Winky's Hamburgers Root Beer, & 4 Other Variations On Taupe

[pgcauk]

So it's December, and I felt like a nice warm mug of J. Herbin Cacao Du Bresil in the snow. This was the first ink that I ever bought a second bottle in the same color range - Rohrer & Klingner's Sepia - and felt completely justified as although they are close each has its own unique qualities (most interestingly, one is warm, one is cool!). . . . . then on "Black Friday" = "Ink Discount Day" my love for greenish browns (I think I have nearly five million of these at this point) provoked me to order (cheap, I promise!) both Rikyu Cha and Yama Guri (and Stipula Verde Muschiato, but that is still on back order!). Oh, and I have Doyou, which is more of a Brown Black than Taupe, but still - time for a "Taupe Off"!

. . . . and then that very afternoon what does Santa bring but my other "Discount Day" bargain, a Birmingham Pens Model A (Secretariat finish, Knox 1.5mm stub, really wet writer yummy!) with a two "free" bottles of ink including Winky's Hamburgers Root Beer which makes Taupe #5!!

Here's some scans:

Edited December 23, 2018 by pgcauk

[pgcauk]

I hadn't played with Yama Guri much yet as first impressions were that it was "another R&K Sepia", and I was looking for greenish browns, but in the piccie above the back of the nib smear is quite greenish, while the water added leaf is quite pink! Japanese inks are full of surprises!

[pgcauk]

So both those were done before my Winky's delivery arrived. Here's #5 added:

Overnight the Winky's moved a bit further agrey from Cacao than it was while fresh.

[pgcauk]

Initial conclusions:

Hey, a 15 cent burger is not going to be Kobe beef!

Cacao is warm and "soft" (i.e. low saturation?).

Rohrer & Klingner Sepia has least underlying hue - a cool grey brown. I think of this as a perfect ink for architects!

Rikyu Cha, which I wouldn't call it a Taupe, is extraordinary and well reviewed elsewhere.

Yama Guri I need to spend more time with!

Doyou is dark and cool - I think of it more as charcoal.

. . . . . so pretty stiff competition, but Winky's is $8 for 30ml!!

Some of the Birmingham Inks are extraordinary things in themselves (I am particularly in love with both Rachel Carson and Fern Moss), but with Winky's I think the price point is the greatest appeal?

 

p.s. If you add a drop of Helianthus to KWZ Hunter Green you get this:

 

Edited December 23, 2018 by pgcauk

[lgsoltek]

Beautiful presentations! I'm not a big fan of browns but I've always had a fondness for Doyou - it was my first Sailor ink and my first ink review ever.

Rikyu-cha is the best brown, ever!

[pgcauk]

So it must be the time of year? One year on and I've started cycling through the Taupes again.

Yama Guri was too warm for me, so I made some more splashes and found Winky's Hamburger Root Beer to be the greyest. I loaded into my designated taupe pen and after a couple of days writing I am enjoying this way more than I thought I would! Winky's reads as grey, but in comparison to the (wonderful) "soft" grey of Kiri Same, the root beer has just enough "mousiness" to reveal it's taupe side. Persuaded me to empty out another pen to give the "non-green" iteration of De Atramentis' Maron a try - softer and warmer again, and very yummy indeed!

[Carrau]

Thanks for the update. After trying (and liking) Winky's HRB, I tried and also liked Birminghams Steel Building Smoked Iron, another brown-gray.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/330812-birmingham-steel-building-smoked-iron/

Edited March 2, 2020 by Herrjaeger

[pgcauk]

Thanks for the update. After trying (and liking) Winky's HRB, I tried and also liked Birminghams Steel Building Smoked Iron, another brown-gray.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/330812-birmingham-steel-building-smoked-iron/

Oh, that is a handsome thing too!

Once my Stipula Calamo Verde Muschiato runs low (barely used to date, but identified as a lovely brown sketching ink) I may investigate. As it is I have a good selection of Green-Browns, Cool Browns and also a good selection of Birmingham Inks (of which at least three are in regular to constant use) that I need to use (or pass on) before I add any more weight to the collection.

I had three years of adding inks, especially to the color groups that I identified as favorites, but now I have an established collection of f"my inks" (along with a large quantity of handmaids for each), I am switching to a more disciplined mode. Mature, huh!

. . . . . but that Smoked Iron does look lovely too!

[Eclipse157]

Thank you for your lovely work!

[pgcauk]

There's a reason I can't leave these ones alone - they're gorgeous!

(also a reason I don't need to buy more just now - none of these are samples!)

nb: Hunter Green! It's the toadstool, not the grass!

[pgcauk]

Whoda thunkit? Doyou is cooler still than the "grey" Winky's. Subtle territory!

[amberleadavis]

Awesome work!

[Carrau]

There are so many interesting and well behaved inks in this color range, thankfully.

[pgcauk]

So I have a designated Taupe pen and I have been cycling through these. Each has it's own quality, which is some justification for having so many inks in a narrow range I guess, but I recently cycled around to R&K's Sepia and every time I pick up that pen it's a delight! More surprising to me is that this was not my experience with Yama Guri, which I assumed would be the gold standard.

I had been starting to wonder whether a "Japanese only" policy might be the way to go but, and here the wallet heaves a sigh, it seems evaluation by individual merits is still the preferred path!

[GreenMountain]

What about the acidity of Sailor inks? Doyou is still my all time favorite ink but I am hesitant to put it in an antique pen. Is there an equivalent in a 100% safe ink?

I haven't researched Doyou in particular, have just been advised in various threads not to use highly acidic ink in old pens.

 

Thanks!

[Uncial]

It's written in the first post that the De Atramentis Marone is 'type 1'. Does this mean it has been reformulated and now isn't the same?

[ENewton]

What about the acidity of Sailor inks? Doyou is still my all time favorite ink but I am hesitant to put it in an antique pen. Is there an equivalent in a 100% safe ink?

 

I haven't researched Doyou in particular, have just been advised in various threads not to use highly acidic ink in old pens.

 

Thanks!

 

Other sources suggest that most Japanese inks are alkaline, not acidic.

 

Have you tried Rohrer & Klingner Sepia? Apparently it isn't suitable for mixing, but it's a very nice ink and easy to flush from a pen.

[pgcauk]

Uncial (my favorite script!), the first bottle of Marron I purchased was a very curious green, and I managed to pick up two of these, but after some back and forth with Dr Janssen, I'm pretty sure that the mushroom taupe is the standard iteration - and a very nice ink it is too . . . unless it's otherwise! (Sigh, my beautiful pink sample of De Atramentis Ocher; stewed rhubarb! The cliffs of Zion Natiomal Park! Turns out to be yellow ocher after all once a full bottle is purchased. Lovely inks but I'm not sure stability is his strong suit!)

Green Mountain, for me a pen is primarilly an ink delivery device, so I'm not the person to ask, but there are other forums on here that should be able to answer your questions with expertise!

. . . and yes, enewton, R&K Sepia is a lovely ink! I stumped up the funds for 50ml of Yama Guri, only to find, heretic, I prefer the R&K!

Edited May 1, 2020 by pgcauk