Penbbs No. 95 Lin Huiyin (林徽因) Ink Review

[truthpil]

Penbbs is a Chinese online fountain pen community similar to FPN.
They not only talk about inks but also produce their own inks every year. Each series consists of ten to fifteen inks and 2017 marks the release of Penbbs’ fifteenth ink series. Due to Chinese postal restrictions, these inks are virtually impossible to obtain outside of China. Within China they are extremely affordable (21 RMB or about US$3 per 60ml bottle) and can easily be purchased through the Chinese online shopping giant Taobao.

 

This ink up for review is from Penbbs’ eighth series. It is named after Chinese architect Lin Huiyin (known as Phyllis Lin in the West). She is famous in China for being the first female architect in modern China and for her involvement in designing the flag and national emblem of the People’s Republic of China. You can read more about her here.

 

I love my purples, and this one doesn’t disappoint. No. 95 is a deep purple very similar in color to Noodler’s La Reine Mauve but much better behaved. To my eye it looks like a pure purple, leaning neither red nor blue. It is quite saturated but does shade a tad with wet nibs on non-absorbent paper.

 

This ink dries quickly, but also displays some feathering and bleed through. However, it doesn’t feather or bleed nearly as much as the other two Penbbs inks I’ve reviewed (Nos. 132 and 157). Also unlike those inks it has passable water resistance. Penbbs No. 95 could be someone’s perfect dark purple for daily use with a fine nib on regular paper.

 

My conclusion is that this is a decent ink I can live without and we could all use a little more Waterman Tender Purple in our lives.

 

Pens used (in order):

1. Pilot 78G Fine

2. Lamy Safari Broad

3. Pilot Plumix Italic

4. Noodler’s Nib Creaper Flex

5. Hero 5028 1.9mm Stub

 

 

Swab

 

Paper Towel Drop

 

 

 

80gsm Rhodia

 

 

 

 

 

 

73gsm Chinese Tomoe River Wannabe (brand unknown)

 

 

 

 

 

 

70gms Deli Copy Paper

 

 

 

 

 

Moleskine

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Resistance

 

 

 

 

Comparison

 

 

 

Because I ordered so many samples, the Taobao seller kindly gave me a free empty ink bottle that just happened to be for this ink. Chinese inks bottles are usually quite ugly and impractical, but this one is neither. The octagonal shape and decent-sized opening allow for you to trap the last drop of ink in a corner to suck up with a pipette. The full color label is also a nice change from the typical boring design. You can tell these inks were made by and for fountain pen enthusiasts.

 

Edited January 31, 2017 by TruthPil

[visvamitra]

I like the way it looks. And I do agree that Waterman Tender Purple has great behavior but, sadly, when it comes to purple I almost never reach for my Waterman bottle that's covered in dust now There are too many choices and too many great purples and I just don't have a free space for Tender Purple at the moment. I agree though it's very plesant ink.

[white_lotus]

Thanks for the review of this ink. Looks nice.

[Mr.Rene]

Nice to include Ink Bottle photo..it is a very good idea for a complete ink review.. Thanks

[truthpil]

I like the way it looks. And I do agree that Waterman Tender Purple has great behavior but, sadly, when it comes to purple I almost never reach for my Waterman bottle that's covered in dust now There are too many choices and too many great purples and I just don't have a free space for Tender Purple at the moment. I agree though it's very plesant ink.

 

I bet if I had as many purples as you do I'd probably forget about Waterman as well.

So far all my purples are what you see in the comparison.

[truthpil]

Nice to include Ink Bottle photo..it is a very good idea for a complete ink review.. Thanks

 

For this line of inks it's the only bottle I have, but all the inks used the same bottle and box with different labels applied.

[Sinistral1]

Thanks for the review, especially the history of pensbbs - each new "unknown" ink to us inksters is cause for a lively discussion and we didn't know there was a Chinese ink out there that was a good one. You have set us straight.

[mehandiratta]

wow, this is a comprehensive review... thanks for sharing the same with us and yes letting me know about the architect....

though the ink doesn't excite me much...

[Cryptos]

It's interesting. I mentioned the name of this ink to a Chinese friend and she didn't know anything about the architecture link. She told me that a lot of people knew of Lin Huiyin through her poetry and essays.

 

As for the colour, looks a lot like a good substitute for Dark Lilac to me.

[visvamitra]

Truth be told - I'm not an ink hoarder. I'm obsessive ink reviewer. I buy a lot of inks and resell most of them, I receive quite a lot of samples. At the moment I have Lamy's Dark Lilac, Rohrer & Klingner Cassia, Waterman Tender Purple, J. Herbin's Poussiere de Lune in bottles and, probably, another 20 samples

 

Basically once I try million of inks in one color I try to limit myself to those most interesting

 

I'm not always succesfull.

[truthpil]

It's interesting. I mentioned the name of this ink to a Chinese friend and she didn't know anything about the architecture link. She told me that a lot of people knew of Lin Huiyin through her poetry and essays.

 

As for the colour, looks a lot like a good substitute for Dark Lilac to me.

 

Thanks for that information....it doesn't surprise me that your Chinese friend knew Lin Huiyin more for her writings. Poems and writings are heavily emphasized in the education system here. I feel sorry for these kids who are constantly memorizing things to recite for a grade.

 

Oh if only it had Dark Lilac's amazing sheen!

[truthpil]

Truth be told - I'm not an ink hoarder. I'm obsessive ink reviewer. I buy a lot of inks and resell most of them, I receive quite a lot of samples. At the moment I have Lamy's Dark Lilac, Rohrer & Klingner Cassia, Waterman Tender Purple, J. Herbin's Poussiere de Lune in bottles and, probably, another 20 samples

 

Basically once I try million of inks in one color I try to limit myself to those most interesting

 

I'm not always succesfull.

 

That's a good policy...after my year long search for the perfect blue-black, I have 10 bottles in the color that I wish I could sell but can't because of the shipping laws here. I end up giving the less expensive ones away to tempt my students into FPs instead.

If I had Dark Lilac, my Waterman Purple would be collecting dust too.

 

[visvamitra]

Yes, Dark Lilac crushes competitors.

[richofthetower]

Excellent review - thanks for that!

[amberleadavis]

This is wonderful and comprehensive review. Thank you so much!

[truthpil]

As for the colour, looks a lot like a good substitute for Dark Lilac to me.

 

Just a follow up on this... I finally got some Dark Lilac cartridges and this ink is nothing like it.

No. 95 looks pretty much identical to Noodler's La Reine Mauve and lacks any of the red hue in Dark Lilac.

 

However, Penbbs No. 152 Violet could definitely pass as a Dark Lilac substitute. It's just a hint darker than the Lamy, but a pretty good match color-wise. I'll show a comparison on the review for that ink as soon as I can.