Nothing Shy About This Lot

Warmer weather always brightens my ink rotation. Orange, pink, and a paler shade of green add some fun to the hold-overs from early spring.

In addition, Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa is getting a run in the Namiki Falcon SB fire hose. So far – so good with that test. It’s a muted gray-purple that suits clouds more than unrelenting sunshine, but if it tames the beast, it will be a good choice.

• Kyoto Levenger True Writer custom stub with Diamine Dark Brown
• Clementine Retro 51 Scriptmaster II fine with Iroshizuku fuyu-gaki
• Lamy AL-Star custom fine italic with Iroshizuku tsutsuji
• Montblanc 220 OB with Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses
• Namiki Falcon SB with Rohrer & Klinger Scabiosa
• Namiki Falcon SF with Diamine Violet
• Waterman Deluxe Carene Stub with Iroshizuku asa-gao
• Platinum Century B Chartres Blue with Diamine China Blue
• Platinum #3776 music nib with Diamine Mediterranean Blue
• Namiki Falcon SF with Diamine Kelly Green

Miquelrius Notebooks Are Perfect For Fountain Pens

Some brands of paper accept fountain pen ink without hesitation. Miquelrius is one of them.

Never heard of this company? According to the website, “Miquelrius is a family company whose origins go back to 1839 in Barcelona, Spain.” Its products are available at a variety of retailers but the plain black cover might not stand out on crowded shelves or turn up in an online search. At the price point, it’s worth seeking out and the scan shows why.

This white paper is more lightweight than Black ‘n Red or Staples Arc but show-through and bleed-through were non-existent even from my Namiki Falcon SB gusher. A variety of inks and nibs produced clean margins and no feathering. The 6.5 x 8″, spiral bound, 140 sheet version can easily be written on both sides yielding 280 pages. The edges are colored-coded blue, red, green, and gray for four-subjects should you be so organized. Retail prices vary but I purchased mine on sale at Target for around $4 a few months ago. Now I wish I’d bought a stack of them.

The paper is very smooth. Resistance is absent and makes the paper ideal for long sessions. The number of pages per notebook is significantly greater than comparable products. That’s value for money I appreciate. Line-spacing is 7mm or just over a quarter inch which is fine for most people and suitable for those who write large like me.

The thin-ish paper has a quirk that I like but won’t suit everyone. Pages that have been written on can be seen through an unwritten page. I find that rather charming in a vintage way. In use, it wasn’t off-putting at all but instead made me rather pleased that I’d filled up so many pages. For a writer, that’s a good thing.

In addition to a simple black polyproplyene cover with the MR logo, Miguelrius notebooks come in a variety of patterns though only a few were available at Target. All of those were too cutesy for my taste but they do change offerings from time to time. The next batch might have one that would be just the thing. These notebooks come in several sizes and with different numbers of pages. Some are bound while others are spiral with micro-perforated pages that are hole punched. There are grid versions as well as lined. If you order online, check the specs to ensure you get exactly what you want.

Links to explore: Miquelrius, Target, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.

Parker Penman Ruby Fountain Pen Ink

Parker Penman Inks were introduced twenty years ago and for some aficionados nothing has replaced them. Sapphire is the most often mentioned color but Ruby is no less worthy of note.

Ruby has a bit more yellow and green in its base than other burgundy inks and that gives it a unique, slightly earthy color. It has good shading for its degree of saturation as well as good flow. The color combined with the other properties have kept this ink on my list of favorites for a very long time.

Several years ago, I sent a sample to Diamine hoping they would develop something comparable. After all, Ruby had been off the market since 2000 and there were few burgundy inks available at that time, much less one that offered similar properties. Since then, Diamine has released Syrah and Merlot. From Diamine’s online swatches, Syrah looks like a possible substitute for Ruby while Merlot looks more red or wine-colored.

Inks that are true color duplicates are uncommon so at best Syrah will be similar. If it shades well, it might be a worthy substitute. Not that I’m likely to run out of Ruby anytime soon. My stash of three bottles is more properly a hoard, one that could make even a dragon jealous.

A Burgundy By Any Other Name

Not that anyone has to have a burgundy ink in their color wardrobe, but a true inkophile does love variety. My collection is lacking a Diamine in this color range, something I intend to remedy soon with either Oxblood or Syrah.

For now, the long-discontinued Parker Penman Ruby and Noodler’s Red-Black will do while Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses is perfect for something a bit more pink. All three show a degree of shading with the right pens and good to excellent flow in any pen. None are fast drying but I like the colors so well that this quirk doesn’t deter me .

Noodler’s Tiananmen and Cayenne are my choices for red though Diamine Monaco Red is a good option for a slightly less saturated look.

Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses would be another good addition to this group but it’s a lot more difficult to find as the good ones so often are.

The dots are more representative of the color produced with a pen except Noodler’s Tiananmen which is less red and more rose colored than reflected in the scan.

Diamine Dark Brown Ink Earns Top Marks

Diamine Dark Brown is a seldom mentioned ink that deserves top marks for performance as well as its soft brown color. Even for ink users who aren’t fond of brown, this one might be a useful option.

A different name would be more descriptive, so I think of it as Diamine Dark Brown – That Isn’t. Unlike the rather orange colored Sepia that barely qualifies as a brown, Dark Brown is properly a medium brown. Very well-behaved and easy on the eyes, it produces lovely shading and a hint of outlining here and there. Good flow and average lubrication make it suitable for a wide variety of nibs. It dries slightly faster than Diamine Sepia and significantly faster than some of the heavily saturated inks in my collection.

Dark Brown is a chameleon depending on the light source. In daylight, it has a red slant. In artificial light, it looses the red and looks balanced or neutral. It isn’t a red-brown like Waterman Havana but there is a subtle bias. My ancient scanner was flummoxed by it and no amount of color adjustment could produce an accurate rendition despite three of us attempting to pin it down to a single image. This one will have to do.

The color is soft and attractive enough for drawing purposes. It also works well for correspondence and in many business applications. My Kyoto Levenger True Writer custom stub suits it perfectly.

Diamine’s selection of brown inks has expanded greatly in recent years and it is a color at which the company excels. It’s hard to go wrong no matter which one you choose but my current favorites are Dark Brown and Chocolate Brown, just in case you were wondering.

An Ink Rotation And Its Worksheet

You are not alone if you wonder/aren’t certain/debate which inks make a rotation. Truthfully, it’s anything that makes you happy but a worksheet can help narrow and refine choices without inking a gazillion or even a dozen pens.

The pens in the upper right section were already inked and some will continue into the summer with the same colors.

The bottom section is a test of possible inks culled from a review of my ink journal. The dots of color were made with the tip of a cotton swab. The paper is from my daily journal which will see the most use of my rotation. It is tinted pale gray which has a mildly dulling effect on ink color so I like to test directly on it for better accuracy.

The upper left section of my worksheet reflects the most likely prospects along with possible pens. Though good colors for the season, some of the inks were eliminated due to degradation or poor performance.

This rotation is in flux. Waiting in the wings are Sailor Uranari, olive green, Sailor Yaki-Akari, pale aqua, Diamine Steel Blue, turquoise, and Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses. If a red is needed, Noodler’s Tiananmen or J. Herbin  ’1670′ Rouge Hematite will do depending on whether subtle or flashy suits the occasion. China Blue will replace asa-gao and Noodler’s Cayenne will replace Vermillion for summer. BSAR might eliminate Claret and Solferino as well. Chocolate and Pilot BBk will return in autumn. That will leave a nine pen rotation which is plenty even for me.

What I don’t like about this group of inks is that the colors don’t come together thematically. What I do like is that it provides lots of options for duos and trios. In addition, the inks are well-matched to their pens so writing will be very enjoyable.

The Levenger True Writer (TW) dominates for now but that is in part because it uses an easy to fill converter and the fine nibs aren’t terribly narrow. My collection needs more broad nibs and stubs to show ink color better. Skinny nibs just don’t have enough punch for a color addict but do not tell me there is a 12-step program for that addiction. I absolutely will not listen. No, no, no, no, no.

A New Addition To Inkophile Plus Some Changes

Ink Comparisons

Did you see the new addition to the sidebar called Ink Comparisons? It is a link to all Inkophile posts that have images of inks pictured side by side. You can also go to my Flickr stream for many of the same images but without the text. Soon Flickr will be updated to include all of the comparisons used on Inkophile and at that time will earn a separate button in the sidebar.

Tip Jar

Another recent addition is a Tip Jar. Inkophile will be five years old next month and “the collective” has informed me that it’s time to become self-supportive. There are other ways to achieve a little cash for expenses and expansion such as adverts or a sponsorship or even affiliate links, so donations may only be the beginning. Don’t you hate when real life restricts your fantasy life?

Pages

Along with the new additions, pages about my favorite things have received minor updates. Other than to add a couple of Platinum #3776 pens, Stillman & Birn journals, and a few inks, little has changed over the past year.

Sidebar Links

Many of you have been linked to in one or more categories in the sidebar. My lists are some of the most comprehensive on the web for fountain pen related information. A reciprocal link would be appreciated.

Links in posts

When a post has a link to a source for a product, often I will seek a smaller retailer to give a bit of support. Not all of you keep a blog or offer a list of links but for those who omit credit where it is due, bloggers and retailers alike, mentions on Inkophile will be less frequent. Citing a source when it is known is a courtesy, especially in the online world, and I appreciate your efforts to be fair about this.

Social media and friends

Lastly, writing for Inkophile is great fun but it does take much of my free time. The last several months, I’ve had to choose between writing and participating in social media. Guess which won? Monthly page views have doubled from a year ago so in that sense, concentrated efforts have paid well. However, I do miss hearing from friends. Please do not think you are being ignored if I miss important life events or even smaller but significant bits of news. Shoot me an email if I don’t respond on Twitter, Google Plus, or FB. I’m still here!