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Thread: Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham vs. Kung Te-Cheng

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    Senior Member Yazeh's Avatar
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    Default Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham vs. Kung Te-Cheng

    Intro:
    Writing with these two inks alternatively the past few weeks has been both pleasure and a pain. At one point I forgot which pen was which and even comparing the two pens I couldn’t discern which ink was which.
    Normally ButPoA is lighter, dries much faster and has no scent. But depending the paper, amount of ink in the feed, ButPoA can write as dark as KTC and KTC can dry almost as fast as the ButPoA.
    The pens used for this review are Jinhao 450s, with medium and fude nibs.
    I could have continued this comparisonad nauseam but I think today is a fitting day to post this comparison as it's Canada Day, and Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham is destined for the Canadian market

    Quick comparison
    KTC: Sensuous writing, deep purple navy, can coagulate in convertor, more difficult to clean, can stink, viscous
    ButPoA: Fast drying, very wet, lighter colour, can feather.

    Long read:

    Kung Te-Cheng

    According to Jetpens, the ink was reverse engineered from remnants of ancient inkstones used by early Chinese royalty during the time of Confucius. In gratitude for the assistance Noodler's received in recreating this special ink, Nathan named it in honor of the 77th lineal descendant of Confucius, Mr. Kung Te-Cheng.

    The first time I wrote with it, the feeling was unlike any ink. It was a sensuous. I knew I had to have a bottle. The more I write it, the more I reach for it. It’s the most pleasurable writing experience I’ve ever had. It’s one of my favorite inks.
    It is one of the most well-behaved bullet-proof inks I know of, it doesn’t feather or bleed through like the Polar series. It has a depth to it, which is mesmerizing, calming and grounding.
    It’s not without its quirks, it has a certain chemical aroma to it when I used it in a wet student Sheaffer calligraphy with an M oblique nib.
    The ink is viscous, almost sticky; hence it is known to coagulate in some reservoirs. So, I won’t recommend it in pens that can’t be dismantled ……and it stains convertors.

    Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham

    I had to get a sample of think ink, living in Quebec, Canada. I’m sure Nathan Tardiff, (His name is a common French-Canadian name) enjoyed crafting this ink, in the honor of the battle which sealed the fate of the French colonies in North America. Had the battle had been won by French, I would’ve been writing, this review en Français entre autres!
    Each year on June 24th pros and cons of the Canadian confederation needle each other, as Quebeckers celebrate Quebec day, a provincial holiday. A week later, when we celebrate Canada Day, the reverse happens J And then everyone returns to normal life, more or less.

    Anyway, trivia apart, the first time, I wrote with this ink, I thought it was KTC. But then subtle differences appeared, while the ink is very wet, it dries almost immediately, KTC depending paper/ nib combo can take up to 45 seconds.

    When visually seeing a page, written in both inks (not scanned) ButPoA looks lighter, but on occasion it can appear as dark. It’s a good option for those (Canadians) who want a fast-drying bullet proof ink and not the quirkiness of KTC.

    Detailed comparison


    Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham

    Dry time: 4 sec on Rhodia
    Ghosting (Rhodia) Faint
    Ghosting (Copy paper) Writing with a light touch acceptable for both.
    Bleed through Wet/wide nib combo yes
    Shading Discernible in scans, obvious on TR
    Feathering Sometimes, especially with a primed nib
    Saturation Deep
    Wetness Very Wet
    Feeling Nice/ enjoyable
    Waterproofness Bulletproof

    Kung Te-Cheng

    Dry time: Longer on Rhodia
    Ghosting (Rhodia) Faint
    Ghosting (Copy paper) Writing with a light touch acceptable for both.
    Bleed through Wet/wide nib combo yes
    Shading Faintly on TR
    Feathering Not in my experience.
    Saturation Profound
    Wetness Delightful
    Feeling Sensuous
    Waterproofness Bombproof


    Scans follow…..
    Note 1: It pains me to say, I've written plain instead of plains!
    Note 2: The purple ink, is Scabiosa with a fine and a vintage flex nib...
    Note 3: I haven't done a waterproof test on ButPoA yet.

    Swatch:
    Abraham vs Kung Swatches 1.jpeg

    Amateur Chromatography
    Abraham vs Kung.jpgIntro:

    Mnemosyn
    Abraham vs Kung 1.jpeg

    Tomoe River
    Abraham vs Kung - Tomoe River.jpeg

    Tomoe River - Fude
    Abraham vs Kung - tomoe -fude.jpeg

    Rhodia medium and fude nib
    Abraham vs Kung - Rhodia.jpg
    Abraham vs Kung - rhodia - fude 1.jpeg

    Midori
    Abraham vs Kung - Miodri.jpeg

    Amazon copy paper
    Abraham vs Kung - Az copy paper.jpg
    Last edited by Yazeh; July 1st, 2020 at 09:42 AM.

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    Senior Member Yazeh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham vs. Kung Te-Cheng

    Written text

    Longer written text - On Tomoe River - Darker text is KTC.....

    Abraham vs Kung - Written TR.jpg


    Continued on Rhodia
    Abraham vs Kung - WrittenRhodia.jpg

    And another sample on Tomoe River 68 gr

    Abraham vs Kung Tomoe 68gr.jpg

    Enjoy!

    Please feel free to add your own samples/ experience.... The more the merrier...

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    azkid (July 3rd, 2020), elaineb (July 1st, 2020), grainweevil (July 2nd, 2020), VerticalTwin (July 1st, 2020)

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    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham vs. Kung Te-Cheng

    Thanks for the review. Well done. Those are both appealing colors!

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    Senior Member Yazeh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham vs. Kung Te-Cheng

    Quote Originally Posted by azkid View Post
    Thanks for the review. Well done. Those are both appealing colors!
    Thank you!
    Yes they are enticing colours...
    But I've stetted on KTC..... though my Canuck side, is bugging me to get Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham and my rational side argues back that it's a marketing ploy by a Yankee

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