Walt Whitman Leaves Of Grass - Organics Studio

[visvamitra]

Organics Studio is a boutique fountain pen ink company started by a University of Maryland biochemistry student. The company was present on the market few years ago and I guess some of their inks were quite popular. I remember I really enjoyed Walt Whitman, Blue Merle or Boron. In 2014 company's creator decided to take a break in creating inks and I have impression he did it in a way that discouraged many ink afficionados. Some of OS inks developped some sediment, some lost their colors or deteriorated. In June 2016 OS came back to market but as I see their inks aren't widely available. I bel;ieve regainiong trust in our small world won't be that easy. On the other hand I would gladly try their new inks and if such a possibility arises I'll do it.

The bottle of Walt WHitman Leaves of Green was fifted to me by MMG112 - thank you Mary, it's very generous

I liked this ink in the past when I had only sample and I like it now. I heard some people had issues with it turning grey but so far I haven't experienced it. The color is interesting and quite unique. It's definitely not perfect ink but I'm glad I have it as it's the kin of color I like to use on regular basis.

Flow: the Ink feels dryish. The flow is average.

 

Saturation: level of saturation is satisfying for my needs.

 

Lubrication: average.

 

Drying time: rather reasonable. 15-20 seconds on Rhodia, 10 – 15 seconds on absorbent paper.

 

Clogging issues: None experienced. The ink may dry in the nib but only after few minutes. You can leave the pen uncapped for 2-3 minutes and everything should be fine.

 

Feathering: none experienced.

 

Bleedthrough: almost none, even on crappy paper - Moleskine

 

Water resistance: this ink isn't water resistant.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Color ID

Color range

CIAK, TWSBI 580, stub 1.1

Leuchtturm 1917, TWSBI 580, stub 1.1

Moleskine, Hero 5028, stub 1,1

Water resistance

[gylyf]

Wow, that's lovely! Thanks for the review, vis.

[Tas]

I do have a soft spot for these murky desaturated greens and this looks beautiful to me. However, I've lost all confidence in Organics inks having watched my beloved Blue Merle change colour over a few months to plain grey.

[white_lotus]

Thanks for the review of the original formulation of this ink. It was the first OS ink I bought. At the time I thought it would be like the color on the label, and thankfully it wasn't as I discovered I liked the murky greens much better than simply dark ones.

 

But my bottle was one of the ones that shifted color. It's not gray, but it's not as green, even murky green, as it once was.

 

Organics Studio made some nice inks in their first incarnation, and I can only hope the second time around they avoid the problems. If so, they deserve a look, as they have a nice vintage look and feel to the inks, are easy to clean from pens, non-staining.

[inkstainedruth]

Not a color for me. But thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[TSherbs]

This is one of my fave greens. I have had no color change after 1.5 years on the shelf. Maybe I am lucky. When this runs out or goes bad,I will buy another. It has lasted long enough for me already,but I know that others may feel differently.

[Barkingpig]

I saw this review yesterday & recently had been given a bottle of this ink; I was interested in trying mine, perhaps three years old, to compare the colors. So I filled a pen with my original bottle, shook it well prior to filling & I had a very grayish ink, some hint of green, from a 1.5 nib nibbed pen. The new ink was then filled into a Noodler's Ahab & the difference was night & day. Even in the obviously finer nib, it was quite dark & nice as I remembered it.

 

I had become quite disgusted with Organics Studio inks when last year I was pulling some samples & discovered several of the bottles had "gone off," even two of them that had never been opened & stored in their box. I just opened them all, that weren't slimy & dosed them with Phenol, shut them back up & left them alone. I was hence aware of the potential for the ink to have STIB, but not the color change that was also apparent, when compared with the recently received bottle I opened today.

 

I think the ink is a great color but perhaps I will concentrate on using it "sooner, rather than later," to avoid disappointment. So many inks seem better about holding up, I think we should appreciate this ink, use it often, with realisation it might not be the same in years ahead.

[TSherbs]

I saw this review yesterday & recently had been given a bottle of this ink; I was interested in trying mine, perhaps three years old, to compare the colors. So I filled a pen with my original bottle, shook it well prior to filling & I had a very grayish ink, some hint of green, from a 1.5 nib nibbed pen. The new ink was then filled into a Noodler's Ahab & the difference was night & day. Even in the obviously finer nib, it was quite dark & nice as I remembered it.

 

I had become quite disgusted with Organics Studio inks when last year I was pulling some samples & discovered several of the bottles had "gone off," even two of them that had never been opened & stored in their box. I just opened them all, that weren't slimy & dosed them with Phenol, shut them back up & left them alone. I was hence aware of the potential for the ink to have STIB, but not the color change that was also apparent, when compared with the recently received bottle I opened today.

 

I think the ink is a great color but perhaps I will concentrate on using it "sooner, rather than later," to avoid disappointment. So many inks seem better about holding up, I think we should appreciate this ink, use it often, with realisation it might not be the same in years ahead.

 

Guess I had better use the rest of mine up in the next year (months) or so!

[pgcauk]

I thought I had discovered my perfect ink with this one, but in practice I found it to be deeply flawed (SITB at quite an alarming rate - unfortunately the same with my other Organics Studio Ink "Willow Green" which is, again, a terrific hue!). Even after adding a generous dose of Smirnoff as an anti-fungal I have been forced to reserve this favorite color for "Dip-pen only" (or possibly same day use and flush on completion).
Broke my heart!
I have been working my way through a whole host of other "reed bed" greens, but nothing quite matches the subtle allure of this one - a kind of stone green but with an, ahem, organic rather than mineral quality.

Below, in order from yellowish through bluish:
El Lawrence, Burma Road, Jean Jaques Rousseau (once Marone - but now Sepia Brown?!?), Salamander, Walt Whitman, Schenley Park Fern Moss Green & Rachel Carson Silent Spring (which is Cyan, not really Green at all!)
I have also tried Robert Oster's Bronze and KWZ Hunter Green, both of which have their own allure. Any suggestions for closer matches appreciated!

Edited October 6, 2018 by pgcauk

[Barkingpig]

I also enjoyed the OS ink but I also have had the same issue with more than one of them & just don't use them much, even after dosing them with Phenol.

 

I do like & can recommend Stipula's Verde Muschiato for a reliable substitute; it has been in an Omas pen since it's arrival in 2015 & altho flushed more than once, it is always refilled with this ink.

[pgcauk]

I also enjoyed the OS ink but I also have had the same issue with more than one of them & just don't use them much, even after dosing them with Phenol.

 

I do like & can recommend Stipula's Verde Muschiato for a reliable substitute; it has been in an Omas pen since it's arrival in 2015 & altho flushed more than once, it is always refilled with this ink.

Thank you so much!

That's going on the list!

. . . . any comparisons with "Schilfgrun"?

[TSherbs]

Walt Whitman is one of my favorite greens. No SITB for me....yet...going on two years.

[pgcauk]

So I spent the morning looking (again!) at Stipula Verde Muschiato, Standardgraph Schilfgrun, Sailor Rikyu Cha etc. It seems that there is a great selection of greens tending gold, brown or blue. What I find so appealing about Walt Whitman (now called "Hunter Green"?) is that it remains ambiguous - a soft grey with tendencies towards brown, green and blue but not enough to push it securely in any one of those directions.

Below are three not-very-artistic splodges where you can clearly see the pretty similar Jean Jaques Rousseau tending Olive and Schenley Park Fern Moss tending blue. Golly, Walt Whitman has great shading too!