Kala Nostalgia Gemstone Sillimanite

January 2

Kala Nostalgia Gemstone Sillimanite

According to the Shigure Website: “The KALA Nostalgia Gemstone Series is themed around precious gems. These practical water-proof inks use black and gray pigment to create 12 unique greyscale and dark colors. KALA Nostalgia inks are made in Taiwan.”

You can check the whole lineup at https://www.kalaink.com/gemstone-series_en/

I have been enjoying Kala pigment inks for some time and it’s a pity they are not as readily available as other inks. I beleive they are only sold by Shigure inks and Jetpens in the US.

For a cute 30 ml bottle, you pay the same amount as a bottle of Noodler’s 90 ml bottle

Inks are waterproof/ resistant i.e. if you use them in watercolour a bit of ink is removed if not dry enough. They are dream inks for (inspiring) artists, especially for cross hatching. They are also fabulous for everyday writing, if you like different shades of grey.

Now for Sillimanite: it's a pure pencil grey with excellent lubrication, making the scratchy Kukuno Ef nib sing. For me it’s drawing/ doodling/ sketching ink. I enjoyed this ink so much that I’ve been procrastinating posting this review, filling my pens twice.

Dry times are short on Rhodia, but the wetter the pen, dry times lengthens as usual on Japanese paper. If you want it a pencil hue, go for a dry pen, otherwise a wetter pen might be needed.

There’s subtle shading but let’s say it won’t by any prizes 😛

Ink in general is well behaved and there’s acceptable ghosting on copy paper, unless you use a gusher.

Chroma:

Writing Samples:

Photo:

Comparison:

Water test:

Left side 10 seconds under running water.

Art Work:

I practiced different styles of drawing with this ink. Most are rough sketches, I can blame the rough quality on the holiday season but to be frank it's mostly because of my impatience and lack of experience

I called it Lady Eve, though I wonder if she is an ancestor of Lieutenant M'ress from Star Trek animated series

Paper is Talens.

Red ink is Octopus Write & Draw Red Duck

Background is a mixture of De Atramentis Document/ Artist Cyan in a brush pen, a very difficult to control as it binds immediately to the paper.

a quick sketch with a Pilot Kakuno Ef

This was inspired by Shop around the corner 1940 movie. Sketch was done whilst watching the movie. The background ink is J Herbin Terre de Feu.

· Pens used: Pilot Kakuno Ef, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1), Kanwrite with semiflex Ahab nib.

· What I liked: Colour for drawing, behaviour.

· What I did not like: Maybe price, for me it’s a drawing ink. Learning to spell Sillimanite Very long name

· What some might not like: Pigment ink, colour doesn’t change much even with a wet pen.

· Shading: Subtle

· Ghosting: Faint on cheap paper, unless using wet pen and are heavy handed.

· Bleed through: Same as above.

· Flow Rate: Wet

· Lubrication: Excellent.

· Nib Dry-out: Did not notice.

· Start-up: Great

· Saturation: Medium.

· Shading Potential: There’s some.

· Sheen: No.

· Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: A bit with a wet flex, applied heavily.

· Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice.

· Staining (pen): No.

· Clogging: Did not notice.

· Cleaning: Surprisingly easy, but with pigment ink,

· Water resistance: Very Good. Some ink will wash away.

· Availability: 30 ml bottles,

Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

January 2

Happy New Year, @yazeh!

I'm a gray ink fan, but maybe a little reluctant due to this one's properties. Wow, that IS a waterproof ink. And do I detect the slightest hint of green in some of the quotes? Or have I been staring at this tablet too long? Those are great sketches at any rate!

As always, thanks once again for making life colorful with your detailed, entertaining InkSplorations! Keep ‘em coming!

January 2

14 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Happy New Year, @yazeh!

To you too (two) 🥳

14 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I'm a gray ink fan, but maybe a little reluctant due to this one's properties. Wow, that IS a waterproof ink. And do I detect the slightest hint of green in some of the quotes? Or have I been staring at this tablet too long?

That could be scan + midori. I cannot see any grey in this ink. However, one of its brethren has green in it. Very nice ink to do washes

14 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Those are great sketches at any rate!

Thanks!

14 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

As always, thanks once again for making life colorful with your detailed, entertaining InkSplorations! Keep ‘em coming!

Your encouragements keep me going

January 2

@yazeh Hmmmm. This looks like a color I'd really like (although it was weird as to how different it looks on the Midori paper compared to all the others). Dry time seems acceptable, too. Thanks as usual for the comprehensive review and fun artwork (although my wallet says otherwise -- especially having just gotten back from mailing a bunch of mostly credit card bills...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

January 2

I love it! Thanks for the introduction. I too detect a slight touch of green, and I guess that's why you said "pure pencil grey". I.e. it's the graphite for me. Like Diamine's "Graphite" and/or Krishna's "Pencil".

January 2

11 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

@yazeh Hmmmm. This looks like a color I'd really like (although it was weird as to how different it looks on the Midori paper compared to all the others).

I'll try to post a Midori photo tomorrow.

11 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Dry time seems acceptable, too.

On Rhodia yes. But on Japanese Paper, it takes longer time

11 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks as usual for the comprehensive review and fun artwork

A pleasure!

11 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

(although my wallet says otherwise -- especially having just gotten back from mailing a bunch of mostly credit card bills...).

My apologies to your wallet

January 3

12 greyscale inks, huh? That's way more than I need, but I can totally see an artist wanting that.

Silly Man Ike, you say? What a silly name for an ink.

Excellent lubrication sounds good. Pencil-colored ink is oddly appealing. No idea why, I mean, just use a pencil, but it is.

I really like how it looks on Rhodia. TR and my hero paper bring out the shading. Meanwhile I can totally hear and see the quote you used (on Iroful).

Kinda fuzzy on copy paper.

Adorable swatch card drawing! :sm_cat: Goes well with the water test. :wub: Fun sketches - I even recognize a bit of Jimmy Stewart in that last one - well done!

Thanks for bringing us a review of an ink you enjoyed so much!

January 3

"A compromise in using pen and ink is using one grey and many other colours!" (IF)

Thank you, @yazeh, for pulling out drawings, paintings, quotes and the ink review while keeping cat and mouse safe during the holiday season! :thumbup:

I love your drawings, they do not look as if made in a hurry.

Indeed, grey ink has some charm for drawing. I like it more than the deep black inks. And for writing ... hmm, yes, it has some uses. I'm still leaning more towards those muted ink colours, as if grey was added to a diluted colourful ink.

Looking forward to your next review! 👍

(☘️, 🍄, 🐖 and 🐖¹, meanwhile)

^{1) A placeholder, because I can't find the chimney sweeper emoji)}

January 3

6 minutes ago, lapis said:

I love it! Thanks for the introduction.

6 minutes ago, lapis said:

I too detect a slight touch of green, and I guess that's why you said "pure pencil grey". I.e. it's the graphite for me. Like Diamine's "Graphite" and/or Krishna's "Pencil".

I'll try to take a photo this morning. I tried last night with artificial lighting, but they cream/yellow in Midori deforms the colour. I can tell you there's no green in the ink. It's the Midro effect

January 3

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

12 greyscale inks, huh? That's way more than I need, but I can totally see an artist wanting that.

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

Silly Man Ike, you say? What a silly name for an ink.

:lticaptd:

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

Excellent lubrication sounds good. Pencil-colored ink is oddly appealing. No idea why, I mean, just use a pencil, but it is.

Well it's like playing with an illusion.

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

I really like how it looks on Rhodia. TR and my hero paper bring out the shading. Meanwhile I can totally hear and see the quote you used (on Iroful).

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

Kinda fuzzy on copy paper.

Yes, I probably did close well the scanner

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

Adorable swatch card drawing! Goes well with the water test.

:blush:

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

Fun sketches - I even recognize a bit of Jimmy Stewart in that last one - well done!

Thanks! I often do a lot of sketches, while watching movies/news etc. It's quite a challenge with fountain pen as the images move so quickly and that you cannot erase

I should use a pencil, but well there are mostly Fps around

9 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks for bringing us a review of an ink you enjoyed so much!

A pleasure. It's a good sign when you just want to continue playing with the ink...

January 3

2 hours ago, InesF said:

"A compromise in using pen and ink is using one grey and many other colours!" (IF)

2 hours ago, InesF said:

Thank you, @yazeh, for pulling out drawings, paintings, quotes and the ink review while keeping cat and mouse safe during the holiday season!

I try my best

2 hours ago, InesF said:

I love your drawings, they do not look as if made in a hurry.

They were made in a hurry. I have a very nervous hand if it makes any sense

2 hours ago, InesF said:

Indeed, grey ink has some charm for drawing. I like it more than the deep black inks. And for writing ... hmm, yes, it has some uses. I'm still leaning more towards those muted ink colours, as if grey was added to a diluted colourful ink.

2 hours ago, InesF said:

Looking forward to your next review! 👍

(☘️, 🍄, 🐖 and 🐖¹, meanwhile)

^{1) A placeholder, because I can't find the chimney sweeper emoji)}

Same here

January 3

4 hours ago, yazeh said:

but well there are mostly Fps around

As it should be! I think if it weren't for the fact that I sometimes do difficult puzzles (on paper) where I have to guess at what goes where, I might not even have pencils.