Ink Mix : Murky Waters

[namrehsnoom]

Ink Mix – Murky Waters

• 3 parts : Pelikan Edelstein Jade


• 2 parts : Pelikan Edelstein Onyx

I have a bottle of Pelikan Edelstein Jade, that turned out to be of a colour that's not really my thing (to put it mildly - I simply cannot stomach it). From the Platinum Classic Black series, I got the idea of darkening up the ink... maybe that could be a way to salvage my bottle. I tried a number of different proportions of Edelstein Jade and Onyx (documented here on the forum), to come up with a combination that I liked - Murky Waters.

"Murky Waters" is brewed by mixing 3 parts of Edelstein Jade with 2 parts of Edelstein Onyx. The resulting mix gives a really dark grean-leaning teal colour, that is quite stable. This new ink writes wet and well-lubricated in my dry Safari test pens. Contrast with the paper is excellent, even with EF nibs. The ink also exhibits aesthetically pleasing soft shading.

To show you the impact of saturation on the ink's look & feel on paper, I made some scribbles where I really saturated portions of the Tomoe River paper with ink. This gives you a good idea of what the ink is capable of in terms of colour range. Murky Waters has a narrow tonal range, and is definitely a well-saturated ink. The limited colour span explains the soft shading that is apparent in writing.

The resulting mix is also fairly water-resistant. Short exposures to water flush away the Jade components of the ink, but the black remains, and is still very readable. This is also clear from the chromatography: at the bottom part, the black dye remains well fixed to the paper. This makes it a good candidate for use at the office.

I have tested the ink on a variety of paper - from crappy Moleskine to high-end Tomoe River. Below I show you the ink's appearance and behaviour on different paper types. On every small band of paper, I show you:

• An ink swab, made with a cotton Q-tip


• 1-2-3 pass swab, to show increasing saturation


• An ink scribble made with an M-nib fountain pen


• The name of the paper used, written with a B-nib


• A small text sample, written with an M-nib


• Drying times of the ink on the paper (with the M-nib)

Murky Waters behaved perfectly on most of the paper types I used, with only a tiny bit of feathering on the lower quality papers. Bleed-through was only very present with the Moleskine paper, but even there it was not too bad. Drying times with the M-nib are paper-dependent ranging from 5-10 seconds on absorbent paper to 15-20 seconds on paper with a hard surface. I quite enjoy the way it looks on the Paperblanks paper, which is what I use for daily journaling.

Related inks

To compare this mix with related inks, I use my nine-grid format with the currently reviewed ink at the center. This format shows the name of related inks, a saturation sample, a 1-2-3 swab and a water resistance test - all in a very compact format.

Inkxperiment - a fistful of flowers

I always enjoy doing a small drawing using only the ink I'm reviewing. For this inkxperiment, I started with a piece of 300 gsm rough watercolour paper that I thoroughly wetted with water. I then added some drops of Murky Waters to start the flowers. Once dried to the point of dampness, I added a bit of bleach, and ten minutes later again a tiny bit of Murky Waters to the flower heart. I then painted in the background with a Q-tip and heavily water-diluted ink. Finally I drew in the flower stems, completing the drawing.

Conclusion

Murky Waters is an ink mix that I like, and that definitely saved my bottle of Jade. A nice dark green-leaning teal that works well with fine nibs, and that is fairly water resistant. This is an ink that will get used in my EDC pens that I carry with me to the office. All in all a successful mixing experiment.

Technical test results on Rhodia N° 16 notepad paper, written with Lamy Safari, M-nib

Back-side of writing samples on different paper types

[LizEF]

I love reading your reviews - even if I'm not going to buy the two inks and mix them. And I really appreciate the details of how you do the drawing / inksperiment - it allows me to continue in my delusion that one day I'm going to try things like that!

[Eclipse157]

At the risk of sounding repetitive and boring: I love your inky works

[Intensity]

This is great! Love your thorough reviews!

 

I wonder what mixing Onyx with Aquamarine would be like. I dont have Jade but I do have Aquamarine.

[Karmachanic]

I've had conversation with the Prime Minister of Murklandia, who has been in discussion with the Cabinet. Whilst they, as usual, very much enjoy your review, and delight in the success of your mixology, they, the Government, take umbrage with the use of the term Murky. They suggest to qualify for that term you could, perhaps, muddy the waters.

 

Looking forward to the next exciting episode.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Karmachanic

[namrehsnoom]

This is great! Love your thorough reviews!

 

I wonder what mixing Onyx with Aquamarine would be like. I dont have Jade but I do have Aquamarine.

 

Thank you. With regard to your wondering about mixing Aquamarine with some black... have a go at it. And if something beautiful arises, let us know!

[namrehsnoom]

I've had conversation with the Prime Minister of Murklandia, who has been in discussion with the Cabinet. Whilst they, as usual, very much enjoy your review, and delight in the success of your mixology, they, the Government, take umbrage with the use of the term Murky. They suggest to qualify for that term you could, perhaps, muddy the waters.

 

Looking forward to the next exciting episode.

I'm not a native English speaker, so I don't always have a firm grasp of what's considered normal everyday word use. In this case I did do a dictionary check... and as far as the Cambridge English dictionary goes:

 

murky adjective (DARK/DIRTY) - dark and dirty or difficult to see through: example:The river was brown and murky after the storm

 

With muddy more brown undertones spring into my mind, and these are absent in this mix

[Karmachanic]

murky adjective (DARK/DIRTY) - dark and dirty or difficult to see through: example:The river was brown and murky after the storm

 

With muddy more brown undertones spring into my mind, and these are absent in this mix

 

The people of Murklandia are very happy with your understanding of the term

[Intensity]

I'm not a native English speaker, so I don't always have a firm grasp of what's considered normal everyday word use. In this case I did do a dictionary check... and as far as the Cambridge English dictionary goes:

 

murky adjective (DARK/DIRTY) - dark and dirty or difficult to see through: example:The river was brown and murky after the storm

 

With muddy more brown undertones spring into my mind, and these are absent in this mix

Thank you for the definition! This is why I dont think of Murky as olive-browns but rather gray- and earthy- tinged ink of any color. I was surprised the Murky thread was all about Muddy colors.

 

For example, I see Kyo No Oto Hisoku as a murky turquoise.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Intensity

[Karmachanic]

Hmmm. "Dark and dirty". I haven't had the good fortune to go everywhere there is to go to, But the places I've been have always had brownish dirt. As in dirty.

 

Having said that, I understand that there is no natural relationship between an object and its name. If that was the case, a particular object would have the same name in all languages and cultures. This is clearly not the case.

 

To me Kyo No Oto Hisoku would fall in the 'stormy' section. For you it's 'murky'. Perhaps we're both right.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Karmachanic

[Intensity]

I don't see a conflict, there are actual word definitions. Local usage could differ, of course.

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/murky

 

"Characterized by a heavy dimness or obsurity by or like that caused by overhanging fog or smoke. ... Foggy, Misty."

 

"Synonyms: dark, darkened, darkish, dimmed, dusky, gloomy, somber"

 

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/murky

 

"Dark, gloomy, and cheerless"

. . .

 

Stormy is a subset of "murky weather". It doesn't refer to a color. A stormy sky might have certain colors depending on illumination and other conditions, a stormy sea might have certain range of colors depending on illumination and other conditions. Any "categories" for ink colors seem to be subjective and kind of obtaining a hashtag quality.

[Karmachanic]

"Characterized by a heavy dimness or obscurity..."

 

Sounds like me.