Cimorene

The last time I ordered an ink sample I stumbled on The Clumsy Penman's ink reviews. A simple image search for ink reviews is quite helpful deciding if I want to try it (because there's usually more than one, and a few photos from different people will have enough material to get an idea of the color) even if the reviews themselves aren't great, and most of them are not. A typical image in an ink review shows a couple of blocks of ordinary to ugly handwriting, a smidge of crosshatches, and some water and smear tests. Calligraphy and lettering appear occasionally, drawings less often. Obviously ink collectors aren't automatically calligraphers or interested in drawing or lettering, but I'm always taken aback to see no effort in the application of ink to paper in someone who has gone to considerable effort to produce and share the review in visual form in the first place.

But these ARE great (or were? Since the whole blog was last updated 2 years ago). They have really beautiful photographs, well composed, taken competently in natural light, of truly beautiful ink samples: the ink suspended in water, wet on the paper, in elaborate calligraphy and elegant handwriting. Take this review of Lamy Violet, for example, an ink I'm not even considering buying, but the photos still look fantastic!

Obviously not everybody is interested in the same qualities in an ink - for instance, some people are primarily concerned with dry time and/or how waterfast the ink is, others are particularly concerned with how much it shows or bleeds through papers and how prone it is to feathering. When I started making my own 'ink reviews' (or sample pages), my primary concern was seeing how the color looked in all sorts of nibs, both writing and drawing. And I would unhesitatingly say they're prettier than many of the ink reviews out there, especially the ones that just show blocks of plain handwriting; but I haven't included enough good sunlit photos to put mine on the level of the better ink reviews at all, to say nothing of the technical details that I don't bother about. The Clumsy Penman reviews make me want specifically to include good photographs of wide italic calligraphy and nice cursive - really I already COULD have done that before; what's my excuse? (Laziness. And getting distracted.)

And the index page I linked at the top particularly, with those little color sample cards - those are a very popular thing, though I think more for people to keep as a file when they can't remember how many inks they own and want to decide which one to use. They work great as an index image there though, and importantly, for comparing shades side by side. Why didn't I do those before? (I didn't think of it.)



So I did make a couple of those little cards for the purple ink sample I just got, Monteverde Rose Noir, and the most similar of my favorite inks, J. Herbin's Poussière de Lune. I first reviewed Poussière de Lune here in 2018. I can't find my good round paintbrush and the sun wouldn't cooperate for photographs, and all my special calligraphy pens are already filled with other inks anyway, so I wasn't able to tackle all those things. But I was able to compare them side by side in a couple of different nibs.


(The left is on cream-colored Original Crown Mill laid paper and the right is on Clairefontaine 100-g white drawing paper. If I were actually improving my reviews right now, both inks would be on both papers and the photos would be close enough and angled enough to show the texture.)

Rose Noir isn't as similar to Poussière de Lune as I first thought, before I saw the comparison, but it's a lot more like it than like I was hoping it would look, which was rather more like one of the lilac inks here. I suppose I'll try Sailor Yozakura next time I order ink samples.

The quest for the perfect brown ink commences.


Herbin Café de Îles (in a Lamy Safari M), Herbin Tierre de Feu (in a Hero 616 petite with extra-fine nib), Herbin Lie de Thé (in a Lamy Safari with 1.1 mm stub nib), and Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz (in a Platinum Preppy 05/M). Clairefontaine white paper.

More doodles and my verdicts:( Read more... )

Diamine China Blue fountain pen ink in a Platinum Preppy 05 M and Speedball B-3 dip pen nib, plus brush and water.
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L’Artisan Pastellier’s “Encre Classique” fountain pen ink in the color “Olive”. On Clairefontaine paper, applied with Speedball C-0 and C-4 italic and B-3 dip pen nibs, a Kaweco Brass Sport fountain pen with EF nib, and a paintbrush (and water).
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Diamine Jade Green fountain pen ink on Clairefontaine paper using Pilot Parallel Pen 6mm and Lamy Safari B (plus a brush and water).

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Herbin Diabolo Menthe fountain pen ink in Platinum Preppy 05 Medium fountain pen, on Clairefontaine paper. Also used: brush and C-0 dip pen nib.

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Diamine Claret fountan pen ink on Tomoe River paper with Jinhao 599 M and Rotring Artpen 2.3 mm italic.

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My very favorite ink to write with is this Sailor Shigure, a navy-blue-like deep purple from the Sailor Seasons line that I have found to be beautifully juicy and rather lubricating to all the pens I’ve put it in. Pictured with a Kaweco Brass Sport with EF nib. Dip pen & brush also used.

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Diamine Eau de Nil fountain pen ink in a Lamy Safari M on Tomoe River paper. Also used: a Speedball C-0 dip pen nib and a small brush.

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Diamine Sargasso Sea on Tomoe River Paper, done with Shaeffer Pop M nib and Noodler’s Ahab flex nib and a detail brush dipped in water. Shown with the Shaeffer Pop Star Wars limited edition R2D2 fountain pen.

In short, this ink is a lovely color with pretty shading and the sheen, especially on Tomoe River paper but even on Rhodia, is stunning. But I still wouldn’t recommend it because it is inherently stinky.

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