Organics Studio Henry David Thoreau : Walden Pond Blue

[Intensity]

I'd like to do some comparative reviews of a few dark turquoise/teal/green-black inks and will start with this super-long name ink:

Organics Studio's

"Masters of Writing" series Volume No. 14

Henry David Thoreau

"Walden Pond Blue"

(Handmade in Maryland)

 

http://i.imgur.com/uZHMquL.jpg?1

The ink comes in a 55ml plastic bottle, labeled simply "Walden" and appears to be highly saturated. I've seen sample reviews of this ink showing a high amount of sheen, and I can confirm it is indeed the case, though of course the sheen level depends on how much ink your pen puts down. For high flow feed/wet nibs, and especially for dip pens, this ink is an absolute sheen monster! The sheen is of very metallic burgundy/magenta color, quite nice. Shading is low to moderate, depending on pen and paper. Lubrication is at least moderate.

 

For my review I chose my favorite paper to show off inks: Fabriano's EcoQua dot notebook made with Bioprima 85g/m² paper. It is a bit toothier than Rhodia or the glass-smooth Clairefontaine, and is a nice pale ivory color. It also shows off color and ink saturation well, compared to my Clairefontaine paper, which makes even saturated inks look more pale and anemic (you can probably tell I'm not a fan of that paper).

 

Unlike some of my more watery inks, I was able to use this ink with a dip pen without having to re-dip after every few letters. It seems to be more viscous/coating in that regard. This could be a great ink for ornate writing with a dip pen, if lots of metallic sheen is desired.

 

Here is a [slightly overexposed] scan, though also see photographs that follow, the paper is actually a cream color, not white:

 

http://i.imgur.com/Of2QhWf.jpg?1

 

The water test was done with a single droplet of water from the tap (more toward the left) followed by more droplets on the right side of the grid, after the ink had about 3 minutes to dry. I think it's fairly water-resistant in that the color washes away, but the lines are still visible. Because it is so saturated, it takes a while to dry, depending on your pen. I used a Lamy Safari with 1.1 italic nib for dry time testing.

 

In the scan above, I also wrote with Noodler's Aircorp Blue Black, which is VERY close in color to this ink but completely lacks sheen. Other differences between the two are:

- Noodler's ACBB is a tad less vivid teal and a shade more subdued. It also seems to be just a bit darker. I would say that ACBB is the closest match for the Lamy Safari "Petrol" pen barrel in person, followed by this Walden Pond Blue.

 

I have also made some test writing samples for color fastness comparisons, which I will add to this review at a later date.

 

Eventually, beside Noodler's Aircorp Blue Black, I plan to compare this ink to Sailor's Jentle Yama-Dori, Robert Oster "Tranquility", Robert Oster "Fire & Ice", Robert Oster "Aqua", and J. Herbin's "Emerald of Chivor", samples of which are on the way to me as I type this review.

 

Photographs that show the colors and the sheen (very difficult to show correctly, but it's a greenish teal, not quite as intense as on the photos, but more intense than ACBB):

http://i.imgur.com/c09I9fJ.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/3Qs2kJD.jpg?1

 

http://i.imgur.com/TUd99uM.jpg?1

 

And here's the crazy levels of metallic sheen with a dip pen, basically the teal base gets completely covered up with the metallic burgundy (on Clairefontaine french ruled Triompe notebook paper):

 

http://i.imgur.com/0fSWdJq.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/R2OjUP1.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/f9QNI63.jpg

Edited September 6, 2017 by Intensity

[lgsoltek]

Look at that sheen! The ink is not my kind of colour, but the sheen makes it much more attractive. It needs to be in this week's ink theme!

[Intensity]

Look at that sheen! The ink is not my kind of colour, but the sheen makes it much more attractive. It needs to be in this week's ink theme!

 

The sheen with high concentration dip nibs is insane. It basically completely covers up the original dark teal color and makes the writing look dark-to-bright metallic burgundy.

[DrDebG]

Great review! I wonder how this compares with Lamy Petrol or Sailor Yama-Dori in color.

[Intensity]

Added a couple of metallic sheen photographs.

[Barkingpig]

Thank you for your excellent review of this ink.

 

The color of this ink would have prevented my purchase, except my introduction was a swab that showed the ink "pooled" with it's ever present sheen. I was sold & really didn't believe it possible. Yet upon receipt, I found it to be true. The sheen is so powerful it makes me forgive the color of the ink; I can only imagine what a fan of the "Blue Greens" would feel when using this ink!

 

A winner from Organics Studio, for sure.

[Intensity]

Great review! I wonder how this compares with Lamy Petrol or Sailor Yama-Dori in color.

Not my comparison, but Lamy Petrol is quite close to Noodler's Aircorp Blue Black as well, though with some sheen (ACBB has basically no sheen to speak of):

http://www.analogexpressions.com/2017/06/lamy-petrol-i-have-seen-you-before.html

 

So I'm guessing it's less saturated/intense vs this Organics Studio ink and has less red/burgundy sheen, but is generally in this color family.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Intensity

[visvamitra]

Not my usual color choice but I wouldn't mind trying this one. The sheen does the job.

[TSherbs]

I appreciate the inclusion of a nib that does not pool the ink. I don't like nibs that pool, so this excessive sheen is not something that I would get from most of my pens. Large splotches and swatches aren't so helpful to me either because I don't make those in my common use. Thanks for the review and the comparison.

[Intensity]

I appreciate the inclusion of a nib that does not pool the ink. I don't like nibs that pool, so this excessive sheen is not something that I would get from most of my pens. Large splotches and swatches aren't so helpful to me either because I don't make those in my common use. Thanks for the review and the comparison.

With a more measured drier nib/feed, there's fairly little sheen, and the teal-black is more prominent. But if your fine nib still puts down a juicy line, you will definitely see the sheen and a darker color/shading. The Lamy 1.1mm nib was on the medium-dry side with this ink.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Intensity

[chromantic]

This is an interesting ink. First rate review, thanks for doing it. How much did it cost and where did you buy it?

[Cyber6]

I LOVE YOUR WRITING STYLE!! ...

 

 

 

 

C.

[EricTheRed]

Intensity - Wow, what an incredible ink! I need to get some and start writing...Thanks for the great review!

[thudthwacker]

With the extreme shading, this ink is practically Black Swan in Walden Pond.

 

I really love how this ink looks in your review; and man, I was honestly trying to stop buying more ink when I still have so much I haven't used...

[Intensity]

Thanks everyone. It's indeed a very cool ink. It's sheen-tastic!

[Pensei]

Great review and photographs. First time in a while that my "no more ink" pledge has been strained.

[Intensity]

UPDATE after a month of use:

 

This ink has been sitting in my Lamy Safari for a month until today and been behaving flawlessly with the Lamy 1.1mm nib. Never any hard starts, always smooth ink line. Loads of sheen every time. Today I finally took apart the pen to wash it so that I can put in a Lamy Petrol cartridge I just got, and I was pleased to find that the pen cleaned up quite easily with a little biodegradeable "free and clear" detergent. There is no staining on the Lamy Converter, only a small light turquoise area where the converter plunger doesn't go back far enough to clean out the ink fully. Where water touches the ink, it rinses out with no residue left behind. I had this pen left for 12 days with no use at all and before that only sporadic brief use, and the ink had not dried anywhere. It's quite pigmented, so take your time rinsing out the pen a bunch until the water truly runs clear into a paper towel from the nib.

 

Thumbs up!

Edited October 3, 2017 by Intensity

[truthpil]

Thanks for this review and update!

The non-sheeny parts remind me a lot of Iroshizuku Syo-Ro.

[Intensity]

Thanks for this review and update!

The non-sheeny parts remind me a lot of Iroshizuku Syo-Ro.

The Walden Pond ink is a lot more saturated green-teal compared to Syo-Ro, perhaps a different shade too, though that's difficult to tell. From what I'm seeing in Google image search of Syo-Ro, it's noticeably more pale and more matte looking.

[ferociousnpretty]

Holy Bananas!

I just ordered new ink...I knew I should've kept that color in my cart! That sheens like crazy.

 

Thanks for posting this.