Masque's Mix (Black Swan In Icelandic ....)

March 14, 2018

Back in July 2017, I came across this thread (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/254493-so-you-want-shading-do-you/) that honorable member Masque developed concerning his new shading ink called "Black Swan in Icelandic Minty Bathwater". Since I type with two fingers, I will henceforth call it "Masque's Mix" for brevity.

I am an analytical chemist by profession, the color intrigued me, and so I decided to mix up a batch. A quick call to Fountain Pen Hospital and bottles of Noodler's Navajo Turquoise, 54th Massachusetts, and Old Manhattan Blackest Black arrived here in California. So on a sunny lunch break at work, I mixed up a large batch (38mls) using glass ASTM Certified Class A volumetric pipets. I then let it set for a few days to see if any nasty interactions (curdling, seperation, precipitation) would occur. So far so good.

In August I filled up a Faber Castell Loom with a broad cursive italic nib (cut by Mike Masuyama at a previous pen show) and began writing in my journal. Masque's Mix is a lovely teal color with beautiful shading, no nib creep, and good saturation. My pen's nib just glided across my Rhodia webbook. Clean-up was easy both in the coverter and on my hands. I then let the bottled mix sit for 6 months in a dark place to see if there were any long-term nasty reactions that might occur. Nope, the mix is good!

What, no pictures! Sorry, I am a cranky old Luddite who uses a 7 year old Samsung flip-phone that only sends and receives the occasional phone call. Think Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS and you have cranky old me.

I will be happy to freely share some samples with my FPN friends on TWO CONDITIONS:

1) After you receive the free sample and use it, post your impressions and a picture or two on this thread.

2) I will only mail out the sample to an address in the continental US. --Sorry, but I don't have the time to fill out customs forms or the money for international postage.

As I said, I have eight sample vials ready to package up and send out, probably on Saturday. Please PM me with your name and address ( I emptied my PM slot of all old messages) and I'll start labeling the padded envelopes. The 2 ml samples are in plastic test vials sealed with teflon tape on the threads. They are then wrapped in bubble wrap and then put in a zipper-sealed baggie, which then goes in the padded envelope. The envelope will go by First Class snail mail.

All the Best.

Edited March 15, 2018 by JungleJim

March 15, 2018

Jim,

I am in complete agreement with you regarding the honorable Masque’s Black Swan in Icelandic Minty Bathwater. My 2015 review is in this link. No need for a sample, and the recipients of your vials are going to love it.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297292-review-of-black-swan-in-icelandic-minty-bathwater/

March 19, 2018

The first batch of samples were mailed out this morning. Tracking number was PM'd out.

I still have a few samples available.

Thank-you for participating!

All the Best.

Edited March 19, 2018 by JungleJim

March 22, 2018

Got my vials today! Here are some first impressions:

March 26, 2018

Kfoss, thank-you for a very nice review of Masque's ink sample! As can be seen by your review and reviews by Super Moderator Bobje, and of course MKB and Cyber6 (from the "So you want Shading do you" thread in Reply #97 and #98), printing brings out the maximum shading potential in this ink. Cursive writing has some, but not as prominent.

I am surprised at how close a match Robert Oster's Fire and Ice is to the color and shading of Masque's Mix. Very interesting!

I think many FPN'ers will love this ink and will buy the three Noodler's colors to mix up a batch. Just remember to also buy a set of 5ml ink syringes (available at Goulets or Andersons, Vanness has the 10ml size only) for measuring.

Many thanks to honorable member Masque for developing the recipe!

All the Best.

Edited March 26, 2018 by JungleJim

March 31, 2018

I've received samples of the intriguing shading mix from JungleJim--super excited to try fill up a pen or two. Will report back soon with some photographs and feedback. Based on the photograph I see above, I'm going to absolutely love this ink mix, as Fire & Ice is my most favorite ink, and anything that looks like Fire & Ice and potentially behaves better is going to the very top of my list (been looking for a replacement for a long time).

March 31, 2018

Masque ranks as FPN champion of 2013 for this ink.

March 31, 2018

Got my vials today! Here are some first impressions:

Which paper/notebook is this, Nanami Seven Seas Crossfield latest edition (Tomoe River)?

April 2, 2018

Here's my (I apologize for large sizes) photo review of this mix. Thank you so much, JungleJim!

In summary: this color in essence is indeed very similar to Robert Oster's Fire & Ice. The notable differences are saturation and consistency, sheen, and water resistance:

- Concentration/saturation: Fire&Ice is more saturated and less runny (,and just a hint more green), so you can end up with a brighter line that practically glows on the page. It is my favorite way to use it, with a drier pen, for that glowing shade:

Otherwise if you use Fire & Ice with a high flow pen, it will look quite similar to Masque's Mix.

Fire & Ice also sheens a lot more easily. There is a slight amount of reddish sheen to Masque's Mix, but it's not easily visible, and only shows up on paper like Tomoe River.

Fire & Ice has extremely poor water resistance. In contrast, Masque's Mix has respectable water resistance: the blue-green components wash off--not terribly neatly--and clearly legible dark gray line remains:

Masque's Mix indeed is excellent at shading! I think an appropriate name for this ink would be "Turquoise-Black" or "Cyan-Black", in vein with recent highly shading and water-resistant inks that shade to dark black-ish murky hues by Platinum.

Here are some more photos showing the ink on paper as well as some comparison swatches on Col-O-Ring cards in diffuse indoor daylight:

Edited April 2, 2018 by Intensity

April 4, 2018

Intensity, what a beautiful and thorough ink review!! It looks like one of the professional packets I have on occasion to review from consultants looking to bid on a very expensive project. I think it's very nice to see the ink swabs from other similar colored inks in comparison to Masque's Mix. Thank-you for including them. And a SPECIAL thank-you, Intensity and kfoss, for taking the time to review this lovely ink mix.