EFNIR: Rohrer & Klingner Aubergine

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Rohrer & Klingner Aubergine

This is review #111 in my series.  Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: I don't really have another purple close to this shade (not one I've tried yet, anyway).  I consider this a middle of the road purple, though I think it's slightly more to the red side than the blue.  Anyway, as usual, color in the images isn't as accurate as I'd like: the absorbent paper image is all wrong, the screenshot is a bit off, the scan is probably closest, the zoom is a bit too blue.  Cleaning was quick and easy.

And here is a screen of the final result, for those not interested in the video:

Scan of Completed Review:

Zoomed in photo:

Absorbent Paper Closeup (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper):

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap

Previous Review: Diamine Tobacco Sunburst.

Want to influence the inky sequence?  Take the "next ink" poll.

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh?  Find the whole story here.

Hope you enjoy.  Comments appreciated!

[lapis]

Nice, and thanks that you brought this up. An excellent purple -- even for those who collect purples. All in all, an inexpensive one at that. For those unaware... don't forget that this is/was a LE ink in/from 2018.

[LizEF]

14 minutes ago, lapis said:

Nice, and thanks that you brought this up. An excellent purple -- even for those who collect purples. All in all, inexpensive one at that.

You're very welcome!   R&K do indeed have good prices, and a lot of nice inks.

[ENewton]

Thank you.  I am glad to have a bottle of this ink, a good, basic dark purple by a brand I trust.  

 

I had not noticed the feathering on copy paper but will pay closer attention next time I use the ink.  

[yazeh]

Great job Liz

This reminds me of Herbin's Violette pensée, which the spell check wants to correct to violet pen. It also reminds me of the colour of Japanese aubergines, (eggplants). 

I am still trying to envision Makhabesh writing with a fountain pen in Riddlese.

 

 

[LizEF]

10 minutes ago, ENewton said:

Thank you.  I am glad to have a bottle of this ink, a good, basic dark purple by a brand I trust.  

 

I had not noticed the feathering on copy paper but will pay closer attention next time I use the ink.  

You're most welcome!  Oddly (not) a USB microscope reveals things they eye doesn't notice...

[LizEF]

9 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Great job Liz

This reminds me of Herbin's Violette pensée, which the spell check wants to correct to violet pen. It also reminds me of the colour of Japanese aubergines, (eggplants). 

I am still trying to envision Makhabesh writing with a fountain pen in Riddlese.

 

 

Thanks!

 

I'm not familiar with the French ink or the Japanese veggie, so I'm going to take your word for both!

 

Makhabesh is a very adept little sphinx.

[yazeh]

8 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Thanks!

 

I'm not familiar with the French ink or the Japanese veggie, so I'm going to take your word for both!

 

Makhabesh is a very adept little sphinx.

I checked some other reviews, I think Aubergine is darker purple, betwixt Pensée and Scabiosa....

Pensée is very close to Noodler's North African violet...

As for the veggie, ask Quin... in those early days, when he was the young and innocent Quintus, and was awarded the order of vegetable,,, he was known for his zucchinis and eggplants...

 

[A Smug Dill]

Huh? Was this the magic vegetable?

 

Funny how people often jump to asking for a comparison between R&K Aubergine and DeAtramentis Aubergine inks, but not against Van Dieman's Ink Eggplant. Don't they realise aubergines are eggplants?

 

Thanks for the review!  I like this ink, but I find it slightly more apt to feather spread and/or leave woolly outlines than a lot of other inks, although not quite as badly as Noodler's inks on the whole.

[LizEF]

59 minutes ago, yazeh said:

As for the veggie, ask Quin... in those early days, when he was the young and innocent Quintus, and was awarded the order of vegetable,,, he was known for his zucchinis and eggplants...

Yes, I remember.

[LizEF]

34 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Huh? Was this the magic vegetable?

Actually, I only remember the zucchini, but there may have been some mention of eggplant that I don't remember.

 

35 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Funny how people often jump to asking for a comparison between R&K Aubergine and DeAtramentis Aubergine inks, but not against Van Dieman's Ink Eggplant. Don't they realise aubergines are eggplants?

Perhaps not.  In the US, I'm pretty sure we only use "eggplant".  The first time I heard "aubergine", I didn't know it was the same thing (had no idea at all what it was, had to look it up).

 

36 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Thanks for the review!  I like this ink, but I find it slightly more apt to feather spread and/or leave woolly outlines than a lot of other inks, although not quite as badly as Noodler's inks on the whole.

You are most welcome.  This and Scabiosa are both very nice purples.  For whatever reason, purple ink has not appealed to me - I gave the only one I had to a friend who loves purple and whose first ink bottle was Waterman Tender Purple.  But the ones you sent me may convert me to liking purple inks...  We'll see.

[mizgeorge]

Thank you @LizEF as always for a really useful review. This is an ink I have, but I can't say I love it. I don't use a lot of purple inks to start with, and when I do, I prefer them to be less red, less serious, and better behaved - this one feathers on my everyday paper (Oxford Optik 80gsm) and is too dry for a lot of my pens. 

 

It was too inexpensive to regret buying, but even if it were available, wouldn't be a repeat purchase for me. 

 

1 hour ago, A Smug Dill said:

Don't they realise aubergines are eggplants?

I think a huge number of people don't realise, in the same way they have no idea that courgettes and zucchini are the same think. As is so often the case, we are divided by a common language

[LizEF]

7 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Thank you @LizEF as always for a really useful review. This is an ink I have, but I can't say I love it. I don't use a lot of purple inks to start with, and when I do, I prefer them to be less red, less serious, and better behaved - this one feathers on my everyday paper (Oxford Optik 80gsm) and is too dry for a lot of my pens. 

 

It was too inexpensive to regret buying, but even if it were available, wouldn't be a repeat purchase for me. 

You're welcome!  And thank you.  My cameras didn't want to capture the red lean.  I'm surprised by feathering on Oxford Optik, but then a Japanese EF writes so fine you won't see feathers.

 

11 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

As is so often the case, we are divided by a common language

Yeah, you foreigners really ought to learn proper English.

[InesF]

Thank you Liz!

This time I saw your video before reading here at FPN and I immediately liked the Riddlese writing. Tonight I will put a candy at the window and will pray my wish to see LizEF write some of the Riddlese hieroglyphs in her next ink review! 😇

 

Unfortunately, I do not own the R&K, so I have to stay with the deAtramentis Aubergine, which is my favorite ink for calligraphy and for writing with F nibs.

[LizEF]

39 minutes ago, InesF said:

Thank you Liz!

You're most welcome!

 

39 minutes ago, InesF said:

This time I saw your video before reading here at FPN and I immediately liked the Riddlese writing.

 

40 minutes ago, InesF said:

Tonight I will put a candy at the window and will pray my wish to see LizEF write some of the Riddlese hieroglyphs in her next ink review! 😇

I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed.  The next two reviews are already recorded, sans hieroglyphs.  Hopefully the story will be entertaining enough without them.  Meanwhile, the back of my brain will ponder...   Guest heiroglyphers welcome!

 

41 minutes ago, InesF said:

Unfortunately, I do not own the R&K, so I have to stay with the deAtramentis Aubergine, which is my favorite ink for calligraphy and for writing with F nibs.

I suspect the De Atramentis ink will do better at calligraphy - in my experience, they tend to be very wet.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oooo....I know I have an ink sample named Aubergine.  I just don't know if it's this one.  😜

 

I like these red-violet types.  Mine seems darker and less pretty-er.  Thanks for the review!

[LizEF]

11 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Oooo....I know I have an ink sample named Aubergine.  I just don't know if it's this one.  😜

 

I like these red-violet types.  Mine seems darker and less pretty-er.  Thanks for the review!

  You're very welcome!  Enjoy your ink, whichever one it is.

[PithyProlix]

Thank you for another great review.

 

I've been debating seeking this one out so it's very useful to me. From what I've seen I think it looks much better in a wider nib (as shown in @lgsoltek's excellent review here) and good, but not great, in a extra fine. (Though if I happen to find it for a good price I think it's an excellent candidate for my quest to find an ink that looks like my purple yams!)

[ENewton]

4 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

Thank you for another great review.

 

I've been debating seeking this one out so it's very useful to me. From what I've seen I think it looks much better in a wider nib (as shown in @lgsoltek's excellent review here) and good, but not great, in a extra fine. (Though if I happen to find it for a good price I think it's an excellent candidate for my quest to find an ink that looks like my purple yams!)

 

In case you missed this review, MountainofInk has writing samples from nibs of different widths and suggestions for similar  inks that might be easier to find:

 

https://mountainofink.com/blog/rohrer-klingner-aubergine

[LizEF]

6 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

Thank you for another great review.

You're most welcome.

 

6 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

I've been debating seeking this one out so it's very useful to me. From what I've seen I think it looks much better in a wider nib (as shown in @lgsoltek's excellent review here) and good, but not great, in a extra fine. (Though if I happen to find it for a good price I think it's an excellent candidate for my quest to find an ink that looks like my purple yams!)

I'd say it's fairly common that an ink that looks good in an EF nib looks better in a broader nib, simply because it's easier to see the things that look good...  But nib wetness comes into play here as well, and this isn't always the case.

 

I've given up on my quests to "find an ink that looks like..." - I've decided they don't exist, and I'm happier just enjoying the ink I've got for its own virtues.    But I wish you luck and many enjoyable inks while pursuing your quest!