Fountain pen inks reviews and comparisons

September. Autumn has started on the northern hemisphere. The evenings are longer, the nights already cold and the days more chilly. Yet, there is still plenty of sunshine and the leaves are starting to turn yellow, brown, and red.  So what ink colors match this early Fall season? I’ve compiled a list of ten suitable colors. Fully aware that any list is arbitrary and unfair to some beautiful colors that I left out. To name a few, Montblanc’s Homage to Victor Hugo , Diamine’s Macassar , Herbin’s Lie de Thé or Cacao du Bresil , and KWZ’s Capuccino . Yes, these are all brown inks. Too early in the season. I guess I will have to write a brown ink special in a few weeks.  The colors that did make it to the list are more colorful, resembling the sunshine and colorful leaves. In random order Yama-guri (Iroshizuki), Oxblood , Autumn oak, Pumpkin, Burnt Sienna (all Diamine), Rosso antico, Red fox , James Purdey & Son single malt (all Montblanc), Habanero (Noodler’s), and SBRE Bro...

Citrus Black is one of the inks from the Platinum Classic ink series. A beautiful color-shifting iron gall ink that really stands out. When first applied to the paper it is a retina-destroying yellow, but then the oxidation of the iron used quickly makes the ink change into a darker color that resembles more olive green than citrus fruit in my opinion. But the name  maybe comes from the initial yellow which is not unlike a lemon. I had to get used to this color, but it works really well. Definitely an eye catcher in the office and unusual but perfect for personal correspondence.  The video below shows how it shifts colors on paper.  The ink itself is a bit dry when writing, but very well behaved. A (wide) wet nib is recommended for both the color and ease of writing. Shading is beautiful and heavy, there is no feathering,  negligible show-through and drying times are reasonable. As a true iron gall ink, this ink can take a bit of water.  It's hard to compare thi...

This years writers edition of Montblanc is an homage to Victor Hugo, the French poet  novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement.  The ink in the series is a sepia brown and very fitting for the fall I believe. The ink is a bit light, almost yellowish, but still has enough style and class to be used for both personal correspondence as well as note taking in the office. It comes in the familiar 50ml square, ribbed glass bottle.  The ink has a lot of shade and as can be seen in the writing samples below, the color shifts colors, depending on nib. With a larger dip pen the color becomes a deep brown, where the ink swab and medium nib show the ink as much lighter. In the price range you may expect a wonderful ink and Victor Hugo doesn't disappoint. Beautiful shading, no feathering, no show through, excellent lubrication. Some Montblanc inks tend to be a bit dryish while writing, but this ink is very smooth and writes like a dream. Drying time (on Tomoe River paper) is 4...