Leo Tolstoy Sky Blue - Montblanc

[visvamitra]

A limited edition ink named Leo Tolstoy Sky Blue was recently released by Montblanc . Basically I'm not really keen on LE inks because when they're good and nice and they're gone, they're gone for good. Literally. No more Racing Green. No more Leonardo da Vinci Red Chalk. No more Jonathan Swift Seaweed Green.

 

Montblanc is good at creating hype

 

A friend of mine's allowed me to play with his bottle of Sky Blue. I dislike Montblanc Twilight Blue (totally not worth the money), so I didn't expect a lot from this ink. But it's surprised me. It's actually nice well behaved ink with good properties. I enjoy it.

 

Bottle

 

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/9775/Fms8dC.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img901/7931/jo69g4.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/3024/cBBIbl.jpg

 

 

Ink Splash

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/3879/BscWm0.jpg

 

 

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

 

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img913/7186/ExSpSy.jpg

 

Waterproofness

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/453/uKLt9v.jpg

 

 

Software ID

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/5113/1kw7Bj.jpg

 

Oxford Recycled, Fraf von Faber-Castell, M nib

http://imageshack.com/a/img907/822/WlkskU.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/7851/SbVetl.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img540/9711/7k8v0u.jpg

 

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img912/9481/ZCop2W.jpg

 

Hero 5028, stub 1,9

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/9026/z5UNuj.jpg

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img540/9140/pH2E2k.jpg

 

 

CIAK, Lamy Al-Star, 1,1

(surprise - the color seems different)

http://imageshack.com/a/img909/4921/gFH8yk.jpg

 

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/5961/mgzFSd.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/8311/PXoQSH.jpg

Comparison on LEB Model calendar - Kaweco Classic Sport, Broad nib, eyedropper mode

 

 

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/3653/eYNCf6.jpg

 

[Tas]

Never mind the ink look at that nib shot . . . !

Massive Faber-Castell fan here. I'll go Graf von one day I'm sure of it.

 

Thanks again for keeping us all up to date on what's happening in the lovely world of inks

[visvamitra]

Yes - Grafs are good and reliable pens. I'm surprised they don't get as much attention as other european makers.

[migo984]

Yes - Grafs are good and reliable pens. I'm surprised they don't get as much attention as other european makers.

Recently been writing with an Intuition. Beautifully designed. Shame it's discontinued.

[gylyf]

Thanks, vis! My kind of blue for sure.

[lapis]

Nice review. But not my kind of blue for sure. My lot is even more (much more) teal-ish. Also, mine feathers and bleeds like crazy.

 

Not nice.

 

Mike

[Uncial]

That is......very nice. I see a lot of new ink in my future.

[Tas]

Recently been writing with an Intuition. Beautifully designed. Shame it's discontinued.

 

 

Ooo, London Pen show perhaps . . . ?

[lgsoltek]

I like this one. I think it looks nicer than Twilight Blue.

[Ellison]

Thank you for this excellent review, Visvamitra. I like this ink. The shading effects are good. Waiting for the Tolstoy ink to become available at my local Montblanc store. The manager is going to reserve some for me to ink up a new Tolstoy 1868 edition pen .

Edited August 31, 2015 by Ellison

[Beth Treadway Author]

I like it. Wonder if it would clash with my Shaw?

[jmccarty3]

Recently been writing with an Intuition. Beautifully designed. Shame it's discontinued.

 

I only saw one Intuition Wood at the DC show. It was in Pernambuco, but the finish on the wood was defective. Whoever owns these is holding onto them tightly.

[fireant]

Oh I love this color. Thank you for the review and the glorious pictures.

[Ghost Plane]

Pretty! Love a blue with green in it.

[migo984]

I only saw one Intuition Wood at the DC show. It was in Pernambuco, but the finish on the wood was defective. Whoever owns these is holding onto them tightly.

I'm not so keen on wood pens myself. The Intuition pens I use are the terra (burnt orange/black cap) and the all black. I love the German engineering of the all-in-one ('section-less' ) barrels. Very classy.

 

Martini Auctions is a good source of GvFC.

[jmccarty3]

IIRC, some of the Intuitions use a larger nib than others (perhaps it is only the wood models). Although I do like the other two woods, I'm partial to the Pernambuco because of a line in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story "The Adventure of the Three Gables." Speaking of the villainous Isadora Klein, Sherlock Holmes comments that "her people have been leaders in Pernambuco for generations." When my son and I talk, we like to throw that line in randomly as sort of an inside joke.

 

Of course, it would be a lot cheaper to buy a bottle of R&K Fernambuk and be done with it, but pink really isn't my color. It just occurred to me that the R&K people might have been familiar with the Holmes story, since it talks about the pink lighting in Isadora Klein's drawing room.

 

Well, now that we've gone completely off-topic . . .

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review.

This color reminds me a fair amount of Noodler's Ottoman Azure -- an ink that i haven't yet made up my mind about.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Cyber6]

Love the color.. :wub: :wub: ...

 

Now.. where can I get a bottle of this... My Montblanc Boutique Operative hasn't been able to secure me a bottle yet...

[da vinci]

I like the colour, the sample written on CIAK paper reminds me of MB Diamond ink.

[Mishka5050]

Veery nice!

Thank you for the review

 

I got a bottle for someone and ... I'm gonna have to get another one lol. Very nice blue - flows effortlessly!