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Mb Defoe Palm Green Compared: 6 "olive-Ish" Inks


bstnnyc

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I’ve had these photos on my phone for almost 2 weeks now and was excited to finally upload them last night, but couldn't get them on the site :doh: . After some experimenting, I'm happy it just worked with photobucket, so here it goes!

 



I wanted to do this comparison for two reasons. First, because green olives are a big guilty pleasure of mine (I ate around 20-30 of them while writing this review last night :P) and second, (and more importantly) I read in a couple threads that people were asking how the Montblanc Daniel Defoe Palm Green ink compared to other "olive-ish" greens. So, I thought I would add the samples I have to the wonderful comparisons that amberleadavis and dcroe05 already did! The inks tested are: Diamine Salamander, Stipula Verde Mushiato, Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu, Montblanc Daniel Defoe Palm Green, Rohrer and Klingner Alt-Goldgrun, and J. Herbin Vert Olive.



 

The samples were done on Rhodia using a 1950s 146 and a Pilot Custom 74 B nib ground down to a smooth stub by Mike Masuyama.





 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo1-2copy_zps78c4ed9d.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo1copy3_zpsf99fb482.jpg?t=1413835720

(group shot in indoor lighting)

 

Closeups: (done in sunlight only - I find these photos truer to the color on paper)

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo3-1_zps3186c004.jpg?t=1413835721

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo3-2_zpsdbc43397.jpg?t=1413835722

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo5-1_zpsdb35c6a5.jpg?t=1413835722

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo1-2_zps4dfa8c03.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo1copy2_zpsdcfc475b.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo4-1_zps2f6eade9.jpg?t=1413835721

 

Tokiwa-Matsu Sheen Closeup: (indoor lighting)

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo1-1_zpsa96f77fd.jpg

 

Ink Swabs:

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo2copy_zps8039db56.jpg?t=1413838161

 

Ink on Paper Towel:

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo3_zps34c025f5.jpg?t=1413838161

Top Row: Diamine Salamander, Stipula Verde Mushiato, Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu

Bottom Row: Montblanc Daniel Defoe Palm Green, Rohrer and Klingner Alt-Goldgrun, J. Herbin Vert Olive

 

 

Salamander is probably my favorite shade of “olive” in this group, because its color is difficult to pin down. It’s not a green, brown or grey (and maybe not even an olive) but all three combined and the mix makes for a unique shade that is great for someone looking for a more exciting alternative to black that could be used in an office environment. My biggest complaint with this ink is that I wish that the flow and smoothness were both stronger. (But, I should note that I like very wet and smooth inks, so please do not let that discourage you from trying it.) On a side note, if you’ve tried a smooth wet ink that is very close in color to Salamander please let me know!



 

The Defoe ended up being my second favorite shade of olive from the bunch (another amazing Limited Edition color from MB!), but I have yet to pick up a bottle. I am on the fence about whether I will get one or not, because, although, I love its color, as with most of my MB inks I wish it felt a little smoother under a flexi nib and given the heavier pressure I use while writing. (Though it felt smoother to me than Salamander.)

 

Tokiwa-Matsu is by far the most interesting ink of the ones compared because of its spectacular reddish sheen. It's not my favorite shade of "olive", but it is my favorite ink to use out of the 6. I highly recommend it if you are looking for an ink with that special factor that makes you do a double-take every time you use it.

 

Alt-Goldgrun is the closest in color to the Defoe. I loved the shade and shading when I first got a bottle, but I find myself using it less and less. After testing the Defoe, I much prefer it for note-taking since it is less yellow and a little darker.



 

Verde Mushiato is an ink that I’m on the fence about, because I wish that, in my pens, it looked closer to some of the writing samples I’ve seen where it has more green mixed into the brown. Don’t get me wrong; the ink is a beautiful color, but I just don’t enjoy using it for a full page of notes, so my bottle doesn’t get much use. Performance wise, the ink has a different but pleasant, slightly powdery-soft feel under the nib which makes for a pretty smooth writing experience.

 



Vert Olive is another nice shade but too light for me to use as a daily ink.

 

Which is your favorite of the six?

Edited by bstnnyc
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Oh, I just love these sorts of colors. Either the Stipula or the Tokiwa-Matsu would be my favorite. I actually own both, but haven't tried them! *hoard hoard* Some have wondered whether the recently reissued Tokiwa-Matsu differs from the original --- which version do you have?

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Oh, I just love these sorts of colors. Either the Stipula or the Tokiwa-Matsu would be my favorite. I actually own both, but haven't tried them! *hoard hoard* Some have wondered whether the recently reissued Tokiwa-Matsu differs from the original --- which version do you have?

 

Ohhh you have to try them :) It's terrible but I don't have the will power to hold off on opening any inks I receive! I would love to hear what the Stipula ends up looking like for you and if more green shows up on the page. And the Tokiwa-Matsu is so much fun to play with. I have the recently reissued version. I actually had never tried Sailor inks until a month ago; after reading all of saskia_madding's wonderful reviews of their inks I caved and now I'm hooked!

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Yet another great comparison, this time of my favorite part of the color spectrum! I own Diamine Salamander and R&K Alt-Goldgrun, and like both very much! The Salamander is always in my daily pouch (a Parker "51" with a wet B nib..so no flow issues there :D), and I use Alt-Goldgrun with a Noodler's Brush pen, for doodling and hopefully in the near future I will start practicing some oriental calligraphy (the bamboo-ish hue seems perfect for Chinese characters).

 

I would also like to mention one more ink (which is my all-time favorite), the Noodler's Zhivago, diluted 1:1 with distilled water. Undiluted it can appear almost black, but when you put some water in it...wow, it just looks fantastic, a very dark, mysterious olive green with grey undertones, near-bulletproof, and with exemplary behavior both inside the pen and on the paper. Really recommended!

 

I'd also like to try Verde Muschiato one day...

Edited by dragos.mocanu

"The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true..." (Carl Sagan)

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Great review, thank you!

 

Vis - you need to buy DeFoe, you will really love it.

 

I think we need to see Cigar too.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I have Tokiwa-Matsu and Alt-Goldgrün and I love my Tokiwa-Matsu (mostly for the sheen). Like you I loved the shading of Alt-Goldgrün at first but it doesn't get much use...

I’m happy that we are ink twins Igsoltek haha

 

I like these shades of green. I must say MB Defoe looks impressive. I must think about buying a bottle.

I agree with amberleadavis and say go for the Defoe visvamitra :P The color really is beautiful in person, so I don’t think you will regret it.

 

Yet another great comparison, this time of my favorite part of the color spectrum! I own Diamine Salamander and R&K Alt-Goldgrun, and like both very much! The Salamander is always in my daily pouch (a Parker "51" with a wet B nib..so no flow issues there :D), and I use Alt-Goldgrun with a Noodler's Brush pen, for doodling and hopefully in the near future I will start practicing some oriental calligraphy (the bamboo-ish hue seems perfect for Chinese characters).

 

I would also like to mention one more ink (which is my all-time favorite), the Noodler's Zhivago, diluted 1:1 with distilled water. Undiluted it can appear almost black, but when you put some water in it...wow, it just looks fantastic, a very dark, mysterious olive green with grey undertones, near-bulletproof, and with exemplary behavior both inside the pen and on the paper. Really recommended!

 

I'd also like to try Verde Muschiato one day...

Thank you dragos.mocanu! I’m really happy you liked this comparison too :) The color family is one of the most beautiful and one I should start using for notes more often. Thank you as well or the tip on Noodler’s Zhivago; I will look into that one. On a side note, I recommend checking out the latest comparison that :notworthy1: saskia_madding was so wonderful to take the time to do to help me choose a Sailor ink from this same color family. I should warm you though to click at your own risk, because there is almost no way that you will end up leaving the post without getting at least one of them:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/275439-sos-sailor-ink-kobe-bung-box-and-ishida-bungu-help/?p=3156453

 

That DaFoe ink. :wub:

I agree siopaopei! The Defoe is one heck of a dreamy color...

 

Excellent, thank you . . . !

Thank you Tas!

 

Great review, thank you!

 

Vis - you need to buy DeFoe, you will really love it.

 

I think we need to see Cigar too.

Thank you amberleadavis! Cigar is on its way :) After the very helpful comparison that saskia_madding did of Sailor murky greens and all of her and Alaric's and Cyber6‘s strong recommendations of the ink, I could not but get one, so I will edit the post to include samples of it as soon as it gets in!

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Excellent comparison, thank you! I love olive green inks too. I have yet to try the Diamine Salamander but from the looks of it you might find a similar color/hue in Montblanc's Jonathan swift green. In wet nibs it performs really well; it doesn't feel as saturated as Sailor inks but it is not a dry ink either.

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Ohhhh...I adore Olive Green! Great review!!!

 

My top3 are:

J Herbin - Vert Olive

MB - Daniel Defoe Palm Green

Rohrer&Klingner - Alt Goldgrun (great color, good shader, but it feathers too much)

 

Oh and Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku Rin is already on it's way ;)

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Thanks very much. Especially your Closeups do it as re shading. Never can have enough of such things you compared (I have all 6 except the Sailor, which, IMO, is the very least "olive-vish" here).

 

Mike

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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Nice post!

 

Olive greens are my favorite shades when I stray from Blue/Black/Blue-Black

 

My favorite is Montblanc Racing Green...... oh wait...... they stopped making that. :angry:

 

Of your samples, Verde Muschiato is in my top five all time, beautiful shading ink with a nice F/XF super flex.

 

The Dafoe looks promising though... B)

 

Rick

MY-stair-shtook eyn-HOON-dairt noyn und FEART-seeg (Meisterstuck #149)

"the last pen I bought is the next to the last pen I will ever buy.."---jar

WTB: Sheaffer OS Balance with FLEX nibs

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Excellent comparison, thank you! I love olive green inks too. I have yet to try the Diamine Salamander but from the looks of it you might find a similar color/hue in Montblanc's Jonathan swift green. In wet nibs it performs really well; it doesn't feel as saturated as Sailor inks but it is not a dry ink either.

Thank you paloma32! Swift Green is one of those inks that I regret not having gotten a bottle of and now of course the only ones I find are 3x the original price. I will keep checking ebay and the classifieds for a better deal!

 

Ohhhh...I adore Olive Green! Great review!!!

 

My top3 are:

J Herbin - Vert Olive

MB - Daniel Defoe Palm Green

Rohrer&Klingner - Alt Goldgrun (great color, good shader, but it feathers too much)

 

Oh and Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku Rin is already on it's way ;)

Thank you Mishka5050! I haven’t tested Chiku Rin, but I would love to hear what you think when you get it! I just received two Sailor olives last week and will add them to this comparison tomorrow. They are just wonderful, so if you love murky greens I think you are definitely going to want to try these :)

 

Thanks very much. Especially your Closeups do it as re shading. Never can have enough of such things you compared (I have all 6 except the Sailor, which, IMO, is the very least "olive-vish" here).

 

Mike

Thank you I’m happy you liked the closeups Mike! I agree you can never have enough of this ink group, so I finally got some truer olive-ish inks from Sailor (Tanna Japonensis and Cigar) last week and I will post them tomorrow. I look forward to hearing what you think!

 

Nice post!

 

Olive greens are my favorite shades when I stray from Blue/Black/Blue-Black

 

My favorite is Montblanc Racing Green...... oh wait...... they stopped making that. :angry:

 

Of your samples, Verde Muschiato is in my top five all time, beautiful shading ink with a nice F/XF super flex.

 

The Dafoe looks promising though... B)

 

Rick

Thank you Rick! I am the same; blues and blue blacks are my go-tos, but lately I’ve been cheating on them with olives and other murky greens and it's turning into quite the affair :P

 

I never got to try the Montblanc Racing Green when it was out, but if you are looking for a substitute, have you tried the Sailor Bung Box Dandyism yet? Saskia_Madding did a wonderful comparison of the two and they look very close. Thanks to her reviews and advice, I've started a terrible Sailor addiction:

http://s997.photobucket.com/user/Saskia_Madding/media/FPN%20comparison%20shots/DSC09875_zpsd9fce706.jpg.html?sort=6&o=165

 

I received the Dandyism two weeks ago and I am hooked. Here is a photo that I posted in another thread:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photo1-3_zps1eaed3b6.jpg

It's one of those inks that, as the first droplet started to make its way on the page, got a permanent spot in the ink rotation!

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Attached are photos of the two Sailor olive-ish inks I ordered after doing the initial comparison: Pen and Message Cigar and Kingdom Note Tanna Japonensis. After testing them over the last couple of days, I really love both of these inks and would rank them above the original 6. I didn't have time to clean the stub nib I use for the second set of writing samples, but I was too excited to wait to post pictures! :P

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photocopy4_zpsab4f83aa.jpg?t=1415400435

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/emrys1221/photocopy3_zpsa80b2dd0.jpg?t=1415400423

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Ohhh you have to try them :) It's terrible but I don't have the will power to hold off on opening any inks I receive! I would love to hear what the Stipula ends up looking like for you and if more green shows up on the page. And the Tokiwa-Matsu is so much fun to play with. I have the recently reissued version. I actually had never tried Sailor inks until a month ago; after reading all of saskia_madding's wonderful reviews of their inks I caved and now I'm hooked!

 

Yes, I can agree, Sailor wasn't in the first branch of inks I have, but still they produce good quality inks, as far as I tried easy to clean too. Defoe Palm Green remarkable reminds me of Sailors Epinard, although I not own that ink, honestly its not my kind of green, neither Defoe.

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Nice comparison, and I see the little birds getting better too.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here we go...5 of my favs on Tomoe River :)

It's almost midnight, so light it a bit meh....but you get the idea ;)

Thank you for posting this great comparison Mishka! The Chiku-Rin and the Army Green look beautiful and I much prefer the darker tones of the Vert Olive in your writing sample than the way it looked when I tested it. You've made me want to try it again :P

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