Diamine Sargasso Sea

[Hutecker]

A huge thank you to Liamtyr for the samples! This color is more vibrant in person. I don't have a scanner so i did my best. The color is pretty accurate in the pictures, especially the close ups. There is a little sheen on this ink but I honestly didn't notice it until i looked at the pictures

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/agRrp1A.jpg

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/lGT8Lp4.jpg

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/pWQLS86.jpg

 

[Hutecker]

Ok so sorry for commenting on my own post but I feel like this is important information for the review. After playing around with this ink some more I can honestly say that I love it. I just wanted to let you guys know it is a PAIN to clean. After completely flushing it out with water from my pen I decided to run pen flush through it as well. It turned the flush completely blue even though water was coming out clear. Also after finishing the sample vial the entire vial was stained blue which water wouldn't remove. It did how ever come out with a quick scrub. This may have been the sheen that dried out and stuck to the vial?

[da vinci]

Helpful update - thanks

[lapis]

Nice review, but for your ink's shading -- as well as for my own -- I'd give it >1/5. Now I'm of course not your teacher but I'd say ""Your grade for saturation is correct".

 

Mike

[Hutecker]

Really? Huh after more use of this ink I will stand by my rating of 1/5 for shading. Its very minor compared to other inks I own. Compare it to like a Pelikan Blue-Black for example. I still love this ink

[picautomaton]

Thanks for the review - I too like this color however the ease with which it smudges is a negative in terms of overall performance.

[Masque]

Gorgeous. Any hope of water resistance?

[Inked]

Hello Hutecker

 

Great ink, you just have to exercise a little patience when turning the page.

 

I have been using this in a MB 146 BB nib and what a lovely visually rich result.

 

Thank you for sharing.

 

Inked

[Sblakers]

I love the color I love the sheen- easily my favorite looking ink out there. Problem is ( as u pointed out) its hard to clean and the stuff smudges. The ink smudges after weeks of drying, to me this is a deal breaker. Also, this stuff loves to clog up my pens which is another deal breaker. It's really to bad because the sheen alone makes this ink amazing

[amberleadavis]

It sure is pretty. Thank you for the review.

[alexander_k]

Thanks for the review. I'd been waiting eagerly for this ink and I wasn't disappointed. It has replaced Diamine Majestic Blue in my line-up of blues.

[Steffen Larsen]

Yesterday I had to finally clean and flush and flush the Sheaffer 300 Ferrari after using Sargasso Sea in it for som time. And still there was some sticky residue in the converter and around the nib.
This is one nasty sticky, clogging brute of an ink. It's a beautiful color, but the brutally abundant red sheen really is too much. AND it made the Sheaffer a very slow starter, forcing me to give the converter a few turns to make the ink flow again each day.
It was too much trouble, and Sargasso Sea shall be reduced in rank. Eventually perhaps for use in a Safari, I dare not employ one of the Pelikans or Duofolds.
Instead I put some Waterman Mysterious Blue into the Sheaffer, and it started up this morning with only a little hesitation ...and I rather blame that on some Sargasso Sea residue.

Edited November 5, 2013 by Steffen Larsen

[Sblakers]

I love the color and the sheen but man is it hard to clean out of pens. The other deal breaker is it smudges. I have rubbed my finger across letters I had written weeks earlier and still had smudging. Unfortunately that's a deal breaker for me.

 

Nice review btw.

[Steffen Larsen]

As described above I had emptied a Sheaffer 300 Ferrari of 'Sargasso Sea', flushed the pen repeatedly and refilled it with Waterman 'Mysterious Blue", yet again attempting to reconcile myself with an ink I am not too happy with: it goes green and cold.
In vain. I emptied pen and converter again, flushed them again-again, and filled the pen with Visconti 'Dark Blue'. And then today, suddenly, as the converter was about to look empty, the red sheen reappeared, and the ink entire took on a red hue. Apparently I had missed some 'Sargasso Sea' residues despite repeated flushing.

[Steffen Larsen]

As described above I had emptied a Sheaffer 300 Ferrari of 'Sargasso Sea', flushed the pen repeatedly and refilled it with Waterman 'Mysterious Blue", yet again attempting to reconcile myself with an ink I am not too happy with: it goes green and cold.

In vain. I emptied pen and converter again, flushed them again-again, and filled the pen with Visconti 'Dark Blue'. And then today, suddenly, as the converter was about to look empty, the red sheen reappeared, and the ink entire took on a red hue. Apparently I had missed some 'Sargasso Sea' residues despite repeated flushing.

My bad.

The Visconti 'Blue' is a blueviolet (or violet blue) 'Sargasso Sea' lookalike, with a red sheen. In my first test in another pen I had not noticed this, simply because I was not looking for it.

So: the Visconti dark blue ink looks very much like 'Sargasso Sea' except it does not clog/dry up in the Sheaffer 300 Ferrari nib, starting up right away.

'Sargasso Sea' currently writes in a medium Lamy Al-Star, and as expected now appears dryer and more subdued. Everything depends so very much on pen and paper. If the negative aspects of 'Sargasso Sea' have scared you off, perhaps the Visconti ink is the solution. Or Diamine 'Midnight'/Cult Pens 'Deep Dark Blue', with the red sheen both.

 

[Steffen Larsen]

Writing with Sargasso Sea on matte paper, Viking NORMA 105g acid-free, there is no sheen whatsoever. The ink does not separate into blue and red, but remains a strong blue with some violet.
The moment I change to Rhodia paper it becomes a disaster: the ink is not absorbed into the top of the surface in toto, but becomes two inks with different characteristics, the red ingredient drying at a slower pace. It is not an ink for hard, smooth coated surfaces. Some like the sheen very much, I accept that. In reality it's an ink formula gone very bad.

[Steffen Larsen]

I have tested 'Sargasso Sea' ( along with Diamine 'Majestic Blue' and Visconti 'Blue') on Clairefontaine DCP 100g Ivory. There is no red sheen at all. No bleed-through so far from any ink, but some feathering from R&K 'Verdigris' and Herbin 'Eclat de Saphir'. Lots of inks to go though.
While Rhodia paper shows lots of over the top red sheen from 'Sargasso Sea', 'Majestic Blue' and the Visconti, the Clairefontaine paper clearly is a completely different thing, on the other hand tending a little towards feathering with some inks.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Steffen Larsen