Diamine Sargasso Sea. Nice Color. Terrible Feathering, Bleedthrough

[zahiradil]

Very disappointed with this ink. The ink is a nice blue color, saturated, and thats the only good thing about it.

 

It feathers terribly, bleeds through much more than my other inks, and is very prone to smearing. Flows too easily.

I cannot recommend this ink. Perhaps Diamine needs to make adjustments to it.

 

Good points: Saturated, nice blue color.

 

Bad points: Everything else!!!

 

 

 

[Fermata]

This is my experience of this ink too, I think that is a reported general problem.

 

I threw mine in the trash but you may be able to salvage something by heavy dilution to see if that stops the bleed through.

 

Can you return it to the seller as not fit for purpose?

Edited August 14, 2016 by Parkette

[zahiradil]

Thanks for the suggestion. I didnt think of return, but unfortunately, I poured the ink into a glass bottle and dont know where I put the plastic one it came in. Id be glad to send it to someone if they want it though.

[inkstainedruth]

My issues with Sargasso Sea was that after a couple of days in the pen it got very cloggy and hard starting. A complete disappointment because the color is absolutely gorgeous.

Have a look at Akkerman Shocking Blue -- it's similar in color and has the same reddish sheen to it but is much better behaved.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[katerchen]

It may sound comically redundant at this point in the thread, but just wanted to say my experience was similar.

 

Bought it for the stunning color and sheen, left it alone due to its unusability.

 

Feathering wasn't a big issue for me on the paper I used, but clogging was insane. Oh. And the damn thing never really dries. It would smear hours after put on paper.

 

-k

Edited August 14, 2016 by katerchen

[BayesianPrior]

Feathering wasn't a big issue for me on the paper I used, but clogging was insane. Oh. And the damn thing never really dries. It would smear hours days after put on paper.

 

-k

 

I fixed your post

[amberleadavis]

Okay, I confess, I love this ink, so please send me your rejects. (I also never recommend this ink to anyone who isn't aware that it is high maintenance).

 

Now, if you have something like Noodler's Polar Blue that is otherwise boring, you can jazz it up with mixing the two.

[Bluey]

Okay, I confess, I love this ink, so please send me your rejects. (I also never recommend this ink to anyone who isn't aware that it is high maintenance).

 

Now, if you have something like Noodler's Polar Blue that is otherwise boring, you can jazz it up with mixing the two.

When you mix inks doesn't that mean that the resultant ink gets all the good and bad points of both inks?

Thanks

Edited August 16, 2016 by Bluey

[amberleadavis]

Not necessarily. Some mixes are fabulous and much much better than the component pats. Then some mixes are terrible (anything with QSH).

[Bluey]

Thanks Amber. So it seems like pot luck I guess.

 

What's QSH?

[amberleadavis]

NOODLER'S QIN SHI HUANG (3OZ BOTTLED INK)

[Bluey]

Ta

[tartuffo]

Okay, I confess, I love this ink, ...

 

Me too.

And no feathering nor bleedthrough.

I've had it in four or five pens for more than a year.

No complaints and I'm about to buy another bottle.

[alexander_k]

I've diluted mine with Quink Washable Blue to reduce the sheen (yeah, I know that many people like it but I don't) and have been using it intensively since its introduction in five or more pens. Clogging hasn't been a problem yet. Still, I'm planning to abandon it in favour of Blue Velvet (I like the colour more).

[Witsius]

I bought a small 30ml bottle of Sargasso Sea once. It smelled terrible, like really old, musty books. The stench was overwhelming. It really hit me in the face when I opened the bottle. It also stains pretty badly. I threw it away.

[J85909266]

I have no issues with this ink. I've been using it in a 1.1mm stub Lamy Logo. I went through the whole converter and refilled without ever experiencing a clog or feathering, smudging, etc.

 

It's a newer bottle, a 30ml bought from Massdrop. Perhaps it has been reformulated?

Edited August 17, 2016 by J85909266

[SpecTP]

I bought a small 30ml bottle of Sargasso Sea once. It smelled terrible, like really old, musty books. The stench was overwhelming. It really hit me in the face when I opened the bottle. It also stains pretty badly. I threw it away.

 

I have a bottle and it doesn't smell at all.

[zahiradil]

The one I bought didn't smell bad. Wondering if Diamine has any control over repeatability reading the replies here.

[mhguda]

I have an 80ml bottle and love it. (Bought after I finished the 30ml one). This is such a great ink for mixing. It's the only thing that makes Quink Washable blue palatable. And I have a few bottles of QWB... so if you've not sent Amber your Sargasso Sea rejects, I'm willing to take them... I love this ink, both pure, diluted, or mixed.

[zahiradil]

I already sent it. (Btw, I tried sending a private email to you and it bounced).

I did try to dilute with distilled water, but it made it flow even more. Tap water was a bit better but it was still not acceptable in my opinion.

 

Diamine probably has a problem with quality control and perhaps I got a batch that flowed too much. Like I said, the color though, is tops!