Skip to main content

Perle Noir, Herbin

Perle Noir is one of the most recommended and well reviewed black inks out there. When I bought this ink a few years ago, I was disappointed. It is not the blackest, not the smoothest, not the fastest drying ink, not an archival ink, not the cheapest.  I decided to give it a second chance so I eyedropped a Preppy with it and filled a Lamy All-star. Over the past few days I have written many pages of work notes with the ink. Perle Noir is a well behaving black ink that is sold at a reasonable price, but it doesn't excel in anything. Below some writing samples, followed by drying times and test in water resistance. Drying times are about average to slow, 45 secs with a broad nib on Tomoe River 52g paper. The ink is certainly not water resistant, but it can handle an accidental drop.   The full characteristics: Feathering none Shading hardly any Show through negligible 
Post a Comment

IG Turquoise, by KWZ Ink


Last month I had my first encounter with KWZ Ink. My impressions of the iron gall inks was mixed: the iron gall green #3 I really liked, the iron gall red #3 a lot less. The IG turquoise is the third iron gall KWZ Ink I tried. Fresh on the paper and in the bottle it might look like a turquoise, within seconds it's far more dark and in my opinion this is more a teal than a turquoise. A modest, nice color for both professional or personal purposes. 

The ink is well behaved, a bit more prone to feathering than other KWZ inks than expected. Shading is low to moderate, show-through minimal. The ink is not too wet, writes smoothly and drying times only a bit above average. Water resistance is OK, be quick and there won't be too much damage.

The color is not unlike Iroshizuku's Tsuki-yo. Both are more blue than Emeraude de Chivor (Herbin) and Syo-ro (Iroshizuku).

All is all this is a decent ink in a nice modest color, for a good price. There is only one problem, the ink lacks excitement. Decent marks all over, but nowhere excellent. That makes the ink a bit too much a dime a dozen.

Written on original Crown Mill Vellum paper
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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
Post a Comment
Read more

Writer's blood, Diamine

  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
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more