Some Ink Tests

[USG]

On 12/1/2023 at 7:37 AM, Lithium466 said:

I have now compared Doyou and regular Sailor black side by side...and Doyou ruined Sailor black for me.

 

Sailor black is one of my staple inks, trusty black with excellent lubrication, good behavior and generally neutral...now compared to Doyou I find it too cold, not dark enough, not flowy enough 😱 What is happening?!

 

Oh, Sailor black sheens black on Iroful.

 

I've been experimenting with Doyou too.  👍😀  "The Black Void"

 

On 12/1/2023 at 1:58 PM, Penguincollector said:

  Winter Miracle and all of its friends are under the Xmas Tree, so we’ll have to be patient. I am looking forward to trying the whole spectrum of inks that you sent. 

 

Winter Miracle is on my list along with Arctic Blast, Upon a Star, and Maureen...

 

I need a nice brown though... any ideas?  I have Havana, Brillant Braun, Macassar, Cafe Des Iles and Penman Mocha.  Need one that's not to red, not too green, not so dark it looks black,  and doesn't sheen too much, but I don't mind shimmer.

 

What do you guys think of "Serendipity"?  Is it green or is it brown?

 

Also do you think Brandy Dazzel looks like the reddish version of Tyrian Purple?  It looks like it on JetPens but not on Mountain....

[Lithium466]

41 minutes ago, USG said:

I need a nice brown though... any ideas?  I have Havana, Brillant Braun, Macassar, Cafe Des Iles and Penman Mocha.  Need one that's not to red, not too green, not so dark it looks black,  and doesn't sheen too much, but I don't mind shimmer.

Do you like Yama-Guri?

 

Also Brandy dazzle doesn't look reddish nor purplish to me, it's a very nice golden coppery Havana brown with a TON of shimmer (that never clogged my pen).

I got a converter fill at the 2022 Pelikan hub, and once home ran to order a bottle, but I messed up and somehow ordered Golden sands instead, and never got to get Brandy dazzle in the end.

I highly recommend Brandy dazzle if you like well...Brandy colours.

[USG]

1 hour ago, Lithium466 said:

Do you like Yama-Guri?

 

Also Brandy dazzle doesn't look reddish nor purplish to me, it's a very nice golden coppery Havana brown with a TON of shimmer (that never clogged my pen).

I got a converter fill at the 2022 Pelikan hub, and once home ran to order a bottle, but I messed up and somehow ordered Golden sands instead, and never got to get Brandy dazzle in the end.

I highly recommend Brandy dazzle if you like well...Brandy colours.

 

I've been disappointed with Iroshizuku inks because I've never seen them do the subtle outlining tricks (on Cosmo Snow and Iroful) that some other inks do, like Sailor for instance.  The shade of brown I'm looking for is a Pentel gel pen brown.

 

 

Btw, have you googled Brandy Dazzel lately?  There are so many versions of that ink that I'm starting to think there must be different batches at different times, to account for all the variations in color.   Will the real Brandy Dazzel stand up....

and this...

 

and this...

and this....

and this...

and this...

 

[Lithium466]

Wow that is crazy. I had never googled Brandy Dazzle before, and now understand the confusion!

Mine looked closest to the "Pulp addiction" picture I would say (on my uncalibrated screen). The other ones almost look closer to Pink Champagne to me!

 

I see what you mean about Iroshizuku inks. I don't know of any outlining browns, but can send you some Yama-Guri if you want to try.

Meanwhile I am still waiting for my bottle of Iroshizuku Take-sumi to compare with Sailor black and see if it does anything on Iroful...lost in WI according to Amazon

[inkstainedruth]

Wow.  That sucks.  I was nervous about a recent order from Goulet Pens because the initial carrier was DHL -- but that came early last week.  [Whew!]

OTOH, the t-shirts I ordered for my husband for Christmas?  No clue where they are....  No info from UPS since leaving their distribution center on the 28th, and NO record of the USPS (who they were supposed to be turning it over to) having it -- other than a message when I plug in the tracking # to say that "a tracking # has been created"....  UPS told me that the seller has to initiate a report.  Seller blathers at me about how it's "not their problem" -- yet failed to explain on their website what "UPS Innovations" means (basically, UPS picked it up from them and then at some point dumps it off on the USPS to deliver).  So I basically sent them the screen shot from last night of the USPS tracking page, and said that since their billing and customer service division are about an hour from me -- in the next county! -- I'd be MORE than happy to do some "pointing" myself and file a complaint with THEM, UPS, and USPS in with LEAST the PA Attorney-General's consumer division (because that is a list businesses do NOT want to be on if they know what's good for them) and possibly also do the same with the Nevada AG's people (since that's where the shirts were printed) and the Arizona AG's people (because that's the last time there's been ANY record of the package...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Penguincollector]

4 hours ago, USG said:

 

I've been disappointed with Iroshizuku inks because I've never seen them do the subtle outlining tricks (on Cosmo Snow and Iroful) that some other inks do, like Sailor for instance.  The shade of brown I'm looking for is a Pentel gel pen brown.

 

 

Btw, have you googled Brandy Dazzel lately?  There are so many versions of that ink that I'm starting to think there must be different batches at different times, to account for all the variations in color.   Will the real Brandy Dazzel stand up....

and this...

 

and this...

and this....

and this...

and this...

 

  I wonder if the base ink for this is Autumn Oak. I keep reading that it’s an orange, and mine is decidedly brown. Every swatch and test I see for it looks like a different color. I will look at Pentel gel brown and see what I can find close to it. While I haven’t tried them for outlining yet, I do like Lie de Thé from Herbin (great shader) and Pilot Sepia, which is a cartridge only ink, I think- I haven’t found a bottle. One cartridge came loaded in my leather Pilot. I want that Octopus Fluids brown Penguin, but that’s a pigment ink and the few I have tried from other manufacturers are really matte and don’t have any sheen at all. 

[Penguincollector]

5 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Wow.  That sucks.  I was nervous about a recent order from Goulet Pens because the initial carrier was DHL -- but that came early last week.  [Whew!]

OTOH, the t-shirts I ordered for my husband for Christmas?  No clue where they are....  No info from UPS since leaving their distribution center on the 28th, and NO record of the USPS (who they were supposed to be turning it over to) having it -- other than a message when I plug in the tracking # to say that "a tracking # has been created"....  UPS told me that the seller has to initiate a report.  Seller blathers at me about how it's "not their problem" -- yet failed to explain on their website what "UPS Innovations" means (basically, UPS picked it up from them and then at some point dumps it off on the USPS to deliver).  So I basically sent them the screen shot from last night of the USPS tracking page, and said that since their billing and customer service division are about an hour from me -- in the next county! -- I'd be MORE than happy to do some "pointing" myself and file a complaint with THEM, UPS, and USPS in with LEAST the PA Attorney-General's consumer division (because that is a list businesses do NOT want to be on if they know what's good for them) and possibly also do the same with the Nevada AG's people (since that's where the shirts were printed) and the Arizona AG's people (because that's the last time there's been ANY record of the package...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

  I had a package get “lost” when handed over from a courier to USPS. It turned out to be caught in a “loop”, going back and forth from one USPS facility to another. It was handled pretty quickly once I talked to an actual person at USPS. The last location I could see on the tracking was the same “label created “ message.

[inkstainedruth]

I've had issues for YEARS with mail and packages being delivered to the "other" street # (in a different town! -- but both technically having "Pittsburgh" zip codes -- though BOTH locations are OUTSIDE the city limits).  And vice versa....  (At least in one case, a number of years ago, I was HAPPY that I'd paid extra for 1st Class Postage -- because then I could show the newsletters to a Postal Inspector, going "THIS IS FIRST CLASS MAIL THAT I AM NOT RECEIVING!")

And was really nervous when I was reading the thread complaining about DHL a week or so ago, given that the pen I'd gotten from eBay last summer was returned to the seller as "undeliverable" (!) and that was right after some DHL delivery guy showed up at my front door with a package that could have been the right size -- only HE wrote down #88 instead of #86 and got sent away by the people next door (there *IS* no #88, BTW).  And when I saw the label, I was like, "No, that IS for next door -- I recognize the name on the label...."  And the package I was waiting on from Goulet Pens was sent via DHL (but presumably then shunted over to USPS...).  But that package came a couple of days EARLIER than anticipated (YAY!) -- which was good because it was mostly ink....

Ruth Morrissoh aka inkstainedruth

 

[USG]

On 12/3/2023 at 1:56 PM, Penguincollector said:

  I wonder if the base ink for this is Autumn Oak. I keep reading that it’s an orange, and mine is decidedly brown. Every swatch and test I see for it looks like a different color. I will look at Pentel gel brown and see what I can find close to it. While I haven’t tried them for outlining yet, I do like Lie de Thé from Herbin (great shader) and Pilot Sepia, which is a cartridge only ink, I think- I haven’t found a bottle. One cartridge came loaded in my leather Pilot. I want that Octopus Fluids brown Penguin, but that’s a pigment ink and the few I have tried from other manufacturers are really matte and don’t have any sheen at all. 

 

Could Autumn Oak be another ink who's color changes relative to various batches?

 

Don't Octopus Fluids inks come with a disclaimer that you should clean your pen often, or something like that?

 

Any thoughts on Sailor Shikiori Yodaki?

[USG]

Click to see dark outline around letters.

 

 

[Penguincollector]

   I think Autumn Oak is either batch dependent or I have a weird off color. 

   The Write and Draw series comes with a warning to not let this ink dry in a pen. I have a few R&K inks that say this that I use with dip pens. 

  
  I haven’t tried Yodaki, but it looks redder in some pictures and more orange in others. A good color for you, reminds me of Monteverde Fireopal. 
 

3 hours ago, USG said:

Could Autumn Oak be another ink who's color changes relative to various batches?

 

Don't Octopus Fluids inks come with a disclaimer that you should clean your pen often, or something like that?

 

Any thoughts on Sailor Shikiori Yodaki?

[USG]

On 12/3/2023 at 2:02 PM, Penguincollector said:

  I had a package get “lost” when handed over from a courier to USPS. It turned out to be caught in a “loop”, going back and forth from one USPS facility to another. It was handled pretty quickly once I talked to an actual person at USPS. The last location I could see on the tracking was the same “label created “ message.

 

Speaking of packages....

Click for larger

 

[USG]

Soon To Be Updated....

[langere]

I just had a Tibaldi Bononia make a quick trip to the beach in Florida.  The package was supposed to arrive on April 29th from Rhode Island to my home in Virginia, but instead ended up in Ybor City FL, the old cigar-manufacturing center of the United States for Cuban cigars (before the 1959 Revolution), in the Tampa Bay area.  

 

The pen then headed back up north, to Virginia, and ended up on my front porch a few days late.  I smelled the pen, but I could not discern a cigar smell, nor were there grains of beach sand on the box...  

 

Erick

[USG]

23 hours ago, langere said:

I just had a Tibaldi Bononia make a quick trip to the beach in Florida.  The package was supposed to arrive on April 29th from Rhode Island to my home in Virginia, but instead ended up in Ybor City FL, the old cigar-manufacturing center of the United States for Cuban cigars (before the 1959 Revolution), in the Tampa Bay area.  

 

The pen then headed back up north, to Virginia, and ended up on my front porch a few days late.  I smelled the pen, but I could not discern a cigar smell, nor were there grains of beach sand on the box...  

 

Erick

 

That's such a nice pen, I always wanted a Tibaldi Bononia... 😀👍

 

That's such a weird round trip.  I wonder how it could have been sent to Florida instead of Virginia, the zip codes aren't even close?

 

The good news is you got the pen. 👍😀

[AmericanMonk]

On 12/3/2023 at 9:19 AM, USG said:

Btw, have you googled Brandy Dazzel lately?  There are so many versions of that ink that I'm starting to think there must be different batches at different times, to account for all the variations in color.

 

I've only tried the one bottle so I wouldn't know about any variation but I think all of those photos can be Brandy Dazzle, depending on pre- and post-production settings and lighting. See the attached images from my scanner, my camera, and the color-corrected version of the camera photo.

 

I think the presence and amount of shimmer matter for any halo effect. The particles give the ink more surface to cling onto, darkening all those nooks and crannies that wouldn't ordinarily be there, no?

 

All these reasons are why I think the GoldSpot images that you posted earlier is the most accurate representation. Autumn Oak Brandy Dazzle can accomplish any of the appearances shown in that image.

 

On 12/5/2023 at 6:15 AM, USG said:

Could Autumn Oak be another ink who's color changes relative to various batches?

On 12/5/2023 at 10:12 AM, Penguincollector said:

I think Autumn Oak is either batch dependent or I have a weird off color. 

 

I'm still on my first bottle of Autumn Oak so I can't comment on batch variation. But I have noticed that Autumn Oak seems very susceptible to noticeable color changes if your pen isn't spotlessly clean. I've experienced multiple occasions where I inked it up in a pen and it started as true Autumn Oak, then it'll transition to a mutated form of Autumn Oak as if the ink mixed with another inside the pen. Once, it transitioned back to a pure Autumn Oak color.

 

I've only experienced this effect with Autumn Oak and Noodler's Golden Brown with any regularity... that I know of. I'm usually picky about having very clean pens and I've not experienced any transitions in other light colors such as Diamine's Arctic Blue or Meadow.

 

I'm positive that my experience is the result of imperfect pen hygiene but I'm also wondering if there is something chemically significant about Autumn Oak and Golden Brown that make them more likely to be affected.

 

On 12/3/2023 at 1:56 PM, Penguincollector said:

I wonder if the base ink for [Brandy Dazzle] is Autumn Oak. I keep reading that it’s an orange, and mine is decidedly brown. Every swatch and test I see for it looks like a different color.

 

I included Autumn Oak, Ancient Copper, and a shimmerless Brandy Dazzle in my images. To my eye, Brandy Dazzle is closer to Ancient Copper, but the latter is darker. Brandy Dazzle might be a combination of Autumn Oak and Ancient Copper. Perhaps all three might be the same dye at different concentrations?

 

On 12/3/2023 at 6:14 AM, USG said:

Winter Miracle is on my list along with Arctic Blast, Upon a Star, and Maureen...

 

I need a nice brown though... any ideas?  I have Havana, Brillant Braun, Macassar, Cafe Des Iles and Penman Mocha.  Need one that's not to red, not too green, not so dark it looks black,  and doesn't sheen too much, but I don't mind shimmer.

 

I don't have a ton of experience with Winter Miracle yet but could give examples and feedback on it and Maureen, if you haven't already scratched those itches. The latter is quite the sheener! I like it. I'm hoping to try Arctic Blast soon.

 

If you're still looking for browns, consider Diamine's Saddle Brown. My pens are generally too thin or dry to create much halo shading and I don't have your preferred papers, but Saddle Brown is as neutral as I've ever seen for a brown and it shades. I could splash around on Rhodia if you want to see examples.

 

If you've already found a good brown, which one did you choose?

[Penguincollector]

  Thank you for the comparisons, @AmericanMonk. It’s useful to see the three inks together. I think Brandy Dazzle looks like it’s in between Autumn Oak and Ancient Copper. 

[USG]

7 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  Thank you for the comparisons, @AmericanMonk. It’s useful to see the three inks together. I think Brandy Dazzle looks like it’s in between Autumn Oak and Ancient Copper. 

 

I agree.  And thank you @AmericanMonk  for giving me a new term:  Pen Hygiene  😀👍

[USG]

Tomoe River-S

Cosmo Snow

 

Tomoe River-S

Cosmo Snow

[AmericanMonk]

@Penguincollector@USG Happy to help when I can.

 

Thanks for starting the thread, USG. You've got some brilliant examples! I came here for the blue inks you've shared to see if I can find a good replacement for Colorverse Supernova, which I love but is expensive and dries a bit too slowly for this lefty.

 

I've recently tried Troublemaker Simoun and have high hopes for it. Do you have any other suggestions for me to try?

 

As an aside, I don't care for blurples but I really love what you've done with Bilberry!