EFNIR: Diamine Steel Blue

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Diamine Steel Blue

This is review #240 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:


Post-recording notes: This was a sample gifted to me by a generous FPNer. The ink goes down with a bluer lean (but not blue) and dries more green. It's a bright, cheerful color, good for summer. But it's nothing like blued steel. Cleaning was quick and easy with plain water.

Zoomed in photo (Very close. Possibly a little too blue, hard to be sure.)


Screenshot (A bit too green. A little too dark.)


Scan of Completed Review (Definitely too green.)


Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper) (Both are very close to the color I see.)


Line width (One of the lines used for dry time. Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each. The line width for this ink is roughly 317µm. With 240 inks measured, the average line width is 296µm.)


Microscope image (100x. Taken with cell phone camera to get color. Background is green. Feathers are light blue.)


Previous Review: Diamine Raw Sienna.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

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View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet.

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh? Find the whole story here.

Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oooh, a very pretty globe! 😜. Gives me a cool feeling on this muggy day.

Liz, I had a sample of this ink, alongside another, maybe a Noodler's, of the same or similar name. That other was more like steel blue!

I saw this with shock. Totally forgot this was Thursday! I thought it was Sunday…..

Hope the Earl behaves himself and that the world will once again be colorful. Thanks so much for your Sunday, I mean Tuesday serial and ink reviews! 💝

[LizEF]

Oooh, a very pretty globe! 😜. Gives me a cool feeling on this muggy day.

Yes, this is what makes it a good summer ink - it looks cooling.

Liz, I had a sample of this ink, alongside another, maybe a Noodler's, of the same or similar name. That other was more like steel blue!

There's a fair number of "Blue Steel" and "Steel Blue" inks that look nothing like blued steel... I have yet to see one that lives up to its name.

I saw this with shock. Totally forgot this was Thursday! I thought it was Sunday…..

If today is Thursday, I'm late! It's wonderful, in a way, when you have no need to know what day of the week it is...

Hope the Earl behaves himself and that the world will once again be colorful.

Thanks so much for your Sunday, I mean Tuesday serial and ink reviews! 💝

You're most welcome, whatever day of the week it is!

[Yazeh]

@LizEf, another excellent and fun review to brighten our Tuesdays with someone or something doing "zoomies".
This looks like a lovely, refreshing colours Tthe appearance of Earl of Grey, that looks . Is he friend or foe? For a sec, I thought maybe it's Quin's father transformed by some evil wizard
Guess, I have to wait a week. With all this magic shouldn't we able streaming (screaming) Makhabesh?

[Sailor Kenshin]

Hey, we're lucky I know what SEASON it is. 😹

[LizEF]

Hey, we're lucky I know what SEASON it is. 😹

(These days, who can tell?)

[LizEF]

@LizEf, another excellent and fun review to brighten our Tuesdays with someone or something doing "zoomies".

Thank you!

This looks like a lovely, refreshing colours

Yep, a perfect summer ink.

The appearance of Earl of Grey, that looks . Is he friend or foe? For a sec, I thought maybe it's Quin's father transformed by some evil wizard
Guess, I have to a wait a week. With all this magic shouldn't we able streaming (screaming) Makhabesh?

Don't think I can afford to stream Makhabesh yet.

[Yazeh]

Don't think I can afford to stream Makhabesh yet.

You mean we can't afford?

[LizEF]

Don't think I can afford to stream Makhabesh yet.

You mean we can't afford?

I guess there's more than one type of "afford" - and more than one way of streaming...

[mizgeorge]

Very late to the party (got stuck in hospital for rather longer than intended).

Thank you as always LizEF - fab review of an ink I use quite a lot (well enough to have a big bottle and to use it regularly) - though I have to say I don't find it particularly dry, but that may be because I don't especially mind slightly drying inks (probably because I have a lot of very wet pens).

I've also had trouble deciding if it's teal, or perhaps even turquoise, but it lives quite happily next to other similarly hard to categorise ink colours.

The Earl of Grey interests me. He could, of course have been Dominantly orange, but that would have been really confusing. Actually, I feel a bit grey myself this week...

[LizEF]

Very late to the party (got stuck in hospital for rather longer than intended).

So sorry to hear that. Hope you're doing better!

Thank you as always LizEF -

You're most welcome!

...fab review of an ink I use quite a lot (well enough to have a big bottle and to use it regularly) - though I have to say I don't find it particularly dry, but that may be because I don't especially mind slightly drying inks (probably because I have a lot of very wet pens).

I've also had trouble deciding if it's teal, or perhaps even turquoise, but it lives quite happily next to other similarly hard to categorise ink colours.

Thank you! Glad I'm not the only one having a hard time trying to figure out what color this is.

The Earl of Grey interests me. He could, of course have been Dominantly orange, but that would have been really confusing. Actually, I feel a bit grey myself this week...

Tune in next week for color changes. Hope you're feeling more colorful soon, too!

[KKay]

I have this ink and love it. It is very easy to clean out your pen with this ink too.

[LizEF]

I have this ink and love it. It is very easy to clean out your pen with this ink too.

Thanks for sharing your experience KKay! It is indeed easy to clean.