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

Syrah, by Diamine


After yesterday's review of Merlot, Diamine's Syrah had to be next. As the Merlot grape, Syrah/Shiraz based wine will come in a huge variation of colors, but I think the ink still gives a good impression of the wines. A fun ink. 

It's quite red and far less subtle than the Merlot. That makes is harder to use in an office environment for note taking. For cards and letters to your red wine loving friends it's an excellent color. Merlot for the Merlot lovers, Syrah for the fans of Syrah. I often pick ink colors for the day based on mood and weather, now you can pick your color based on the meat too. 

The ink feels a bit dryer and is a little less lubricated than what I'm used to from Diamine inks, but other than that the ink behaves really well. No feathering, nice shading, and hardly any show-through. Drying times little around 25 seconds which is pretty good. Water or fluids will immediately ruin your writings. With the poster nib, some green sheen can be seen.


Compared to the Diamine Merlot the Syrah is more red and saturated. A true red, Rouge Grenat (Herbin), is a lot lighter and brighter red. To my surprise, the Syrah is an even darker red than the Crimson red. 

All in all, Diamine Syrah is a nice fun color to have to the side. Logical next step would be the shimmering Wine Divine....



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Read more

Red Dragon versus Oxblood

When it comes to dark red inks that are beautiful, can be used for other purposes than grading and Christmas cards, and are even acceptable in an office environment, two Diamine inks lead the pack: Red Dragon and Oxblood . At first glance they look somewhat similar.  However, Red Dragon is a purer, brighter red. Fresh blood if you will. Oxblood leans more towards brown and can be compared to dried blood.  In behavior the inks don't differ much. Both quite wet and behaving really well with all pens I've tried them in.  In the scan I have used the same pens to do the writing samples. Using three different languages to show the effect and behavior better. The paper is Original Crown Mill Vellum (off-white).  There is no argument about taste, pick your own favorite. In everyday writing show-through and bleed-through are no concern with these inks, as long as you stick to decent paper. You can easily use the backside in your Rhodia notebook.  There is a di...
Post a Comment
Read more