In Ink Review

Inkmas Day 7: Colorverse Chi-Town

Author AnaPosted on 10 Comments
Inkmas Day 7: Colorverse Chi-Town

Two of my favorite things: Colorverse ink and anything featuring my hometown: Chicago… how could I resist? If I were to guess what color someone might create for an ink that embodies Chicago, I am not sure I would guess a dark purple/brown with shimmer particles. I might have thought of the sky blue from the stripes on the city flag, or red to emulate the Fire/fire. Green for the St. Patrick’s Day river dye? Charcoal grey for the color of some of the more recognizable skyscrapers (Sears/Willis Tower, the Hancock building, or the Lake Point Tower)? Once I started playing with the ink, I was more convinced that Colorverse made an interesting choice for a color to embody Chicago.

The shimmer particles in the Chi-Town ink ($12.50 for a 15ml) are more iridescent than gold or silver which is more commonly found in shimmer inks. The particles look blue or green depending on the light, paper or angle.

In the close-up above the ink looks more purply than it did in person which, because of the gold/brown sheen looks more brown in person, at least to me. YMMV.

You can ssee in the close-up above how the ink can look sheen-y brown-black rather than purple.

My initial ink comparisons aligned CHi-Town with dark brown inks but on second look, I tried purple and more predominately black inks. I think its safe to say that Chi-Town is more of a purple/black with an emphasis on the BLACK.

Pent Kotobo No Iro Black Lizard and Diamine Winter Miracle are more purply when compared to Chi-Town. Birmingham Pen Co’s Philadelphia Friend Circuit and Coking Coal are closer though Coking Coal is a cooler blue grey undertone and Fried Circuit has a warmer, almost brownish undertone.

So, like the city of Chicago itself, this ink is a conundrum. Some people see Chicago as “the second city” some city it as the jewel of the midwest. The ink is similar. You see what you want to see. Some will see shimmer like taillights on wet pavement, others will see muddy waters or the dark sky of a crowded city. How do you see Chicago? Both the ink and the city?

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Inkmas Day 6: Diamine Blue Peppermint

Author AnaPosted on

Happy sixth day of Inkmas! I’m bringing back an ink from the Inkvent past – Diamine Blue Peppermint.

This was the first ink of the first Inkvent calendar – way back in 2019. Remember that time?

Blue Peppermint is a marine blue ink with a bright blue shimmer – every once in a while I  see a touch of red or pink sheen on the edges. The sheen tinges the shimmer a bit purple.

I first inked up a pen with Blue Peppermint that first day of December, 2019 and have had at least one pen inked with it ever since. I’ve never seen the ink clog with too much shimmer in the feed and I’ve never had the pen write without the shimmer being present in the ink. However, I do always use the ink with a broad or stub nib.

I also use TWSBI Eco pens for shimmer inks – the nib and feed can be removed from the pen when cleaning it out. Plus the body of the Eco pens is clear, so I can see the shimmer and watch it swirl.

Because Blue Peppermint is associated with Christmas in my mind, I tend to use it more during this time of year, but I do use it the rest of the year occasionally. Every time I do, it makes me smile!

In Ink Review

Inkmas Day 5: Colorverse From Cali

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Inkmas Day 5: Colorverse From Cali

One of the first ink colors I chased when I started collecting fountain pens was dusky purples. At the time, there were no multichromatic inks or the array of shading and shimmer inks that are available today. It’s a good time to be a fountain pen ink connoisseur.

Colorverse From Cali ($12.50 for a 15ml bottle) is a light, dusty lavender on the cool side of the spectrum. It shades like crazy and is too light for an EF nib but if you like rockin’ a stub nib or a big juicy BB nib, this ink will help to brighten your cold, wintry days like a hothouse orchid. The powdery quality of From Cali reminds me of a flower petal.

When compared with many of the other powdery lavender inks in my collection, there is a clear division between the warm colors (like Troublemaker Foxglove, Kobe #57 and Ferris Wheel Little Robinia) and the cooler lavenders like Vinta Tabaum (Engima Blanks Exclusive), Papier Plume Violet, and Sailor Fuki-Musume. Tabuam and Papier PLume Violet are much more violet and Fuji-Musume is much more saturated so From Cali really does sit in a unique place being a more pastel lavender while still remaining a cooler color.

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DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Countdown to the Holidays

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
Link Love: Countdown to the Holidays

Is anyone else thrown off by Christmas falling over a weekend this year? I feel incredibly ill-prepared. Maybe it’s two years of pandemic or a new job or four new cats in my life but I am just having a hard time believing that Christmas is only two weeks away. Any tips for getting the holiday spirit in a hot minute?

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Inkmas Day 4: Pelikan Edelstein Apatite

Author Laura CameronPosted on 2 Comments

Just last week I reviewed my new Pelikan M205 Apatite, so of course I had to check out the matching ink. As you know, each year I audition inks for addressing my holiday cards. My family and my husband’s family celebrate different religions, so the challenge is always to find something that’s festive and fun, but not too tied to any particular holiday. This year I wondered if Apatite was the answer?

Apatite is a turquoise blue, which leans towards blue-green, as does the gemstone apatite. This is one of my favorite colors, so it stands to reason that I have TONS of shades very similar to it in my inky stash. I immediately thought it was a good match for Sheaffer Green, and in certain lights it is. To be honest, I think the photo below is a bit skewed (my camera can’t do blues sometimes!) because I think Apatite leans more green, but in the photo it looks super close to Robert Oster Torquay.

I think I’m going to give it a go this year!

 

In Ink Review

Inkmas Day 3: Colorverse Kingdom Series Taepyeong Seongdae

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Inkmas Day 3: Colorverse Kingdom Series Taepyeong Seongdae

I think ink names are getting a little long. Today’s ink is Colorverse Kingdom Project Series 019 – Taepyeong Seongdae ($13.50 for a 30ml bottle). The color is a tribute to Korean history though I know little else about the specifics of this ink and the association of the color to Korean history.

What I can tell you is that it is another in a long line of inks I’ve purchased in an attempt to find my signature yellow-green ink. Jesi will often hand me ink samples and ask, “What about this one?” and I have to be very specific “too yellow”, “too bright”, “too muddy” or “too light”, for example.

Taepyeong Seongdae is a close contender as  the ink is a darker yellow-green without edging into a pine or forest green (too blue) hue. In a wider nib, Taepyeong Seongdae is a bit darker than I would like but in a fine or extra fine nib the color does not become too light to be useable. It has real potential though its a hair muddier than I would hope for. Overall it meets many of my ridiculously specific requests for a yellow-green ink.

It shades a good deal but does not show any sheening.

The closest ink color in my collection was the similarly named Kingdom Note Olive.Penlux Pine and Sailor Rikyu-Cha both lean a bit more brownish but are closer than the dozens of other yellow-green inks in my collection which tend to go more grassy or lime in color.

I’d say its a tie between Taepyeong Seongdae and Kingdom Note Olive. I reall ythink I need to make my own yellow-green ink at some point but I think I’m the only one who would want it.

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In Ink Review

Inkmas Day 2: Vanness Exclusive Cranberry Sauce

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Inkmas Day 2: Vanness Exclusive Cranberry Sauce

Vanness Pen Shop has become more than just a pen shop in the last few years. Lisa, queen of indie inks, is now actively creating her own inks. Just in time for the holidays, Vanness has released two holiday-themed inks: Sweet Tater Pie (review coming later in Inkmas) and Cranberry Sauce (14.75 for a 30ml bottle). I am one of those weirdos whose favors cranberry sauce over almost everything else on my holiday plate. I love the sweet, tangy contrast to the rich savory cornbread stuffing and creamy mashed potatoes. Of course, I would want to review Cranberry Sauce first.

The color is solidly richly cranberry reddish pink with a red wine undertone. While the ink does not appear to sheen, it is a good shader showing a range of tones from red wine to pinky, saucy cranberry jelly.

Surprisingly, I was able to find many similar colors in my ink collection but many are discontinued or pricey. Colorverse Conjecture was part of the Johannes Kelper set, Birmingham Pen Company’s Gerbera Pink is from their previous ink-carnation, Montblans’ Antoine de Saint-Exupery is, well, a limited edition Montblanc ink. Oster Dusty Pink is a bit more purple-y and Ferris Wheel Press Royal Rhubarb is a little more brick reddish. So, if you’re looking for a sweet, tangy cranberry color, Vanness Cranberry Sauce will have you craving seconds.

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DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.