Moondust (shimmer), by Diamine

In the last few years Diamine has released a few series of shimmering inks. Fun inks that come in some intriguing colors. After cocoa and night sky, I decided to try moon dust. It is one of the strangest inks I have ever used. It looks like pencil writing but with more bling. As usual the shimmer is high but difficult to catch on a scanner. The ink can be used in an office setting (note taking) but is best reserved for short fun notes and greeting cards.

The ink is well behaved. No feathering, beautiful shading, negligible show-through, wet but not too wet, well lubricated and normal drying times. Shimmer is clearly visible (shake the bottle before filling your pen!), even in medium nibs. The ink can even take some water. Dropping some water on the grid and carefully removing it after 20 seconds resulted in hardly any damage.

Apart from the shimmer, which gives it a "pencil look", Moondust is normal gray ink. The difference with Graf von Faber Castell's Stone Grey or Iroshizuku's Kiri-same is not that big. Iroshizuku's Fuyu-Syogun is noticeably lighter and more blue.

All in all it's a well-behaved, fun ink with a very limited use.

Written on Original Crown Mill Vellum paper

Comments

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) and Balt…

Ultra violet shimmer ink, Manuscript

A new caligraphy ink by Manuscript with extreme shimmer. Definitely not something to use in the office but it looked interesting to write some cards with in the upcoming holiday season. This ink is clearly not meant for long notes or letters. A very dark violet or purple with heavy gold shimmer.
I find it a hard to use ink. OK to use in a fountain pen like the TWSBI ECO with a stub nib, but a dip pen made the ink feather and spread, even on Clairefontaine or Crown Mill Vellum paper. On Lalo Vergé it was much better. The ink is very wet, causing considerable show-through and even some bleed-through. The drying time wasn't too bad though with 35 seconds. The shimmer smears easily for a bit longer. As can be seen even on this scan, shimmer is gold and very high. A bit of water will keep the ink readable, enough to rewrite.
The violet or purple is comparable to Herbin's Améthyste de l'Oural. Diamine's Imperial Purple (no shimmer) is brighter and lighter.
All in all this is a …

Bilberry, by Diamine

Bilberry by Diamine is in the twilight zone between blue and purple. Far more dark than the European blueberry it’s named after. Billberry is a very nice dark ink. I’d call it a dark purple leaning towards blue, but it’s really a matter of perception. In any case it’s an elegant ink that works both for personal correspondence as well as note taking in the office. At first glance many will consider it a blue.
Like most if not all Diamine inks, this ink is very well behaved. No feathering, some shading, and minimal show-through. The ink is less wet than most, writes smoothly and has a drying time that's below average for Diamine (Clairefontaine paper). The ink is very afraid of water, even a little drop or some wetness will smear it and ruin your writing. Even days after writing.
Diamine’s Lilac Night was my first thought for a comparison, but it’s much lighter and more blue. Noodler’s Tchaikovsky (a not very vibrant purple) and iroshizuku’s Murasaki don’t come close either.
Bilberr…

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