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Showing posts from January, 2021

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 

Paakezah, Krishna S series

Paakezah, the first ink in Krishna's S series. In their own words, the S series is the flagship of this Indian brand. The bottle is not only a beautiful eye-catcher on your desk, its design makes refilling pens easy and clean. The ink itself is a moderate dark blue with a huge amount of (red) sheen. Too much sheen for a business letter, but definitely suited for taking work notes and any personal writing or correspondence.   The ink is smooth and wet. I didn't like it much in my wet Parker Duofold, but in a TWSBI Eco (B nib, cursive italic grind) it was very pleasant to write with.  The amount of shading is high and immediately shows the sheen too, especially on Tomoe River paper. Just to give an idea of the amount of sheen, two pictures of the same text, under different angles. The sheen is already quite visible on the left image, but when turned, the text apparently changes from blue to red. No feathering. The ink

Wondrous Winterberry, Ferris Wheel Press

  Wondrous Winterberry, part of the 2020 festive series by Canadian brand Ferris Wheel Press. It's hard to miss Ferris Wheel Press' advertisements, they even did a Kickstarter project for new colors, but I never tried them until now. The packaging is amazing indeed, it does look beautiful.  But at the end of the day it's the ink that counts. The color is a beautiful subdued red with some brown. For the holiday season they have included gold shimmer. For personal notes and letters the color is quite good and remains pleasant to read, even for longer writings. It's not an ink to use in the office. The ink behaves quite well, the shading is minimal and lubrication is good without being really smooth. The shimmer is subtle, but clearly visible. Drying time - on Tomoe River 52g paper - was 55 seconds which is average. Don't let water come near to your writings, it's very efficient in erasing all, even after several days.  The ink characteristics: