Wancher - 'ebine'

[Sandy1]

Please take a moment to adjust the brightness & contrast of your monitor to accurately depict the Gray Scale linked below. As the patches are neutral gray, their colour on your monitor should also be neutral gray.

• Mac My link
• Wintel PC My link
• Gray Scale. My link

=+=

 

Figure 1. Swabs & Swatch Paper: HPJ1124 24 lb. Laser Copy. http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/b75db34f.jpg Figure 2. NIB-ism Depicts nibs' line-width and pens' relative wetness.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/c71ca22a.jpg

Pens:

B. Estie + XF

D. Sheaffer No Nonsense + M

F. Pilot 78G + Bi

WRITTEN SAMPLES: Moby Dick

Row Width is 8mm

 

Figure 3. Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/f3da222c.jpg

Figure 4.

Paper: Royal - 25% cotton rag content.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/aefcfb6d.jpg

Figure 5.

Paper: Glossy Magazine Stock.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/89644fa5.jpg

Figure 6.

Grocery List

Paper: Pulp. One-a-Day calendar page.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/bb16e09d.jpg

Figure 7.

Cheque Register Paper: Unknown. (24lb bond perhaps. ?)

I apologise for not adding a scale. The original is 145mm wide.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/6b1cc8e7.jpg

OTHER SAMPLES: Figure 9.

• 'HAPPY!' on Glossy Card.
• Smear/Dry Time on Glossy Paper.
• Smear/Dry Time on HPJ1124.
• Wet Tests on HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/0f12fee3.jpg

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Daily writer?

• No.

A go-to ink?

• Yes - when an effective small-calibre Violet/Red is desired.

USES: Use is compromised by higher than usual smear/dry times.

 

Note Well : In my world, Red/Violet is a special colour, rather than general use. This IR reflects that opinion in terms of selection of writers and papers.

 

Business:

• Very well suited for mark-up, editing, error correction and grading of assignments.
• Pretty good for marginalia.

Illustrations / Graphics:

• A comfortable easily-controlled Violet/Red.
• The Red/Violet colour allows ebine to be effective without screaming or shouting.
• Capable of a tight narrow line on suitable paper.

Students:

• May be used in place of high-lighter when a more discrete underlining ink is desired; or to draw attraction/emphasis symbols. e.g. ✳ asterisk, ★ star

Personal:

• Posting entries in my books of account. (Alas.)
• Frisky notes.
• Greeting / Festive cards

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS:

 

Flow Rate:

• Very good.
• Seems to be very co-operative with nib & feed.

Nib Dry-out:

• Not noticed.

Start-up:

• Immediate.

Lubrication:

• Very good on the usual papers.
• Pens remained sure-footed on the glossy paper stock.

Nib Creepers:

• None.

Staining:

• Not noticed. (2 days)

Clogging:

• Not seen.
• Seems unlikely.

Bleed Through:

• Yes.
• All writers on the glossy paper.

Show Through:

• Yes.
• All writers on the Royal.

Feathering / Woolly Line:

• Yes.
• Randomly on the Royal.

Smear/Dry Time

• Glossy: 2 - 5 seconds.
• HPJ1124: 30 seconds.

Water Resistance ☂

• -3- on the 4S Scale:
  • All legible, but either very faint and/or has heavy staining from re-deposit of soluble dye.
  • Needs recovery/restoration for anything beyond personal use.

Smell:

• Almost without scent.

Hand oil sensitivity:

• Not noticed.

Archival:*

• Not claimed.

Clean Up:

• A bit slower than usual, but thorough with plain water.

Mixing:

• No stated limitation.
• I would not mix this ink.
• Dilution with water may reduce smear/dry times.

* One FP ink is claimed to comply with an ISO standard for permanence of BP inks. That ink is not Wancher ebine.

 

THE LOOK:

 

Presence:

• A colour that attracts and holds.
• Very easy to read - no eye strain or need for sunnies.
• Sits comfortably on the page, without hysterics or drama.

Saturation:

• Modest.

Shading:

• Not so much.

Hi-Res Scans:

• Estie + XF on HPJ1124. My link
• No Nonsense + M on the Royal. My link
• Pilot + Bi on the Glossy paper. My link
• Estie + XF on the Cheque Register. My link

Variance depending on pen+nib combos used:

• Much less than expected.

FIDELITY:

 

Is the name appropriate?

• No idea.
• If this is supposed to be a 'violet', then I'll ...

Are swatches accurate?

• Not too bad.
• Once again, there are currently five colours in the line-up of Wancher inks, so it appears the swatch is more to differentiate amongst those inks than to replicate the colour of this ink.

SIMILAR COLOURS:

• Readers please chime in.

CONTRASTING COLOURS:

At times, it seems that 'seeing' a colour can best be achieved by showing what it is not.

So we have 3-stage swabs of three inks.

Figure 14. Swabs Only on HPJ1124. http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20-%20ebine%20-%20Red/7fc3c8fd.jpg PAPERS: Lovely papers:

• For a Violet/Red, ebine does nicely on white paper.

Trip-wire Papers: ☠

• Any that extend the smear/dry time.

Tinted Papers:

• Nothing more than a pale Natural or Buff.

PrePrinted Papers:

• Will do the necessary on forms.
• ebine sits calmly (for a Red/Violet) so retains its easy-reading characteristics.

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• Hmm. :hmm1:
• The high-end papers are often smooth hard surfaced, which may improve The Look, but also extends the smear/dry time.

OTHER THAN INK:

 

Presentation :

• Unique.
• Fifty ml of ink comes packaged in a tanker bottle, which is accompanied by an empty filler bottle. (Can't quite call it an inkwell.)
• No HazMat warnings.

Country of origin:

• Not stated.

Containers:

• Tanker Bottle:
  • A tall slender soft plastic bottle. 45x85x25mm, with a 13mm ∅ centred opening.
  • (In a pinch, this allows slender pens with an end-of-barrel filling arrangement to be inked. e.g. Pelikan M200, Sheaffer Statesman Snorkel, Reform 1745. However, it is likely that the barrel will need a damp wipe-down.)
  • Ink level is easily determined.
  • As it is a Tanker, there is no sediment collector or filling aid. (mini-Tsk)
  • The harder plastic screw cap has adequate grip.
  • There is no separate cap seal.
  • The cap is not child-proof.

• Filler Bottle:
  • Perfectly alien and soooo cute! Really - I still want to put origami moose antlers / antennae on the bottle!
  • Figure 15. (imari ink shown)

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/INK%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20imari/f891ae32.jpg

• Made of a firm translucent plastic.
• The frontal aspect is a 45mm equilateral triangle, oriented point down; that extends 53mm on the z-axis. It is supported on each side by two 20mm triangular 'legs'.
• The centred circular opening is a modest 18mm ∅.
• The bottle is ribbed / corrugated (for grip / strength) which, combined with the translucent material, makes the ink level difficult to discern. (And they were doing soooo well!)
• Note: There was a noticeable smell upon opening the bottle, likely the plastic off-gassing; so as cute & functional as it is, I suggest glass for longer-term storage.

Box:

• Absent.

Eco-Green:

• While plastic is recyclable, the type/s of plastic are not indicated.

Availability:

• At time of writing, I ordered directly from 'Asian Treasure Hunt' in Japan. My link

ETC:

 

Majik:

• I really don't think ebine can manage Majik.

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• Pilot Bi on the HPJ1124.

Yickity Yackity:

• If you're placing an order from Asian Treasure Hunt, this is a really good choice to round-out your order, (and other Wancher inks).
• Ah Kushbaby - Are you still there?

<=-+-v-+-=>|<=+-I-+=>|<==>|<=+-I-+=>|<=-+-v-+-=>

 

MATERIEL USED:

To be relevant to most members, I make an effort to use papers, pens & nibs that are readily available. Pens are those for which I paid $100 or less, and are 'factory stock' - not customised.

These pen+nib combos were used:

• Written Samples:
  • Esterbrook J + XF 9550 steel nib. My link
  • Sheaffer No Nonsense + M steel nib. My link
  • Pilot 78G + Bi g-p steel nib. (No portrait - camera shy I reckon.)
  • For the Blue entries on the Cheque Register, a unipin 0.05mm writer was used.

  [*]For lines & labels:

  • Pelikan BlBk from a Sailor + F nib.

On these papers:

• HPJ1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.
• Royal - 25% cotton rag.
• Pulp.
• Glossy paper.
• Glossy card.

Images:

• Scans were made on an Epson V600 scanner; factory defaults were accepted.
• Figures shown were scanned at 150 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Images linked were scanned at 300 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Scans were not adjusted, so went straight to the file sharing thingy.

Densitometer Readings (FWIW):

• Red 190
• Grn 81
• Blu 143
• Lum 111

-30-

Edited November 23, 2010 by Sandy1

[dcwaites]

I'm going to have to check mine when I get home, however your colour does seem to be accurate. I found mine to be red with pretensions of purple/violet.

 

Have you got the green Wancher ink?

[Sandy1]

More Comparisons: My link

Comparison - Wancher ebine :: Quink Red, Visconti Bordeaux, Larmes de Cassis, Diamine Deep Magenta

[Sandy1]

I'm going to have to check mine when I get home, however your colour does seem to be accurate. I found mine to be red with pretensions of purple/violet.

 

Have you got the green Wancher ink?

Hi,

 

I've not seen this colour before, but I'm not all that familiar with inks of similar colour.

As I mentioned, I consider such colours to be for special use - not day to day business writing, and only only for quite personal writing.

So here's another sort of inky option. Let us see what tasks best suit ebine.

 

Oh, no Wancher Green for me; thank-you for asking. After the fiasco with Lamy Green, I'm sticking with Visconti Green and Cd'A Amazon. (And MBRG.) But a friend offered some Diamine Dark Green, so...

 

Bye,

S1

[dcwaites]

I'm going to have to check mine when I get home, however your colour does seem to be accurate. I found mine to be red with pretensions of purple/violet.

 

Have you got the green Wancher ink?

Hi,

 

I've not seen this colour before, but I'm not all that familiar with inks of similar colour.

As I mentioned, I consider such colours to be for special use - not day to day business writing, and only only for quite personal writing.

So here's another sort of inky option. Let us see what tasks best suit ebine.

 

Oh, no Wancher Green for me; thank-you for asking. After the fiasco with Lamy Green, I'm sticking with Visconti Green and Cd'A Amazon. (And MBRG.) But a friend offered some Diamine Dark Green, so...

 

Bye,

S1

 

Yep, my ebine red/purple sample matches perfectly what you have on screen.

 

 

I found these inks ( I have imari Blue, matcha Green and ebine Red/purple) to be somewhat lubricating, with a touch of penetration so that they feather and bleed a bit on less than optimal paper, but no more so, and indeed somewhat less, than some well known inks like those from the house of PR, etc.

 

Anyway, it looks like I will have to do a review of the matcha green when I have a spare moment.

 

BTW, have you bought your Queen Food Dye inks yet? The black is quite a respectable black, and could hold its own against Quink or Sheaffer black.

 

They would be great for introducing little people to inks. Not any more washable than run of the mill inks, but any child or pet with lots of food dye ink splashed on them would still be quite safe.

 

Bye,

David

[Sandy1]

I'm going to have to check mine when I get home, however your colour does seem to be accurate. I found mine to be red with pretensions of purple/violet.

 

Have you got the green Wancher ink?

Hi,

 

I've not seen this colour before, but I'm not all that familiar with inks of similar colour.

As I mentioned, I consider such colours to be for special use - not day to day business writing, and only only for quite personal writing.

So here's another sort of inky option. Let us see what tasks best suit ebine.

 

Oh, no Wancher Green for me; thank-you for asking. After the fiasco with Lamy Green, I'm sticking with Visconti Green and Cd'A Amazon. (And MBRG.) But a friend offered some Diamine Dark Green, so...

 

Bye,

S1

 

Yep, my ebine red/purple sample matches perfectly what you have on screen.

 

 

I found these inks ( I have imari Blue, matcha Green and ebine Red/purple) to be somewhat lubricating, with a touch of penetration so that they feather and bleed a bit on less than optimal paper, but no more so, and indeed somewhat less, than some well known inks like those from the house of PR, etc.

 

Anyway, it looks like I will have to do a review of the matcha green when I have a spare moment.

 

BTW, have you bought your Queen Food Dye inks yet? The black is quite a respectable black, and could hold its own against Quink or Sheaffer black.

 

They would be great for introducing little people to inks. Not any more washable than run of the mill inks, but any child or pet with lots of food dye ink splashed on them would still be quite safe.

 

Bye,

David

Hi,

 

Glad to hear the scans are accurate. Such colours have a reputation for being tricky to replicate; pixels have their limits.

 

On the 'normal' penny-a-page HPJ1124 paper, I could not detect any feathering. Indeed, if one looks at the 'NIB-ism' scan, which is a considerable enlargement, even the ink pools at the end of the down-stroke show no feathering. (No feathering from the work horse Pelikan BlBk either!)

 

The Royal paper has a fuzzy finish; one of those papers that whispers 'touch me'. I include it not only as a representative of type, but to expand the array to include a high quality and highly absorbent paper. (Typically to counterbalance the usual G Lalo Verge de France, which is high quality and hard / low absorbency.)

 

I have not had the pleasure to try the Queen Food Dye inks. My ink shelves are groaning even at the mention of yet another series/brand of ink.

 

Bye,

Sandy1

[chromantic]

What a great color! Wish I'd seen this review when I was trying to decide between Yama-budo and Saguaro Wine. Went ahead and ordered a bottle anyway - $7 for 100 ml.

[Sandy1]

What a great color! Wish I'd seen this review when I was trying to decide between Yama-budo and Saguaro Wine. Went ahead and ordered a bottle anyway - $7 for 100 ml.

 

Hi,

 

I'm glad you are exploring inks in this colour range, because one bottle has lasted me for years!

 

I am glad this ink remains quite economical, so those using it to produce more grist for the mill, such as error correction/grading/filling forms, can do so without restraint.

 

As this Review was posted in 2010, perhaps the ink has changed somewhat.

 

It would be much appreciated if you would share your experience with the current production ink.

 

Bye,

S1

[chromantic]

The smear in the neck of the bottle looks the same but I'll certainly share my findings.

[jmccarty3]

• Filler Bottle:
• Perfectly alien and soooo cute! Really - I still want to put origami moose antlers / antennae on the bottle!
• Figure 15. (imari ink shown)

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/INK%20Review%20-%20Wancher%20imari/f891ae32.jpg

• Made of a firm translucent plastic.
• The frontal aspect is a 45mm equilateral triangle, oriented point down; that extends 53mm on the z-axis. It is supported on each side by two 20mm triangular 'legs'.
• The centred circular opening is a modest 18mm ∅.
• The bottle is ribbed / corrugated (for grip / strength) which, combined with the translucent material, makes the ink level difficult to discern. (And they were doing soooo well!)
• Note: There was a noticeable smell upon opening the bottle, likely the plastic off-gassing; so as cute & functional as it is, I suggest glass for longer-term storage.

 

Montblanc used a bottle like this some years ago.

[chromantic]

Way of the dodo for those bottles? From current ebay vendor listing:

 

30 ml - Nice, wide necks but those look like baby food jar type lids, so I'd be very careful opening them:

 

100 ml - Standard round bottle with threaded cap

 

[Helen350]

Way of the dodo for those bottles? From current ebay vendor listing:

 

30 ml - Nice, wide necks but those look like baby food jar type lids, so I'd be very careful opening them:

 

100 ml - Standard round bottle with threaded cap

 

 

Nice price - $6.99/shipping $5 for registered shipping-airmail.