guess the ink!

[Darla]

Pelikan Edelstein Topaz?
TWSBI Sky Blue?

[Darla]

Franklin-Christoph Spanish Blue?

Well done, Darla! Yes, the ink is Franklin-Christoph Spanish Blue.

This is an ink that I have had for several years and don't use very often, but it is nice ink.

And now, we can look forward to your next ink!

Thanks, DrP, that was a fun challenge! It’s a very interesting blue, and it also looks much prettier in your writing than it does on the website swatch.

I’ll be back tomorrow morning with an ink to guess. I’m already tucked into bed but couldn’t resist guessing some inks before I turned out the lights!

[mizgeorge]

Oh well done Darla - I think that would have taken me the rest of the month and a whole heap of clues. A very pretty ink too. I always forget what nice inks they have, and really must get some more next time I cave in and order a pen from them!

[Darla]

I decided to go with a mizgeorge-style ink today! Now to see how fast she, and the rest of you, of course, can guess it!

Clairefontaine paper, OMAS Dama pen with an M nib.

IMG_2632 L.jpgIMG_2633 L.jpg

Setting the timer now!! Give me your best guesses!

And just as an aside:
The camera definitely makes this ink look darker (and legible) than it really is. It really is a very pale ink.

[mizgeorge]

Oooh! Lovely

Octopus Fluids Crystal Blue
Sailor Shikiori Yuki-akari
Pure Pens Porthcurno Cove

[mizgeorge]

Diamine Beau Blue
Laban Hermes
MB Miles Davis

[mizgeorge]

FWP Three Steamboats
Herbin Bleu Azur
Colorverse Project Clear Cyan

[Darla]

FWP Three Steamboats
Herbin Bleu Azur
Colorverse Project Clear Cyan

Ok, that was indeed very quick! The queen of the pale inks does not miss But which of these three is it?

[mizgeorge]

Hmmm. I'm going to go with the Herbin. I think the FWP might be a touch too green, and the Colorverse just a shade darker - though there's not much in it!

[Darla]

Hmmm. I'm going to go with the Herbin. I think the FWP might be a touch too green, and the Colorverse just a shade darker - though there's not much in it!

Congratulations, mizgeorge! You really know your pale (blue) inks!! It is indeed the Herbin Bleu Azur! The pale blue of very clear blue tropical skies - a lovely shade but not quite dark enough to write with. I may keep trying to find a pen that writes with just enough wetness, concentration and thickness (the holy grail?) for it, but in the meantime, it will make a lovely color for coloring in sketches.

It's over to you again!

[DrPenfection]

And the super swooper rides again! Well done, mizgeorge!

Uh-oh! We are all in for trouble now. mizgeorge just got that shipment of a bunch of new inks. It is likely to be a really obscure, rarely seen, inks from Timbuktu or thereabouts.

[mizgeorge]

LOL I haven't even finished unpacking them yet - so there's a very good chance I'm just going to pick up a pen at random and use that - so it could be a very old ink indeed rather than something new and obscure. However, if I manage to find an ink maker in Timbuktu, I'm right on the case :P

[DrPenfection]

O.K., O.K. It is time to eat "crow".

It is time for me to confess, "I was wrong." - well about 1/2 wrong.

I have been working my way through all of my inks, each day using another one of my many inks, and the time came for Ferris Wheel Press Candy Marsala - the day I dreaded. As mizgeorge knows, I have a distinct dislike for this ink.

Here is where the confession comes. Because I always believe the best in people . . . and inks . . . I loaded it into one of my favorite pens - a Leonardo Momento Zero Red Marble with a 1.5 mm stub nib. If there was even a hint of shading in this ink, this pen would show it. And, because this pen is fairly wet, it would overcome Marsala's dryness.

This was a wonderful pairing. While I still do not care for the color, the ink behaved very nicely without hard starts and that grittiness that I experience the last time I used it.

So, please accept this as humble pie . . . I was wrong. This ink does have a few redeeming qualities after all.

[Darla]

I happened to grab a stack of cream colored copy paper (the kind that is almost a light yellow) to ‘scribble’ on with the TWSBI stub and I was actually pleasantly surprised by how the color of the Candy Marsala came out. I think the lower contrast and the color of the paper brought out its best side, especially with the wide strokes. Camouflages the murkiness. I did notice it’s definitely a dry ink, so I can see how it might feel almost gritty in a dry pen. It was just a lucky draw that I thought about testing it with that fairly wet stub. And now I’m thinking it will be quite a nice writing ink with a wide nib on ivory or cream stationery.

[mizgeorge]

And of course, now I'm going to have to try it...

In the meantime (and with apologies for rather busy today and not having posted sooner)

inkguess101a.jpg

inkguess101b.jpg

inkguess101c.jpg

inkguess101d.jpg

[DrPenfection]

I happened to grab a stack of cream colored copy paper (the kind that is almost a light yellow) to ‘scribble’ on with the TWSBI stub and I was actually pleasantly surprised by how the color of the Candy Marsala came out. I think the lower contrast and the color of the paper brought out its best side, especially with the wide strokes. Camouflages the murkiness. I did notice it’s definitely a dry ink, so I can see how it might feel almost gritty in a dry pen. It was just a lucky draw that I thought about testing it with that fairly wet stub. And now I’m thinking it will be quite a nice writing ink with a wide nib on ivory or cream stationery.

Thank you, darla, for your great comments. I agree that cream or at least off white paper does better with this ink than bright white. I generally use white papers or the slightly off-white that TR paper is. But for my transcription exercises (that's how I am working through all of my inks) I am also trying to use up my stock of Midori MD paper which is a cream color. I am still not wild about the color, but the wider nib and paper seemed to tame my complete aversion to the ink.

[DrPenfection]

This ink looks notoriously like Birmingham Pen Company Chrysan Themum or Pennsylvania Fieldstone (which might be too light). Perhaps you have found a way to get them to ship their inks to you.

[DrPenfection]

Wearingui Moon's Song

[DrPenfection]

Wearingui Stonecutter's Song

[mizgeorge]

Sorry, not these (and no, I still haven't got my paws on any Birmingham inks - but I know they'll be worth it when I do!)