The ‘Right’ Way To Do Ink Reviews To Serve One's Curiosity And Interests?

[A Smug Dill]

That spatula is a great way of producing a 'true' swab.

I'm not sure I follow your line of thinking there. What would I, as the reviewer, be attempting to 'truly' reproduce, simulate, or elicit by spreading ink – while it's still wet and not yet completely absorbed into the paper fibres – with a flexible broad-edged tool such as that spatula? If I want to see how the marks made by particular fountain pens or nibs using the ink in question would look, then I'll just use those particular pens; after all, it's my user review of an ink, and I already have access to my personal choice of writing equipment and materials.

 

Over the years I've seen the benefit of the CRV exchanges that Amber started. Photographs and (especially) scans can give quite a wrong impression of inks.

If what you're saying there is you would get more (information) out of receiving a physical writing sample done by someone else using the ink in question, then yes, that is logically a matter of course.

 

A photograph is a two-dimensional representation of a set of three-dimensional objects, at a particular moment in time and in a particular set of circumstances; and then, a digital (or digitised) image only carries a subset of what would be captured in/on a physical photograph. You don't get to change the viewing angle, or intensity, direction and/or colour temperature of the light striking (only) the object of interest, etc. the way you would by handling and inspecting the physical item that is shown in a photograph.

 

There have been a few inks that I've seen in reviews here and thought 'meh' and then I've seen them in CRV's and thought 'oooooo'.

 

But then – with all due respect to you and Amberlea – I don't see how any other aspect of Co-Razy-Views as defined on FPN is relevant. Ignoring the practicality and costs involved for a moment, if I could get (say) Brian Goulet to send me a handwriting sample done in a particular ink by himself or one of his staff, would it not deliver the same benefit you have in mind? Or from any random Joe Bloggs I know who has the ink, and is prepared to oblige?

 

Moreover, if something physical is to be delivered to the consumer of the information pertaining to the ink, wouldn't getting a sample of the ink itself instead of a handwriting sample done in the ink prove far more informative, since you then get to see what colour, shading, and other visual outcomes would be obtained with your choice of pen-nib-paper and your own handwriting technique/style?

 

That isn't to say reviews are useless. They're still good at giving you an idea of an ink you might like.

OK, I'm not going to go there this time, because you're obviously still taking the position of the review content being something for the prospective user/purchaser of an ink to 'use', as opposed to just the reviewer sharing what he/she has discovered first-hand through observation, experimentation or testing, and hands-on user experience putting the ink to particular applications, and the opinions that he/she has formed.

[amberleadavis]

 

Over the years I've seen the benefit of the CRV exchanges that Amber started.

 

 

OH Thank you!!

[Honeybadgers]

You do you. You very clearly prefer extremely fine nibs, and you definitely have the basics down of how to at least present what you show, you give enough words on page to show the ink, and I can rely on your review to be a good demonstration of what the ink will look like in my finer nibs. I personally really like drawings and inkwashes, as I look at inks as more than just a color coming from a nib, even objectively silly things like the name of the ink matter to me. "pelikan 4001 brilliant brown" sounds to me as dry as it flows, whereas "pelikan smoky quartz" illicits so much more. I know it's silly, but I like varied ink reviews, though I'd never say no to someone who took the time to put pen to paper and took proper pictures of it. I appreciate your reviews very much.

 

The two things that matter to me are that you're at least giving us pictures that we can use as a fair reference, and that you enjoyed making it. If either of those isn't present, the whole point is moot.

 

Also you need to stop reviewing inks in exactly the order that I bought them. It's getting creepy

Edited October 30, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[A Smug Dill]

You very clearly prefer extremely fine nibs,

 

I prefer nibs that at least meet the minimum requirement of being able to lay down a consistently fine line, when handled and/or used in a particular way. (That may be writing 'normally', or with the nib upside-down, or when held with the slit almost orthogonal to the plane of the paper surface.) My 'standard' for a pen that is not a special-purpose pen is that it will allow me to write any traditional Chinese character legibly within a square area measuring 5mm on each side. Now, of course one could say that comes partly down to writing technique, and I think it's a valid point; I personally don't have the technique or the touch to write 龜 legibly with a 'Western medium' nib inside a 5mm square.

 

However, I do regard very highly nibs that can do more than that, which is why I like experimenting with Concord nibs, Fude de Mannen nibs, Zoom nibs, 'soft' nibs by Platinum and Pilot, etc. Even the FA nib on a Pilot Custom Heritage 912, which ultimately frustrated me so much that I ripped it out and snapped it in two with my fingers, was capable of writing quite finely – and do more than that.

 

I almost pulled the trigger to buy a Sailor pen with an old stock Naginata Togi MF nib, but from what I've read, the minimum line widths laid down by Naginata Togi nibs tend to be broader than other (e.g. Sailor) nibs with the same nib width grade. For what it's worth, I've found Sailor's H-MF nibs to write acceptably finely, and then better yet when writing with nib upside-down.

Edited October 30, 2018 by A Smug Dill

[A Smug Dill]

So I use microfibre-tipped cleaning brushes, of the type used as lip brushes. Ive used them for mixed media art work for some time and like the controllability. They are lint-free and ink can be washed out, so they are reusable.

 

Here is a pic of something similar to the ones I use.

 

Thank you again for putting me onto those things as equipment! My order has finally arrived from China, and now that I've tried using one, they are indeed less thirsty and consequentially less wasteful of ink, but also so much more controllable both in producing swatches and drawing.

[Honeybadgers]

I'll have to send you one of my handmade steel reverse naginata emperor nibs when I finally get that damn package from china with 30 more nibs (jinhao #6 nibs are working amazingly well for this experiment)

 

Right now they write an EF-BBB at a 90-45 degree angle and a smooth XXF reverse. I'm looking at making them the opposite, with the massive BBB reverse for a signature nib and the XXF (maybe smoothed down from a needlepoint to an EF) as the normal writing angle.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[A Smug Dill]

… massive BBB reverse for a signature nib and the XXF (maybe smoothed down from a needlepoint to an EF) as the normal writing angle.

 

Now that would be amazing!

[migo984]

Thank you again for putting me onto those things as equipment! My order has finally arrived from China, and now that I've tried using one, they are indeed less thirsty and consequentially less wasteful of ink, but also so much more controllable both in producing swatches and drawing.

You’re welcome. Hope they prove useful.

[Honeybadgers]

 

Now that would be amazing!

 

 

The first couple I made of the normal architect nib style were surprisingly simple, I don't expect any difficulty in making the reverse. Right now I'm just stuck waiting on nibs to play with. I've been liking Jinhao, their Medium #6 is very consistent and takes the heat from a brazing torch well, and would keep the overall price of the nib down at least $20 over using bock or JoWo or knox (but the name-brand may be necessary for some more elaborate ideas that need at least a B.)

[A Smug Dill]

I simply cannot control how the ink droplets will fall/roll down to the edge of the spatula, which sometimes happen quite unevenly, or when it will run out. If it doesn't run out by the end of the swipe, then some will pool on that end, but then the start of the swipe also tends to be quite saturated.

 

In the meantime, I've placed on order on eBay for 100 eyeshadow applicator sticks from China (much more cheaply than I can buy from the local supermarket or pharmacy), so I guess I'll have to wait and see how well they work.

Well, I think I've found the tool I'm happy enough with, in terms of being able to get some semblance of consistency in producing graduated/multi-pass colour swatches.

 

 

That was produced using a Pilot Parallel pen in 6.0mm width, with the nib dipped only.

[Honeybadgers]

The parallel has long been a standard for that task. You should be very satisfied.

[A Smug Dill]

To be honest, I don't recall seeing too many examples of such a tool being used to produce graduated and/or multi-pass colour swatches; most of what I've seen of such looks like they were produced with q-tips or the like, and the stripes on ink with neat edges are usually single-pass.

[TSherbs]

To be honest, I don't recall seeing too many examples of such a tool being used to produce graduated and/or multi-pass colour swatches; most of what I've seen of such looks like they were produced with q-tips or the like, and the stripes on ink with neat edges are usually single-pass.

SbreBrown's inkcyclopedia reviews all used this. I still consider them the best ink reviews.

[Karmachanic]

SbreBrown's inkcyclopedia reviews all used this. I still consider them the best ink reviews.

 

For those who may be unfamiliar with this resource:

https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/5egjsa/klundtasaurs_inkcyclopedia_for_rfountainpens/

[A Smug Dill]

SbreBrown's inkcyclopedia reviews all used this. I still consider them the best ink reviews.

Well, thanks for pointing that out, because otherwise I probably would never have sat through one of his reviews. I'm confident they're good quality and in-depth reviews, but I'm not a fan of product reviews in the format of video (or audio) clips, especially when the review subjects are not something mechanical and/or electronic that I need to see in action. However, it of course reveals something of the review methodology the reviewer employed, and that is relevant to this discussion, so I'm grateful for that.

[TSherbs]

Well, thanks for pointing that out, because otherwise I probably would never have sat through one of his reviews. I'm confident they're good quality and in-depth reviews, but I'm not a fan of product reviews in the format of video (or audio) clips, especially when the review subjects are not something mechanical and/or electronic that I need to see in action. However, it of course reveals something of the review methodology the reviewer employed, and that is relevant to this discussion, so I'm grateful for that.

He also posts a hi-res pic of his resulting sheet for those interested only in the static result.

 

What, you don't enjoy the antics of the "professor"?

[A Smug Dill]

What, you don't enjoy the antics of the "professor"?

I wouldn't know. I haven't watched the entire SBREBrown ink review video clip, I only quickly used the seek bar (guided by the thumbnails) to investigate/verify what you wrote earlier about his review methodology.

 

In case you're inclined to frame it as whatever reason as my employing a 'superior' or 'mocking' tone again, I was showing due respect to a fellow forum member by taking what you wrote seriously, and therefore actually taking steps to do enough to validate the content. I generally don't just dismiss out of hand what my peers on forums write.

[TSherbs]

I wouldn't know. I haven't watched the entire SBREBrown ink review video clip, I only quickly used the seek bar (guided by the thumbnails) to investigate/verify what you wrote earlier about his review methodology.

 

In case you're inclined to frame it as whatever reason as my employing a 'superior' or 'mocking' tone again, I was showing due respect to a fellow forum member by taking what you wrote seriously, and therefore actually taking steps to do enough to validate the content. I generally don't just dismiss out of hand what my peers on forums write.

Dude, I was referring to the pet lobster (stuffed) that he features in some of his videos. It was a joke. I guess you don't know about his other reviews, either. He does a British voice for this randy professor lobster, which I find very funny.

[bobje]

Dr. Sherbs, I agree. The red lobster is funny. A stuffed animal who talks with an amusing accent would be extremely welcome in ink reviews.

 

A squid would be appropriate. My vote is for a talking squid with a Canadian accent.

[TSherbs]

... My vote is for a talking squid with a Canadian accent.

+1