Mystery Ink Sample

[Laura N]

I think in our case it was probably the snow.

Sigh.

[VertOlive]

Ink #2 arrived this evening!

[Laura N]

^^ Yes!

No need for the Uber helicopter after all.

[Crazyorange]

Well the excitement has entered my boring life....a little bottle of ink was in the mail box
I ripped that sucker apart - faster than lightening. The ink is green. Has a pretty hue in the sunlight. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421198944.453282.jpg

Besides vert olive from j herbin, green is not my favorite color. Yet, I'm pleasantly surprised, the hue is pleasing.

Of course being impatient I inked up a pen.... I didn't get a change to use it until right now. Please excuse my phone pics and poor lighting. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421199178.900560.jpg

The green globe is the mystery ink. I believe I like this ink. I need to wait until I see it in the sun for final decisions, but it's a nice green...not too dark or too bright. I have not one clue what it is. I don't own it so not one idea what it is. Beside saying its green, the ink stays a mystery.

Thank you Laura....this fun.

[klpeabody]

I love your doodles!!!!! Thanks for posting! And, I'm really that glad you are enjoying it.

Can I be a bugger and ask what paper you use for your doodles? =)
I only ask because I'm a doodler too. Thanks, Crazyorange.

[Crazyorange]

I love your doodles!!!!! Thanks for posting! And, I'm really that glad you are enjoying it.

Can I be a bugger and ask what paper you use for your doodles? =)
I only ask because I'm a doodler too. Thanks, Crazyorange.

Thank you and Laura for the fun I hope we can continue doing this. I'm using leuchturm1917. Not my favorite. Ink leeches through the paper. But it's big for my zentangles. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421200299.278555.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1421200314.358072.jpg

[Laura N]

Wow, awesome!

Mystery Ink No. 2 is in the house.

[Neo]

I got my ink #1. Aiming for a review tomorrow.

[klpeabody]

Great! Thanks, and looking forward to your feedback!

[VertOlive]

Five letters out tonight with #2 Mysterious Ink. At the moment, it's in a Monteverdi Prima 1.1 [the address] and a Platinum 3776 Sai with it's narrow M nib [the text]. Written on cream colored Tomoe River paper, a first iPhone shot at the dinner table:

[Sailor Kenshin]

Got ink! Scans coming.

This was a great idea! Thanks.


Annnd here's the first:

[Chrissy]

I'm still rushing to see my mail every day. However, I love green ink so I'm pleased I'm in the ink 2 group.

[Neo]

I'm still rushing to see my mail every day. However, I love green ink so I'm pleased I'm in the ink 2 group.

#1 is also green.

[Neo]

Laura and Klpeabody, this was a great idea.
The next bottles are on me if you want to do this again.

[Cob]

Neo,

I do like that green; any chance of a normal size picture - er and the right way up?!

Cob

[jde]

Update Jan 22: Definitely classify this as a high maintenance ink in my world. That's not a "bad" thing; just a quality to be aware of. (If there was a scale of "high maintenance" from 1 to 5, this is maybe a 2 or 3.) Wrote to the end of the ink in my pens. Flushed the ink out using water, and also an ammonia dilution. Then, when it appeared that the nibs were clean, I left my VP/Decimo nib and the Edison Glenmont to leach out overnight. (This learned from MB repair person: with the converter in place, fill with water and set nib section overnight in glass of water.) Next morning, there was lots of green still in the water. And so flushed again w/the ammonia dilution and water routine.

*hiding my eyes so I don't see what else has been posted yet* *OMG, saw other photos! Fabulous!!!*

This'll be image heavy, folks! Mystery Ink #1

First, kudos to Karen & Laura for giving us something constructive and fun to talk about!

Opening the package: hmmmmm, it’s a green! Ut oh, am going to be hard to please! My preference is toward a dark, dark blackish green, and I’ve tried the gamut across the brands. My favorite, Montblanc Racing Green, was discontinued long ago. Most recently, I’ve settled on Sailor Miruai.

Writing with the ink: It’s very silky smooth in all three nibs used. "Silky smooth" is my favorite quality in an ink!

The wettest sample comes from an 18K nib, but all three nibs were well lubricated by this ink. Very nice to write with.

No bleedthrough, but I’m using fine nibs on quality papers. The only real feathering was on a 110# index card.

The dry time wasn’t bad at all.

I did a coffee cup ring test on it. The results were not great, but I've seen much worse.

Also did a paper towel chromatograph. That was illuminating! Always fun to see how an ink separates, ay?

The ink has a neutral smell. I notice these things because smelly Pilot Blue-Black is my daily ink.

The green is complex with shading opportunities for those among us with pretty handwriting.

The ink was delightfully dark in a couple of pens. The color is highly dependent, of course, on what kind of nib is being used with it. I imagine if I’d inked my Platinum Fine nib, the color would just be a neutral green, more light than dark. I say that because of the stock JoWo EF nib I used was less complex than in the two fine-ish stub nibs I used.

Also, uh, I stuck a finger in the empty bottle because I wanted to see how easily the ink washed off my fingers. Water and soap was not enough. Ink Nix was required. About 1% remained on my thumb near the fingernail. Not too bad. (When I flush the pens, I’ll use an ammonia dilution, but then I always do so these days.)

Do I want a whole bottle of this ink? Not really. But then, I’m not looking to replace my Sailor Miruai, and so am not compelled to “have it.” But I’m not opposed to this ink, either. Green is a tough color to pass muster, IMHO. This mystery ink was decent enough for someone who likes dark greens. And it’s smooth! Some inks aren't, ya know.

I tested this ink very unscientifically in three pens that I normally use, 2 converter pens, and an ED: a Pilot Decimo with an 18K .6mm Binder stub and CON-50 converter, an Edison Mina with a steel .9mm Masuyama stub and eyedropper filled, and an Edison Glenmont with a steel stock EF nib. Ink flowed well in all of them, including the ED'd Mina which maybe had 1ml dumped into it.

The papers used were all day to day papers that I use, except for the Rhodia Webbie which serves as an occasional ink journal. The papers:

• HP Premium laser 32#- (my primary paper used for DIY notepads/notebooks/stationary
• Staples sugar cane 20# copy paper - used for my Chronodex 2015 pages in a Midori TN.
• Midori blank refill in the TN.
• Rhodia #18 - currently in use for daily writing
• Rhodia Webbie - ink journal
• 110# acid free index card

My suspicions narrow this mystery ink’s brand to three, and I bet I’m wrong! Hope it's a brand I've never tried before. Can’t wait to find out.

Thank you, Laura and Karen! I'm happy to contribute ink/whatnot to any future endeavor.

Looking forward to seeing other photos, and hope someone's using some broad nibs!

[Cob]

JDE: I cannot imagine being able to compete with your excellent report - I would call it outstanding.

My compliments.

I do like that green - where it's dark - like you I regret the disappearance of Montblanc's Racing Green.

Cob

[sgtstretch]

Ooh, I like ink #1! I does look familiar to a few samples I've tried.

[Laura N]

Ooh, I like ink #1! I does look familiar to a few samples I've tried.

Shhhh.

[klpeabody]

Julie, thank you for your awesome review! So thorough! Kudos!

Love the Downton Abbey quote.