Inks That Don't Like Tomoe

[Uncial]

I recently had a strange experience with a Bungbox ink - Oranges of Lake Hamana. I really like this ink, in fact it is one of my all time favourites. It doesn't have any sheen, but the shading and the colour really hit the spot for me. It usually has a real 'liveliness' on the page. However, when I used it on Tomoe River Paper I was quite disappointed. It had a little shading but not nearly as much as on other papers and it lost all of its 'liveliness' to appear quite flat. I've noticed this with a few other inks and I guess it has something to do with the absorbancy of Tomoe River but hadn't expected to see it with this particular ink. Anyway, I thought it might be interesting and useful to list any other inks that demonstrate this behaviour on Tomoe.

[evyxmsj]

Apache sunset doesn't shade at all on my Tomoe paper.

[PaganArcher]

Noodler's Fox. It actually has some bleedthrough on Tomoe River

[Uncial]

I wonder if light reds and oranges just don't play well with it

[Cyber6]

I recently had a strange experience with a Bungbox ink - Oranges of Lake Hamana. I really like this ink, in fact it is one of my all time favourites. It doesn't have any sheen, but the shading and the colour really hit the spot for me. It usually has a real 'liveliness' on the page. However, when I used it on Tomoe River Paper I was quite disappointed. It had a little shading but not nearly as much as on other papers and it lost all of its 'liveliness' to appear quite flat. I've noticed this with a few other inks and I guess it has something to do with the absorbancy of Tomoe River but hadn't expected to see it with this particular ink. Anyway, I thought it might be interesting and useful to list any other inks that demonstrate this behaviour on Tomoe.

 

 

I am very surprised.. I don't have that particular ink (BB Oranges).. but I've been told is very close to Sailor Apricot.. and I can assure you that Sailor Apricot has lovely shading and sheen on Tomoe River for me.

 

 

I also have Kin Mokusei.. (close to Apricot too).. and it shows amazing sheen...

 

 

The only ink I have run into that actually "feathered" on Tomoe River (I was shocked) was the Blue Coral Snake ink ... True that I dumped a bunch of ink on the page (wet flex pen).. but it was the first time I've seen anything feathered on TR.

 

 

 

C.

[Ergative]

Montblanc Toffee Brown. I'm not quite sure I'd say it "doesn't like" Tomoe River, but it loses a lot of its richness and takes on a muted, almost greyish color. To be sure, sometimes a greyish brown is a subtle, restful color that is beautiful in its own right, but that's not why I bought the ink.

[pepsiplease69]

There's cream colored as well as plain white tomoe River paper. Two different varieties.

 

I'd expect the orange or red inks to fare better and appear more vibrant on the white paper rather than the cream or off white paper.

 

Not sure why the shading won't be there though. Usually shading is a function of ink pooling at the end of a stroke where the nib is lifted off the paper, and subsequently that ink pool dries as-is on the paper without getting absorbed into the paper. Tomoe River is one of the best papers that resist any ink absorption.

 

Maybe you have a juicy nib or something.

[Uncial]

I have the cream paper, which may of course be a large contributor. The BB Oranges does shade a very, very small bit; just not half as spectacularly as it does on other papers and it looks a little flat. There's no feathering or bleed though.

[evyxmsj]

I don't have both to compare, but it is probably the cream version I am using. About halfway between Oxford/Black n' Red Optik and my Rhodia Webbie---in the unlikely event that helps!

 

I was using an Ahab and a Pilot Preppy. Both show very low shading for Pelikan Mandarin and Apache, but decent shading for Diamine Ancient Copper. As I wrote, I could see the usual shading / colour shift of Apache (maybe a little less?), but it disappeared as it dried. It's nothing to do with white/cream colour contrast as far as I can tell.

 

I'll scan some photos when I get a chance.

[evyxmsj]

double post

Edited April 22, 2016 by evyxmsj

[swanjun]

Montblanc Toffee Brown. I'm not quite sure I'd say it "doesn't like" Tomoe River, but it loses a lot of its richness and takes on a muted, almost greyish color. To be sure, sometimes a greyish brown is a subtle, restful color that is beautiful in its own right, but that's not why I bought the ink.

 

I had the same experience with that ink! Really flat-looking. MB Corn Poppy Red fared similarly.

[migo984]

Noodler's Burgundy. Went straight through Tomoe, & feathered. I was so surprised I wrote to several pen friends with the ink to demonstrate the effect.

[alaskazimm]

Montblanc Toffee Brown. I'm not quite sure I'd say it "doesn't like" Tomoe River, but it loses a lot of its richness and takes on a muted, almost greyish color. To be sure, sometimes a greyish brown is a subtle, restful color that is beautiful in its own right, but that's not why I bought the ink.

 

 

 

I had the same experience with that ink! Really flat-looking. MB Corn Poppy Red fared similarly.

 

Strange. My experience with Toffee Brown and cream Tomoe River is exactly the opposite. With my Edison .7mm italic the ink retains its rich brown and the italic gives it a kind of antiquey vibe. It's one of my favorite paper/ink combinations.

[MKeith]

Noodlers Bernanke Blue. This ink bleeds through Tomoe both white and cream. I have even had it bleed through Rhodia using a broad nib. I really like the color and hue but even diluted it's a bleeder.

[welcmhm]

This may sound like sacrilege, but I did not care for the look of J. Herbin's Rouge Hematite on Tomoe River paper. I though it came out as just a dull orange, rather than a vibrant red with shades of orange. Night and day difference between that and Emerald of Chivor on Tomoe River paper, which continues to be my favorite combination.

 

(Probably more sacrilege, but) I also didn't love Sailor's Yama Dori on Tomoe River paper. I was looking for a color like Emerald of Chivor but without the particles so that it Knight be gentler on my more expensive pens, but I just don't love it as much.

 

That being said, on the flip side, De Atramentis Steel Blue really impressed me. Great color and shading and tons of magenta sheen. I will likely pick up a bottle in the near future.

[senzen]

All of mine seem to get along... The only problems are those related to ink drying in the pen (Lie de thé looks too dark) or specific problems of a pen with an ink - my reliable Muji doesn't seem to like Yama Guri. None of them bleed through...

 

[Abner C. Kemp]

I just happened to be writing a letter in Apache Sunset on Tomoe River White paper today. If it shades less, it is a very small amount as there is quite a lot of shading going on. I will note that Apache Sunset takes quite long to dry and wetter areas will actually smear on this paper which I haven't encountered on other paper. I should note that I did a little writing with this ink on the cream paper and did notice less shading, but that's to be expected. Hope this is helpful!!

[Katherynei]

I had to go back to my journal and look again after reading this. I've been using this ink in my Naginata Togi Emperor for about two weeks and in my experience its shading well and even has a little sheen on my cream Tomoe River journal. Maybe it's just the advantage of being in a really wet pen. Either way, I'm really enjoying this color!

[0xabad1dea]

Diamine Mediterranean Blue has repeatedly bled straight through Tomoe River for me. Curiously, it doesn't do so *immediately* – but rather when I come back several hours later. The punctuation marks and heaviest points of letters will have soaked through. (Much more so with the Pilot Metropolitan medium than with the two other, broader pens I've used it in.) Which is a shame, because it SHADES fine on Tomoe...

[TSherbs]

I just happened to be writing a letter in Apache Sunset on Tomoe River White paper today. If it shades less, it is a very small amount as there is quite a lot of shading going on. I will note that Apache Sunset takes quite long to dry and wetter areas will actually smear on this paper which I haven't encountered on other paper. I should note that I did a little writing with this ink on the cream paper and did notice less shading, but that's to be expected. Hope this is helpful!!

I think that the ink you have here in the image is beautiful, actually.