International - Cooperative - Unobtainable - (I C U) Ink Review - Blue Amber

[napalm]

 

 

 

Ouch!

[amberleadavis]

So, did you all find it to be chalky?

[fiberdrunk]

It's not any chalkier than Noodler's Lermontov. I like them both. But Blue Amber entertains me as it dries, whereas Lermontov doesn't! It's still flowing well in my Rotring ArtPen 1.1 mm, even after setting it down for a few days. I really like it!

[KBeezie]

So, did you all find it to be chalky?

I actually find the texture and color to be pleasant when it's completely dry. It's got a similar hue to R&K's Scabiosa but quite a bit darker in saturation. And there is enough shading that you see a shift to darkness in a smooth gradient towards the end of the stroke. On less absorbent paper like the Rhodia 80g it's not raised off the paper or has any real discernible physical texture except where I went over a stroke 3x, where it just feels like a small rough nudge (1x stroke or so is flush against the surface of the paper).

[Cyhz]

It took me a little longer, but here is my review.

 

 

 

[KBeezie]

The one downside with this ink, if I don't write with it for about two days, it's an extremely hard starter. If I try to get push with the converter, then try to write with it, the ink just bleeds all over the page like huge over-wet feathered strokes. A problem I have not had with something dry like Salix (which doesn't dry out that bad), I'm wondering if the powder is becoming settled.

[dcwaites]

I found that making sure the nib slit is very clean before filling with this ink is very important.

However, I have found that the two indigo Susemai inks did tend to dry up in the nib more than the two turquoise inks.

[mrcharlie]

The one downside with this ink, if I don't write with it for about two days, it's an extremely hard starter.

 

I have not had that problem in the two pens I used it in.

[Sinistral1]

Please send me a PM if you want to be one of the Inky Fab 50.

 

At this point, please bear in mind my status as a Minion. Yes, I know the source of Susemai. Yes, the current price for that info is $1,000,000 USD. No, I won't take a check.

 

Okay, on to the important stuff.

 

Amber will be mixing up the remaining 9 powders to be mailed out in pipettes inside padded envelopes. All 9 inks in liquid form in one, final, glorious mailing. If you have already given Amber your name and mailing address, great. Otherwise, she will need that information.

 

Please be patient. This could take awhile to get everything mixed, pipetted and packed. The payment will need to be a gift to me through PayPal. The earlier you pay, the less I will have to be a nudge. As you can read, this new, powdered fountain pen ink is quite the bee's knees, you really don't want to miss this amazing opportunity to be one of a select handful of ink users world wide to be a beta tester!

 

USA cost is $3.20 -- Everywhere else is $10USD.

 

Thank you for your attention and cooperation!

 

Edited to add: What, you thought that was all I had to say? Ha!

 

A point of clarification. Amberlea has the large heart of a true inky enabler. This exciting new, Super Secret Maker of Ink (SuSeMai) powder became available and she knew only one thing. She had to share it with all her inky friends here on FPN. She might have under estimated the inky demand, or being distracted by the neon lights flashing on "The Strip" and had a hard time saying "Help!" That's not the point, and the truth will perhaps forever remain a mystery. What is certain is that she soldiers on, mixing powder into liquid bliss, late into the night. She will get these final 9 ink powders out to the lucky "Fab 50" - rest easy on that account. Now, however, she needs your "gift" for supplies and postage. She tried valiantly to accomplish the inky love by using pipettes in regular envelopes, to save on supplies and postage. This only resulted in a completely different kind of inky love distribution that was not, well, good for all concerned. World peace through inky love. You can be a part. Sign up today! Thank you.

 

SPECIAL NOTICE! Susemai starts as a powder and Amber mixes it with water. You will receive samples of her liquified powder. If all goes well, Susemai will be available for future purchase as powder. SPECIAL NOTICE!

Edited July 24, 2014 by Sinistral1

[amberleadavis]

And here is one of the ones that was returned to me ... hence why the move to the padded envelopes when shipping 9 at a time.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/2014-Inklings/slides/2014-Ink_914.jpghttp://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/2014-Inklings/slides/2014-Ink_913.jpg

[Sinistral1]

Since the rules of the game had to be changed - even if you were a tester for the first 4 inks, you need to request to be part of the "Fab 50". As people make their PayPal gift for postage and supplies, you'll be added to the list and be included in the "Fab 50" conversation. Come, join in the fun!

[zepp]

Arrived last week, been busy so I wasn't able to mail it back, done it this morning, here are the scans

[amberleadavis]

Great review. Thank you.

[mhguda]

Here, kind of late but that's the mail to here, is my review of Blue Amber (8%).

My main conclusion would be that I hope it will be available as a powder; I do not care very much for the 8% color, but the 16% looks scrumptious, and I think I would have loved that. Still to try are mixability and lower concentrations; I will probably add those later today.

This seems washed out, but it is closer to what the page actually looks like to me than the picture I tried earlier. Sorry for the quality - I guess image processing is not my strong point.

Edited July 26, 2014 by mhguda

[amberleadavis]

I'm sensing that 16% is the preferred saturation?

 

The color change is something we all LOVE.

 

The water resistance is unexpected but appreciated.

 

None of us have had clogging or difficulty with clean up and no stained pens?

[mhguda]

For me, that sums it up nicely. Although I've yet to experience the 16%.

[Tas]

For me, that sums it up nicely. Although I've yet to experience the 16%.

 

Ditto . . .

[mhguda]

One of the things I still wanted to test after yesterday's post was mixability - how well does Blue Amber mix with other inks? and maybe water?

So I made a small volume of diluted BA first. At 4%, the color change is even more remarkable, the ink goes onto the paper almost turquoise and quickly dries to purple once it's out of the pen. Regretfully, I find 4% too diluted and washed out for my tastes...

So I mixed the diluted mixture with the same volume of Lamy blue black. This made the resultant mixture very dry in comparison, although it still flows nicely. But the line is noticeably less wet. The color is interesting to me but not exciting.

What I did find exciting is the result of my next step: I had been playing with fabric dye solutions and made a batch of charcoal "ink". Pretty concentrated but it wasn't doing much for me. I mixed this with the BA/Lamy BB mix and - bingo! this is a very nice one...

Saturated, free flowing, wet. And I like the color. I will add a small writing/doodling sample later today. It works like this even in a dry and fussy pen...

 

edited to add comparison picture...

Edited July 27, 2014 by mhguda

[canibanoglu]

Here goes, my review!

 

http://i.imgur.com/NAKRRjq.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/nZ6kOqA.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/4mIuvRK.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/sPWZoNx.jpg

[canibanoglu]

This is as close as I could get to the real color while digitizing the review. I will post a typed version in a moment but first, some more pictures!

 

http://i.imgur.com/07gKNbZ.jpg

 

NOTE: Here you can see the nib creep, as best as I could capture it. This ink has the highest level of nib creep that I have seen up until now.

 

http://i.imgur.com/kU9JvXa.jpg

 

NOTE: The pen, the nibs and of course the ink!

 

http://i.imgur.com/iCPuZo3.jpg

 

NOTE: A close up of the nibs!