Looking for sheening inks to add to my collection. Tips?

**Mandy1252** · November 23rd, 2021, 01:40 PM

Hiya! I'm looking for some more sheening inks to add to my rota. I mainly use Birmingham Co. for my sheeners since they're always beautiful, but recently I've come across troublemaker inks that have a good sheen and shade like my manyo inks.
Does anyone have a bit of experience with troublemaker inks in a TWSBI 580 F-M nib? I've heard the ink is on the drier side.

**DrPenfection** · November 23rd, 2021, 03:56 PM

I have several Troublemaker inks including one mega-sheener (Grapevine). It is dry and tends to clog my F and M nibs. I only use it in my stub and broad nibs. My other three Troublemaker inks are multi-chromatics and each shade very nicely, but will no sheen.

You may want to consider some of the Diamine sheening inks - Sheen Machine or some of the Blue Edition inks.

**Jon Szanto** · November 23rd, 2021, 04:18 PM

A small maker that does very interesting things is Vinta inks. I source them through Vanness Pens, and they have good swatches online to see the results.

**ttiot8** · November 23rd, 2021, 05:17 PM

I haven't had any trouble with Troublemaker inks (pun intended). Their shading inks are on the dry side but display some excellent characteristics. Their sheening inks are nice and I haven't had any issues with them. I haven't tried any in a TWSBI yet though. My TWSBI 580 has Diamine Jack Frost in it right now, which is a nice sheening/shimmering ink. Are there any particular sheening colors that you're interested in?

**Robalone** · December 16th, 2021, 04:06 PM

Mandy hi.
I'm surprised no one has chimed in with the Organics Studio offerings !

Their 'Nitrogen Royal blue is , in my experience, the absolute zenith of sheeners.
They also have a couple of others ..'Walden Pond' ...'Santiago' ....
Nitrogen's pink sheen is so bright ya almost need sunglasses 🤣

The small company Krishna Inks also has one or two...Their 'Vaikhari' is a weird colour , it's a sort of browny orange, and sheens bright green !! Which is quite rare as sheeners go ! Their others that sheen are nice too.

As with most sheeners they can dry up on / in the feed a bit, so regular washing is recommended.

Also, Iroshizuku inks do sheen quite nicely as they condense a bit...ie: fresh , they aren't so obvious, but Momiji, when it is near running out in your pen , will sheen an intense and very exciting GOLD !!!

Good luck down this rabbit hole 👍🏻

**Chrissy** · December 17th, 2021, 02:33 AM

Originally Posted by Robalone

Mandy hi.
I'm surprised no one has chimed in with the Organics Studio offerings !

Their 'Nitrogen Royal blue is , in my experience, the absolute zenith of sheeners.
They also have a couple of others ..'Walden Pond' ...'Santiago' ....
Nitrogen's pink sheen is so bright ya almost need sunglasses 🤣

The small company Krishna Inks also has one or two...Their 'Vaikhari' is a weird colour , it's a sort of browny orange, and sheens bright green !! Which is quite rare as sheeners go ! Their others that sheen are nice too.

As with most sheeners they can dry up on / in the feed a bit, so regular washing is recommended.

Also, Iroshizuku inks do sheen quite nicely as they condense a bit...ie: fresh , they aren't so obvious, but Momiji, when it is near running out in your pen , will sheen an intense and very exciting GOLD !!!

Good luck down this rabbit hole 👍🏻

Mandy is looking for sheening inks to use in a TWSBI 580 demonstrater style piston filler. I'm not sure that the specific OS inks you mentioned wouldn't stain that barrel.

Sheen is available from some "standard" inks. Have a look at the sheen DrPenfection has produced from some of the Diamine Inkvent Calendar inks.

A basic colour preference would be helpful if you want us to come up with specific inks.

I'm not sure I would risk filling my TWSBI's with either Vinta Dugong Bughaw or Sandugo. I definitely wouldn't fill mine with KWZ Sheen Machine. On the other hand if your TWSBI is already stained because you have used heavy sheening inks in there then don't worry about it and go for anything.

**DrPenfection** · December 18th, 2021, 11:18 AM

Recently, I filled a couple of pens, one with Waterman Tender Purple and the other with Waterman Serenity Blue. I was pleasantly surprised again about how much they sheen. They aren't mega-sheeners, but have very pleasant halo sheening. which is actually what I prefer. And I have another pen filled with Sailor Manyo Konagi which also has a lovely sheen to it. Another lovely ink that sheens nicely is DeAtramentis Steel Blue. Truthfully however, shading is more important to me. I love inks that shade nicely. If they have nice sheen that is an added bonus.