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This is one of the five KWZ Azure inks. The usual papers: MvL=Mohawk via Linen, TR=Tomoe River, Hij=Hammermill 28 lb inkjet. This images makes it look like it has more red in it than it really does. Not water resistant, but that wasn't expected.

Here is an ink nearly everyone can buy! KWZ Grapefruit is a brilliant, bright reddish-orange. It is fabulous as a markup color. It's a very deep orange. The handling is excellent. The color is really beautiful. But you have to like these bright colors. For me their use is fine occasionally, but I'm not a regular user of such colors. But I would still recommend it. Totally not water resistant at all however. The usual papers: MvL=Mohawk via Linen, TR=Tomoe River, Hij=Hammermill 28 lb inkjet.

So, here's my latest acquisition. The Namisu Nova pen, made from sandblasted titanium, with a Bock EF titanium nib : http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/DSC_0175_zpszcobk7aa.jpg http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/Nova-Bead-Side_f3f67538-9657-4d73-826d-743404a4a11d_1024x1024_zpsdeqxiwr7.jpg This is my first pen that is from Namisu, and my first pen that originated on Kickstarter. They had made the pen in Aluminium and brushed Ti before, but this finish was new, and I thought it was about time to check out their pens. I also like that they are from Fife in Scotland, where I have family. I preordered the pen in September, and it arrived the next day after shipping. It came in a simple slide out box, with nothing apart from the pen and converter. No ink cartridges were included, which I find a little odd, although that doesn't bother me as I use bottled ink. http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/namisuuncapped_zpss7hnpm2t.jpg The pen is beautifully made; there are no machining marks, and the finish is consistent across the body. The section is polished but not to the extent where it is remotely slippery(the Lamy studio comes to mind) and tapers slightly towards the nib. There is quite a step between the section and the body but it is not sharp. I prefer to hold the pen further back, nearer the threads as it is slightly back heavy, and it is still comfortable there. The pen is not light, at 40g capped and 30g uncapped, this is not for you if you're a fan of lightweight resin pens, although it is comfortable for long writing sessions. The pen does not post, but if it did, the pen would be extremely unbalanced. http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/namisusectionnib_zpsfmdklglr.jpg The nib is available in several options. For a lower price, a steel Bock #6 nib is used in sizes EF,M or B, and with a higher price, a titanium nib in EF or M. I opted for the ti EF nib. I think it is a little odd not to include a Fine grade, and I think the option of a gold nib would be nice, considering that Bock make gold nibs in the #6 size. The nib is the first ti nib I have used; it is wonderful. Out of the box it was wet and smooth, although 10 seconds on micro mesh brought it to the level of smoothness that I like. It is soft, and I think that it could easily be sprung with a heavy hand. With a light touch however, you can create juicy line variation from EF to BB without railroading. It never hard starts and doesn't skip, even with the fastest speed of writing. I would say that it is rather broad for an EF, and I would consider it closer to a Western Fine. I really enjoy the matte finish on the nib, although nib creep is inevitable from the first fill ! Here are some comparisons to there nibs: http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/namisuink_zpsmwv6wubm.jpg It is very close to a Lamy Safari F, although it is wetter. The feed is big and can keep a lot of ink within the fins: http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/namisufeed_zpso2ap57xb.jpg There is no logo on the outside of the pen. Instead, by the section threads, there is a minimal 'N'. I really like this: http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/namisusectionconverter_zps1mct3g0z.jpg For me the pen is a good size, but I have included some comparisons to other well known and popular pens : http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/comparisoncapped_zps4azu3jdv.jpg From L-R - TWSBI Eco, Jinhao X450, Lamy 2000, Lamy Safari, Namisu Nova, Pelikan M400 & Kaweco Sport. Uncapped/posted: http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o594/keirwilliams98/namisucomparison_zpsywi7ii8v.jpg The Pelican and Kaweco are posted as I consider them a little small to use un-posted. As you can see it is in a similar size to the Safari and 2000. Dimensions are : Length (Length uncapped) – 137mm (131mm)Maximum diameter: 15.2mmGrip diameter: 11mm ​In 2016, I paid £98 for the pen, which included a Schmidt converter. With a steel nib, the pen is £70. In the US, for Ti it is $120, and with a steel nib, $85. Shipping is free in the US and the UK. Is it worth it ? In my opinion, yes. Titanium is a difficult material to work with and is expensive. The only other pen similar to this is the Nakaya Ti Piccolo which is $1000. Make your own judgement ! The finish and attention to detail is impeccable, and the pen wrote well out of the box, with an amazing, soft nib. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. The only faults I can think of are slightly sharp section to barrel threads which are a little squeaky, and the pen is slightly top heavy. Apart from that, I cant find anything else to criticise it on. Oh, the nib availability. I'd like to see it with a gold nib please. Get it here at : http://www.namisu.com 9/10 ​

Well, every now and then there are LE inks reasonably available to normal folks. The Fontoplumo pen shop in The Netherlands has a custom Conid fountain pen, and KWZ was commissioned to create an ink matching the color of this pen. The shipping for this ink to the US was fairly expensive, so I joined with a few like-minded ink fanatics to obtain this ink. I believe visvamitra and LGsoltek have both provided reviews as the ink is more readily available in the EU, however their results were quite different. So there was some consternation regarding what kind of ink we would receive. The ink is not a bright orange, but a muted one, more like a deep ochre, but not brown. None of my writing with the pen I used produced brown ink on the page. I wouldn't even call it burnt orange. Just deep, but muted, orange was the darkest I obtained. The ink shades very well, especially on TR. The usual papers for me: MvL=Mohawk via Linen, Hij=Hammermill 28 lb inkjet, TR=Tomoe River. To some pictures. The ink is not water resistant, but that wasn't expected. An interesting color drop.

Close-up: Another close-up. I had a hard time capturing the ink's shininess. [/url] This is another ink that's very paper-dependent. Here it is on more absorbent paper:

For those not on an email list with Vanness, they have received their shipment of KWZ inks. Orange is back! Grapefruit is back! Foggy Green is back! And many others. I've ordered mine. So now you can order yours. There's even a new color "Midnight Green" which sounds like a Cyber6 special request. If not, my guess is that it is dark. And that it's green.

With the recent reviews by Lgsoltek of a couple KWZ inks I've been wanting, I checked out Vanness to see if they were back in stock. I noticed the KWZ Honey said new formulation. No information about what was different between old and new KWZ Honey. I have a bottle of the old formulation, so I'm not going to get a new one or even a sample just to see the differences. It may be exactly the same as the old formulation. Or not. Maybe someone knowledgeable could comment to rest the worrying minds of FPNers who love KWZ ink!

Yet another solid ink from Konrad: Close-up: Swatch: On Rhodia and Life:

KWZ Iron Gall Orange (reposted from my tumblr. This is my first review on fpn) Orange is my favorite color and the mystic allure of iron gall is irresistible but note this dries from dark orange to more of a metallic bronze. The water resistance immediately after drying is poor compared to a conventional iron gall but see my attached test over several months (!) that shows the acid will eventually burn in. This ink has a strong sweet smell which bothers me in poorly vented areas though I’m not really noticing it at the moment. As you can see, it has some shading which gives it a faux shiny effect. In a heavier nib (included in the pictures) it will shade much darker but the fundamental color is still metallic brown in my journal after four months. Keeping this ink sealed and out of sunlight is a must. It comes in an opaque jar. (In one of the other reviews here on fpn, the color had gone slightly off towards green-gold due to exposure.) While I do not have any to test, I suspect KWZ IG Mandarin is more of a true orange. I like this ink but it doesn’t match my jewels-and-pastels color palette at all. http://i.imgur.com/vq4R3UQ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/iSzxfqT.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/KywaGxh.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/WAkpHbB.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/YXjXsuo.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/jAgedYQ.jpg

Oops, duplicate post - mods, please delete!

Hi everybody, I recently received a bottle of KWZ IG Mandarin Ink, but it is not getting much use. I am offering three 7ml samples with free shipping to members in the U.S. or without shipping to others countries. Just leave a comment here if you are interested and I will draw the winners in a week. Cheers, Daniel