The Well-Appointed Desk

KWZ Inks is a one-man ink operation from Poland started by Konrad Żurawski in 2012, a chemistry PhD student that clearly combines his tow loves: chemistry and fountain pens. Just this year, his inks are starting to get a wider distribution and, thanks to Vanness Pens, I had the opportunity to try the KWZ Iron Gall Gummiberry ($14 for 60ml bottle). Iron gall inks are both loved and reviled because of its permanent nature. Iron gall inks can be used to sign important documents because the inks will bond to the paper fibers making it near impossible to remove. At the same time, if iron gall inks are left indefinitely in a fountain pen, it can stain the ink reservoir and possibly corrode stainless steel nibs. Also, iron gall inks darken over time.

I don’t have a lot of experience with iron gall inks but the KWZ provides some advice on his web site about how to properly clean and protect your pens from any possible issues that might be caused by using an iron gall ink. That said, for testing purposes, I used my Shawn Netwon dip pen with an Esterbrook #2442 nib and cleaned it out as soon as I had finished my writing samples and did not have any issues getting the ink out of the nib by just rinsing it with water.

The KWZ Iron Gall Gummiberry is notable first for its fabulous name. Who doesn’t love gummi bears? And second, for its amazing jeweled purple color. Honestly, after all the purple inks I tested this year, the color of Gummiberry is just gorgeous and is moving up my ink color charts fast. The fact that the rich jewel tone darkens as it dries and settles into an almost purple-black when dry makes it fun to write with and still looks sophisticated.

The ink dries a little bit slower than many of my standard inks on the Rhodia paper I use for testing but I am also in the midst of humidity wave here in the Midwest so I cannot be sure if the slowness is the result of the ink or the heat and humidity.

When tested with water after several hours (not 10 minutes as labelled because I went to lunch and forgot to do the water test) a little bit of color ran but not much. I suspect after drying for a week or two, there is likely to be even less movement of the color as it bonds with the paper fibers.

The color is so rich that I’m willing to experiment with this ink in one of my everyday pens. Maybe its a good excuse to purchase a TWSBI Eco as an iron gall test pen? Then I would have an excuse to try a variety of colors!

Compared with some of the many purple inks in my stash, even the other purple iron gall Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa, Gummiberry is clearly a rich, deep hue. I will check back with the swab and the writing samples in a few weeks to see if the color darkens significantly but as of writing this, several days after doing the swab and writing sample, the color looks indistinguishable from the photos.

Overall, I’m thrilled with my experience with KWZ Iron Gall Gummiberry and am very interested in trying some of the other colors available. The prices are more than reasonable for such a substantial sized bottle too. Yep, definitely going to be purchasing a pen specifically for iron gall inks.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Vanness for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Bung Box is a small shop in Japan that works with Sailor to create small batches of custom inks. The inks have become so popular that Vanness Pens has starting importing these unusual inks to the US.

Bung Box Tears of a Clown is a particularly unusual color but the first sample I wanted to try as a die-hard English Beat fan. How could I not love something called Tears of a Clown? It turns out to be a deep, terra cotta red with green-gold undertones. Odd. The more I look at it, the more I think of cherry chocolate. Its a color I just can’t seem to categorize.

In a brush, the shading and color depth was very apparent but in my writing sample, the color settled down to a deep reddish brown suitable for letter writing, poetry or journaling. Subtle but unique.

The ink dries a bit darker than it appears wet. It dried at a reasonable speed being that I tested it on Rhodia paper in the heat and humidity of a midwestern summer. I think it would dry pretty quickly in more conducive settings.

The ink is activated with water and not water resistant or waterproof. When wetted, the pinkish undertones of the color become visible which would make for interesting drawings or to accent your writing or calligraphy.

Finding an adequate color comparison was a challenge but that’s part of the reason Bung Box inks are so coveted… there’s nothing else like some of the colors. I compared the Tears of a Clown to reds, burgundies and browns and it clearly fills a unique hole I didn’t know I had in my ink collection.

I love the shape and size of the Bung Box full bottles so I suspect I’ll be making a full purchase in the near future. The labels on the bottles are a little odd and feel like an afterthought but its the contents of the bottle that is the most desirable part anyway so I can overlook the less-than-aethetic labels.

Bung Box inks sell for $35.65 per 50ml bottle or $3.50 for a generous 5ml sample through Vanness Pens. Each ink color is produced in limited quantities so some colors may not be available right now. Check back or contact Vanness and let them know what color you’re interested in purchasing.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Vanness for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

And now for something completely different….

https://youtu.be/VY98T36ZC60