Fountain pen inks reviews and comparisons

  It's Spring, we just had King's day and the European Championships football are being held next month. More than enough reasons to fill up some pens with orange inks. I was surprised to see I had gathered eight inks in the past few years that qualify as orange. Some true bright orange, some leaning more towards red or brown. Which one is your favorite? Written on Tomoe river, 52g

  Carbon Black is a pigmented (black) ink by Platinum.  Normally I find black ink to be a bit boring but this one is different.  Over the past weeks I have used it extensively in various pens and with pleasure. The subtle glossy grey mist makes the ink both shiny and intriguing. Furthermore, it comes in a beautiful simple and classic bottle that really fits the ink.  Definitely an ink to use in the office, but pleasant enough for personal notes and journaling too. Personally I don't think it's warm enough for personal correspondence.   There is no feathering and no shading. The ink is moderately wet and smooth. Even though it comes with warnings not to leave it in a pen for too long, I haven't run into any problems at all, even when leaving the ink in pens for several weeks. When dry, the ink is waterproof. Water didn't affect it at all. Drying times are acceptable, 35 secs on Rhodia paper. The characteristics: Feathering None

  Writer's Blood by Diamine. The latest addition and chosen by Reddit's r/fountainpen community after a long debate and many voting rounds. A dark red, heavily leaning towards brown and aubergine purple. A subtle color that works both in the office and for personal correspondence.   There is no feathering and some shading. The ink is very wet, even wetter than usual for Diamine. The ink is smooth. I was surprised to see it can handle a bit of water. At least your work will remain legible. Drying times are slow, 85 secs on Tomoe River paper. The characteristics: Feathering None Shading Some Show through Light Wetness High Lubrication Excellent Shimmer/sheen None Price/ml € 0,12 Writer's Blood reminded me most of Diamine Oxblood. In some n

  Purple by Raduga. A Russian ink and a brand that stems from the Soviet era. As I have been told it is the default ink in Russia. It's a standard ink, no frills. So why did I buy it? Curiosity mostly, and because I didn't have it yet. It's not available in the Netherlands, but I stumbled upon a Ukrainian seller on eBay.  The ink surprised me. A deep medium dark purple that writes nicely on all sorts of paper. It's best handled with care because it will leave its marks easily. Pleasant enough for longer readings and writings. A true work horse that can easily be used for work notes, personal notes and letters. There is neither shading nor  feathering, it dries fast and the lubrication is good enough. The ink is water resistant; once dry it is hardly affected by water. Drying times are below average, 38 secs on Tomoe River paper. The characteristics: Feathering None Shading None Show th

Paakezah, the first ink in Krishna's S series. In their own words, the S series is the flagship of this Indian brand. The bottle is not only a beautiful eye-catcher on your desk, its design makes refilling pens easy and clean. The ink itself is a moderate dark blue with a huge amount of (red) sheen. Too much sheen for a business letter, but definitely suited for taking work notes and any personal writing or correspondence.   The ink is smooth and wet. I didn't like it much in my wet Parker Duofold, but in a TWSBI Eco (B nib, cursive italic grind) it was very pleasant to write with.  The amount of shading is high and immediately shows the sheen too, especially on Tomoe River paper. Just to give an idea of the amount of sheen, two pictures of the same text, under different angles. The sheen is already quite visible on the left image, but when turned, the text apparently changes from blue to red. No feathering. The ink

  Wondrous Winterberry, part of the 2020 festive series by Canadian brand Ferris Wheel Press. It's hard to miss Ferris Wheel Press' advertisements, they even did a Kickstarter project for new colors, but I never tried them until now. The packaging is amazing indeed, it does look beautiful.  But at the end of the day it's the ink that counts. The color is a beautiful subdued red with some brown. For the holiday season they have included gold shimmer. For personal notes and letters the color is quite good and remains pleasant to read, even for longer writings. It's not an ink to use in the office. The ink behaves quite well, the shading is minimal and lubrication is good without being really smooth. The shimmer is subtle, but clearly visible. Drying time - on Tomoe River 52g paper - was 55 seconds which is average. Don't let water come near to your writings, it's very efficient in erasing all, even after several days.  The ink characteristics: