EFNIR: Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

This is review #231 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: This ink was a gift from a generous FP Geek. It started life as "Mystery Ink #50". Check out this FPGeeks thread for more.

Cleaning was quick and easy. I have nothing like this color, so I chose three browns that are as close as I can come. This brown is more neutral and grey than the others.  Sometimes, it has strong green undertones.  On Tomoe River, from a larger, very wet nib, sheen was easy to see - sort of silvery gold.  It's there from this nib as well, but you have to look for it.  Note that dry time from that wetter nib was a *lot* longer, so dry time may be exponential for this ink rather than linear...

As part of the exploration of this mystery ink, I did chromatography and water testing (with a different pen).

Zoomed in photo (Quite close.)

Screenshot (Text is a little dark and de-saturated.)

Scan of Completed Review (Very close. Hard to say whether this or the zoom is more accurate.)

Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper) (Both are close. The CP doesn't look splotchy to the naked eye. It's much darker on both papers.)

Line width (One of the lines used for dry time. Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each. The line width for this ink is roughly 300µm. With 231 inks measured, the average line width is 296µm.)

Microscope image (100x. Part that remained in the middle of the slide. Very pale.)

Microscope image (400x. A plant growing from the edge of the cover slip.)

Microscope image (400x. Same as before, but with a cell phone to show color.)

Microscope image (100x. Also cell phone. Another area on the edge of the cover slip. There's a very dark forest green color along with the browns and bright orange.)

Water Test Results

Chromatogram

Previous Review: Private Reserve 2 Minutes to Midnight Blue.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

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View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet.

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

Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

[Sailor Kenshin]

I smell a rat!  A biig one. And he's nibbling at the edges of Lamyton, after having crushed those poor daisy petals.

 

This is another ink I have used.  I did love the color, and its interesting chroma.  
 

Thans as always, @LizEF, for the unique reviews, and the serial that has just taken a fascinating turn.  Go, Dream Team!

 

Perfectionism ruins lives.  Ask me how I know. 

[LizEF]

6 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I smell a rat!  A biig one. And he's nibbling at the edges of Lamyton, after having crushed those poor daisy petals.

 

6 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

This is another ink I have used.  I did love the color, and its interesting chroma.

 

6 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thans as always, @LizEF, for the unique reviews, and the serial that has just taken a fascinating turn.  Go, Dream Team!

You're very welcome!

 

6 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Perfectionism ruins lives.  Ask me how I know. 

  Best wishes in your efforts to overcome perfectionism and thereby be more perfectly you.

[yazeh]

What an excellent review

I really liked this iteration of Quin and his inner dialogue with the staff. You're on to something

And those microscopic imagery are truly fantastic. 

 

Looking forward to Tuesday serial (or cereal )

 

 

[LizEF]

8 minutes ago, yazeh said:

What an excellent review

Thanks, @yazeh!

 

9 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I really liked this iteration of Quin and his inner dialogue with the staff. You're on to something

 

10 minutes ago, yazeh said:

And those microscopic imagery are truly fantastic. 

 

Looking forward to Tuesday serial (or cereal )

  Tuesday's serial just in time for your breakfast cereal!

[namrehsnoom]

Wow… this looks like a seriously lovely light-brown. This definitely is one I need to try. Thanks @LizEF for showing it here. 

And I just love those microscope images. In this case, the Indian warchief feather headdress looks stunning. Out of context, no-one will associate this with a fountain pen ink 😃

[LizEF]

24 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

Wow… this looks like a seriously lovely light-brown. This definitely is one I need to try. Thanks @LizEF for showing it here. 

You're very welcome.  Please note that from a wet nib, it can be much darker!

 

25 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

And I just love those microscope images. In this case, the Indian warchief feather headdress looks stunning. Out of context, no-one will associate this with a fountain pen ink 😃

  Yeah, this one was great - feathered headdress works too!

[AmandaW]

I love Sepia. It's the sepia that looks like sepia (some others are too red or orange or vivid...). It's the greyness that does it. For the longest time it was my only brown ink. I couldn't see why I needed anything else. Silly me. I still love it.

 

And it's listed as my favourite ink on my profile. Just checked: still is. 🤎

[LizEF]

18 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

I love Sepia. It's the sepia that looks like sepia (some others are too red or orange or vivid...). It's the greyness that does it. For the longest time it was my only brown ink. I couldn't see why I needed anything else. Silly me. I still love it.

 

And it's listed as my favourite ink on my profile. Just checked: still is. 🤎

[InesF]

Thank you, @LizEF, for developing the characters so detailed - and especially for Culliopolis!  where I imagine an underdeveloped, quite polluted and crowded city -, for quoting Salvador Dali, for your excellent description of the R&K Sepia ink - I fell in love last autumn! - and for the microscopy image.

I still would claim this ink 90% for writing  but if you ran out of words, it also makes for nice evening entertainment with its remaining 10% dedication to microscopy! 

 

With a surface tension of 58 mN*m^-1 R&K Sepia is in the semi-wet-semi-dry category. In my tests it behaved excellent with dry and with wet writing nibs and did result in nicely saturated lines. However, I never before recognised sheen ... the scientist is called to arms, now. ✍️ 🔬 😋

[LizEF]

3 hours ago, InesF said:

Thank you, @LizEF, for developing the characters so detailed - and especially for Culliopolis!  where I imagine an underdeveloped, quite polluted and crowded city -, for quoting Salvador Dali, for your excellent description of the R&K Sepia ink - I fell in love last autumn! - and for the microscopy image.

  You're most welcome!  (Apparently I failed to close my "a", the city name is Calliopolis, as in Callifolio ink.)

 

3 hours ago, InesF said:

I still would claim this ink 90% for writing  but if you ran out of words, it also makes for nice evening entertainment with its remaining 10% dedication to microscopy! 

  Yes, good for both activities.  Thankfully, the microscopy doesn't require a large volume.

 

3 hours ago, InesF said:

With a surface tension of 58 mN*m^-1 R&K Sepia is in the semi-wet-semi-dry category. In my tests it behaved excellent with dry and with wet writing nibs and did result in nicely saturated lines. However, I never before recognised sheen ... the scientist is called to arms, now. ✍️ 🔬 😋

Thank you!  Love having facts instead of relying only on perception.  Best wishes finding yourself a nice wet pen and a paper that shows sheen!

[inkstainedruth]

Have not tried this one before (I already have Iroshizuku Yama-guri and Edelstein Smoky Quartz) but definitely falls into the range of "browns I like".  Is it really that fast drying?  That has definitely attracted my interest as well.

Thanks for the review (my wallet of course says OTHERWISE )

Oops!  I have a sample of this ink, but haven't tried it.   I will have to rectify that soon, won't I?  (Not telling the husband -- he'll just roll his eyes and mutter about enablers.... )

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LizEF]

32 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Is it really that fast drying?

It was in my review pen, but in the wet Cross Wanderlust Malta, F nib, it took a lot longer to dry, so, it'll depend on your pen.

 

33 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks for the review (my wallet of course says OTHERWISE )

You're very welcome!  My apologies to your wallet (though, if you have to get another ink, there are a lot more expensive brands than R&K, so...).

 

34 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Oops!  I have a sample of this ink, but haven't tried it.   I will have to rectify that soon, won't I?  (Not telling the husband -- he'll just roll his eyes and mutter about enablers.... )

  Yes, definitely give it a try!