EFNIR: KWZ El Dorado

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: KWZ El Dorado

This is review #272 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: I originally had this classified as "Gold" color (based on the name), but really, it's dark yellow.  I like the color, but I don't think it's great for long written passages - it would get hard on the eyes after a while, especially on white paper.  Cleaning was easy with plain water but surprisingly needed a few extra flushes - the dye is very concentrated.

Zoomed in photo (What my eyes see might be a little tiny bit less vibrant, but this is extremely close!)

Screenshot (Also very close.)

Scan of Completed Review (Very close. Text a little too bright.)

Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper) (These are fairly close but the color on paper is duller than these images suggest - both of these papers seem to have muted the color, making it a little browner.)

Line width (The "I" in "Ink:". Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each. The line width for this ink is roughly 270µm. With 272 inks measured, the average line width is 296µm.)

Microscope image (400x. Closeup of an ink "hairball". :D)

Microscope image (100x. Hairballs and yellow bubbles...)

Previous Review: Noodler's X-Feather Black.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

Want to influence the inky sequence? Take the "next ink" poll.

View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet.

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh? Find the whole story here.

Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

[yazeh]

Excellent review and many thanks @LizEF and KlawEblack 👍😁

I love this gorgeous color which went very well the soft bonding between Quin and you know who😊

 

Thanks for making this Tuesday bright and sunny 🙏

[Penguincollector]

  What a lovely color! The ink hairballs and the bubbles are rather disconcerting (hair, ewww and trypophobia), but the review was enjoyable and the story is always the best part. 😊 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

Excellent review and many thanks @LizEF and KlawEblack 👍😁

Thanks!

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I love this gorgeous color which went very well the soft bonding between Quin and you know who😊

Yeah, nice color.  A little hard to read if there's lots of text in this fine a nib, though.  Probably better for fat, wet nibs and art.

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Thanks for making this Tuesday bright and sunny 🙏

You're most welcome!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Write about my cell phone?  Okay.  I wish they'd stop obsoleting them every five seconds.

 

@LizEF, I believe I had a sample of this ink once.  Though I do not recall any impressions, other than 'Hey, does this ink smell like oranges?'

 

A gigantic Miyazaki-like godling strides the cosmos, blowing bubbles, as it contemplates the dense, furled ball of gillyweed which conceal the pink goddess.

 

I love the story!  Thanks once again for the Tuesday treat.  A sunny color as I watch snow falling.

 

 

 

 

[LizEF]

37 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

  What a lovely color! The ink hairballs and the bubbles are rather disconcerting (hair, ewww and trypophobia), ...

  Well, they weren't really hairballs.

 

39 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

but the review was enjoyable and the story is always the best part. 😊 

Thank you!!

[LizEF]

1 minute ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Write about my cell phone?  Okay.  I wish they'd stop obsoleting them every five seconds.

Right?

 

1 minute ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

@LizEF, I believe I had a sample of this ink once.  Though I do not recall any impressions, other than 'Hey, does this ink smell like oranges?'

Hmm.  I don't remember a smell, but then, my nose doesn't work that well.  (Technically, I think it's the part of my brain that processes scent, but whatever...)

 

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

A gigantic Miyazaki-like godling strides the cosmos, blowing bubbles, as it contemplates the dense, furled ball of gillyweed which conceal the pink goddess.

You really are fabulous at that, Sailor!

 

4 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I love the story!  Thanks once again for the Tuesday treat.  A sunny color as I watch snow falling.

Thank you!!  You're most welcome!  May your snow be just the right amount and not over-stay its welcome!

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

Well, they weren't really hairballs.

  No, but the micro reminds me of hair clippings.

[LizEF]

2 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

  No, but the micro reminds me of hair clippings.

  Yeah, that second one does look like hair clippings all over the floor, doesn't it!?

[Karmachanic]

Love this ink.  Close to Kobe #21 Taisanji.  Quite staid compared to Zafferano tho'.  Essential inks for the dreary English NW

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Karmachanic said:

Close to Kobe #21 Taisanji.

[googles] ...  Oh, yes, very close - and likely cheaper, too.

 

1 hour ago, Karmachanic said:

Quite staid compared to Zafferano tho'.

[googles] ... Probably have to see them next to each other, but Zafferano does look like quite the bright yellowish orange!

 

1 hour ago, Karmachanic said:

Essential inks for the dreary English NW

  Color is one of the great beauties of life!

[InesF]

El Dorado was, is, and ever will be full of surprises and valuable microscopy images! 

Thank you, @LizEF, for this ink review, for the story, for the microscopy and for letting me ask my phone for its true name ... 

 

Hurray! An ink with less than 2 minutes set time!

But, wait, what? 28% rH? How can you survive that?

 

The ink colour looks great in the magnified text but would not suit as a daily writer. For a long time I refused to use orange inks but started to love some of them, such as Kaweco Sunrise Orange, P. Edelstein Mandarin and F.Schimpf Sundowner, recently. However, I can't imagine to use a yellow-gold ink, such as KWZ El Dorado. 🤷‍♀️

[LizEF]

10 hours ago, InesF said:

El Dorado was, is, and ever will be full of surprises and valuable microscopy images! 

 

10 hours ago, InesF said:

Thank you, @LizEF, for this ink review, for the story, for the microscopy and for letting me ask my phone for its true name ... 

You're very welcome!  And did you learn your phone's true name?

 

10 hours ago, InesF said:

Hurray! An ink with less than 2 minutes set time!

Right? Shocking!

 

10 hours ago, InesF said:

But, wait, what? 28% rH? How can you survive that?

Without (noticing) sweating.  With pens that dry in hours, not days!   With inks that evaporate overnight (in pens that will never be used again).   With a sprinkler system for the lawn.  Etc.

 

10 hours ago, InesF said:

The ink colour looks great in the magnified text but would not suit as a daily writer. For a long time I refused to use orange inks but started to love some of them, such as Kaweco Sunrise Orange, P. Edelstein Mandarin and F.Schimpf Sundowner, recently. However, I can't imagine to use a yellow-gold ink, such as KWZ El Dorado. 🤷‍♀️

Yeah, I can't recommend this for large blocks of text, especially on white paper.  It's a little better on cream / ivory / off-white paper.  It would be better from a broad, wet nib, but still probably best used for things you want to stand out - "headlines" or "pull quotes" or decorations of some sort.

[txomsy]

Every time I see one of your reviews I want an USB microscope. But I already have too much clutter at home. Anyway, nice review, as usual.

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, txomsy said:

Every time I see one of your reviews I want an USB microscope. But I already have too much clutter at home.

Just in case it might help, and to be clear: The zoom and absorbent paper images are done with a USB microscope.  The line width and slides / smear images are done with a regular old lab microscope that has a USB camera embedded in it somewhere (integral, not an attachment to the eyepiece or anything like that).

 

And if you'd like something similar to the USB microscope with less clutter, and right now only slightly more expensive (it's on sale), check out the Tipscope attachment for smartphone cameras.  It makes amazing macro photographs.  I can't embed reddit images directly, so I'll link some reddit posts with examples:

 

Diamine Dragon's Blood (w/ crazy sheen)

 

Some Diamine shimmering ink with sheen

 

Part of me really wants one of these things, but it couldn't replace any part of my review process, only add visual appeal, so I'm resisting (really waste too much time and money already).

 

1 hour ago, txomsy said:

Anyway, nice review, as usual.

Thank you!

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

And if you'd like something similar to the USB microscope with less clutter, and right now only slightly more expensive (it's on sale), check out the Tipscope attachment for smartphone cameras.  It makes amazing macro photographs.  I can't embed reddit images directly, so I'll link some reddit posts with examples:

 

Diamine Dragon's Blood (w/ crazy sheen)

 

Some Diamine shimmering ink with sheen

Zowie! 

[LizEF]

38 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Zowie! 

  Now you know why I want one.

[Sailor Kenshin]

4 hours ago, LizEF said:

Just in case it might help, and to be clear: The zoom and absorbent paper images are done with a USB microscope.  The line width and slides / smear images are done with a regular old lab microscope that has a USB camera embedded in it somewhere (integral, not an attachment to the eyepiece or anything like that).

 

And if you'd like something similar to the USB microscope with less clutter, and right now only slightly more expensive (it's on sale), check out the Tipscope attachment for smartphone cameras.  It makes amazing macro photographs.  I can't embed reddit images directly, so I'll link some reddit posts with examples:

 

Diamine Dragon's Blood (w/ crazy sheen)

 

Some Diamine shimmering ink with sheen

 

Part of me really wants one of these things, but it couldn't replace any part of my review process, only add visual appeal, so I'm resisting (really waste too much time and money already).

 

Thank you!

Those shots are a MAY zing!

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

  Now you know why I want one.

Ask Klaw to cut on treats/ toy  Mama needs a new toy  or maybe as Vika/ Frelsara some help

 

[LizEF]

9 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Ask Klaw to cut on treats/ toy  Mama needs a new toy  or maybe as Vika/ Frelsara some help