Handwritten Review of Diamine China Blue Ink

[Breck]

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr76/fbchumley/30-DiamineChinaBluefinal.jpg

 

Fig. 1: China Blue +/- life-sized. Writing and snapping by Murderface, color balancing by Brian Excarnate.

 

Well, this is a big surprise. When negotiating this trade, I fully expected to be acquiring this ink wholly in anticipation of trading in again to a third party for a Player To Be Named Later. Turns out, this one might just be my favorite of the bunch.

 

The shading is spectacular (better than what you see here, and I think this looks pretty good, even), the soft color is very easy on the eyes, and a joy to read. Normally I am absolutely not a pale pastels kind of guy, but this is such a pleasing blue that I'm totally won over.

 

 

This color was previously reviewed by Carrie and girlieg33k, both of whose scans look more saturated than my photo. Carrie again found considerable variation between two pens, and girlieg33k's italic pen handling shows off the color to its fullest, as usual.

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

This ink looks incredibly variable between the three reviews. I guess this is one that everyone will have to try for themselves.

[Breck]

Yeah, this is a really tough one to photograph. To indulge in a little homerism, I do think that this image is truest of the three. It is a very pale blue.

 

Then again, it varied quite a lot from pen to pen in Carrie's review, so maybe that's just a factor it running dry in my Esterbrook, who knows?

[Jimmy James]

I was looking at Diamine's site a few days ago and noticed they included an advisory on the China Blue ink that it had been reformulated to produce a deeper color on some paper or something to that effect. I wonder if this has anything to do with the differences in the reviews. I have what I think is an early bottle of this ink, and this looks right to me.

[Breck]

I was looking at Diamine's site a few days ago and noticed they included an advisory on the China Blue ink that it had been reformulated to produce a deeper color on some paper or something to that effect. I wonder if this has anything to do with the differences in the reviews. I have what I think is an early bottle of this ink, and this looks right to me.

 

Huh. That is interesting. I have no idea when my bottle was bought, but Carrie and girlieg33k's reviews were done in July and March of last year, respectively. It's too bad that there's no date on the advisory you mentioned.

[MiniMaupassant]

Quite an interesting ink.... sort of a more blue version of Herbin's Gris Nuage.

[Carrie]

Your review matches the colour I get from China Blue when I put it in a Sheaffer. I've currently got a vintage ringtop loaded with China Blue and from that the colour is similar to that produced from the CS286 in my scan. Never come across an ink with as much variation between pens as this one.

[ballboy]

I've been thinking of adding Diamine to my ink collection, but that Blue looks too pale for me.

[jemarti]

I've been thinking of adding Diamine to my ink collection, but that Blue looks too pale for me.

 

 

I've been using this in my Pelikan 405 and the appearance is rather darker than in this scan. It's actually not unlike the color of the FPN logo in the corner. I have found the shading to be the most attractive part of this ink and it is one of the most appropriately named inks from Diamine (Yes I have a bottle of Umber too)

 

Jim

[Fabienne]

Just FYI, I tried Diamine China Blue in a 1.5 italic TWSBI and it is REAL wet writing and quite delft colored blue when dry. A spectacular ink! Blue doesn't usually do it for me, but this one is a beauty. Lovely shading. I will be trying it out on vellum next for my first calligraphy project (uncial).

[rogerzilla]

My eyes are such that this ink would be practically invisible on white paper.

[adam11]

This ink is not so pale blue as it seems. It is wonderful, lighter blue, with great properties... One of my favorite blues.