Fountain pen inks reviews and comparisons

Following last week’s post of autumn inks, today a selection of fifteen brown inks. Although some of them can easily be used throughout the year, brown inks are most often associated with the fall. Warm inks that give a melancholic feeling. The fantasy  of writing handwritten letters or stories,  overlooking a Scottish lake. The fireplace warming the room. Outside it is wet, cold and foggy. The bright autumn colors are gone. Winter is approaching fast. As any list, this list is incomplete and could easily have been different. Why did I leave out SBRE Brown? Or Herbin’s Cafe des Iles? Let me know what your favorite is!

Searching for a gold colored ink I came across this ink. It’s far more green than gold, but the color is definitely intriguing. Can it be used in the office? I don’t know, maybe in Spring. For now I will stick to personal notes and correspondence with this ink. KWZ produces well-behaving inks and this color is no exception to that. The ink shows no feathering, a beautiful shading, no show-through, good lubrication, and moderate wetness with below-average drying times. I don't have any color that comes close. Herbin's Vert empire or Lierre Sauvage, as well as Grab von Faber Castell's Moss Green are true greens and don't come close. All in all this is a very nice ink and a unique color. A great addition to the collection! N.B. Written on Crown Mill Vellum (off-white)

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,...

After three iron gall inks by KWZ inks I decided to try one of their standard inks as well and ordered Baltic memories. A dark blue with a bit of green in it. A dark blue with some green can be used anywhere. It's pleasant to read, neutral, and looks good. Perfect for both the office and personal use.  The ink is well-behaved, a little bit on the wet side. It writes smoothly, doesn't feather and you can still use the backside of your paper. Shading is a bit lower than expected, you will need a broad of stub nib to really see it come out. Drying times are a bit slower than average. The ink can't stand water and immediately becomes a blur.  Writing on paper the color looks predominantly as a very dark blue. However, there is a significant amount of green in it and when compared to other blues, this becomes very clear. Baltic memories is a bit darker than KWZ's IG turquoise (dried a day) and a lot  greener than Sailor's Yonaga, Iroshizuku's Shin-kai an...

The iron gall Blue #2 ink is the third ink I bought from KWZ inks, handmade inks from  Poland. KWZ is a brand with a lot of modern iron gall inks in their collection. I am a huge fan of their IG Green #3  and a lot less of their IG Red #3 . So I was definitely curious of this blue. Being a dark blue (especially when dry), you can't really go wrong. Perfect for office use, suitable for personal correspondence and notes. It is a solid, serious color. Personal writings should match that.  The ink is well behaved, feathering and show-through are negligible, the ink writes smooth enough and drying times are acceptable with just over 30 seconds. Shading is moderate at most, but beautiful with a broad or stub nib. The water resistance is quite good, the ink can take water for a long time and still remain legible. A lot more susceptible to water than the traditional iron galls, but good enough. I have used this ink in a TWSBI with a stub nib, a Lamy with a medium nib, and ...

Yesterday I wrote a review on KWZ's beautiful IG Green #3 . Today's review is of a red from the same brand, iron gall red #3.  The ink is very well behaved, no feathering or show-through, well lubricated and drying faster than average (little less than 25 secs). Shading is moderate. The water resistance is quite good, the ink can take some water and still remain legible. I have used this ink in a TWSBI with a broad nib, a TWSBI with stub nib and with an oblique 1mm tape nib. With all these pens the ink behaved perfectly on Original Crown Mill Vellum paper. On copy paper KWZ IG feathers a little bit and there is significant show-through, but the ink is suitable for use on cheaper papers as well. IG Red #3 is suited for long (work) notes or letters and doesn't strain the eyes. That makes it suitable for a lot of different uses. Like every IG ink this one darkens (a lot) when dry. The effect is in this color is so big you can literally see it change when writ...

Earlier this week I came across the handmade iron gall inks by Polish brand KWZ. Beautiful colors, not the typical iron gall colors purple-black or brown-black. Reading a bit further I learned their inks don't contain the strong mineral acids like sulfuric acid, but use a more friendly formula. I ordered two colors IG Red #3 and IG Green #3; this is obviously a review of the green color.  Green #3 is a beautiful dark green. The use of green in the office is a debate I referenced to in the Lierre Sauvage review , I will keep it out of this review. In my opinion this color is very well suited for work notes, personal notes, and any other personal correspondence.  The ink is very well behaved, no feathering or show-through, well lubricated and drying faster than average. The green is dark and bright. Shading in this ink is extremely beautiful. The water resistance is not bad, the ink can take a few drops. I have used this ink in a TWSBI with a broad nib, a TWSBI...