Black ink Platinum Carbon Black The colour is darker, but the phone camera couldn't capture the blue correctly. The dilution effect was created by a water brush before applying the ink. The ink doesn't budge the moment it touches the paper. Note: Like the Russian series, this ink is more expensive than typical Noodler’s ink. Ink is fluorescent. · Pens used: Pilot Kakuna Ef, Lamy Safari (EF/F/M/B), Jinhao with Kanwrite Ultra-flex /fude · What I liked: Super fast daytimes and looking for spiritual quotes · What I did not like: In general, I prefer inks which have better lubrication or more saturated. · What some might not like: Dry ink, the fact it doesn't like cheap papers, plus it needs a well-sealed pen preferably. · Shading: No. · Ghosting: Depending pen paper combo. Doesn't iike cheap paper. It prefer M/B nibs. · Bleed through: Same as above. · Flow Rate: Very wet. · Lubrication: It doesn't make your scratchy pen cushion-y. · Nib Dry-out: None · Start-up: None · Saturation: Unsaturated · Shading Potential: Maybe with broad nibs. · Sheen: None · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Yes on newspaper paper and depending some pen/nib combos. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Depends. · Staining (pen): No · Clogging: No · Cleaning: Surprisingly easy. I put one of the feeds in an cleaning solution. It was clean. · Water resistance: Excellent. · Availability: 90 ml bottles Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

This is a review of SKB Ink-220, what I call "Sky Blue" On my recent trip to Taiwan, I found a bottle of SKB Ink-220. SKB is one of the historic fountain pen manufacturers in Taiwan. The company was established in 1959 and at one time was one of the top 3 Taiwanese fountain pen manufacturers. While not widely known here in the US, they manufacture a wide range of fountain pens. While I am not certain if SKB produces their own fountain pen ink, they market it under their name. The ink comes in a number of colors. I was only able to obtain one - Ink-220. SKB Ink 220 comes in a very nice square glass bottle with a heavy plastic screw on cap. The bottle opening is a standard size, similar to DeAtramentis or J. Herbin bottles. The bottle is fairly deep and holds 30 mL of ink. I purchased the bottle for right around $7.00. According to one of my interpreters, SKB stands for: S = Smooth; K = Knowing; B = Beauty Here is my written review of the ink. The paper used for this review is Cambridge Executive spiral notebook paper - a reasonably smooth, less absorbent paper similar to HP copier paper: Positives: There is some water resistance, although the letters do spread as the paper dries. My sample was submerged for 5 minutes until the paper was fully saturated. The ink appears fairly resistant to water droplets or simple smearing. The ink dries fairly fast - even with a wet nib on Tomoe River paper. It cleans easily from the pen and converters without staining. Negatives: The color is too pale for EF nibs or possibly F nibs. There is some bleedthrough with broad or stub nibs on more absorbent papers. While SKB Ink 220 will likely not be in my regular rotation, it is well behaved, and will be an ink that I will use for special purposes.

Hello, I placed an order for what would have been my grail pen (OMAS Brown Arco Milord with a broad nib); however, it is looking like the retailer is going to be unable to fulfill it (RIP OMAS). As they were unable to fill it, they have offered to refund the purchase price, or replace the pen in the order. I find myself drawn to the Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear Sky Blue; however, there does not seem to be a lot of information about the KOP Pro Gear on FPN. I am a bit hesitant to order though, mostly due to the size of the pen. I am worried that it will not be long enough to use unposted (as I do not generally post my pens). So far, the ideal pen for me has been the Pelikan M800/M805. It has a nice heft to it, and is long enough for me to use it unposted. I'm curious as to how the length of the KOP Pro Gear compares to the M800. Any pictures comparing the KOP Pro Gear to an M800would be extremely helpful. All the best, ncc82602