Iron gall Green #3, by KWZ

Earlier this week I came across the handmade iron gall inks by Polish brand KWZ. Beautiful colors, not the typical iron gall colors purple-black or brown-black. Reading a bit further I learned their inks don't contain the strong mineral acids like sulfuric acid, but use a more friendly formula. I ordered two colors IG Red #3 and IG Green #3; this is obviously a review of the green color.

Green #3 is a beautiful dark green. The use of green in the office is a debate I referenced to in the Lierre Sauvage review, I will keep it out of this review. In my opinion this color is very well suited for work notes, personal notes, and any other personal correspondence.

The ink is very well behaved, no feathering or show-through, well lubricated and drying faster than average. The green is dark and bright. Shading in this ink is extremely beautiful. The water resistance is not bad, the ink can take a few drops.
I have used this ink in a TWSBI with a broad nib, a TWSBI with stub nib and with an oblique 1mm tape nib. With all these pens the ink behaved perfectly on Original Crown Mill Vellum paper.

Compared to other green inks, Moss Green (Graf van Faber Castell) comes close. Lierre Sauvage is a lot lighter and brighter, Vert Empire is quite dark too, but very low in saturation and therefor a lot less bright.

My first experience with this ink brand was a very pleasant one. The ink impressed me! I will definitely keep it in my ink rotation and will try a few more of their inks!

Around the World in 80 Days, Montblanc

Visiting Paris last month, I couldn't resist visiting the Montblanc flagship store and pick up a bottle of ink. Around the World in 80 Days is a limited edition ink, part of the recent collection about Jules Verne's description of Phileas Fogg's adventure. Nicely packed and in the well-known beautiful bottle. The ink is someone between blue and green, increasingly green in a wetter, broader nib. As such it is suitable for both the office as well as personal notes and correspondence. Personally, I like the ink best in finer nibs. It seems more dark and blue that way. I have tried the ink on both Tomoe River and Rhodia paper. The ink behaved flawlessly and feels a little bit on the dry side. Drying time is neither slow nor fast, 40 secs on Tomoe River. On Rhodia paper On Tomoe River (52g) The ink doesn't handle water very well, even after a few days the ink smears easily when some water drops are applied. Careful! The full characteristics: F

Orange!!

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

Kikyou, Sailor Manyo

A few months ago this new ink series by Sailor was announced. Based on flowers, in a stylish 50ml bottle. What I see is not a flower, but an ink that is stormy blue with a hint of green. Teal? Maybe, but in my opinion it's darker than that, scans and monitors can be slightly deceiving. This ink can be a work horse. Very suitable for note taking, definitely works in the office, but also for personal notes and correspondence. The ink writes like a dream. It's not very wet, but smooth and extremely well-behaved in any pen. Just the combination crown mill vellum paper and a poster nib (as you can see), leads to some feathering of the ink. Drying times are simply fast, with just 12 seconds on this paper! Shading is low. Water resistance is low. Even after days it smears easily with just a tiny drop of water. I called this ink a work horse. It is, and an expensive one. Even though it's wonderful ink, it's simply not special enough to justify the price. Yonaga (Sailor)

Fountain pen inks reviews and comparisons

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