Blackstone Australian Bush

[visvamitra]

It seems Blackstone inks are a product of FPN - their origin can be traced back to 2013 when some of ink-testers (Amberlea minions) started discussng powdered inks. Soon after many of us had a chance to review / try the original SuSeMai powdered inks. The powders are gone but in the meantime they evolved into Blackstone ink concentrates and recently the line called Colours of Australia was created (based on those concentrates).

Recently new colors were added to Blackstone lineup. Mishka from BureauDirect sent me samples. Thank you

I'll start with Australian Bush as it displays the hue I like a lot in inks.

The color is fantastic. The ink feels rather smooth and well lubricated. It's also quite heavily saturated. Sadly it has a big issue - it causes strong nib crud. Here's the picture of Jinhao nib after just 30 hours of leaving the pen capped and unused. For me it's a deal breaker sadly. I love the color but I hate when an ink does it.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Color ID

Color range

Oxford, Jinhao 866, medium nib

Rhodia, Jinhao 866, medium nib

Midori, Jinhao 866, medium nib

Water resistance

[Uncial]

Thanks for this. I saw a little snatch of it in a CRV and thought it was quite close to the legendary Tanna Japonensis (well, legendary in my book). I fear I may have to invest somewhat heavily.

[Jamerelbe]

Hi @Visvamitra, and thanks for the review. I have to say that my experience of Australian Bush is different: I kept it in a Jinhao 599 for weeks without any nib crud. I also had this ink in an ASA Maya pen (with 1.5mm stub nib) for a couple of months (I was an early pre-release tester) - and yes, in that pen, after a couple of weeks non-use, some nib crud developed, but it wiped off pretty easily.

 

Highly saturated inks can have this problem, I know - especially orange inks for some reason (in my experience) - but I didn't see this as a deal-breaker with this particular ink.

 

Look forward to seeing your other reviews!

[Uncial]

I do wonder if ink crud is atmospherically related. Lots of people have reported ink crud with Montblanc's Lucky Orange and Diamine's Oxblood and I've almost been disappointed to have never seen any sign of it.

[mhguda]

Thanks for the review Visvamitra. I also have not seen the nib crud you speak of, and maybe it has to do with ambient humidity? or maybe diluting the ink slightly might help. I have not kept mine (I got a small bottle with my recent order of SHB 250ml bottle) pure in the one pen I have it in: it is mixed with an equal quantity of red cashmere (for the love/hate entry of the 52 weeks of ink contribution that I never got around to posting...). Because while I like how the ink behaves, I hate how it looks... too bad! and I'm still looking for a combination that I do like. Probably because it is so highly saturated, it overpowers the other inks I've tried it with.

[DrDebG]

This is a great color, but not a fan of nib crud. Thanks for the great review, Vis!

[dcwaites]

I kept several of the Scents of Australia inks in Jinhao X-750s over several days and did not notice any issues.

 

Kevin from Justwrite deliberately makes his inks saturated and wet, in comparison to Robert Oster who makes his inks a bit on the dry side. No criticism of either, you just choose the ink type you want for your paper, pen and needs.

 

The Australian Bush ink has a mild, clean scent of eucalyptus, which you can smell when you open the ink bottle, or uncap your pen. The scent doesn't stay on the page, though.

 

This ink is a bit more olive than its cousin from the Colours of Australia - Daintree Green. That is a deep, tropical rainforest green, compared to the temperate rainforest green of the AB ink.

[FPRebel]

THANK YOU, VIS!!!!
I absolutely LOVE this color. :wub:
Nib crud to the degree you experienced would be a deal-breaker for me, but since several have weighed in with better results, I'll have to chance it for the amazing color ink: Blackstone Bush - my absolute next ink purchase.

[lgsoltek]

  On 8/27/2017 at 5:36 PM, FPRebel said:

THANK YOU, VIS!!!!

I absolutely LOVE this color. :wub:

Nib crud to the degree you experienced would be a deal-breaker for me, but since several have weighed in with better results, I'll have to chance it for the amazing color ink: Blackstone Bush - my absolute next ink purchase.

Use it in a well-sealed pen and it’ll be fine.

[visvamitra]

@Lgsoltek is right. I wouldn't expect similar problems in Platinum 3776 Darn, now I started to dream about murky green Platinum demonstrator. happily for my wallet they don't have one.

[namrehsnoom]

Thanks for showing the ink... really lovely green! I particularly like the shading it shows... perfection.

[bureaudirect]

This one is my fav colour from scented series too.

Mine also did crud a lot, but I'm still using it

[Newjelan]

Great review of an ink I have fallen in love with. I have been using it in my Pelikan M400 White Tortoise and although I have experienced ink on the nib, I've had no problems with "crud".

[Ghost Plane]

Love the color! People with crud, are you in high humidity or low?

[AmandaW]

I haven't inked up my Australian Bush yet (waiting for an empty pen), but do have it's cousin Brown Boronia out to play and it has the crud too. I like the scent and colour so it won't stop me using it.

 

 

 

[Ghost Plane]

Eew! Okay. These are NOT inks for my high end pens. Run away.

[Jamerelbe]

  On 9/29/2017 at 12:24 AM, Ghost Plane said:

Eew! Okay. These are NOT inks for my high end pens. Run away.

 

My Jinhao 886 was *very* prone to evaporation until I smeared the inside top of the lid with shellac - if your pens are reasonably airtight this shouldn't be a problem. Also, as I've mentioned earlier (in this thread or another one?), the crud is highly ink soluble - it may *look* horrible, but a quick wipe and rinse and it's all good!

[AmandaW]

  On 9/29/2017 at 12:54 AM, Jamerelbe said:

 

My Jinhao 886 was *very* prone to evaporation until I smeared the inside top of the lid with shellac - if your pens are reasonably airtight this shouldn't be a problem. Also, as I've mentioned earlier (in this thread or another one?), the crud is highly ink soluble - it may *look* horrible, but a quick wipe and rinse and it's all good!

 

You're right, I tried and can indeed blow a little air through the cap, so will add shellac asap. Much appreciated because summer isn't far off and anything prone to drying out is being cleaned out and sent to the back of the drawer until it's over. Just not worth the fight in the brutal hot and dry here.

 

I'm not bothered about the ink crud anyway, more amused by it than anything. This is the first time I've tried a scented ink and am enjoying the Brown Boronia wafting up from the page as I write so much I don't think a nib wipe when removing the cap to be a big issue. Looking forward to having an empty pen so I can to try the Australian Bush (and ordering some of the others too!).

Edited September 29, 2017 by AmandaW

[AmandaW]

To test the hypothesis that the nib crud from Australian Bush and Brown Boronia inks was due to evaporation I loaded them into a pair of Jinhao 992. (I chose those because don't dry out for me.) The result is that neither ink is showing any nib crud at all after a month. Nothing. Nil. Nada. It was the pen. I also left the Brown Boronia in the offending Jinhao 886 for the month too - it completely dried out - however the ink residue washed out easily.

 

Bonus is that Brown Boronia is a wonderful match for the Jinhao 992 transparent coffee and the Australian Bush looks pretty darn good coming out of the transparent green! (Hmmm, the pen comes in blue as well, better go see if there's a scented blue. I can see a set happening here.)

[Jamerelbe]

  On 10/27/2017 at 2:19 PM, AmandaW said:

To test the hypothesis that the nib crud from Australian Bush and Brown Boronia inks was due to evaporation I loaded them into a pair of Jinhao 992. (I chose those because don't dry out for me.) The result is that neither ink is showing any nib crud at all after a month. Nothing. Nil. Nada. It was the pen. I also left the Brown Boronia in the offending Jinhao 886 for the month too - it completely dried out - however the ink residue washed out easily.

 

Bonus is that Brown Boronia is a wonderful match for the Jinhao 992 transparent coffee and the Australian Bush looks pretty darn good coming out of the transparent green! (Hmmm, the pen comes in blue as well, better go see if there's a scented blue. I can see a set happening here.)

 

I've found that Australian Bush tends to develop nib crud in most of the pens I've tried it in - it's just more prone to this than other inks - but I'm convinced that the pens are as much a factor as the ink. Brown Boronia I haven't had any trouble with at all. I don't see this as a problem, though - as you say, the 'crud' dissolves and washes away easily.

 

Blackstone Blue Gum is a green-tinged blue with a delightful scent - check the colour out before you buy, but it's one of my current favourites.