Hi all,

Here is the promised big review of Waterman South Seas Blue, a rather funky, bright, joyous colour of ink, IMO anyway.

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Enjoy!

Warm regards, Wim

P.S.: I am currently reviewing all of my blues, so expect some more this week...

The scan is true to my perception of SSB. It is a nice tropical colour. Kind of the definitive turquoise blue ink IMO.

Hi Ann,

Wow! I wish I could write like that! Beautiful! And thanks for the kind words.

BTW, my experience with SS Blue is that it doesn't get darker sitting in a pen for a long time, either. The pen it sits in constantly, is the Waterman Gentleman with OB nib. It is just supposed to be in there, it asks for it .
Just that it doesn't get used often, and sometimes it goes between fills for a very long time. But always writes straight away, first stroke on paper.

Warm regards, Wim

well... practice and post your practice sessions along with mine (yeah, I know... I haven't posted them recently. Still too shy about it.)

I've read so many good things about Waterman SSB and now having read your review, I'm convinced that I need to go out and buy a bottle!

Thanks for the great review.

Bryan

My experience with South Seas Blue becoming darker in an unused pen is exactly the opposite. I've found that if I allow the pen containing it to lie in the box, unused, for as little as a few days, the ink will appear almost blue-black for a good part of a page before becoming lighter.

I've even found that if I pause writing for a period of time, upon resuming, the ink is darker for a few characters, or even an entire line before becoming light turquoise in appearance again.

That said, the color Wim's scans look just like my own pages written with South Seas Blue before it has had the chance to darken in the pen.

Finally, although those who know me have commented that my handwriting has improved, after looking at Ann's, I can only say (with apologies to Frost) that I've miles to write and volumes to fill before I will even approach such elegance.

Wim,
Another great written review! SSB was one of the first inks I got and I like it very much, often more than Florida Blue. I guess that's because it's so bright. Looking forward to the next blue review!

Hi Bryan,
Thank you for the kind word!
And yes, It is a great ink. It is one of my favourite colours, which is why I always have the Gentleman loaded with SSB with me, even if I don't use it very often.

Warm regards, Wim

Hi George,
Wow, then it really must dry out quite considerably. I guess it may have to do with the pen a lot. I use it in my Gentleman almost exclusively.

Strange, that, shouldn't really. You're not living in a hot, dry climate by any chance?

Well, I have to admit it took a lot of fiddling before I got the scans to look on screen like the real thing, but I think I finally succeeded. Even the paper looks slightly yellowish now, which it really does .

Join the club . Another member here...

Warm regards, Wim

Hi southpaw,
Thanks for the compliment! It is a colour ink I used many years ago, and which I have always liked, exactly because it is so nice and bright. It reminds of of a nice and bright sunshiny day...

Regarding the next review, I have been lining up all the inks, and sloshed some of it onto some pages already, the dip nib part that is. Was waiting for my other pens to dry after some thorough flushing and rinsing. It takes a lot of time, doing that with as many pens I am using now in the reviews, I can assure you. It's a lot slower and more tedious going than I ever expected, but I'm sure I'll keep it up .

Warm regards, Wim

Hi KCat,

Well, ummm, uhhhhh... you've seen my writing here in these reviews, didn't ya? That's all I can do with a lot of effort...

Warm regards, Wim

When I first started using South Seas Blue, I was using it in a Parker Sonnet. Yes, the pen has noticable evaporation from the nib when not in use.

I'm now using South Seas Blue in a Cross Townsend which has far less evaporation when stored. There is still some darkening of the ink, but not as much as with the Parker Sonnet.

After reading your review, I used the Cross Townsend for my journal writing last night and also at work today.

I'll have to revise my comment about the ink's darkening, at least to the extent that it depends upon the characteristics of the pen into which the ink was placed. More evaporation results in more darkening and vice versa.

Wim, in answer to your question, I live about 60kM north of New York City. In the Fall and Winter (and so far this Spring) it's been colder than usual and relatively dry despite higher than average rain and snowfall. Summer is usually hot and humid. You might have experienced this when you visited Art Brown in NYC.

All in all, this is a very nice ink and I've already gone through two thirds of a bottle.

Mrs. Ann,
WOW!!! That's not writing, that's art. Very beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with we mere scribblers.

Wim,
How come your writing doesn't look like that???

Thanks, folks, for the nice things said about my handwriting.

One doesn't need to be an artist to do calligraphic writing--but it does take time and practice, and there's a limit to how many things we can sqeeze into a lifetime that we'd like to be able to do!

When I look at the books written by professional calligraphers that can do 30+ calligraphic hands, I'm still amazed. I can't even conceive of how they could find the time to do it.

Ann

Hi George, Southpaw, Ann,

George:
Thanks for your answers to my questions. It does explain things.

Southpaw:
The answer to your question about my handwriting is simple. It is practice. I have practiced my writing for so long now, and so faithfully, that that is the way it looks now.

Ann:
Thanks again for sharing your lovely writing! I´m pretty sure you will get to the level of the artists you mention. 99.8 % of art is, after all, practice, practice, practice. The rest is inspiration. And you´ve shown to be able to do both. Also, things do go more easily when you reach a certain level, which is something you must have noticed too.

Warm regards, Wim

does this ink stain in demonstrator pen?