EFNIR: Pilot Mixable Colour Red

[inkstainedruth]

@LizEF You might want to hold off on using Absolute Brown for the time being, since apparently it's been discontinued.... 

Mysterious Blue is one of my favorite inks and is the mainstay for the Red Shadow Wave Vac (after getting it checked out when I first bought it, I ran that ink in it for three years without any sort of maintenance or flushing -- just refilled it as needed).  Serenity Blue is also quite nice.  Trying to make up my mind about Inspired Blue (it got used to test one of the pens I had repaired at OPS in November.   

The other two I have no experience with.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LizEF]

15 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

@LizEF You might want to hold off on using Absolute Brown for the time being, since apparently it's been discontinued.... 

Meh, I have a very large sample gifted to me.  I'm OK using some of it in this pen.

 

Looking at the properties of the inks in @InesF's wonderful spreadsheet, I suspect I'm better off using Serenity Blue, if I use a Waterman ink...  But man does that color make me yawn.

 

Thanks, @inkstainedruth!

 

PS: Forgot to mention: it looks like Waterman changed their converter slightly to use softer, more rubber-like plastic at the opening, so maybe it won't crack along the seam first time you open it...

[LizEF]

21 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Go with an ink you know well and use frequently.  You know the drill, avoid any shimmer, sheen, pigment, IG and avoid any pink/ red/ purple dyes. 

@LizEF congrats! I'm feeling as happy as if I had got my own grail pen  I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback. I hope you rewarded with an exquisite nib and unforgettable writing experience. Thank you for sharing  

Thanks, @yazeh!  I've been doing reviews so long, I'm not sure there's such a thing as an ink I know well and use frequently!   Ugh!  I have too many inks.  I wish I already knew whether it would write dry or wet - that would make the decision a lot easier.  Back to processing my review while it dries out.

[yazeh]

@LizEFso did you try it or Smoke got to it first? 😄

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

@LizEFso did you try it or Smoke got to it first? 😄

 

(Today has been too busy already. )

 

Pic of the pen, capped and uncapped.  Color is pretty accurate. The book it's on is the Rhodiarama in raspberry:

 

Initial impressions:

 

I expected the pen to be heavier, and am glad it's not.  I also expected it to be larger, and am glad it's not.  The weight and balance are perfect (unposted - no idea how it is posted as I never post pens).  It's a nice dark blue, with a slight purple lean (that I could do without, but it's not that bad).  The shiny lacquer is a dust, cat hair, and fingerprint magnet - good thing my fingers are so dry they have no skin oils to deposit...

 

I've heard folks complain about getting ink on their fingers from either the breather hole on the bottom of the section or the "wings" of the nib - no such problem (my natural gripping position puts my fingers far enough back not to come in contact with these things).  Did I mention the balance is perfect?  It rests really nicely in my hand.  I've read some complaints about ink coming out when you uncap the pen - no such problem so far, we'll see what happens when I put a wet ink in it.

 

I never felt like I got a straight answer about the inner cap, so here it is - there are two.  The first starts a little ways into the cap - after what looks to me like the part where the cap snapping mechanism engages (and it seems quite tight, to me, but we'll see if it wears out).  This first inner cap is black and appears to cover most, if not all, of the rest of the inside of the cap.  Then at the tip, there's a clear, cone-shaped insert.  Not sure it's even enough to cover the whole nib, but it's there.  Time will tell whether all this is enough to keep the pen from drying out, but the good news is that I see no signs of holes from where the clip attaches.

 

The clip hinge is pretty stiff.  The barrel's end cap doesn't quite align with the nib.  I've figured out how to adjust it, but I have to say, I strongly dislike the method of adjustment and as mine is not far off, I may just leave it as-is.

 

Not sure what else to add.  I like it, and am glad I got it (and more than glad for Atlas Stationers 20% off Black Friday sale which made the decision for me).

[yazeh]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and mazel tov on such a lovely pen. Hope it'll be a pen that entices you to write stories. I already can see an image like the famous titanic scene with Makhabesh and Snek / or Cat and mouse.  Enjoy it  

[LizEF]

27 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and mazel tov on such a lovely pen. Hope it'll be a pen that entices you to write stories. I already can see an image like the famous titanic scene with Makhabesh and Snek / or Cat and mouse.  Enjoy it  

I never write fiction by hand - it's too slow - I always type.  But I write out brainstorming and other ideas by hand, so there's that.  No Titanics though, unless Quin magically saves it from sinking!

[yazeh]

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

I never write fiction by hand - it's too slow - I always type. 

Me neither. But when I was hashing out scenes or ideas, it was very helpful. I used to do a 10 minute, stream of consciousness exercise, before writing sessions, it was too clear all the scum. I remember writing once, half a page of, I can't write. Then of course, I wrote  But I believe I've told you that already

2 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

But I write out brainstorming and other ideas by hand, so there's that.  No Titanics though, unless Quin magically saves it from sinking!

What I meant was that the shape of nib conjured loads of creative drawing ideas

[LizEF]

17 minutes ago, yazeh said:

What I meant was that the shape of nib conjured loads of creative drawing ideas

[Mercian]

20 hours ago, LizEF said:

I've read some complaints about ink coming out when you uncap the pen - no such problem so far, we'll see what happens when I put a wet ink in it.

 

I initially used to suffer from that with my first aerometric Parker "51".
In that case, I realised that the problem was being caused by me - I had been yanking the cap off the pen rapidly, often with the pen pointing slightly downwards. This was causing ink to be pulled out of the feed by the sudden drop in pressure.
Once I realised that, I started holding the pen upright and uncapping it 'mindfully', and I have not experienced ink coming out during uncapping since then.

 

Oh, also: I think that your Carène is très belle 😊

Congratulations

[LizEF]

46 minutes ago, Mercian said:

I initially used to suffer from that with my first aerometric Parker "51".
In that case, I realised that the problem was being caused by me - I had been yanking the cap off the pen rapidly, often with the pen pointing slightly downwards. This was causing ink to be pulled out of the feed by the sudden drop in pressure.
Once I realised that, I started holding the pen upright and uncapping it 'mindfully', and I have not experienced ink coming out during uncapping since then.

This is what I wonder whenever anyone has this complaint.  I gently push the cap off with one hand, if possible, or two when needed.  I've never been a "yank the cap off" sort of person - love my pens too much.

 

48 minutes ago, Mercian said:

Oh, also: I think that your Carène is très belle 😊

Congratulations

  Merci!