Kwz Walk Over Vistula

[Dip n Scratch]

I have just loaded a sample of this ink into a Lanbitou 3059. The Lanbitou does have a 0.38mm nib, but does that really make a colour difference?

The ink looks blue in the pen but dries much more towards teal than review samples suggest.

I immediately suspected the Rhodia paper, so tried white vellum and Tomoe River (the thin stuff).

Has anybody else encountered this? I wondered if the Lanbitou was writing drier than previously thought. Has anybody else come across this colour difference? I can't see how it would turn back to blue if I used a wetter pen, like one of my Indian eyedroppers.

 

I will come back to you with images.

[Uncial]

My experience of it is that it's quite dark in smaller nib sizes but in a BB or a stub (or possibly a dry writer) you start to see the shading to a brighter blue.

[almoore]

Hi

 

Yes, I had the same result. At the time I tried it in both a medium nib pen and a fine nib pen on a variety of papers and each time the same result; I'm not a fan of Teal so at some point I'm going to PIF the bottle and the spare I have.

 

Of KWZ's dark inks I like Warsaw Dreaming, if you fancy a sample let me know and I can sort one out for you.

 

Al

[Dip n Scratch]

The notepad is Rhodia: Here you can see what I have been messing around with lately.

I liked the Asa Gao enough to buy a 15ml mini bottle. The Asa Gao looks nicer if used with a medium nib.

 

Looked at under a lens the writing does appear more blue, but still not as good as in this review https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/330549-kwz-ink-walk-over-vistula-spacer-nad-wisla/

 

If the ink was exactly as in the review I would have considered buying some. Thank goodness for ink samples. Just wondering how the ink could appear to shift towards teal if it isn't really so.

Look at the second image, taken under flash from the camera and not daylight.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Dip n Scratch

[senzen]

I've experienced wild shifts with other blue greens: Ama Iro, Kon Peki, Équinoxe 6, Souten; it seems to depend on nib sizes, wetness, not so much the paper. You might want to try with other pens before giving up on it.

 

Ama Iro: I prefer it light, get it with a Lamy StudioEF.

Kon Peki: I prefer a mid blue green but learned to appreciate it both lighter and (more normal) darker.

Light: Lamy StudioEF.

Mid: Pelikan m600 F.

Dark: Pilot Metropolitan M.

Équinoxe 6: I prefer it dark, get it with a Lamy Vista F.

Edited May 22, 2019 by pseudo88

[A Smug Dill]

The notepad is Rhodia:

On my Rhodia Dotpad No.16 80g/m² notepad:

 

Scan:

 

Under an LED desk lamp:

 

 

In daylight:

Edited May 22, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Uncial]

The review you link to was done with a dip pen I think, which can produce quite a different effect from a normal fountain pen. Scans can also make an ink appear much brighter.

[A Smug Dill]

The ink looks blue in the pen but dries much more towards teal than review samples suggest.

I immediately suspected the Rhodia paper,

OK, let's try a different brand of paper:

[Dip n Scratch]

It is weird that under strong reflected sunlight appeared to be more towards teal, yet it loses the green hue on the photographs. I wondered if the ink sheened green, but it doesn't appear it did for A Smug Dill. It looks to have a red sheen by this member's sample. There's something about this ink that a camera doesn't pick up but our eyes do. I do not use a flatbed scanner.

 

The teal green effect reminds me of some fabric ink my mother used to ink name tapes to be sewn into items of school uniform.

[A Smug Dill]

I wondered if the ink sheened green, but it doesn't appear it did for A Smug Dill. It looks to have a red sheen by this member's sample.

It's not a sample per se; I always acquire inks in full retail bottles. This one came from (the now defunct) Bureau Direct in the UK.

 

There's something about this ink that a camera doesn't pick up but our eyes do. I do not use a flatbed scanner.

Here's the thing: if you're looking for something that you personally like, then labelling it by colour or category isn't really important; how you feel about something upon seeing (or smelling, tasting, touching) it will hit you in the face, so to speak. On the other hand, if you really want to categorise things in an 'objective' manner with which others (say, in this forum) would agree, then don't just trust your eyes and your feelings, but use inanimate, non-sentient equipment that may not share or reflect your personal perceptions and preferences. That's why I make a point of including colour calibration charts in a lot of the photos and scans I produce, especially when the 'nature' or 'category' of something is in doubt, so that others can adjust their screen settings or whatever accordingly, instead of just either telling others what I see or showing only photos that confirm or emphasise my subjective perception.

Edited May 23, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Uncial]

I think both Walk Over Vistula and Warsaw Dreaming were produced specifically to introduce blues to the KWZ range that had more green in them. My memory of that could be wrong, but I think they did say that when they were introduced.

[Karmachanic]

WoV is my go to ink at present. Blue with teal shading, using titanium nibs.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Karmachanic

[Dip n Scratch]

I was referring to a sample of writing. The example showing how it appears on various papers.

Not a sample tube of ink taken from a larger bottle.

 

Anyway... I don't understand how my Mk1 eyeball perceives the ink to lean towards teal, but my digital camera does not.

 

This ink is definitely better in a pen that writes rather dry.

[lgsoltek]

Teals are tricky to photograph. They always turn out much bluer than what I see. And the colour perceived changes a lot with different lighting.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Lgsoltek

[A Smug Dill]

Anyway... I don't understand how my Mk1 eyeball perceives the ink to lean towards teal, but my digital camera does not.

 

When I look at the colour calibration charts while taking the photos, depending on the lighting conditions and even time of day (e.g. if it's very late at night and I'm feeling tired), I often see the white square not as a neutral white colour, and the black square as being not as dark as the dark grey square next to it, so I've learnt not to trust just my eyes as to whether something is black or grey, white or off-white, red or magenta.

 

I actually think the $100 or so I spent on the commercially available colour calibration charts are a good investment for me in this hobby; those I trust to remain pretty much consistent all the time -- and I do keep them in opaque sleeves or in a drawer when not in use, to slow down any fading or discolouration due to exposure.

[Intensity]

Walk Over Vistula is not teal, but it’s a teal-leaning blue. To complicate matters, it sheens black-purple. Thus if you use it in a dry pen, you’ll see lighter tealy blue. If you use a wet writer, not only will the color be darker, but there will also be dark purple sheen and color shift, canceling out the green component.

[A Smug Dill]

This ink is definitely better in a pen that writes rather dry.

I'm getting confused now, as to whether you would like KWZ Ink Walk Over Vistula to appear more teal (as it would from a pen that writes 'dry') on the page or, as it appeared in Lgsoltek's review of it, more blue which you alluded to above as being good. The more thickly the ink is laid on the page, the bluer it will appear, as you can see from the colours from stacking 'rather dry' passes with a Pilot Parallel pen.

 

[Dip n Scratch]

This ink is certainly better in a drier writing pen than those I have. It also needs a nib/paper combo that gives more shading.

It is not a colour that I would buy a whole bottle of.

The sample told me what I needed to know without the expense of buying a full bottle.

[A Smug Dill]

As far as I can tell, while this ink certainly has the potential to exhibit shading from teal to dark blue, trying to cajole shading out of it is foolhardy, since the sheen aspect will most likely overwhelm the shading aspect in normal handwriting (excluding using broad/stub nibs to do flamboyant lettering with x-height of 5mm or more, etc.), and I wouldn't classify or recommend it as a 'shading ink' — not that any ink needs to be a 'shading ink' to be a good and/or useful ink.

[Karmachanic]

I, on the other hand, prefer a shading ink, and would definitely classify WoV as an outstanding member of that category. Whether an ink with shading potential actually shades depends very much on nib and paper. The wet, soft ti nibs I use shade this ink beautifully, and differently, on TR, MD and Life. No longer use nails, so I can't speak to that.