Fingers Were Meant to be Inky
I asked Rob Oster for stories to share with you, wondering specifically how he decided to start making and selling his own line of inks. His reply: “My obsession with ink occurred out of the blue one day as I looked from over my powerbook at a sea of ink bottles….wondering why I don’t make an ink as close to nature as possible.”
I believe it. Especially looking at… Read More
Australia has a lot of the grooviest things on this planet. They have the best spiders. They have the coolest snakes. They have the cutest marsupials. If that wasn’t enough, a mighty wave of new and little-known ink companies are emerging from the wild and wonderful island continent. In the last year, I’ve learned of four such companies from the land Down Under: Toucan, Blackstone, Bookbinders, and the newest kid on the block, Robert Oster Signature. Nestled in the heart of South Australia’s wine country, Robert Oster Signature is a (mostly) one-man outfit run by (you guessed it)… Read More
Callifolio is a line of fountain pen inks from French art supply manufacturer Artisan Pastellier. They actually have two lines of ink (their other is Encre Classique, which are mixable so you can create your own colors). Artisan Pastellier also makes art pastels, watercolors, natural & metallic pigments, sealing wax, and a few other brightly colored art supplies.
There’s not much talk of the Callifolio inks out there, and I only know of… Read More
Fountain pens are wonderful. That’s a given. But because they use water-based ink, they’re really not suitable for most run-of-the-mill paper (see what I did, there?). Fountain pens aren’t very popular in the US, so most of the everyday paper found here is a poor match for pens that use water-based inks. Ballpoints and gel pens effectively make up the entirety of American daily writing instruments, so manufacturers only need to supply paper that works well with those inks…which, really, any crappy paper can do.
So that leaves us poor fountain pen users stuck buying higher quality paper, mostly imported from France or Japan. These papers are great, but they’re pretty expensive compared to… Read More
Well, it finally happened. I can take some small amount of solace in knowing it’s Amazon’s fault and not mine. But there’s still a giant blue stain on my carpet, and I’m not happy about it.
I’ve wanted to check out Levenger products, but unfortunately, none of my usual, go-to fountain pen retailers carry them. I decided to buy a couple Levenger inks (their bottles are so cool!) and had to decide whether to get them directly from Levenger ($14 per bottle + shipping) or from Amazon ($12 per bottle with free shipping). No brainer, right? (I’m referring to the decision being a no-brainer at this point…I’ll get to the box-packing Amazon employees being no-brainers in a bit.)
Pilot is arguably the biggest name in pens. If you’ve ever put a long, pointy thing in your hand and wrote with it, you’ve undoubtedly used a Pilot product along the way. Pilot is a Japanese company, and regardless of whether you’re using a cheap, throw-away ballpoint or a $5,000 makie fountain pen, their products are all made with impeccable quality, and you’re sure to experience a nice, trouble-free writing experience.
In addition to pens, Pilot makes a wonderful line of bottled inks for fountain pens. While other brands shoot for vibrant, highly saturated color palettes, Pilot aims for colors that mirror the beauty found in nature. Here’s a description from the Pilot web site:
The name Iroshizuku is a combination of the Japanese words Iro (Coloring), expressing high standards and variation of colors, and Shizuku (Droplet), that embodies the very image of dripping water. Each ink name derives from the expressions of beautiful Japanese natural landscapes and plants, all of which contribute to the depth of each individual hue.
I’m not a big Facebook user, primarily because they refuse to notify me ONLY when someone tags/mentions me or posts to my wall. I got tired of wading through pictures of people’s lunch and reading vague and cryptic “some people” complaints. If they’re going to notify me of everything, then I don’t have the time for it.
That said, I know that’s where the majority of people hang out and where they look to share content and engage with each other. So I finally got around to making a Facebook page specifically for posting my reviews and posts related to fountain pens, ink, and paper. I’ll be posting all my old reviews, new reviews, and other fun stuff.
So if you use Facebook, be sure to stop by to say hello or to follow me there. Thanks!
Toucan inks are made by a company called Dye Manufacturers of Australia, which has been around since the early 1900s. In about 1918, they started to sell dyes meant for clothing and food products under the name Tintex. More recently, they’ve branched out, producing ink for technical drawing and fountain pens.
At first look, Toucan inks don’t jump out as being too interesting or special. They’re bright, but their colors are pretty basic and not too terribly saturated. The beauty with these inks, though, is that they are specifically formulated so you can mix them to produce any colors you want. I haven’t played with them as yet, but I can see myself doing a bit of mad scientist work in the very near future.
… Read More
Before I start complaining, I just want to say that I am NOT including shimmering inks in this discussion. Sheen and shimmer are two different things, people. Let’s just get this out of the way up front:
Sheen = Ink takes on a different color (1) at different angles (usually after drying); (2) around edges; or (3) where ink pools
Shimmer = Glittery particles added to ink for sparkle (like J. Herbin and the Diamine Shimmertastic inks…although J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor has both sheen and shimmer, and I do mention that one below)
And if you’re a fan of analogies and/or vampires:
Shimmer : Sheen :: Twilight : Necroscope
Yeah I know, that doesn’t make any sense. I just wanted to cram Necroscope into the conversation. If you like vampires and haven’t read that series, you should. Faethor & Thibor would eat those other glittery sissies for lunch and… Read More
P.W. Akkerman is a fountain pen shop located in The Hague, Netherlands. They’ve been in business since 1910 and carry all the biggest names in fountain pendom. I first became aware of Akkerman inks from watching Stephen Brown’s pen reviews. Stephen lives in the Netherlands and has ready access to the shop and all the goodies inside.
To celebrate their centennial anniversary, Akkerman came out with their own line of inks back in 2010. The prevailing theory is that because they’re a shop, they must have commissioned their inks from a larger ink manufacturer. Diamine does a lot of this, so a lot of people assumed that Akkerman inks were rebranded Diamine inks. The only problem with this is that no one can really draw a line between specific Akkerman and Diamine (or other brands) colors. So at the moment, it appears that Akkerman inks are unique and not rebranded anything.
Have they been commissioned by a larger ink manufacturer? I’d say that’s probably… Read More
