INK SWAB: 186/365 – Noodler’s Habanero
Happy Independence Day to US readers! Noodler’s Habanero is a beautiful ink. It has lots of potential for shading and the color is stunning on most papers. It’s a super-duper-no-kidding wet writer.
View ArticleFOUNTAIN PEN REVIEW: TWSBI Diamond 580 and INK REVIEW: Pelikan Edelstein Jade
TWSBI fountain pens show up on all sorts of Best Fountain Pen Ever lists. To me, TWSBI is to pens what Fields Notes is to paper. That is, TWSBI and Field Notes get it right just enough to keep my...
View ArticleINK SWAB: 191/365 – Noodler’s Dragon Catfish Orange
Noodler’s Dragon Catfish Orange is more of a peach-pink color in this swab. I have found that some of the highlighter inks fade a bit more easily than other inks – even with my samples always stored...
View ArticleINK SWAB: 192/365 – Private Reserve Arabian Rose
Here’s a link to my full review of Private Reserve Arabian Rose.
View ArticleINK SWAB: 193/365 – Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-guri
Pilot Iroshizuku inks are among the best out there. This color isn’t for me. Meaning “Wild Chestnut,” this color is apparently supposed to be similar to the ripe chestnut shell.
View ArticleINK SWAB: 194/365 – Noodler’s Bad Belted Kingfisher
Bad Belted Kingfisher was one of my first ink reviews, you can read it here. (Brian Goulet stopped in to comment!)
View ArticleINK SWAB: 195/365 – Scribal Workshop Zhulong
Zhulong from Scribal Workshop has been discontinued.
View ArticleINK SWAB: 196/365 – J Herbin Vert Olive
J Herbin Vert Olive I’m oddly attracted to this yellowish green ink.
View ArticleINK SWAB: 199/365 – Diamine Emerald
Diamine Emerald leans a bit to the yellow side of green. More yellow than one might expect from an ink with this name, yes?
View ArticleINK SWAB: 200/365 – De Atramentis Indigo Blue
De Atramentis Indigo Blue Ink Swab #200! Woooo! xo
View ArticleWhere I’ve Been
I’ve been missing from here (still active on Instagram) for a little over a month – an amazing, incredible, life-changing month. You see, more than twenty years ago I stopped having contact with my...
View ArticleINK SWAB 201: J Herbin Orange Indien
J Herbin Orange Indien is a nice ink with decent color. It’s no match for my favorite orange, Diamine Pumpkin, though. Because of all that’s been going on, I’m happily behind on ink swabs for the...
View ArticleINK SWAB 202: Aurora Black
Aurora Black is definitely black. One day, I’ll need to pull all of my black swabs and do a bit of a comparison. Do you have a favorite? Mine has been Noodler’s Black. I’m definitely open to...
View ArticleINK SWAB 203: De Atramentis Dante Alighieri
This is one of those rare inks – I’ve never used it and I don’t even remember seeing it in my collection. I Googled to see if it ‘s still available (it is!) and what people think of it (it seems to...
View ArticleINK SWAB 204: Pelikan Royal Blue
I don’t recall having used Pelikan Royal Blue, but it is a very nice shade of blue, yes? I hope everyone had a very long and enjoyable Labor Day weekend!
View ArticleINK SWAB 205: Rohrer & Klingner Konigsblau
I believe Rohrer and Klingner has been around for well over 100 years. People who have tried their fountain pen inks seem to enjoy them. However, I believe R&K doesn’t receive the attention it...
View ArticleINK SWAB 206: L’Artisan Pastellier Classique Bouton D’Or
I’m always on the look-out for new (to me) fun inks to try. I recently discovered Ink by the ML and maybe went a little crazy with samples. L’Artisan Pastellier Classique Bouton D’or is a terrific...
View ArticleINK SWAB 207: De Atramentis Hyacinth
De Atramentis Hyacinth is a such a pretty blue ink that leans a bit toward purple. It’s a scented ink and while I’m open to the idea of scented inks, this one is not for me – it’s a bit to...
View ArticleINK SWAB 208: Pelikan Turquoise
I can’t recall every having used Pelikan Turquoise. Have you tried it? Love it? Hate it?
View ArticleINK SWAB 209: Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shikibu
Hope you’re having a good weekend! After trying the sample of Pilot Iroshizuku’s Murasaki-Shikibu, I knew I had to have more more more. Good potential for shading, not super-saturated, writes very...
View ArticleINK SWAB 210: Caran D’Ache Cosmic Black
Seems like I have a huge number of black ink samples that I’ve not tried. I find it difficult to get too excited about black inks. Do you have a favorite black?
View ArticleINK SWAB 211: Cross Blue
A rather nondescript, but well-performing blue ink from Cross.
View ArticleFOUNTAIN PEN REVIEW: Jinhao 159
The Jinhao 159 is a Chinese-made pen that is available from a variety of sources at pretty incredible prices. I tossed one in my Goulet Pens cart earlier this year as an impulse purchase. Let’s dive...
View ArticleINK SWAB 212: De Atramentis Document Yellow
Oh, how I love yellow inks. This one would be good for highlighting, but not much else as it’s not very readable in most circumstances.
View ArticleINK SWAB 213: Noodler’s Cayenne
Noodler’s Cayenne is a wonderfully rich reddish orange. Lots of potential for shading, too. Have you tried this one? If not, you may want to try a sample of it.
View ArticleINK SWAB 214: Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-ho
Pilot Iroshizuku is a brand of ink that I love – perhaps my favorite brand. Are you brand-loyal when it comes to ink?
View ArticleINK SWAB 215: L’Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Baikal
One of my newer ink samples, I’ve not yet tried this beautiful deep blue. Do you have experience with L’Artisan Pastellier inks? You can get full-sized bottle from Vanness Pens. I’m a very satisfied...
View ArticleINK SWAB 216: Waterman Inspired Blue
Waterman inks don’t get a lot of attention. I find the colors (including this one) to be classic and the performance to be fine. In other words, Waterman inks are nice, but nothing fancy. Do you agree?
View ArticleINK SWAB 217: Noodler’s Dragon Catfish Pink (HL)
Noodler’s Dragon Catfish Pink was created to be used as a highlighting ink. Because I’ve had some of these specialty inks turn to goo in the sample bottle, I would not put them in a fountain pen. I...
View ArticleINK SWAB 218: Private Reserve Chocolat
A nice brown with a bit of red, Private Reserve Chocolat is an ink that I reviewed way back in 2013. Even though I said at the time that I would be putting it into heavy use, I don’t think I’ve had it...
View ArticleREVIEW: Pilot Iroshizuku Mini Boxed Set
I love Pilot Iroshizuku. The brand writes amazingly well for me and I’m fond of nearly all the colors. Big love, for sure. This Pilot Iroshizuku Mini Boxed Set came to me courtesy of Goulet Pens....
View ArticleINK SWAB 220: KWZI Violet #5
This is a relatively new brand of ink for me and I’ve not used it in a pen, but KWZI Violet #5 sure looks like it has potential to be wow. Have you tried it?
View ArticleINK REVIEW: Diamine Purple Pazzazz
Every now and then, there’s lots of excitement about a new product line in the pen community. Diamine Shimmering Inks definitely caused a lot of speculation and conversation. When Pen Chalet asked if...
View ArticleINK SWAB 221: J Herbin Rouge Caroubier
J Herbin’s Rouge Caroubier is a pretty pretty red. I’ve found J Herbin inks to generally be just a tad bit on the dry side.
View ArticleINK SWAB 223: De Atramentis Christmas Black 2012
De Atramentis Christmas Black 2012 is (perhaps obviously) a discontinued fountain pen ink. I used just a bit of the sample I have – it wrote well, but the color is more of a gray.
View ArticleINK SWAB 224: Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo
As I’ve mentioned, Pilot Iroshizuku inks are among my favorites. Tsuki-yo is a deep blue that seems to have a bit of green in it. I’m not generally a fan of deeply colored blue-green, green-blue inks....
View ArticlePEN REVIEW: Monteverde Limonada
When Margaret from Goulet Pens asked if I’d like to review the Monteverde Limonada and a Visconti ink, I replied with this: I have zero experience with either the pen or ink and would love to review...
View ArticleINK REVIEW: Visconti Purple
As I mentioned when I reviewed the Monteverde Limonada earlier this week, Goulet Pens also sent along Visconti Purple ink for me to try. This is my first Visconti ink to review in detail. It’s...
View ArticleNOTEBOOK REVIEW: Rhodia Webnotebook Silver Edition
I was so excited when Goulet Pens approached me about reviewing the very luxe Rhodia Webnotebook in Silver. It’s a beautiful book and it’s not one I’d tried. Without a doubt, this is a...
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