Some Ink Tests

[USG]

Some Inks On View Corona Paper:

 

 

Close Ups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Penguincollector]

12 hours ago, USG said:

 

The right paper:  Lately I've been noticing that I don't use Iroful paper very often.  Why is that?  It brings out nuances almost as well as Cosmo.  It has a narrower line width than Cosmo. So what's the problem?  Is it the off white color?  Is it the writing experience?  I don't know, but I have a lot of Iroful that isn't getting used.  It's never the first notebook I reach for.   Anyone else have an Iroful problem?

 

What's your go to paper atm?

 

  I feel pretty similar to Dill, there’s something about the drag that Iroful has that makes it feel off. I do like the ink effects, and it’s better feeling with my bigger stubs or round nibs than my EF and needlepoint nibs. It’s ok. I only bought one A5 pack when it debuted and have about half of it left. Who knows- there might be a pen that feels fabulous on it that I haven’t tried yet. 
 

  I have been using the Wexford tablet, Yamamoto Artist Paper, CAS, and just randomly picking paper from my stash. My current journal is a generic but pretty leather bound A5 one I found at Homegoods a couple of years ago. The paper doesn’t feather, is a cream color, shows off some ink properties, but is mostly for me to note how the day went. 

[Penguincollector]

14 hours ago, USG said:

Nib wear:  How much writing do you have to do to wear in or wear down a nib?  I have so many pens inked and in use that I doubt any of them have any nib wear.

 

  I don’t know, but I do know that I definitely have some vintage pens that have been worn in. I wonder if the same can be said for my long haul pens? 

[USG]

21 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

Yamamoto Artist Paper,

 

OK, I just added it to my order.... 😀👍

[USG]

b7 Natural Paper:  For comparison I tried to use the same inks as on View Corona paper.  b7 Natural offers a nice surface experience and shows colors and nuances well with a slightly wider line width than Clairefontaine.  I like this paper.

 

To see the best view of the colors enlarge the full page

 

Close Ups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[USG]

Enlarge to see details


 

 

 

[Mechanical]

USG, you have so many nice inks on display here.  Any progress deciding on something for your Pilot 823?  I'm in the middle of moving and all my pens and ink are packed away... except for my 823 with it's generous ink supply.  

[USG]

1 hour ago, Mechanical said:

USG, you have so many nice inks on display here.  Any progress deciding on something for your Pilot 823?  I'm in the middle of moving and all my pens and ink are packed away... except for my 823 with it's generous ink supply.  

 

Hi MCL 😀

 

I hope your move is going smoothly. 😀

 

I have the 823 dipped in Bungubox Dye First Love... it's just not making it 🙁I filled my little Pelikan M600<F> with Horizon Blue and that sucks too.  I just can't get settled.  It's not that I don't like First Love, I do, but it's just not doing anything for me in the 823.  Do you have any ideas?  What do you think about R&K Konigsblau?  I was looking at old writing samples from 2 years ago and I saw one from LTM with Konigsblau that looked interesting so I ordered some.

 

Speaking about the 823,  Joost Appleboom sent Inkquiring Minds an 823 for review and the first thing he does in the video is unscrew the section to show how it dissembles....

 

On the pen front, the Asvine J16<M> titanium with Quasar ink has been turning out to be a very reliable pen across multiple papers.

 

On the paper front, I'm looking around for a new paper.  I just finished writing on some b7.  I think you posted about it first.  It's a very nice paper for colors and nuances and has a nice soft feel.  I like it.  Canopus is coming down in price and when it gets a little lower I'll get some more.... Did you see mine and PGCs comments about Iroful?  I almost never use it, there's something about it.... what do you think?

[USG]

ClaireFontaine Triomphe:

(Athol Violet didn't get along with this paper)

 

[Lithium466]

On 3/2/2026 at 12:00 PM, USG said:

 

I like the color of the Diamine Blues but not the moldy smell.

 

I haven't tried PR Black Magic Blue, it looks sorta like Waterman blue, right?  But keep in mind that that Lamy 2k has had American Blue in it for years.  I refilled it recently but I'm pretty sure the color is a darkened version of itself...  I should do a comparison of that too...

 

 

 

I remember my PR Black Magic Blue being quite unexceptional. I have some lined up for retesting as we speak, perhaps it needs the right pen!

It's too bad for the moldy smell of many Diamine blue/blurple/purple. Did you try Cornflower blue? Maybe I already asked...I saw a bottle in my stash earlier when I was looking for something else.

 

On 3/2/2026 at 12:18 PM, Penguincollector said:

  I think I sent you some, but I can’t remember. It’s a good paper, and with EF nibs, it might be usable on both sides, but that’s not something I normally check for. If you can’t find it, let me know. There’s 2 bank papers (3 if you count LIFE), so I may have sent one and not the other. It’s really thin, thinner than TR52, but not as thin as Glassine (which I love, but mostly for calligraphy). 
 

 

Do you know if this one https://www.paperpluscloth.com/collections/notebooks-notepads/products/yamamoto-paper-writing-pad-a5-bank-paper-66-3gsm

would be the "thick" option? That's all I was able to find that would be easily available to me, but I'm not even sure this is worth trying.

 

On 3/3/2026 at 5:39 AM, USG said:

What  color is Taccia AO ink?

 

My Jun Lai 930 has 2 nibs.  

Top is a Dryer Fine nib.

Bottom is a Weter Medium nib.

 

 

 

That will probably sound obvious, I always attributed this to the dye saturation, becoming more or less opaque or visible depending on the ink quantity deposited, creating shading to sheen.

That is very telling difference with Taccia Ao!

 

On 3/3/2026 at 10:19 PM, USG said:

Nib wear:  How much writing do you have to do to wear in or wear down a nib?  I have so many pens inked and in use that I doubt any of them have any nib wear.

 

 

Some tipping materials are less resistant than others, I recall that discussion on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/1dpnd85/translation_wear_resistance_of_tipping_material/

Definitely when grinding some nibs there is a noticeable difference between Pilot and Lamy, just from two opposite examples I tried. Now will that translate to wear in real use...for most of us that have many pens, probably, not, but if you have one pen and use it heavily, definitely. And then probably the tipping size, starting with a Platinum UEF will not give you the same wear/writing life as the same in B or C  

 

On 3/3/2026 at 11:41 PM, USG said:

 

The right paper:  Lately I've been noticing that I don't use Iroful paper very often.  Why is that?  It brings out nuances almost as well as Cosmo.  It has a narrower line width than Cosmo. So what's the problem?  Is it the off white color?  Is it the writing experience?  I don't know, but I have a lot of Iroful that isn't getting used.  It's never the first notebook I reach for.   Anyone else have an Iroful problem?

 

What's your go to paper atm?

 

On 3/3/2026 at 11:54 PM, A Smug Dill said:

 

I tried Iroful paper a couple of times (and I have more than a few packs of loose sheets and notebooks made with that here). I don't like the kinaesthetic feel of it (which feel like some sort of physical drag/retardant) when the nib traverses that paper's surface, and I don't like that the line widths produced on it are up to two grades wider than how the nib is marked or known to produce on other papers.

I use it to demonstrate something and/or make a point when testing inks, or on the odd occasion testing nibs. That's what I use Iroful paper for. Oh, and to market inks I'm trying to sell to fellow hobbyists who are seduced by whatever ‘show-off’ qualities Iroful can elicit from an ink for social media/‘Instagram’ purposes, even if little or none of that will manifest in real-life use cases for the average fountain pen user who writes in planners, journals, etc.

 

On 3/4/2026 at 12:26 PM, Penguincollector said:

 

  I feel pretty similar to Dill, there’s something about the drag that Iroful has that makes it feel off. I do like the ink effects, and it’s better feeling with my bigger stubs or round nibs than my EF and needlepoint nibs. It’s ok. I only bought one A5 pack when it debuted and have about half of it left. Who knows- there might be a pen that feels fabulous on it that I haven’t tried yet. 
 

  I have been using the Wexford tablet, Yamamoto Artist Paper, CAS, and just randomly picking paper from my stash. My current journal is a generic but pretty leather bound A5 one I found at Homegoods a couple of years ago. The paper doesn’t feather, is a cream color, shows off some ink properties, but is mostly for me to note how the day went. 

 

Many have described their feeling with Iroful much better than I would do, so I'll just say it's pretty much the same for me. I like Iroful for showing inks, not to write on. It's just a matter of feel, and somehow it feels like the mylar or fine sandpaper sheets I use to smooth nibs, and I can't shake the idea that perhaps it's creating undue wear to my nibs 😱 Ok, this is a bit extreme, and probably stupid. Like @Penguincollector I bought a pack, then several, but I barely used my first pack so far, maybe ~20 sheets only?
It's also a bit on the thick side for my notebook use, adding to the above as a reason why it doesn't get picked very often.

 

 

22 hours ago, USG said:

 

Hi MCL 😀

 

I hope your move is going smoothly. 😀

 

I have the 823 dipped in Bungubox Dye First Love... it's just not making it 🙁I filled my little Pelikan M600<F> with Horizon Blue and that sucks too.  I just can't get settled.  It's not that I don't like First Love, I do, but it's just not doing anything for me in the 823.  Do you have any ideas?  What do you think about R&K Konigsblau?  I was looking at old writing samples from 2 years ago and I saw one from LTM with Konigsblau that looked interesting so I ordered some.

 

Speaking about the 823,  Joost Appleboom sent Inkquiring Minds an 823 for review and the first thing he does in the video is unscrew the section to show how it dissembles....

 

On the pen front, the Asvine J16<M> titanium with Quasar ink has been turning out to be a very reliable pen across multiple papers.

 

On the paper front, I'm looking around for a new paper.  I just finished writing on some b7.  I think you posted about it first.  It's a very nice paper for colors and nuances and has a nice soft feel.  I like it.  Canopus is coming down in price and when it gets a little lower I'll get some more.... Did you see mine and PGCs comments about Iroful?  I almost never use it, there's something about it.... what do you think?

 

 

I was hoping you'd have found an ink for your 823. Mine is still uninked in its box as well. I'm now considering Sailor Ink Studio 843, or Taccia Earth Blue (is it really different from Ruri?).
As for R&K Königsblau, you like Waterman Serenity blue so that won't be very different, perhaps with better lubrication. Just a classic methyl blue ink.

[Penguincollector]

2 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Do you know if this one https://www.paperpluscloth.com/collections/notebooks-notepads/products/yamamoto-paper-writing-pad-a5-bank-paper-66-3gsm

would be the "thick" option?

   I need to double check to see if I have that one- I have two Yamamoto bank papers, but my writing pad has a light blue cover. The thin came in an A4 loose leaf pack. 

[USG]

A pic from a few years ago on Cosmo Snow Paper showing very nice Outlining....

 

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

WOW!  That's really cool -- I haven't seen a lot (if ANY) of "haloing" as actual sheen!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[USG]

To continue the comparison, I added Life Paper, with the same group of pens and inks.  Only the Pilot 742 with Iroshizuku Ajisai feathered.

(Close ups to follow)

 

[USG]

On 3/7/2026 at 2:35 PM, Lithium466 said:

I remember my PR Black Magic Blue being quite unexceptional. I have some lined up for retesting as we speak, perhaps it needs the right pen!

It's too bad for the moldy smell of many Diamine blue/blurple/purple. Did you try Cornflower blue? Maybe I already asked...I saw a bottle in my stash earlier when I was looking for something else.

 

Never tried Cornflower....  the color looks interesting, does it smell like the other Diamine blues?

 

On 3/7/2026 at 2:35 PM, Lithium466 said:

Do you know if this one https://www.paperpluscloth.com/collections/notebooks-notepads/products/yamamoto-paper-writing-pad-a5-bank-paper-66-3gsm

would be the "thick" option? That's all I was able to find that would be easily available to me, but I'm not even sure this is worth trying.

 

This is really for @Penguincollector What's the heavy Bank Paper like?  I've seen 66.3 and the 84.9 online.  The 84.9 sounds interesting.

.

On 3/7/2026 at 2:35 PM, Lithium466 said:

That will probably sound obvious, I always attributed this to the dye saturation, becoming more or less opaque or visible depending on the ink quantity deposited, creating shading to sheen.

That is very telling difference with Taccia Ao!

 

We all speculated why the two samples of the same ink looked different,  But the Original Question was:

What  color is Taccia AO ink?  😀

 

On 3/7/2026 at 2:35 PM, Lithium466 said:

I was hoping you'd have found an ink for your 823. Mine is still uninked in its box as well. I'm now considering Sailor Ink Studio 843, or Taccia Earth Blue (is it really different from Ruri?).
As for R&K Königsblau, you like Waterman Serenity blue so that won't be very different, perhaps with better lubrication. Just a classic methyl blue ink.

 

Another Waterman Blue, Ruri Blue, Herbin Verrerie, Horizon Blue, DC SuperShow Blue, Sailor 743 Blue..... ?

 

I went by one of your old writing samples.  You compared Waterman Blue, Imperial Blue, Thunderbolt, AO, and Ruri.   Konigsblau looked like it had a little more pizazz than the others....  I ordered a bottle, maybe I should have gotten a sample... 😟

 

I just checked, Earth Blue looks interesting... 

[Penguincollector]

  Ok, so I have both the thin bank and the heavyweight 87.9 gsm. They’re both lovely. I will either rummage through my gallery and see if I can find photos tomorrow. This time change is doing a number on me. 

[USG]

3 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  Ok, so I have both the thin bank and the heavyweight 87.9 gsm. They’re both lovely. I will either rummage through my gallery and see if I can find photos tomorrow. This time change is doing a number on me. 

 

I can live with the time change, but this new Win 11 update took me 2hs to fix my Desk Top screen.  ☹️

[Penguincollector]

6 hours ago, USG said:

 

I can live with the time change, but this new Win 11 update took me 2hs to fix my Desk Top screen.  ☹️

  IOS also changed things up recently and I hate it, so I can definitely relate. 

[inkstainedruth]

I was in the Baltimore area this past weekend for the B/W show.  And on Saturday evening, the clock on my computer and my phone automatically updated to Daylight Savings Time around 8 PM ET.  And the crawl across the bottom of the screen on the Guide on whatever system the hotel had for TV stations did as well -- but the the Guide itself still had everything listed NOT on Daylight Savings.

And of course I was such a wreck when I got home Sunday night that I ended up sleeping something like ten hours.  And was so draggy yesterday (especially with running to the store and the post office between loads of laundry) that I went to bed relatively early last night.  THOUGHT I'd set my alarm but somehow it didn't go off and I ended up sleeping in until nearly noon.    

And of course just realized that the clock on the microwave and the clock in the laundry room haven't been updated to Daylight Savings Time -- and the clock in the living room which used to be next to the space between the front window and the front hall, and where (at some point) we're supposed to have people come in to repair the water damage from when we had the pinhole leak in the wall between there and the front hallway (and had to have ALL the pipes in the house replaced a few months ago) seems to NOT be working right at ALL.  The second hand is moving, but the other hands have been showing it being 3:15 PM since *before* I went to Baltimore....  And since the second hand is moving, it's clearly NOT that the battery in it needs to be replaced.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ceilidh]

On 3/8/2026 at 4:26 AM, USG said:

A pic from a few years ago on Cosmo Snow Paper showing very nice Outlining....

 

My absolute favorite paper. It shows off ink characteristics so well.