Ink Review: Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

[Uncle Red]

I find that the wettness of the pen and nearby color affect the perception of this ink. I love it, it's in an Esterbrook J with a 2284 broad stub nib here at work.

[kronos77]

Could you tell me more about the flow of this ink. R&K are supposed to be dry, aren't they? I need something above average in flow.

[fourseamer]

I filled a Bexley Corona with fine nib that has a nice "Binderized" flow, and R&K Sepia wrote smoothly from it. No dryness of particular note. I think R&K gets that reputation because of its popular iron gall inks, Salix and Scabiosa. Like many iron gall inks, these are dry.

[rudyhou]

i have a bottle of this color and i have yet to use it with my many fps. i tested the color prior to the purchase and liked it. i like the color of brown and grey inks in general and this one looks like somewhere in between. thanks for sharing, you remind me of why i got the bottle of r&k sepia in the first place. ps: my bottle comes with a metal cap.

Edited May 2, 2012 by rudyhou

[Biber]

I loved this color before I bought it.

[mhphoto]

That's one nice looking ink! Thanks for the review!

[fncll]

Thanks for this. Brown inks are slowly becoming "my thing" -- there's nothing better on a nice ivory or champagne paper. But I'll ever be in search of the perfect example. This looks like a worthy entrant into the field!

[bwnewton]

Nice review.

 

I use this ink regularly in a Lamy Al-Star coffee with an F nib. It shades well, behaves good on low-quality paper, is water resistant, and I like the unique shade of brown.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Having read the reviews, I knew this sepia was not going to be like my old discontinued MB Sepia.

It found its self in Cobweb Corner...before I really found out Sepia was not Brown. I now have 1 2/3's bottles of that sepia.

 

R&K Sepia is a major league Shading ink.

Once one has become use to R&K's Old Gold Green, other colors not in the main stream that can be appreciated. It is no where near my MB sepia nor many of the 32 "sepias" that a fine poster tested. (Even found my Pelikan 4001 listed as a Sepia .) So one's Sepia is not some one else's.

It is to me a grayed green with a slight brownish undertone.

 

It is one of the best shading inks I've tried. The muted color allows the great shading to really stand out.

I used a MB 234 1/2 Deluxe('52-55 only) semi-flex KOB nib (My # 1 pen due to nib, girth, and back weighting) on M&K 95 g typewriter paper with watermark.

 

The only negative is it is an ink that demands total cleaning of the pen used, when changing to another ink.

The company says if you mix this ink...use it imminently and clean your pen ASAP.

 

I don't care about water proof.

[raging.dragon]

For comparison, here's what a real sepia ink looks like:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=205676

[EKE]

This is one of my favorite inks, truly. I use it all the time. Bought a sample of this after I found I couldn't get Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia, and I wanted to find a match for that classic sepia color, which in my mind is not really a brown, but a deep warm grey with slight violet overtone. As soon as I tried it I was hooked and bought a bottle.

 

R&K Sepia is just that classic color - exactly what I was looking for. What I was pleasantly surprised to find is that it is a super well behaved ink that shades spectacularly with a medium or broad nib. Great stuff!

[Genova Blues]

This is one of my favorite inks, truly. I use it all the time. Bought a sample of this after I found I couldn't get Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia, and I wanted to find a match for that classic sepia color, which in my mind is not really a brown, but a deep warm grey with slight violet overtone. As soon as I tried it I was hooked and bought a bottle.

 

R&K Sepia is just that classic color - exactly what I was looking for. What I was pleasantly surprised to find is that it is a super well behaved ink that shades spectacularly with a medium or broad nib. Great stuff!

 

I bought this ink about a year ago for the same reason: I wanted a classic, old-styled writing ink and that was the match.

 

I like it indeed, but - maybe my one specific sample - it is actually useless, beacuse it dries in the nib systematically in each pen I tried: having two-three pens in rotation, if I am not using it for more than half a day, the pen does not start and I have to struggle wetting the nib or whatever to make it start: no way for me; the bottle rests in the drawer, almost full.

And this sounds to me rather strange, since I have several Rohrer und Klingner inks (Konigsblue, Leipziger Schwarz, Verdigris) and they all work beautifully and indeed I use most of them to make dry pens write well.

 

Have anyone of you had the same problem?

 

Sergio

Edited April 8, 2013 by ser.rep

[galdor]

I like it indeed, but - maybe my one specific sample - it is actually useless, beacuse it dries in the nib systematically in each pen I tried: having two-three pens in rotation, if I am not using it for more than half a day, the pen does not start and I have to struggle wetting the nib or whatever to make it start: no way for me; the bottle rests in the drawer, almost full.

And this sounds to me rather strange, since I have several Rohrer und Klingner inks (Konigsblue, Leipziger Schwarz, Verdigris) and they all work beautifully and indeed I use most of them to make dry pens write well.

 

Have anyone of you had the same problem?

 

I used R&K Sepia in both a Pilot 78G F and an Italix Parson's Essential, and never had any starting problem even after several days without using then pen. Maybe a defective batch ?

[Genova Blues]

I used R&K Sepia in both a Pilot 78G F and an Italix Parson's Essential, and never had any starting problem even after several days without using then pen. Maybe a defective batch ?

 

Yes, maybe. I thought that either.

That's why I asked on FPN forum: if no one had my problem, then my particular bottle could be the one.

 

I have to add that when writing my R&K Sepia gives a strange sandy feeling ...

 

I also wrote to the factory, let's see if they will answer.

 

Sergio

Edited April 8, 2013 by ser.rep

[raging.dragon]

I haven't had any problems with this ink drying out on the nib.

 

I assume you've used other inks in the same pens without issue?

[Genova Blues]

I haven't had any problems with this ink drying out on the nib.

 

I assume you've used other inks in the same pens without issue?

 

Yes, of course ...

[notVirtuThe3rd]

Nice review and comparison!

Really tasteful colors.

[cedargirl]

 

I bought this ink about a year ago for the same reason: I wanted a classic, old-styled writing ink and that was the match.

 

I like it indeed, but - maybe my one specific sample - it is actually useless, beacuse it dries in the nib systematically in each pen I tried: having two-three pens in rotation, if I am not using it for more than half a day, the pen does not start and I have to struggle wetting the nib or whatever to make it start: no way for me; the bottle rests in the drawer, almost full.

And this sounds to me rather strange, since I have several Rohrer und Klingner inks (Konigsblue, Leipziger Schwarz, Verdigris) and they all work beautifully and indeed I use most of them to make dry pens write well.

 

Have anyone of you had the same problem?

 

Sergio

 

Sergio

 

Sorry I didn't see this when you first posted it. Was directed from a link you posted today.

 

I have been using R&K Sepia for about six months. For most of that time I have had it in a Serwex 101 with a flex nib. The last fill has been in there about two months for two reasons - it is an eyedropper with a large capacity and I have not been using it much. Basically it's been a bit neglected. (Not because of the ink colour - which is grey - I like it; I just had too many pens inked.)

 

During this extended period of infrequent use, I occasionally had to wet the nib to get it started (I keep a shot glass half full of water on my desk and any recalcitrant pen gets a quick dip). But a quick dunk of the nib was all it took.

 

So same ink/similar pen - different result.

Have you tried using it only in a wet nib? Or do even the wet nibs dry out. I have read some people saying R&K inks are dry, but I have never experienced a problem.

 

I hope you can persevere with it - I think it's a great ink.

Edited April 16, 2013 by cedargirl

[Genova Blues]

Sergio

 

Sorry I didn't see this when you first posted it. Was directed from a link you posted today.

 

I have been using R&K Sepia for about six months. For most of that time I have had it in a Serwex 101 with a flex nib. The last fill has been in there about two months for two reasons - it is an eyedropper with a large capacity and I have not been using it much. Basically it's been a bit neglected. (Not because of the ink colour - which is grey - I like it; I just had too many pens inked.)

 

During this extended period of infrequent use, I occasionally had to wet the nib to get it started (I keep a shot glass half full of water on my desk and any recalcitrant pen gets a quick dip). But a quick dunk of the nib was all it took.

 

So same ink/similar pen - different result.

Have you tried using it only in a wet nib? Or do even the wet nibs dry out. I have read some people saying R&K inks are dry, but I have never experienced a problem.

 

I hope you can persevere with it - I think it's a great ink.

 

Hello cedargirl,

no need to apologize, of course.

I tried this ink - that I do like a lot - in several pens; at moment I remember: a Huashilai 3000, a Serwex 162, an Airmail 44, a Chelpark Maverick and short ago a *very* wet Guider Marala.

The Marala is gorgeous, but it has a really too thick mark (in spite of a nib declared as fine) and it was the one that lasted more without drying: two days.

 

That sounds very strange to me, because I definitely do not consider R&K inks as dry: on the contrary I use them to ink dry *pens* and make that ones write smoothly; I have high regard for R&K inks, their value for price is outstanding and that's why I am dealing with people here on FPN to understand if it is just an issue of mine.

 

At the moment I can say to be the only one to have this problem with R&K Sepia.

 

I will try with an Airmail 74 (I am in the indian fountain pen mood ... ), a semi-hooded nib pen, that is a bit stingy with ink ... :hmm1:

Let's see what happens ...

I hate the idea to leave that ink bottle in the drawer, almost full !

 

Sergio

[Genova Blues]

 

I bought this ink about a year ago for the same reason: I wanted a classic, old-styled writing ink and that was the match.

 

I like it indeed, but - maybe my one specific sample - it is actually useless, beacuse it dries in the nib systematically in each pen I tried: having two-three pens in rotation, if I am not using it for more than half a day, the pen does not start and I have to struggle wetting the nib or whatever to make it start: no way for me; the bottle rests in the drawer, almost full.

And this sounds to me rather strange, since I have several Rohrer und Klingner inks (Konigsblue, Leipziger Schwarz, Verdigris) and they all work beautifully and indeed I use most of them to make dry pens write well.

 

Have anyone of you had the same problem?

 

Sergio

 

Sergio

 

Sorry I didn't see this when you first posted it. Was directed from a link you posted today.

 

I have been using R&K Sepia for about six months. For most of that time I have had it in a Serwex 101 with a flex nib. The last fill has been in there about two months for two reasons - it is an eyedropper with a large capacity and I have not been using it much. Basically it's been a bit neglected. (Not because of the ink colour - which is grey - I like it; I just had too many pens inked.)

 

During this extended period of infrequent use, I occasionally had to wet the nib to get it started (I keep a shot glass half full of water on my desk and any recalcitrant pen gets a quick dip). But a quick dunk of the nib was all it took.

 

So same ink/similar pen - different result.

Have you tried using it only in a wet nib? Or do even the wet nibs dry out. I have read some people saying R&K inks are dry, but I have never experienced a problem.

 

I hope you can persevere with it - I think it's a great ink.

 

I tried into a new Airmail 80 with fine nib and the results are same :bonk: : sandy feeling and nib drying after less than an hour ... the sink is waiting

 

Sergio

Edited April 22, 2013 by ser.rep