Inky T O D - Oh, The Places You'll Go, Or, Waypoints On The Inky Journey

[Chimera01]

12 hours ago, dragondazd said:

Prepping some reviews for all four. what would you like to know?

I'm always on the hunt for high-shading inks. I guess my first question would be - just how 'dual' shading are they? And is there one of the four that is more evidently dual-shading than the others? I've seen many claims made for shading inks, some of which I can only respond to with a degree of scepticism. Are there any you might recommend as more aesthetically satisfying for those dual-shading fans among us? Looking forward to your review! 

[dragondazd]

8 hours ago, Chimera01 said:

I'm always on the hunt for high-shading inks. I guess my first question would be - just how 'dual' shading are they? And is there one of the four that is more evidently dual-shading than the others? I've seen many claims made for shading inks, some of which I can only respond to with a degree of scepticism. Are there any you might recommend as more aesthetically satisfying for those dual-shading fans among us? Looking forward to your review! 

Koke us subtlest and frankly kind of flat. The rest are more obvious especially Hinoki and Ayame. Aesthetically I prefer Ayame as Hinoki is kind of. A muddier version of Ayame in my opinion. It's like an improved 162.

 

 

 

[Chimera01]

2 hours ago, dragondazd said:

Koke us subtlest and frankly kind of flat. The rest are more obvious especially Hinoki and Ayame. Aesthetically I prefer Ayame as Hinoki is kind of. A muddier version of Ayame in my opinion. It's like an improved 162.

I'm fiddling about with the Yurameku inks but anything that says 'Sailor' and 'dual' on the label immediately captures my attention.The Japanese appear to call the Yurameku inks 'wobble' inks, presumably because they wobble between colours and shades?  You have saved me some time and expense, grateful thanks to you for your observations.

[dragondazd]

7 minutes ago, Chimera01 said:

I'm fiddling about with the Yurameku inks but anything that says 'Sailor' and 'dual' on the label immediately captures my attention.The Japanese appear to call the Yurameku inks 'wobble' inks, presumably because they wobble between colours and shades?  You have saved me some time and expense, grateful thanks to you for your observations.

I did not like the yurameku inks as fountain pen fuel. I sampled the darkest ones and they were too faint for my use. 

[Frank C]

I read about these Sailor dual shading inks here on FPN in a comment by @JonSzanto. I purchased all four. I tested them on Rhodia and Tomoe River papers. Tomoe River paper, provided by FPN's own @amberleadavis, showed these inks' properties better than the Rhodia.

 

 

You can see my immediate impressions above. The Koke was the least subdued. I used either Sailor Zoom nibs or Platinum Coarse nibs to get the most ink on the paper. I can see using them for personal correspondence, but not for business use—not my business, anyway. 

[amberleadavis]

1 hour ago, Frank C said:

I read about these Sailor dual shading inks here on FPN in a comment by @JonSzanto. I purchased all four. I tested them on Rhodia and Tomoe River papers. Tomoe River paper, provided by FPN's own @amberleadavis, showed these inks' properties better than the Rhodia.

 

 

You can see my immediate impressions above. The Koke was the least subdued. I used either Sailor Zoom nibs or Platinum Coarse nibs to get the most ink on the paper. I can see using them for personal correspondence, but not for business use—not my business, anyway. 

 

. Thank you for sharing!

[txomsy]

I've been hesitant to post here, mostly because I could not quite grasp which waypoint I was at.

 

After much pondering, I think I did virtually run through most of them very long ago, in ye olde good times of one man, one pen. I soon became aware of the very limited color choice and started craving for more.. and explored within that limited choice, then run successively though most phases either directly (again, within that limited choice) or virtually (wishing there were more options, imagining how they would like and whether I would like them or not). Not to mention there are ways to test colors without using an FP.

 

Then things settled, a long, dark period ensued where I lived within those limits (because there was no better choice or I did not know better). I would discover more hues of the same basic colors (black, blue black, blue, red and green) as I traveled (specially in UK), and observed the subtle differences until I settled for my preferred tones, some of which no longer exist (e.g. PPS), and properties (e.g. permanence). A period during which I had time plenty to think what properties I cherished and which I did not care, and what would I like to find one day.

 

Some years ago I was requested to sign formal documents in specific colors, which, as an imposition, led me to seek for "subversive" variants of them. Inks that obviously didn't quite match but could not be rejected. Sheen was too much of a temptation and it has reconciled me with a few specific non-permanent inks and to enjoy sheen and shine. But as I had already settled my preferences, these inks are kept within that range.

 

I mean, I'm beyond exploring, I went through all that in my mind during that dark period of limited choice. The limited trials I have done afterwards have generally confirmed my preferences, so I am happy because I have now the possibility of obtaining the inks I want and no longer need to do the explorations I could not do when I wanted to so long ago.

 

Still, I am not dead yet. I still try the odd ink only to see if it may turn out I do like it and expands my range, but even when it is so, I do within a set of constrains I decided on long ago.

 

For instance I already decided way back then, that Sheaffer red and green (Skripps, of yonder) where too eye-shearing and tiresome for me and when I reopened the old bottles after 20+ years, they still did (though I must say that lastly I do tend to like them because they seem to be oxidizing quickly now and losing that flashing brilliance).

 

I mean, I sorted out my preferences very long ago and from what I witness from new trials of new inks, I seem to still hold onto them.

 

But I do still try

[Bo Bo Olson]

3 hours ago, txomsy said:

as an imposition, led me to seek for "subversive" variants of them. Inks that obviously didn't quite match but could not be rejected.

 

I'm still hunting for sheen, in many of my inks are pre-sheen....though Parker Penman inks if I remember reading right, had sheen. Sheen seemed to suddenly come in @ 5 years ago.

After I found out about shading, most of my inks were such instead of supersaturated 'boring' single shade inks.

[txomsy]

Thanks. I have always loved shading as well.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Today, my upstairs neighbor; whom I set up with the basic fountain pen widths and flexes; just got back from India with the four Kirschna inks I wanted..

Paper Oxford Optic 90g.......a good economical paper. = to 90g Clairefontaine Velote`.

Using regular flex Pelikan 200's B nibs....not wetter semi-flex.

I thought a B would give me a decent width for   'to me' odd inks that might need a wider nib.

 

Sea at Night, a dark teal and silver in a Pelikan  200 Ruby Red's B. It doesn't shade much in B not very much tealish, as it might in F.

Moonview is a Dark blue with red sheen some shading in B, 200-Amaythist ...have to check it out in M or F.

It's good to dig pens out of their Pelikan pen case.

 

To do..........I am going to do these in F or M. Going to try one of them first in F....and wait for M....and do it on two papers.....in paper makes a big difference.

Mumbai .... a maroon with brown/green sheen according to the ads.

Chennai....other than blue, but the picture is more light to dark brown sheen with a bit of blue.

 

I will wait with them...with 9 pens inked I'm two over my limit. I strive to only ink 5-7 pens, in once 17 inked was normal for me....like quitting smoking I got down to 9 before suddenly counting 17 again.

 

I dug out some Clairefontaine Triomphe  to check papers with. Night at Sea had a teal sheen....on Oxford more dark with tads of teal sheen...sort of silvery...not the teal color on Triomphe.

 

On Triomphe paper the the Moonview 's red sheen is much less, the shading a tiny bit better...but not worth writing home about. I hadn't expected that.

 

 

The good thing about a piston pen is I can load the pen with 1/3 instead of more if I wish, which I did. There is only 20ml in the tiny ink bottles.

I could fill my 400nn and have an empty bottle.

 

 

 

[Frank C]

I tend to agree with @txomsy on most of his points above. I have a few workhorse inks in standard colors that I use all the time. I do like testing and trying the many new variations of ink, as illustrated above. For use at work, I don't need or want sheen, glitter, or wild colors. I do like shading and I always seek out "subversive" variants of the standard colors. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Krishna inks done on 90g Oxford Optic and 90g Clairefontaine Triomphe

Mumbai, with a Geha 725 F nib that is on the dry side of semi-flex so I'd rate the wetness of the nib more like regular flex. I bought the wet Waterman Blue for this pen, it wrote so dry.

 

Mumbai is brown/maroon ink, no shading, no sheen....and was supposed to be brown and green sheen.

An OK color.......I'm glad it was bought in India and flown in for free. I'd not recommend that ink, in I'm sure there are other inks that have bigger bottles and a better mailing price when out of India. There is bound to be a Diamine ink that matches it's hue. I will use the ink and glad it's only 20ml, in as a hue its ok, but has no shading nor sheen, which would have made the small bottle ok.

 

Chennai, with a @ 1990 18 k regular flex briar Diplomat M. I don't know what color it is, supposed to be light brown and dark blue according to the add swath. To me it looks sort of like a greyed green. No shading, no sheen. Not a color I'd ink again.

Suddenly have 11 pens inked which is well over my limit,............and for these two inks.....a question of why.

Well the two pens are worth inking, but not with these two inks. Promises were not kept with shading nor sheen.

 

Shook the bottles, just in case, re-loaded....no improvement.

[Anne-Sophie]

First time yucky stuff in, a luckily, almost empty bottle, second time a convertor refuses to work.

 

 

 

Biggest ink collection since 4th grade and one ink.

 

Lots of beautiful colors that make me happy.

 

Fountain pen friendly paper use exponential, but all the paper I use is recycled or produced responsibly.

 

 

Ginormous Thank You to Amberlea for making that subform, I am finicky about color matching pen and ink and refuse to waste ink, so I make extensive use of this forum.

 

                   

[LobsterRoll]

It was fun to contemplate the waystations I've passed through so far, and to recall the inks I tried while at those points in my inky journey. COLORS was very relatable. I posted a couple reviews here when I was on a quest for the perfect purple (I do not have one).

 

Lately my Venn diagram is made up of (1) I just want it to work!, (2) Oooooh, subtle!, and (3) Oooooh, shady! I might also say (4) I'm in love with multishading! I've been thinking of my current essential inks in two categories, where the above qualities overlap.

 

I need legible, working inks! The main criterion is that it works. The color is often subtle and may have shading. At least one of the pens I carry around with me will have an ink in this category. They work in the EF/F nibs that I prefer.

Currently, I love: J. Herbin Vert de Gris, Bleu des Profondeurs, Poussiere de Lune

 

I need fun inks! I use these for journaling and in my planner. I've been trying the popular shading inks. I had to get new, bigger nibs 🙃
Currently, I love: Taccia Umemurasaki, Vinta Armada, Sailor Ink Studio 123, Troublemaker Milky Ocean