What ink(s) are you waiting for in the mail?

[mizgeorge]

9 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Digging through my junk mail just now, I noticed I got a reply from the shop yesterday advising of which Shikisai colours it still has 50ml bottles in stock, and there are two that were not previously listed. (Doyou is now gone as well, but I think I've secured a bottle in my original order.) Those two colours might be OK; let me think (and re-read some reviews).

 

In the meantime, though, I've already spent the money from the expected refund (and topped the budget up, too) on three more Van Dieman's Ink inks, not that I'm impressed by its customer service so far, but my wife seems to like its products.

Well I wish they'd let me know that, as I'd have had certainly one, if not both of the 'additional' colours. Too late now, I think, but not very well organised.

[welch]

Just received Scribe Indigo ink, designed by Leighton Davies-Smith, who created Parker's Penman inks. It is a new series of inks -- see scribetc.com -- that may be similar to the Penman inks. I found them at Pen Realm. I will be filling Scribe Indigo into a pair of Parker 75s, an early 75 and a 75 Premium. 

[NumberSix]

I recently sold some pens, and I decided to stock up (sometimes restock) on some essential inks for my collection. So as of this morning I have some Montblanc, Edelstein, Iroshizuku, Aurora, and 4001 inks on order. I spread it out over 4 stores, based on availability and also a desire to share the wealth. 

 

When it's all said and done, I will no doubt have way too many black, royal blue, and blue-black inks in the drawer. 😜

 

I still need to order another bottle of Serenity Blue because you always need a bottle of it on hand. 

[JonSzanto]

4 hours ago, NumberSix said:

I spread it out over 4 stores, based on availability and also a desire to share the wealth. 

 

Excellent move! All those small businesses need us.

 

Quote

 When it's all said and done, I will no doubt have way too many black, royal blue, and blue-black inks in the drawer. 😜

 

Hehe... get in line!

[Tasmith]

McCaffery's Penman's Ink Indigo Blue for my dip pens.

 

[NumberSix]

9 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

 

Hehe... get in line!

I keep trying to move on from the Big Three Colors. But aside from the occasional green, red, or brown, I just can't do it. 

 

So I console myself by buying Aurora Black and Iroshizuku Black and Montblanc Black and Edelstein Black and J Herbin Black and Pilot Black and so on. See also royal blue and blue-black. 

[chromantic]

I'm waiting on a bottle of Monteverde Key Lime Pie, which alanlight featured in his Pelikano Twist review.

[TitoThePencilPimp]

I splurged a bit and ordered both the light and dark Hakase Real Sepia ink. It should be here in a week or so. Normally I would not spend so much in ink, but I wanted to rewrite my notes for grad school preparation with a "unusual" ink.

[mizgeorge]

31 minutes ago, TitoThePencilPimp said:

I splurged a bit and ordered both the light and dark Hakase Real Sepia ink. It should be here in a week or so. Normally I would not spend so much in ink, but I wanted to rewrite my notes for grad school preparation with a "unusual" ink.

If unusual was the brief, you chose well, I think. Not one I've ever wanted - it all seems far too much like hard work!

[PithyProlix]

R&K Salix & Sepia; Diamine Prussian Blue; Herbin 10 ml bottles: Cacao du Bresil + Lie De The + Vert Empire + Vert de Gris.

 

Samples: KWZ Brown Pink; Noodler's Red Black & Zhivago; Oster Barossa Grape + Bronze + Purple Rock.

[ENewton]

2 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

R&K Salix & Sepia; Diamine Prussian Blue; Herbin 10 ml bottles: Cacao du Bresil + Lie De The + Vert Empire + Vert de Gris.

 

Samples: KWZ Brown Pink; Noodler's Red Black & Zhivago; Oster Barossa Grape + Bronze + Purple Rock.

 

I will be interested in your impressions of these inks!

 

I used Rohrer & Klingner Sepia for years but recently acquired a bottle of Cacao du Bresil and was won over to it.  I did find Sepia to be both attractive and well behaved; although the manufacturer warns not to mix it with other inks, I have never had trouble switching between Sepia and other inks in the same pen.  (Of course, I flushed the pen between fills, but I use only water for flushing.)  As for Cacao, the color is a natural fit for me, with its soft purple undertones.  In addition, the ink is dry enough for writing checks on bad paper and for scribbling annotations in paperback books.  The one adjustment I have had to make to enjoy Cacao to the fullest is that, while I usually keep an inked pen standing nib up in a cup when not in use, I have found it best for the pen I fill with Cacao to lie flat.

 

As for the two Oster inks you mention, I own bottles of both, and each ink has required quite extensive experimentation to guarantee my satisfaction with it.  Purple Rock looks very nice indeed (to my eye) on various papers, but on some it develops an ugly green cast.  One year, I used it to write names on holiday gift tags, and in that case it produced a respectable forest green, but on some other papers, notably Tomoe River, I do not like it at all.  As for Barossa Grape, I was excited by early reviews and online swabs but got a sample and discovered the ink to be remarkably low in saturation, more a pale liver color than a purple.  After trying it in about a dozen pens, I gave up in despair, but quite recently, I was convinced to give it another try, and in a Sailor broad nib, the saturation is fine.  I am still getting used to the color, which leans quite far toward blue gray when it dries.  

 

I look forward to learning of your own experience.

[PithyProlix]

10 minutes ago, ENewton said:

 

I will be interested in your impressions of these inks!

 

I used Rohrer & Klingner Sepia for years but recently acquired a bottle of Cacao du Bresil and was won over to it.  I did find Sepia to be both attractive and well behaved; although the manufacturer warns not to mix it with other inks, I have never had trouble switching between Sepia and other inks in the same pen.  (Of course, I flushed the pen between fills, but I use only water for flushing.)  As for Cacao, the color is a natural fit for me, with its soft purple undertones.  In addition, the ink is dry enough for writing checks on bad paper and for scribbling annotations in paperback books.  The one adjustment I have had to make to enjoy Cacao to the fullest is that, while I usually keep an inked pen standing nib up in a cup when not in use, I have found it best for the pen I fill with Cacao to lie flat.

 

I have L'Artisan Pastellier Classique Brun Ours and, from what I can tell from pictures online, it seems very similar to R&K Sepia and Herbin Cacao. Brun Ours quickly became one of my favorite writing inks and, even if they are very similar, I certainly won't mind having more ink in that color neighborhood. I might post a comparison of the three.

I have the same issue with a few other Herbin inks - not that they seem dry especially compared to other inks I use - and I find that I have to store the pens they are inked with nib down, the only pens I do that with.

 

10 minutes ago, ENewton said:

As for the two Oster inks you mention, I own bottles of both, and each ink has required quite extensive experimentation to guarantee my satisfaction with it.  Purple Rock looks very nice indeed (to my eye) on various papers, but on some it develops an ugly green cast.  One year, I used it to write names on holiday gift tags, and in that case it produced a respectable forest green, but on some other papers, notably Tomoe River, I do not like it at all.  As for Barossa Grape, I was excited by early reviews and online swabs but got a sample and discovered the ink to be remarkably low in saturation, more a pale liver color than a purple.  After trying it in about a dozen pens, I gave up in despair, but quite recently, I was convinced to give it another try, and in a Sailor broad nib, the saturation is fine.  I am still getting used to the color, which leans quite far toward blue gray when it dries.  

 

I look forward to learning of your own experience.

 

I suppose the green from Purple Rock is sheen? Green sheen in purple inks is not too uncommon and it would make sense if the green is coming out most on Tomoe River paper. (I have one ink meant for sheening - Diamine Winter Miracle, a purple ink with a green sheen - and it's fun for calligraphy but I don't think I will be getting more.) 

I have a very wet Sailor with with a medium nib that writes like a broad and I've been trying to find a ink that works well with it - I'll try it with Barossa Grape. Thanks for the suggestion.

[ENewton]

11 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

I suppose the green from Purple Rock is sheen? Green sheen in purple inks is not too uncommon and it would make sense if the green is coming out most on Tomoe River paper. (I have one ink meant for sheening - Diamine Winter Miracle, a purple ink with a green sheen - and it's fun for calligraphy but I don't think I will be getting more.) 

I have a very wet Sailor with with a medium nib that writes like a broad and I've been trying to find a ink that works well with it - I'll try it with Barossa Grape. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

I don't know.  I don't think it is sheen.  The effect is apparent even when the ink is laid on thinly.  Scroll down in this review to see how Purple Rock looks on Moleskine:

 

Also, see this thread in which someone suspected that a sample of Purple Jazz had been mislabeled, because it didn't look purple.  The vendor insisted that the labeling was correct.

 

 

 

 

[PithyProlix]

3 hours ago, ENewton said:

Also, see this thread in which someone suspected that a sample of Purple Jazz had been mislabeled, because it didn't look purple.  The vendor insisted that the labeling was correct.

 

I was a little confused about the various Oster Purple inks named for music. From what I gather, Purple Jazz is the new name for Purple Soul - Purple Rock is a different color.

 

Of the Oster purples & near-purples I am also keen to try Purple Jazz, Sydney Lavender, Charcoal, Dark Chocolate, and Berry d'Arche (Vanness exclusive), the last two as part of my 'purple yams' quest. Unfortunately the place I ordered from - Pure Pens, who have a great international shipping price for orders under 30 GBP - did not have samples of these.

[mizgeorge]

Good news for anyone who was waiting - the Akkerman 60ml bottles are back in stock.

 

A few may be on their way to me - that's felt like a long wait to order some ink.

 

 

[jandrew]

Waiting on three more Van Dieman's --- they finally landed in Canada today, so sometime next week (inks: Sweet Fig, Hailstorm, Federation Peak).

[ENewton]

18 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

I was a little confused about the various Oster Purple inks named for music. From what I gather, Purple Jazz is the new name for Purple Soul - Purple Rock is a different color.

 

Of the Oster purples & near-purples I am also keen to try Purple Jazz, Sydney Lavender, Charcoal, Dark Chocolate, and Berry d'Arche (Vanness exclusive), the last two as part of my 'purple yams' quest. Unfortunately the place I ordered from - Pure Pens, who have a great international shipping price for orders under 30 GBP - did not have samples of these.

 

Yes, Purple Jazz was originally called Purple Soul, and Purple Rock is a different ink.  (It didn't even occur to me that "Rock" was a reference to music!  I thought it referred to the color of stone, which made sense for a purple gray.)  I was initially interested in Purple Soul/Jazz on the basis of swatches, but when I learned that it, too, tends to green, I did not bother with it.

 

 

 

[Lulu Blue]

Well, I just ordered a bunch of ink because of their FREE SHIPPING deal and because I got 10% off. Those crafty devils at  Pen Chalet.  I am such a sucker... Here is my list

 

Vicontsi Cartridges - black

Pilot Iroshizuku 4ml sample - Bamboo Coal

Robert Oster Shake 'N' Shimmy 4ml sample Heart of Gold

Krishna 20ml Samrock

Krishna 30mil Ebony Green

Krishna bottle - Permanent Black

Robert Oster 50ml Great Southern Ocean --- I'm really excited about this one!

Robert Oster 4ml sample Frankly Scarlet

Robert Oster 4ml sample Motor Oil

 

Yummy. Come to mama. 

[mizgeorge]

Well I can only applaud the super quick shipping from PenGallery in Malaysia - my inks have just been delivered - including the rather interesting Diamine special - Manggis, which seems to be perfectly named - it's a lime sheening purple that on a quick dip test looks like one I'm going to like a lot.

 

So now I'm just waiting on some Akkerman's, a few Troublemakers, and a bottle of Shop Denim Blues that's coming with my new Franklin-Christoph. 

 

I feel positively restrained

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

Well I can only applaud the super quick shipping from PenGallery in Malaysia

 

Whereas I just fired off an email to them expressing my disappointment and dissatisfaction in no uncertain terms, typical A Smug Dill style…

 

Edit: … and promptly received an apologetic reply from the owner — even though it's late on Friday night in Malaysia — acknowledging that there was a major communication breakdown. The good part is that apparently my order has already been dispatched by FedEx yesterday, with the items that they could supply. Two late additions, after I was told Rikyucha on my original order was not available and they have revised the list from which I was invited to choose substitutes, also ended up not being available, but I wasn't advised of that, and was left hanging for three days.

 

If customer service was as attentive as what transpired just now, I'd have been completely OK with missing out on a couple of bottles of ink that were second-choice and second-thought.

 

Ah well. I look forward to trying Diamine Manggis, and replenishing my supply of Diamine Jalur Gemilang, which is my single most favourite Diamine ink but also a region-exclusive that is only available from a single source.

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by A Smug Dill
Update