Some Ink Tests

[USG]

12 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

A long overdue update on Iroful.

Boring blues: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I can only get Platinum pink in cartridges:

 

 

 

I finally was able to source some Midori MD cotton, and look forward to trying it now   It only seems available as blank (no grid).

 

 

 

There's a lot of information there LTM. 😀👍

Interesting inks with very similar colors.

• Imperial Blue - Sapphire Blue
• Black Magic Blue - Unicorn - Ultramarine
• Sky Blue - Sora
• Horizon Blue - Baustate Blue
• Midori - Velvet Emerald

Pink visible when enlarged:

[Lithium466]

9 hours ago, USG said:

 

There's a lot of information there LTM. 😀👍

Interesting inks with very similar colors.

• Imperial Blue - Sapphire Blue
• Black Magic Blue - Unicorn - Ultramarine
• Sky Blue - Sora
• Horizon Blue - Baustate Blue
• Midori - Velvet Emerald

Pink visible when enlarged:

 

- Imperial Blue and Sapphire Blue are very similar, Sapphire Blue is more saturated.

- Ultramarine gives old school vibes, I thought it possibly could be like the old Rotring Ultramarine and it could be, but I'm really not sure, and I don't have the means to compare anymore. With the number of inks available today, OF Ultramarine isn't worth it.

Unicorn seems to have darkened with age (in the bottle) and becoming more of a "dirty" blue? Nice sheen and didn't smudge too much.

BmB probably isn't the best PR ink ever, and overall this set of three was quite disappointing, at least they have good lubrication. 

- Jinhao Sky blue has bad lubrication, there are better similar light blue inks. Taccia Sora is nice.

- BsB's infamous reputation didn't disappoint, it stained the black section and the feed of the 45, as well as the underside of the nib. Apart from that it was pretty well behaved, no hard starting.

- Velvet emerald has outlining potential!

[USG]

On 4/19/2026 at 10:31 AM, Lithium466 said:

 

- Imperial Blue and Sapphire Blue are very similar, Sapphire Blue is more saturated.

- Ultramarine gives old school vibes, I thought it possibly could be like the old Rotring Ultramarine and it could be, but I'm really not sure, and I don't have the means to compare anymore. With the number of inks available today, OF Ultramarine isn't worth it.

Unicorn seems to have darkened with age (in the bottle) and becoming more of a "dirty" blue? Nice sheen and didn't smudge too much.

BmB probably isn't the best PR ink ever, and overall this set of three was quite disappointing, at least they have good lubrication. 

- Jinhao Sky blue has bad lubrication, there are better similar light blue inks. Taccia Sora is nice.

- BsB's infamous reputation didn't disappoint, it stained the black section and the feed of the 45, as well as the underside of the nib. Apart from that it was pretty well behaved, no hard starting.

- Velvet emerald has outlining potential!

 

I hear ya.... 👍😛

 

[USG]

So I've been checking out Sanzen's Tomoe River 68gsm lately.  I basically like it but I've had some occasional feathering. The 52gsm is better. 

 

 

Some close ups....

 

 

 Not sure what happened on Tomoe's "M"

 

 

 

Three blue inks that look very similar:  @Lithium466

 

3 Pelikans, EF, F and M

[USG]

@Lithium466  I spoke to soon.  Majohn didn't fix the P136's posting problem.  My first one didn't post.  My second one posted perfectly so I thought they fixed the problem.  But the one I just got doesn't come close to posting.  So, back to a (could have been neater) ring of tape. 😛👍

 

 

 

[Penguincollector]

   I finally opened the bouquet of 7 Fabriano A6 notebooks I got for Xmas two years ago. I started with the Vellutata (velvety) paper. 
 

Here’s an overview of the page:

I really like the way both the shading and shimmer looks here:

 

 

The Waterman 52 was too much for it. These letters can probably fly, the feathering is so bad. This ink is definitely darker than it is out of the bottle. 

 

Seiboku is an excellent shading ink here:

Platinum pink’s golden sheen shows well on this paper:

 

 

Neutron Star Twinkle is a banger:

  Funny enough, I was expecting this ink to be dry. It shades, but also manages to feather a bit. 

  I have more closeups in my gallery if folks are interested. Tonight I will try a different notebook from the set. 

 

[USG]

41 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

I have more closeups in my gallery if folks are interested

 

You did a bang up job. 👍  16 writing samples on an A6 sheet. 😃  Lots of stuff to look at.  Great colors. 👍

 

 You know I'm interested in your pics.... 👍 Post them all here 😀

 

First question: what color is that paper?  Is it the same color as the Fabriano I have?

[USG]

I like your Jacaranda. 😃

 

I only have 2 of your inks... Seiboku and American Blue

 

My Seiboku is similar to yours on Tomoe River 68

 

My American blue is also similar on Tomoe River68 

  

But look what happens to it on Cosmo Snow

[inkstainedruth]

@Penguincollector -- Not familiar with the term "velvety" in regards to paper.  Does that mean it has a soft (i.e., as opposed to "crisp"/"smooth") finish?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Penguincollector]

3 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

@Penguincollector -- Not familiar with the term "velvety" in regards to paper.  Does that mean it has a soft (i.e., as opposed to "crisp"/"smooth") finish?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

  Vellutata paper is described as having a smooth, matte finish rather than a slippery, glossy one. Clairefontaine Triomphe is similar. It’s a heavy paper, 100gsm. It feels really nice to write on; although wet inks are not really compatible with it. 

 

[USG]

Tomoe River 68:  <M> Nibs

4 Watermans

3 Pilots

2 Pelikans

1 Sailor

1 Lamy

1 Omas

 

I'm not convinced that this is new Sanzen Tomoe River 68gsm paper because it feathers like the transitional TR68 did, so I've ordered it from another source to compare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[USG]

A lot going on.....

• The Tomoe River 68 controversy is solved
• Monteverde Titanium nibs arrive
• Kokuyo Thin Paper 52gsm is back

Tomoe River 68gsm paper:

I suspected that the TR 68 paper I got from Amazon was transitional paper so I ordered it from another source.  Here's the results:

 

This feathering  is from the suspect TR68 paper

 

This is the same pen and ink on the new TR68gsm paper from Jetpens

 

Monteverde Titanium Nibs:

 

 

 

 

The nibs came in sections that didn't fit into any of the Chinese pens I had planed to put them in and try as I might I couldn't pull the nib out.  Luckily I had a Monteverde Strata, so out came the Omniflex nib section and in went the Titanium.  

 

 

Turned out that the Monteverde Titanium nib was a nail with no noticeable softness or bounce to it.  The Omniflex nib was softer and bouncier, superior in every way.  Never the less I will continue to experiment with the Titanium nib in case it has a virtue I haven't discovered yet.

 

 

The Original Kokuyo Thin 52gsm Paper is back:

 

 

Good results from initial exploration, shows shading, sheening and outlining with no feathering or bleeding:  (Enlarge to see details)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the one that feathered on the suspect TR68-

[Mechanical]

On 5/2/2026 at 11:09 AM, USG said:

• The Tomoe River 68 controversy is solved
• Monteverde Titanium nibs arrive
• Kokuyo Thin Paper 52gsm is back

 

Wow, @USG, where did you get this Kokuyo Thin?  As soon as I unpack, and find my pens, I want to order some.  I really liked the crisp smoothness of the variety we tried before.  

 

Also good work on re-trying the TR68... much better results.

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, Mechanical said:

Wow, @USG, where did you get this Kokuyo Thin?

  JetPens

[USG]

Majohn Flex Nib

 

 

 

 

This P136 came with a gold colored flex nib

 

 

 

 

 

 

[USG]

12 hours ago, Mechanical said:

 

Wow, @USG, where did you get this Kokuyo Thin?  As soon as I unpack, and find my pens, I want to order some.  I really liked the crisp smoothness of the variety we tried before.  

 

Also good work on re-trying the TR68... much better results.

 

 

Hi MCL  while you were moving......  I answered you here

 

[Penguincollector]

On 4/27/2026 at 11:02 PM, USG said:

First question: what color is that paper?  Is it the same color as the Fabriano I have?

  That’s a good question. I will dig out my Ecoqua and see.

[Mechanical]

On 3/6/2026 at 9:37 PM, 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 have been busy.  In all, it's been about 3 months of work to find a house (retirement cottage), get the old house ready, and to get everything bought and sold.  Everything is still in boxes, but I'm happy to have moved.  

 

I've only had Pilot ink in my Pilot 823, and it has been great for me in terms of color, flow, and lubrication.  It gives reliable shading, but nothing I can see in terms of the chromodynamics of sheen and hue.  I don't think I'll change... but I may get another 823 to use with a different ink.  Ridiculous, but tempting.  I really like this pen.

 

Every time I pick up the 823, I just want to write for miles and miles.  Part of that feeling comes the perfectly matched flow of the ink.  So that liquidity is part of what I'd look for if I were to change inks.  I'd consider R&K Verdigris, for example.  I like Sailor Souboku ink and I have that loaded in my Wing Sung 699.  Again, that has the shading but is pretty monochromatic for me.

 

I have a feeling you're not using the Bungubox First Love (Pigment) because you like to keep your pens inked for a long time.  But what about Bungubox Ruri Sea?  I still have a bit of that in my Lamy 2000  and it is quite the charmer.

 

On unscrewing the section of a Pilot 823, I wonder.... I get absolutely no sense of give when I give it a try on my pen.  I don't believe I'll go all out either!

[Mechanical]

On 5/3/2026 at 8:46 PM, Penguincollector said:

  JetPens

Thanks, @Penguincollector.  Ah, I have so much catching up to do!  

[Mechanical]

On 3/6/2026 at 9:37 PM, USG said:

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....

 

This report made me retry unscrewing the 823 section from its barrel.  It came right off!  I dunno, maybe it's because I fiddled with it so much in the past?  This attempt required only the amount of grip and twist that you'd expect.  I just used my finger tips...