Ink Review: Birmingham Pen Company FROSTBITE - Crisp Formula
Background:
Birmingham Pen Company (BPC) started as the brainchild of two brothers – Nick and Josh. Initially, Nick and Josh worked with third party ink producers in England and Germany to produce their inks. BPC started making their own inks over a year ago. While some changes have been made, their new formulations include “Crisp” inks designed for everyday use on all papers, “Swift” inks that are a bit wetter, starts up quickly and works well on premium papers, “Rich” inks which have high sheen and saturation, “Everlasting” inks that have high water resistance, “Twinkle” inks with shimmer and “Wishy-Washy” inks that are designed for performance but a washable from fabrics and surfaces.
The glass bottles with tight-fitting plastic lids bottles are very nice and functional. My largest pen fits nicely into the bottle for a full fill. BPC offers three sizes: 30ml, 60ml and 120ml for all inks except the Twinkle inks which are only available in 60ml. The 120ml bottles have an eye-dropper lid instead of the regular lid.
Review in Brief:
Saturation: Low to moderate saturation
Sheen: None
Shading: Medium shading from fine to wider nibs
Haloing: Low to medium depending upon paper
Lubrication: Low to medium lubrication
Wetness: Moderately dry
Water Resistance: Not resistant
Feathering: some feathering on lower quality papers
Bleedthrough: minimal only on lower quality papers and with high ink application
Showthrough: minimal on all papers tested
Price: reasonable for 30mls, very good for 60ml and exceptional for 120ml which is the best value.
While some inks retained the same name (or an abbreviated version), they may be slightly different. Ana at the Well Appointed Desk discussed this very well in her January 2021 blog (https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/20...-company-inks/)
Pens: Visconti Breeze with fine nib and Delta Horsepower with Franklin-Christoph S.I.G. medium nib
Papers shown: Rhodia Dot pad, Tomoe River 52gsm sheet paper, Cosmo Air Light notebook, Cambridge and Kokuyo notebook papers
The ink has low to moderate saturation with no sheen. The ink flows well in both pens with no hard starts. The ink does dry fairly quickly on all papers tested.
Feathering and bleeding are not seen on Rhodia, Tomoe River, Cosmo Air Light. There is some feathering on the Cambridge and Kokuyo papers. No bleedthrough or showthrough was seen on any of the papers.
Color Comparisons:
Overall this is a nice ink that behaves very well in both pens and on the papers tested. Of the Birmingham Pen Company inks that I have used, this ink seems drier than others used, even other Crisp inks. It is a very pleasant color and with the right pen, it is enjoyable to use.
Disclaimer: I purchased this ink directly from Birmingham Pen Company. Any photos, opinions and thoughts regarding the ink are my own and are not sponsored by Birmingham Pen Company and do not necessarily reflect their opinions.
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