Diamine Aurora Borealis Vs Smoke On The Water

[Ememel]

I came across a comparison of these two inks on Instagram that didn't match my experience. In that comparsion these two inks were practically the same, the Smoke on the water looking basically just like a rebottled Aurora Borealis. The inks I own however are similar, but not the same, so here you go:

 

Edited June 8, 2019 by Ememel

[inkstainedruth]

Yes, I can definitely see the differences between them. And neither one is a color for me (although the sheen is pretty spectacular in Smoke on the Water).

Thanks for doing the comparison.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DrDebG]

Thank you for the comparison. I too had heard that they were essentially the same ink, but your samples are definitely different.

[Enkida]

Hey! Thanks for the comparison, your experience matches mine (I have bottles of both, too). Aurora Borealis "feels" like a lighter ink because it's a beautiful shader. Smoke on the Water, on the other hand, is so dark and saturated that I can see it sheening even on non-Tomoe River paper. Aurora Borealis gives me no problems in my Pelikan M200, while Smoke on the Water can get a little dry in my Lamy Safari because it's so densely saturated to get that sheen.

 

Both lovely inks. In my pen case I file my Aurora Borealis between my greens and blues, while I file my Smoke on the Water close to my blacks.

Edited June 27, 2019 by Enkida

[Bill P]

Thank - you for taking the time to document the comparison

 

I think I like the Aurora Borealis, for the nib sizes that I typically use...

[Johnnie-T]

Does anyone else think that Smoke on the Water should have more deep purple in it? It just seems wrong.

[rlb]

Does anyone else think that Smoke on the Water should have more deep purple in it? It just seems wrong.

Does anyone else think that Smoke on the Water should have more deep purple in it? It just seems wrong.

Touche my friend, this made me chuckle, and I do agree!

 

Great comparison, I think I may try the Borealis!

Edited July 25, 2019 by rlb

[LyaT]

Thanks for the comparison! Smoke on the water looks very similar to November Rain, only the rain is green🤢

[Liis]

And now there's Bloody Absinthe too, german LE at seitz-kreuznach.de

Looks very similar.