Magic Blue: Rohrer & Klingner Salix + Sailor Jentle Sky High

February 15, 2014

Hi all! I've been lurking on the forums for a while, but I finally decided to create an accout. This is a mixture I discovered not too long ago.

Salix and Sky High are two of my favorite blue inks, but they each possess a couple drawbacks that kept me from using them as much as I would like. Salix has great shading and performance, but it is quite dry and can be a bit too pale for my taste. Sky High, on the other hand, is a wonderfully vivid sky blue with a cool sheen, but its extreme wetness ruined the effect with most pen and paper combinations. So, one day I had the wild idea to mix them, 50/50, and thus was born the ink I have taken to calling "Magic Blue" for its ability to seamlessly combine the best characteristics of two very different inks. The only mediocre property I've noticed is its slow-ish (but by no means terrible) drying time. Also, the component inks may be a bit pricey and/or difficult to source for some people. US buyers can get both at a good price from iSellPens.com (no affiliation). The mixture is stable; I have kept a sample vial on my desk for almost a month, and it's still as silky-smooth as any standard ink.

Anyway, enough talk - here are the pictures:

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t331/InkandPaper88/Magic%20Blue/Review_zps98a2518e.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t331/InkandPaper88/Magic%20Blue/Compare_zpscf1421b1.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t331/InkandPaper88/Magic%20Blue/Sample1_zps59146b85.jpg

(note the hint of sheen the darker spots; it is much more apparent in-person)

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t331/InkandPaper88/Magic%20Blue/Sample2closeup_zps714353dc.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t331/InkandPaper88/Magic%20Blue/Swabs_zps9db16245.jpg

Edited February 15, 2014 by RyanH

February 15, 2014

Thanks for sharing. Sailor inks are supposed to have a PH of 8, whereas Iron Galls are acid so i'm very surprised to hear this mixture is stable

February 15, 2014

Thanks for sharing. Sailor inks are supposed to have a PH of 8, whereas Iron Galls are acid so i'm very surprised to hear this mixture is stable

I hadn't heard of Sailor inks being so alkaline, but Salix and Scabiosa are supposedly the weakest of the current IG inks and are listed by R&K as safe for mixing (among their own inks, sans R&K Sepia). I've had pretty good success mixing them with inks from 'traditional' manufacturers. I've yet to find a stable mix with any Noodler's inks, but they tend to not mix well in general, in my experience.

February 16, 2014

Hm. Color reminds me of Bad Blue Heron - and that is high praise.

What a fun mix!

February 16, 2014

Beautiful mix to a wonderful blue. Thanks for posting.

February 22, 2014

Hm. Color reminds me of Bad Blue Heron - and that is high praise.

What a fun mix!

I just got a sample of BBH in my last Goulet order, and I can say that the colors are very close. "Magic Blue" has slightly less saturation, more dramatic shading, and a subtle but consistently noticeable sheen in areas of darker shading. It also seems to be better behaved on bad paper.

June 4, 2017

This seems like a nice mix. Been looking for something like this!

Have you perchance tried to mix Salix with other (more easily available) blue inks, say, a Diamine ink?

Edit: I just realised, by the comment below, that this I'm bumping a dead thread. I'm sorry about that, I have gotten so accustomed to the new ways of communication where you can't comment on things that are out of date that I have forgotten how a use an old-school forum anymore.

Edited June 4, 2017 by neptun

June 4, 2017

Pssst... This thread is over 3 years old. And all but one of the posters has not posted in FPN in over three years, yet it appears they have logged in.