EFNIR: Diamine Night Sky

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Diamine Night Sky

This is review #326 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: This ink was gifted to me by a generous FPGeek. I don't have another black ink with glitter, so I picked the two closest glitter inks and the closest non-glitter black ink for comparison.  The microscope slide was surprisingly uninteresting.  The glitter in this ink appears to be larger and more prone to clogging the nib. I did a fair amount of flossing and scribbling. I recommend a wet nib for it.  There might be some sheen, but the glitter gets in the way of seeing it.

Cleaning only required plain water, but was a little time-consuming - the ink is quite concentrated.  There was a definite purple tinge as the water went down the sink.

Images look black, ink is black, I'm calling them good.

Zoomed in photo

Screenshot

Scan of Completed Review

Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper)

Line width (The "I" in "Ink:". 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 288µm. With 326 inks measured, the average line width is 297µm.) (The photo doesn't show it, but I saw what looked like a tiny bit of gold sheen along with some of the shimmer particles (perhaps the larger ones).)

Shimmer (The glitter particles look larger to me than some glitter particles.)

Void Comparison (Klaw wins! My boy is handsome even when over-exposed and eating my swatch.)

Previous Review: Lennon Tool Bar Sesame Oil.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

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

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]

All hail King Klaw, Void Kitteh! 
 

…sooo many moans 'n' groans.  What were they eating for breakfast?  Not the green squirrel?  🙀

 

@LizEF,  I love your review.  But this is definitely not an ink pour moi.  Poiple undertones, hard cleaning, possibly nib-clogging…. Pass.  Though it seemed intriguing at first.  Glittery black ink.  I don't have one.

 

Adamant group there, your heroes.  Good for them.

 

Rushing back from the store, almost forgot the day!  Fer shame.  Thanks.  You make Tuesdays magical and fun... I always look forward to the review and story.

[yazeh]

Rhanks for another excellent review @LizEF 

shimmer inks are my least favorite inks, and the few bottles I bought by mistake are languishing in the corner of shame Though they can be fun to use for artwork, when glitter is needed (mostly for dark skies).

This ink seems to be relatively handsome but the glitter confirms my negative bias ( I nearly misspelled this one )

I liked the quote, its profundity, and disturbingly true. 

I would say, there's a little typo you missed Essri would say, "Yeth". 

 

Thanks for bringing magic and glittering stars to another gloomy and Grey morning 🙏🙏🙏

 

 

 

[Gaius Maximus]

Another great review. But like @Sailor Kenshin, I'd have to pass. 

 

First and foremost, shimmer inks are not in my wheelhouse. And second, The aggravation of cleaning my nib, and having to put way too much effort into it, is also not in my wheelhouse.

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

Rhanks for another excellent review @LizEF 

shimmer inks are my least favorite inks, and the few bottles I bought by mistake are languishing in the corner of shame Though they can be fun to use for artwork, when glitter is needed (mostly for dark skies).

This ink seems to be relatively handsome but the glitter confirms my negative bias ( I nearly misspelled this one )

I liked the quote, its profundity, and disturbingly true. 

I would say, there's a little typo you missed Essri would say, "Yeth". 

 

Thanks for bringing magic and glittering stars to another gloomy and Grey morning 🙏🙏🙏

 

 

 

  Yazeh, have you looked into the Sailor Hocoro series of dip pens? I have the fude and a medium nib, and they are wonderful for shimmer inks, especially if you’re just using them as an accent. They have feeds, so you’re not constantly dipping. They’re relatively inexpensive and super fun to use. 
 

[Penguincollector]

  This is a neat review, Liz, and I’m on tenterhooks waiting to read what’s coming. I like the color, but I bet I could make a better behaved version using a black ink and one of the commercial shimmer additives I’ve on hand. 

  ETA: Klaw is looking very fine these days. His legs look really long, is he a tall skinny guy, or is it the perspective? 

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

All hail King Klaw, Void Kitteh! 

 

2 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

…sooo many moans 'n' groans.  What were they eating for breakfast?  Not the green squirrel?  🙀

No green squirrels were harmed in the making of this episode.

 

2 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

@LizEF,  I love your review.  But this is definitely not an ink pour moi.  Poiple undertones, hard cleaning, possibly nib-clogging…. Pass.  Though it seemed intriguing at first.  Glittery black ink.  I don't have one.

Thanks!  It's black, so that's enough to stop me.  It could be that my sample was more concentrated (either from evaporation or just a heavy load of glitter), so if you like the idea, you could always get yourself a fresh sample and see how your pens like it.  (Or not...)

 

2 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Adamant group there, your heroes.  Good for them.

After learning what Quin's dad said, and hearing the truth of what happened at his parents' house, our quartet is bound and determined to resolve this grey spot issue!

 

2 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Rushing back from the store, almost forgot the day!  Fer shame.  Thanks.  You make Tuesdays magical and fun... I always look forward to the review and story.

Two calendars and a planner and sometimes I still don't know what day it is!   You're most welcome!  And thank you.

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Rhanks for another excellent review @LizEF 

You're most welcome, Scooby!

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

shimmer inks are my least favorite inks, and the few bottles I bought by mistake are languishing in the corner of shame Though they can be fun to use for artwork, when glitter is needed (mostly for dark skies).

This ink seems to be relatively handsome but the glitter confirms my negative bias ( I nearly misspelled this one )

I don't necessarily mind them, but you really do need the right pen.  This one is both aptly named and colored for use as a night sky filled with stars...   (Also, the ink isn't nearly as handsome as my boy. )

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I liked the quote, its profundity, and disturbingly true. 

Indeed.  Voltaire knew what he was talking about.

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I would say, there's a little typo you missed Essri would say, "Yeth"

  Our little snek has a habit of avoiding "Yes" when "Yeah" will do.

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Thanks for bringing magic and glittering stars to another gloomy and Grey morning 🙏🙏🙏

You're most welcome!

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Gaius Maximus said:

Another great review.

Thanks!

 

1 hour ago, Gaius Maximus said:

But like @Sailor Kenshin, I'd have to pass. 

 

First and foremost, shimmer inks are not in my wheelhouse. And second, The aggravation of cleaning my nib, and having to put way too much effort into it, is also not in my wheelhouse.

That makes four of us so far.  I do suspect that a wetter nib would do better as this seemed to me to have slightly larger glitter particles.  But either way, it's black, so it wouldn't matter even if it flowed as well as the other Diamine glitter inks I've tried.

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

This is a neat review, Liz

Thanks!

 

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

and I’m on tenterhooks waiting to read what’s coming.

 

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

I like the color, but I bet I could make a better behaved version using a black ink and one of the commercial shimmer additives I’ve on hand. 

Could be.  I've never tried any of those.  Could also be it just needs a different pen.  If the glitter particles are larger than some of the other Diamines I've reviewed, I wonder if it's of necessity or just a fluke of the glitter-making process....  (I shall put this wondering on my shelf of "not worth bothering with" as I doubt there's any way to learn the answer.)

[Penguincollector]

4 minutes ago, LizEF said:

I wonder if it's of necessity or just a fluke of the glitter-making process....

  I could see that. My last mica order consisted of much larger flakes than the previous batches. I haven’t used it in a pen because the size difference is so dramatic that I don’t even want to chance it. 

[LizEF]

13 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

  I could see that. My last mica order consisted of much larger flakes than the previous batches. I haven’t used it in a pen because the size difference is so dramatic that I don’t even want to chance it. 

I'm sure they have some sort of specs regarding particle size range.  I just wonder if there's some limitations based on the specific stuff used (e.g. if you try to break it into smaller particles, it goes too small to catch the light, or whatever).  Anywho, between tolerances, manufacturing errors, and the laws of physics (or chemistry or whatever), there are lots of opportunities for variation.

[inkstainedruth]

My opinion of glitter inks has gone down a LOT (and I would be too scared to use any glitter ink in a pen with an EF nib).  So I can pass on this one.  But thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.  And the photos of "Void Kitty".... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LizEF]

33 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

My opinion of glitter inks has gone down a LOT (and I would be too scared to use any glitter ink in a pen with an EF nib).  So I can pass on this one.

No need to be afraid of them in an EF nib.  It's not the tipping that matters (or at least, not nearly as much) - it's the feed and the nib slit geometry that matter.  But then, I can understand passing on glitter inks altogether.

 

33 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

But thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.  And the photos of "Void Kitty".... 

You're most welcome!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Anyone use glass dip pens?  @Penguincollector mentions the Sailor Hocoro, but I find glass pens clean easier.

[yazeh]

@Penguincollector thanks a lot for introducing me to another writing implement, I don't need  

 

 I do my reviews with Safari and I want to keep my reviews consistent, hence my ranting. I actually have used Diamine Shimmering seas a lot, but mostly with water colour brush.  

[yazeh]

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

  Our little snek has a habit of avoiding "Yes" when "Yeah" will do.

I'm sure Quin and Makhabesh don't mind the Yeth and might encourage it

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

I'm sure Quin and Makhabesh don't mind the Yeth and might encourage it

[Penguincollector]

8 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Anyone use glass dip pens?  @Penguincollector mentions the Sailor Hocoro, but I find glass pens clean easier.

  I use a Moonman that has a set of EF-B glass nibs, but I find myself using the Hocoro fude more for the line variation. For swatches I previously used a brush for the swatch with the glass nibs for the writing, but the fude does the job of both. I don’t find either one difficult to clean at all. 

[Penguincollector]

10 hours ago, LizEF said:

I'm sure they have some sort of specs regarding particle size range.

  Definitely. The mica I normally use is practically eyeshadow. The two most recent ones are jagged, larger pieces that are really reflective. They definitely look like they’re very different.