Fountain pen inks reviews and comparisons

I've often called Noodler's ink very functional and not very beautiful. And even though that is mostly true, some of their colors are definitely challenging that opinion. Black Swan in Australian Roses is a beautiful ink and when I saw Habanero on Reddit, I knew I would have to buy this ink too. A color that is mostly suitable for personal writing, but with the Corona lockdown, you can use anything for work notes while in a video call. 
High shading, no feathering, no significant show-through, and decent lubrication. The ink writes really nice. However, it is very wet and has an extremely long drying time. On Tomoe river paper it looks wet for more than half an hour and smears very easily, even after 45-60 minutes. This of course does limit the possible use of the ink, less suitable for a notebook or journaling.  Once dry, a little bit of water will ruin it, but the ink remains legible if you're quick enough with a kitchen towel. 
Compared to other orange inks this one is br…

My second ink from the 2019 Diamine inktvent series, bought in a full size bottle. A medium dark brown that reminds me of cold winter nights with a fireplace. Warm enough for personal correspondence and writing, but subtle enough for work notes as well.
Not surprisingly for a Diamine ink, the ink behaves really well with high, beautiful shading. No feathering, good lubrication, negligible show-through and a quite wet ink. Drying times are average, 35 seconds on Tomoe River paper.  The ink doesn't like water much, even a little bit of water will ruin the writing. Diamine calls this a standard ink, there is no sheen or shimmer. 
The bottle is beautiful, but as the Jack Frost ink, putting the cap back on straight is impossible, the threading in the cap is quite poor. 
I have compared the ink to a few other medium dark browns. Herbin's Terre de Feu is more red, Lie de The comes close (a bit more light) and Diamine's Cacao Shimmer is - besides the shimmer - a lot lighter. 
Roasted C…

After not having used it for a year or so, I decided to ink a pen with Graf von Faber Castell's Moss Green. A lush, dark green ink that fits the current spring weather well. I'm not a huge fan of green inks, but every now and then I like to write with them.  Despite any prejudices people might have against green ink, I believe this ink can be used for note taking in the office, or for any personal communication and notes. 
The ink writes really well, the shading is high and beautiful. There is no feathering and despite the dark color, the show-through is negligible. Lubrication is good and wetness low to moderate. Despite that, the drying time is above average: 45 seconds.  The ink doesn't like water very much. It might remain readable for a rewrite, but even after two days, a minimal amount of water ruins the ink. 
Compared to other dark green inks, this ink comes relatively close to KWZ's IG Green #3. Vert Empire is a much duller color. Emeraude de Chivor is slightly les…

A very dark purple with a high amount of green sheen. I had never seen this color until I accidentally ran into it at a small pen and ink shop. Especially with finer nibs the purple is near black. That makes the color suitable for the workspace and of course, for any personal writing. 
The ink is very well behaved. I have used it in various pens with different nib sizes. The green sheen is visible in all nibs used. Especially on Tomoe River paper, but also on Rhodia or Clairefontaine. In the image below you can clearly see it in the title with a broad poster nib. Despite the very dark color you can still see shading. Show-through is minimal. There is no feather on decent paper. Lubrication is good and even though the ink doesn't seem that wet, its drying time is high, more than one minute! 
Compared to some other purple inks, Scribble Purple is by far the darkest. Diamine's Bilberry is dark too, but leans far more to a blue. Damson is a much less saturated color. So is Noodler&#…

Terribly out of season maybe, but it doesn't  make the color less beautiful. Recently Diamine released  colors of their 2019 invent calendar as full 50 ml bottles in a new and very beautiful shape. I had barely managed to avoid buying the inkvent calendar, but buying a few of these bottles I couldn't resist.

Jack Frost is a medium blue color with heavy shading, some subtle silver sheen and heavy purple/red sheen. Any nib medium and up will clearly bring out the sheen. The color itself reminds me of a bright, cold winter day. I wouldn't use it in the office, but it is not wildly inappropriate.

The ink behaves really well. There is no feathering on this paper, high shading, a lot of sheen, and some shimmer as mentioned. The Splatter makes it visible. Jack Frost is not too wet but has average drying times, writes smooth enough and with negligible show-through. The ink probably likes ice more than water, it immediately smears, even days after writing. 
For this review I used Clai…

Recently, the Dutch webshop LaCouronneDuComte launched a new series of ink under their own name. The ink is being produced by Diamine and has similar bottles and pricing.  The webshop claims that the colors are exclusive for them. Pain d'Épices is a warm red, or as the website describes it, "Pain d'Épices is a warm, red-brown ink with an olive-green sheen that evokes the feeling of a delicious gingerbread." I wouldn't touch a gingerbread in this color with a ten foot pole, but it is a warm red and when using very wide or poster nibs, the green sheen is clearly visible. Much better for personal use than for office use, but it is elegant and dark enough. 
Quality of the ink is as expected. No feathering, beautiful shading, hardly any show-through, normal wetness, good lubrication and average drying times. As afraid of water as the next Diamine ink.

So how does the color compare to other inks? As can be seen in the Ink Comparisons, it will be extremely hard to disting…