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Mont Blanc - Swan Illusion Plume


namrehsnoom

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Very interesting even though, I am not in to gray inks, this one seems interesting

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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I purchased a bottle and received two....it is an unique ink. Even with XF nib...the ink is wet and pools. Great shading. It is definitely hard to describe the color...a very unsaturated complex ink. The box does list it as a grey...there is a grey component however it is not a gray. There is light brown in there...I don't know which is the dominant color. I don't also know how I feel about it. I will write with it over the next 3 days and decide. I do like the fact that it is an unsaturated ink.

Regards,

David

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  • 2 weeks later...

post-123774-0-63190600-1557797106_thumb.jpeg

 

post-123774-0-23022200-1557797145_thumb.jpeg

 

Namrehsnoom sees some admirable qualities in this ink, and does such a terrific job of analysis that these qualities may be there. My opinion: I dont see any attraction. What Arragon was saying about mediocrity in this passage, well, he could have been talking about this ink.

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I was very happy with Monteverde's Moonstone for my alternative.

 

I respect many of Montblanc's inks but after my bottle of Elixir Parfumeur, leather scent, Orange Brown, I have been less inclined to try each of their special edition inks.

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Antoine de Saint-Exupery is super, but this one, I’m not a fan.

Reviews and articles on Fountain Pen Network

 

CHINA, JAPAN, AND INDIA

Hua Hong Blue Belter | Penbbs 456 | Stationery | ASA Nauka in Dartmoor and Ebonite | ASA Azaadi | ASA Bheeshma | ASA Halwa | Ranga Model 8 and 8b | Ranga Emperor

ITALY AND THE UK

FILCAO Roxi | FILCAO Atlantica | Italix Churchman's Prescriptor

USA, INK, AND EXPERIMENTS

Bexley Prometheus | Route 54 Motor Oil | Black Swan in Icelandic Minty Bathwater | Robert Oster Aqua | Diamine Emerald Green | Mr. Pen Radiant Blue | Three Oysters Giwa | Flex Nib Modifications | Rollstoppers

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We could create a new saying: one mans signet plumage is another man's cardboard. I'm on the signet side but Moonstone comes close. Both make lovely, subtle inks.

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I was very happy with Monteverde's Moonstone for my alternative.

 

I respect many of Montblanc's inks but after my bottle of Elixir Parfumeur, leather scent, Orange Brown, I have been less inclined to try each of their special edition inks.

 

 

Is Moonstone slightly darker than Swan Illusion? My version on Swan Illusion looks like a watery golden light brown or Toffee Brown watered way down with no red hue. 149 with XXF nib on HP 32. I also have 2 bottles of it. :wallbash:

Edited by Jesus1
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Since I don't have Swan Illusion, I can only imagine it from swatches I have seen. I do have KYOTO TAG's Kiro- Iro Stone Road of Gion & felt the glance I saw of the Illusion swab seemed a bit darker than that. So I chose to try the Moonstone & certainly that decision was based on it's nominal cost. Having two "similar inks" seemed sufficient to me to avoid Swan Illusion.

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Since I don't have Swan Illusion, I can only imagine it from swatches I have seen. I do have KYOTO TAG's Kiro- Iro Stone Road of Gion & felt the glance I saw of the Illusion swab seemed a bit darker than that. So I chose to try the Moonstone & certainly that decision was based on it's nominal cost. Having two "similar inks" seemed sufficient to me to avoid Swan Illusion.

 

 

Which do you like best Stone Road or Moonstone and why?

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I like each of them for their unique appearances; browns are one of my favored inks & I enjoy the diversity between the "warms & cools." I wouldn't have thought pf Moonstone as a brown until I tried an ink from Switzerland, HIERONYMUS, Brown 1, their darkest of the 3 brown choices available. I like it enough to keep a dedicated pen filled, something I also do with another warm brown in another pen. I was probably lucky that each of these pens & inks are compatible with each other but they perform well & I enjoy knowing both those inks are "@ my fingertips." Those are the only two pens that get refilled with the same ink, the rest get varied inks.

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Thanks a lot for this. I was very interested in this one. I'll be putting it on my wishlist ;)

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This thread has actually got me interested in Monteverde Moonstone (over Swan Illusion). I have somewhat similar Papier Plume Pecan already, and Pecan has some unusual qualities like blue-green outlining effect. It's more feathery, however, so one should be careful with paper selection for that Papier Plume ink.

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

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Great review! After seeing this review, I did purchase a bottle.

 

I have to say, in my humble opinion, this is a very unusual ink. No, it isn't brown and it isn't gray, and it isn't gray-brown. It is subtle and complex. It shades beautifully as already mentioned several times. I much prefer it over Monteverde Moonstone. I used all of my sample of Moonstone, but Moonstone seems to be more brown than Swan Illusion.

 

One thing is for sure, it shines when it is used in a broader nib.

 

So thank you, namrehsnoom, for your great review and leading me to this great ink!

Edited by DrPenfection

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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Great review! After seeing this review, I did purchase a bottle.

 

I have to say, in my humble opinion, this is a very unusual ink. No, it isn't brown and it isn't gray, and it isn't gray-brown. It is subtle and complex. It shades beautifully as already mentioned several times. I much prefer it over Monteverde Moonstone. I used all of my sample of Moonstone, but Moonstone seems to be more brown than Swan Illusion.

 

One thing is for sure, it shines when it is used in a broader nib.

 

So thank you, namrehsnoom, for your great review and leading me to this great ink!

 

Deborah,

You changed your avatar...I always wanted to comment on the old one...Was that your dog swimming underwater...chasing the ball?

If so how did you take the pic?

I know it's off topic...

Regards,

David

Edited by Jesus1
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Great review! After seeing this review, I did purchase a bottle.

 

I have to say, in my humble opinion, this is a very unusual ink. No, it isn't brown and it isn't gray, and it isn't gray-brown. It is subtle and complex. It shades beautifully as already mentioned several times. I much prefer it over Monteverde Moonstone. I used all of my sample of Moonstone, but Moonstone seems to be more brown than Swan Illusion.

 

One thing is for sure, it shines when it is used in a broader nib.

 

So thank you, namrehsnoom, for your great review and leading me to this great ink!

 

 

Deborah,

If you would not mind...can you do a quick writing sample in the B and one in the F. I have two bottles of this ink and I can't get it to look like any sample I have seen...I would appreciate it...

Regards,

David

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Thanks for the review.

I'm now of two minds about this ink. Someone posted some pix the other day and it looked quite nice (I like browns that lean towards sepia, rather than ones that lean red). And like someone else, I was thinking that this might be nice for drawing with.

But in the review here, it seems a lot more, well, insipid.... Definitely need to sample the ink first -- if at all possible -- before committing to a full bottle -- because it *isn't* cheap.
I'm curious as to how it compares to something like Edelstein Smoky Quartz -- which I really like. And to FPN member Pharmicist's original formula of Terra Incinerata (although even he admitted was a little too green leaning).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

Edited by inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I tried it again...I see a Golden Brown...again I am using an EF nib...and was dipping it. i wasn't in the mood to flush a pen.

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Deborah,

You changed your avatar...I always wanted to comment on the old one...Was that your dog swimming underwater...chasing the ball?

If so how did you take the pic?

I know it's off topic...

Regards,

David

 

LOL! Yes, I do change things up occasionally. The Cavalier pup underwater is not my dog and I did not take the picture. I found it somewhere and really liked it so I put it on my computer. My current avatar is my youngest Cavalier. Her name is Yofi, which I have been told means "glorious beauty" in Yiddish.

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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Deborah,

If you would not mind...can you do a quick writing sample in the B and one in the F. I have two bottles of this ink and I can't get it to look like any sample I have seen...I would appreciate it...

Regards,

David

 

 

fpn_1558741732__mb_swan_illusion_2.jpg

 

fpn_1558741712__mb_swan_illusion_1.jpg

 

These aren't the best photos (taken with an iPhone under LED desk lighting), but I think you can see that the color really varies with the pen. My one and only EF is out being "tuned up". So, I wanted to show you what the ink looks like with a drier nib (my Pilot VP stub nib) and with the wetter nib (my Pilot VP fine nib).

 

I am not a big fan of brown or gray inks. But I really like this ink. Out of the 60 or so inks that I have, this has worked its way into my top 5.

Edited by DrPenfection

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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