Aztec Gold - Kwzi

November 13, 2016

As some of you may know Poland is one of biggest exporters of cosmetics, furniture and fruits. But we also have inks. Or, to be more precise, one ink maker - KWZI. Konrad offers handmade inks in more than sixty colors. I believe it's fair to say iron - gall inks were refreshed by him. You can check KWZ website here.

Aztec Gold is one of two new inks (the other one being El Dorado). This ink creation process wasn't harmonious. It was brutal. One of FPNers harassed Konrad to make this ink. Konrad is big guy but when I asked about it he started to shiver and sob. He didn't want to talk about it. Claudia - it was nasty, it was immoral, it was cold. But...but it all served higher good so who am I to judge you?

Well done

First let's look at the bottle.

The ink is wet and gives nice feel even to drier nibs. The color change can be dramatic on some papers. I have a feeling that iron-gall inks are much more sensible to paper and the effect you get may vary a lot between different papers. On scans below you'll see the ink still looks warm. However I've used it to write a letter to a friend on Rhodia cream paper and there the ink looks rather dreary. Maybe I'll find motivation to write something else on this paper and scan it and post it here to give you an idea what one might expect from this ink on some papers.

It's water resistant to some degree. After soaking the color will be gone but you'll still be able to read the text. I haven't observed any feathering or bleedthrough. Drying time is reasonable.

Ink on kitchen towel

Software ID

Color range

Tomoe River, Kaweco Classic, broad nib

Leuchtturm 1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Kokuyo Myo Campus A5, TWSBI 580, stub 1,1

Some no-name notebook with absorbent paper, TWSBI 580, stub 1,1

Lyreco Budget 60 mgsm, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib

Water resistance (not really)

November 13, 2016

Not for me, but I'm glad it exists, if that makes sense .

November 13, 2016

November 13, 2016

Thanks for another of your thorough reviews. I'm a KWZ ink fan, but not of this one I'm afraid. It looks just a bit drab.

November 13, 2016

Thanks. I rather like it.

November 13, 2016

I am using this ink now & I love it. It looks like the color on the edge of the drop. It is warm & a beautiful color. I am so glad that I bought it & am using it.

November 13, 2016

Not for me, but I'm glad it exists, if that makes sense .

Same.

November 13, 2016

Thanks for the review, Vis. I just love this ink! So grateful to Cyber6 and Konrad for such an awesome ink. I just ordered a second bottle from Vanness (thanks Lisa and Mike).

November 14, 2016

Hmmm. This looks really different from what was shown in someone else's posts recently. I remember those photos showing the ink as having a lot of sheen. Are you seeing any?

Thanks for the review. I had thought I really wanted this, but (as the line in the song goes) I'm not so sure anymore....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

November 14, 2016

Noodler's Golden Brown?

November 14, 2016

Great review Vis! I appreciate all the work that you went to for this review.

I haven't tried KWZ inks yet. But this won't be one that I will try anyway. The color isn't inspiring to me.

November 14, 2016

very nice color that I would try, but first I would want to ask you guys if this has that strong aroma found in all their inks. It is so intrusive for me when writing that I stopped using KWZ inks, despite I like really a lot their colors and how they behave. I really hope they can improve this for all of their inks in future, as it seems they are trying to do.

November 14, 2016

very nice color that I would try, but first I would want to ask you guys if this has that strong aroma found in all their inks. It is so intrusive for me when writing that I stopped using KWZ inks, despite I like really a lot their colors and how they behave. I really hope they can improve this for all of their inks in future, as it seems they are trying to do.

I thought they did that some time ago.... KWZi inks now have a nice "vanilla" scent to them. They did that on purpose for users like you who were sensitive to the previous chemical smell.

I myself never noticed before or after... when I was told they have added the vanilla scent, I did poke my nose in a bottle to verify... but I would have never noticed. BTW.. is a lovely vanilla smell...