Sheaffer blue — a 'renegade' review

[catbert]

Sheaffer introduced a new line of inks sometime in 2021 (I think) and switched production from Slovenia to China. I picked up a few bottles last month. Here's a quick overview of the only one I’ve inked up so far: renegade blue.

Sheafferblue1.jpg

I dislike the name. To be fair, I tend to dislike product names that suggest qualities not embodied by the product itself.

It’s a pleasant, conventional, vivid blue with a hint of purple to my eye. Maybe it’s renegade not to call it ‘royal’?

Sheafferblue2.jpg
(Doodles for the Inktober prompt 'racer'.)

I don’t have any of Sheaffer’s previous inks to compare, so can’t say if or how the new ones have changed.

Sheafferblue3.jpg
Swatches on Col-o-ring and Atoma paper.

Waterproofness: some will survive accidental spills if you’re quick to mop up.

Sheafferblue4.jpg



The main reason I bought this ink is the bottle. Sheaffer has gone with a design that echoes an earlier tilt-well style.

Sheafferbottle1.jpg

Although the new bottle is smaller (30 ml instead of 50 ml), the well is deeper and about the same width.

Sheafferbottle2.jpg

Sheafferbottle3.jpg

Putting the 'neg' in renegade for a moment, the accent stripe on the cap doesn't match the colour of the ink, though some marketing images indicated it would. Of course it makes sense to standardize the cap. An even more minor quibble: the uncapping sound isn't as satisfying as (say) the old Sailor Jentle bottles.

This is an ink I’ll use and a bottle I’ll reuse.

[Robert]

Nice review, catbert. I like the color.

[Prettypenguin]

Pretty ink and great review! That’s my favorite color! I also just wanted to note that catbert was complimented by Robert with a cat pic and I thought that was cool.

[Yazeh]

Thanks so much for doing this review.
I have to say, despite myself, the colour looks really nice. But I'm sure, there are many other inks in the same range, starting with Diamine Sapphire...
I'm sad to hear they moved from Slovenia to China, though...

[DrPenfection]

Thanks so much for doing this review.
I have to say, despite myself, the colour looks really nice. But I'm sure, there are many other inks in the same range, starting with Diamine Sapphire...
I'm sad to hear they moved from Slovenia to China, though...

I agree.

[christof]

It's fun to see your Inktober doodles, also the one on the backside of the paper!!
Thank you.

[Niner]

Thanks so much for doing this review.
I have to say, despite myself, the colour looks really nice. But I'm sure, there are many other inks in the same range, starting with Diamine Sapphire...
I'm sad to hear they moved from Slovenia to China, though...

About the Slovenian ink operation: I disliked the bottle of black Skrip I bought in 2003. I disliked it so much that it's still nearly full. Using it, I felt almost that I was writing with a thin watercolor. Not much more than a wash. It's the only Sheaffer ink I've used (though I have a few red Skrip cartridges that I bought at a good price from a stationer's that was going out of business). But this article leads me to believe that Sheaffer's Slovenian inks improved at some time after my bottle was produced: http://marcuslink.com/pens/ink/sheaffer.htm

[catbert]

It's fun to see your Inktober doodles, also the one on the backside of the paper!!
Thank you.

I doodled a lot of vintage racing cars (and drivers) for that prompt before deciding to do something completely different at the last minute.

Thanks so much for doing this review.
I have to say, despite myself, the colour looks really nice. But I'm sure, there are many other inks in the same range, starting with Diamine Sapphire...
I'm sad to hear they moved from Slovenia to China, though...

About the Slovenian ink operation: I disliked the bottle of black Skrip I bought in 2003. I disliked it so much that it's still nearly full. Using it, I felt almost that I was writing with a thin watercolor. Not much more than a wash. It's the only Sheaffer ink I've used (though I have a few red Skrip cartridges that I bought at a good price from a stationer's that was going out of business). But this article leads me to believe that Sheaffer's Slovenian inks improved at some time after my bottle was produced: http://marcuslink.com/pens/ink/sheaffer.htm

I had one bottle of Sheaffer Skrip black before (the empty pictured above), probably US-made. I thought it was watery and disappointing compared to my usual Parker Quink. From a perception point of view it probably didn't help that it was called 'writing fluid' instead of ink. So maybe the earlier Slovenian ink was truer to the original formulation.

[RobJohnson]

I didn't think I would ever say this but I am pleased to see the move from metal to plastic, I even scour food shelves for containers with a screw on lid that might just fit my old formerly metal capped ink well bottles. I found that the metal was a little thin and then corroded on the bottle, you then apply some force to the cap to unscrew it which caused more problems.

I like the color, looks bright and a good blue for letters.

Ps. Very dodgy tires on those racing cars, they look like baguettes.