INK REVIEW: BIRMINGHAM PEN COMPANY'S NEW FORMULA FROSTBITE (CRISP FORMULA)

[DrDebG]

INK REVIEW: BIRMINGHAM PEN COMPANY'S NEW FORMULA FROSTBITE (CRISP FORMULA)

Ink Review: Birmingham Pen Company FROSTBITE - Crisp Formula

 

 

Background:

Birmingham Pen Company (BPC) started as the brainchild of two brothers – Nick and Josh. Initially, Nick and Josh worked with third party ink producers in England and Germany to produce their inks. BPC started making their own inks over a year ago. While some changes have been made, their new formulations include “Crisp” inks designed for everyday use on all papers, “Swift” inks that are a bit wetter, starts up quickly and works well on premium papers, “Rich” inks which have high sheen and saturation, “Everlasting” inks that have high water resistance, “Twinkle” inks with shimmer and “Wishy-Washy” inks that are designed for performance but a washable from fabrics and surfaces.

The glass bottles with tight-fitting plastic lids bottles are very nice and functional. My largest pen fits nicely into the bottle for a full fill. BPC offers three sizes: 30ml, 60ml and 120ml for all inks except the Twinkle inks which are only available in 60ml. The 120ml bottles have an eye-dropper lid instead of the regular lid.

Review in Brief:

Saturation: Low to moderate saturation
Sheen: None
Shading: Medium shading from fine to wider nibs
Haloing: Low to medium depending upon paper
Lubrication: Low to medium lubrication
Wetness: Moderately dry
Water Resistance: Not resistant
Feathering: some feathering on lower quality papers
Bleedthrough: minimal only on lower quality papers and with high ink application
Showthrough: minimal on all papers tested
Price: reasonable for 30mls, very good for 60ml and exceptional for 120ml which is the best value.

While some inks retained the same name (or an abbreviated version), they may be slightly different. Ana at the Well Appointed Desk discussed this very well in her January 2021 blog (https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/20...-company-inks/)


Pens: Visconti Breeze with fine nib and Delta Horsepower with Franklin-Christoph S.I.G. medium nib
Papers shown: Rhodia Dot pad, Tomoe River 52gsm sheet paper, Cosmo Air Light notebook, Cambridge and Kokuyo notebook papers

Rhodia Dot Pad

The ink has low to moderate saturation with no sheen. The ink flows well in both pens with no hard starts. The ink does dry fairly quickly on all papers tested.

Cambridge Notebook Paper - Action Planner Notebook

Feathering and bleeding are not seen on Rhodia, Tomoe River, Cosmo Air Light. There is some feathering on the Cambridge and Kokuyo papers. No bleedthrough or showthrough was seen on any of the papers.

Tomoe River 52 gsm sheet paper


Cosmo Air Light Notebook (photo)


Kokuyo Campus Notebook Paper

Color Comparisons:

 

Overall this is a nice ink that behaves very well in both pens and on the papers tested. Of the Birmingham Pen Company inks that I have used, this ink seems drier than others used, even other Crisp inks. It is a very pleasant color and with the right pen, it is enjoyable to use.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink directly from Birmingham Pen Company. Any photos, opinions and thoughts regarding the ink are my own and are not sponsored by Birmingham Pen Company and do not necessarily reflect their opinions.

[LizEF]

Thanks for another one!   I'm going to side with Kikyou (which is what it said to Frostbite (great name, though) while kicking its behind)...   Frostbite is just too light blue for me.

[DrDebG]

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks for another one!   I'm going to side with Kikyou (which is what it said to Frostbite (great name, though) while kicking its behind)...   Frostbite is just too light blue for me.

Great comment!  Thank you.  It is a bit too light for finer nibs.  Since I use wider nibs more, it works for me.  

[inkstainedruth]

Hmmm.  Not sure how I feel about this one.  It leans a little teal for me (which one would not have expected from the swabs at ALL).  But this might be worth trying to see how it does in a finer nib because there seems to be a fair amount of shading (of course it might be too light a blue).

Thanks for the review, though.  This one is a "maybe" ink for me.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DrDebG]

Here is a quick quote with an Platinum EF nib (Rhodia dot pad).  Truth be told, the scan makes this ink have more of a greenish cast than the original writing.  But it is reasonably readable:  

 

[mizgeorge]

I love it! Thank you @DrDebG for another very enticing review. I think I can live with a bit of dryness (that's what wetting solution's for!) when the colour is beautiful. 

[DrDebG]

3 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

I love it! Thank you @DrDebG for another very enticing review. I think I can live with a bit of dryness (that's what wetting solution's for!) when the colour is beautiful. 

Thank you for your kind comments.  I enjoy the color a great deal and with a wet nib, it works quite well.  I confess I haven't tried it in my really dry Visconti yet, but I will likely ink it up with Frostbite next Pen Cleaning Day.