Diamine Hells Bells (German Exclusive)

[yazeh]

Diamine’s Hell Bells (German Exclusive) 

 

This is an another German exclusive, named after the 1980s, AC/DC song. I bought my sample from fountainfeder. 

The only thing I liked about this ink was re-discovering the music of AC/DC.  

 

You can read more about these inks, and Diamine Guitar series on the Nick Stewart website, and why it has a "metal sheen". 

https://nickstewart.ink/2022/07/08/hells-bells-its-master-of-puppets-stephan-lucht/

 

Ink is a dark teal with a red sheen. It’s a finger stainer; my fingers were not happy with all the scrubbing.  However, it’s easy to clean out from pens and Surprisingly, short dry times and very well-behaved on copy paper. For some reason the BB nib and the ink didn’t like each other. 

Sheen is visible mostly on Japanese Paper and not at all on copy paper. The scan shows you the colour and not the sheen. Also, whatever sheen I could see disappeared from Rhodia. If you're into the sheen, use a wet pen, Japanese paper combo. Sheen is most visible under artificial life. 

 

The ink has not water resistance, and it will make a mess out of your notebook. 

 

I could see an impish person sliding a bottle of this ink in an holier than thou person's Christmas stocking, either in its original or a fake bottle  

 

Let's start with the chroma:

 

 

 

Writing Samples:

Sheen is not captured by the scanner:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:

Rhodia direct artificial (led) lighting. Photo was taken two weeks after review was done. While the camera captures  sheen, my eyes cannot see it. 

 

Midori natural light (grey day)

Tomoe River 68 gsm (Led artificial light)

 

Iroful artificial (led) light. Gorgeous sheen. 

 

 

Comparison:

Water test:

Left side 10 seconds under running water. The sink looked pretty blue/teal

 

 

Art Work:

I did some different art inspired by heavy metal imagery. 

The paper is Talens Notebook. The first 3 are pocket size, while the last one is more of A5 size. 

 

Lady sings the blues:

 Heavy Metal blues

 

If Brian Johnson (Lead singer of AC/DC, since 1980) was a Cat?

Grey ink is Kala Nostalgia Gemstone Sillimanite

 

and finally Hells Bells

 

Sheen is obvious when applied generously...

Noodler's Lexingtion Graty and Apache Sunset, and J Herbin Terre de Feu

 

·      Pens used: Pilot Kakuno Ef / Kaweco (EF/F/M/B/ BB), Osimiorid fountain pen Copperplate nib

·      What I liked: Re-discovering the song Hell’s Bell and thinking about the myth of faust.

·      What I did not like: Staining my fingers like hell   colour

·       What some might not like: Name, staining?

·      Shading: Depending paper, angle and sheen. 

·      Ghosting: No on cheap paper. 

·      Bleed through: No, on cheap paper.

·      Flow Rate: Wettish

·      Lubrication: Good with Japanese Ef nib, ok with the Kaweco

·      Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. 

·      Start-up:  Great

·      Saturation:  Very

·      Shading Potential: It’s a sheener

·      Sheen: Yes on all paper but copy.  On Rhodia the sheen faded after a few weeks, maybe because the paper was out. 

·      Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. 

·      Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice.

·      Staining (pen): No. 

·      Clogging: Did not notice.

·      Cleaning: A bit of flushing, but surprisingly easy. 

·      Water resistance: Non-existent. 

·      Availability:  30ml / 80 ml bottles, 

Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier  

 

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

That's a very odd looking ink.  In some of the writing samples it appears to be almost black, especially on the Midori paper.  This is one I'd have to see writing samples of in person, to see if I can see the sheen.  

But thanks as usual for the comprehensive review, and for the fun drawings (of course I'm now going to be earworming that song for the rest of the evening... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LizEF]

9 minutes ago, yazeh said:

The only thing I liked about this ink was re-discovering the music of AC/DC.

I might like the color, but would need to see it in person.  The sheen probably flakes and causes the ink to dry fast on the nib (at least, here in the desert) - I wouldn't like those...

 

I absolutely love the water test drawing.   It's sort of like tug of war, with a bell...  And the Hell's Bells drawing - both have an element of fun and silliness in them.  The other drawings are interesting - particularly the monochrome ones - very heavy metalish.  It's been a very long time since I listened to AC/DC, but they were very popular when I was a teen.

 

Thanks, @yazeh, for putting up with an ink you didn't like, and especially for some fun drawings!

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

That's a very odd looking ink.

It's your classic teal sheening ink  

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

 In some of the writing samples it appears to be almost black, especially on the Midori paper.  This is one I'd have to see writing samples of in person, to see if I can see the sheen.  

Yep the scan "converts" sheen into saturation black. However, if written with a very wet pen and laying a lot of ink the sheen looks like almost black, good eye

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

But thanks as usual for the comprehensive review, and for the fun drawings (of course I'm now going to be earworming that song for the rest of the evening... ).

Glad, I didn't post this review close to Christmas. You wouldn't what to have this song ear worming,  if you attend Christmas mass  

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

I have another in that series. I couldn't relate to the music, hope the ink is worth reviewing  

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

I might like the color, but would need to see it in person.  The sheen probably flakes and causes the ink to dry fast on the nib (at least, here in the desert) - I wouldn't like those...

I would say it's your classic teal sheening ink. Personally I would've like maybe a green ink (patina of the bell)  with orange / red sheen (of the supposed hell) or vice versa. 

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

I absolutely love the water test drawing.   It's sort of like tug of war, with a bell...  And the Hell's Bells drawing - both have an element of fun and silliness in them. 

Thanks. I was inspired by a live version of the song, when Brian Johnson swings on a bell. It had an element of "devil" may-care attitude.  

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

The other drawings are interesting - particularly the monochrome ones - very heavy metalish.  It's been a very long time since I listened to AC/DC, but they were very popular when I was a teen.

I was playing around with the ink and a brush. It's difficult to control this ink as it dissolves at the touch of the brush  I discovered their music in my late teens also, concurrently with the discovery of Shostakovitch's demented rhythms 😛  

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Thanks, @yazeh, for putting up with an ink you didn't like, and especially for some fun drawings!

Glad. It was worthwhile. Unlike @inkstainedruth I have had this song in my head for the past 3 weeks, sometimes even waking up in the middle of night with it.  

The song reminds me of the obsession/fixation of many 19th century music with Faust....

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

I would say it's your classic teal sheening ink. Personally I would've like maybe a green ink (patina of the bell)  with orange / red sheen (of the supposed hell) or vice versa. 

Yes, the color doesn't exactly relate to the name in any way that's obvious - I suppose the red sheen, but that seems a stretch.

 

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

I have had this song in my head for the past 3 weeks, sometimes even waking up in the middle of night with it.  

Ugh!  That's a bit too much.  When I get a song stuck in my head, I'm usually able to get rid of it through other music or something that challenges my brain.

[AmandaW]

Australian band. (Bon Scott was a local lad for those of us in the West and old enough to remember...) German exclusive ink? How does that work?

[yazeh]

9 hours ago, AmandaW said:

Australian band. (Bon Scott was a local lad for those of us in the West and old enough to remember...) German exclusive ink? How does that work?

This is my understanding of it, but better informed members, like @lapis might correct my info. 

Diamine does a lot of inks for different pen stores in the world, like Cult pens and some also for Pen Gallery, Malaysia

 

 

According to a a reddit thread, these inks are suggested /made for by the German distributor of Diamine, Stephan Lucht for different German pen stores You can buy them from fountainfeder, Papier und Stift..  Some of them have heavy metal/rock song names, but not all: 

 

November Rain 

Skull and Roses

Communication Breakdown

Smoke on the Water

Purple Rain

A night in Jodphur 

 

 

The newest German exclusive inks are Hells Bells  and Master of Puppets.... 

 

[yazeh]

11 hours ago, LizEF said:

Yes, the color doesn't exactly relate to the name in any way that's obvious - I suppose the red sheen, but that seems a stretch.

11 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Ugh!  That's a bit too much.  When I get a song stuck in my head, I'm usually able to get rid of it through other music or something that challenges my brain.

I prefer a song to bad news cycles  

[LizEF]

5 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I prefer a song to bad news cycles  

  In this case, the song would seem appropriate background music to the news cycles!

[yazeh]

35 minutes ago, LizEF said:

  In this case, the song would seem appropriate background music to the news cycles!

[LizEF]

45 minutes ago, yazeh said:

[Sailor Kenshin]

You took one for the team again!

I dunno…Hell's Bells reminds me of soooo many other darkish tealish Diamine inks that will not let go of your fingers no matter what. And I have a few! I do, however, like sheen. This one's a beaut in that regard.

The artwork makes me smile. Many thanks, Yazeh, for this Heavy Metal Review. 😸 👏🏻 🐭

[Baggins]

I think I have a sample…from Fountainfeder of course. In the EU basically the place to go for samples, and other interesting stuff. I’m not a big fan of teal, sheen or not…yet.

Your art however maintains its mysterious style. Nobody could draw metal singer as a cat with a hat 😍just genius. 
yes that’s it you’re a Genius!🤩

very very nice, Happy season wishes.

[Penguincollector]

  Thanks for your review, Yazeh. I love your hand and your art style so much! I like this ink, especially on Iroful in your photo— I will place it on my list of interesting inks, so when I look for certain European pens I can see if they carry them. 

[PJohnP]

Fascinating bit of trivia here - the bell used by AC/DC on their tour for this song was cast in Loughborough at John Taylor Bell Foundry.  I toured the foundry decades back when I was a postgraduate at L'boro, not long after the bell for AC/DC was cast there.  Along the way, the foundry made a few other bells, including for places such York Minster.

 

There's a Wikipedia entry on the foundry :

 

John Taylor & Co - Wikipedia

 

along with the foundry's own webpage :

 

Britain’s Last Major Bellfoundry | Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust

 

Amazing place to visit decades back, and I expect that it still is...

 

... but, to the best of my knowledge, they don't manufacture inks.

 

 

John P.

[InesF]

I know why I like Victor Hugo and AC/DC!  

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for your effort in acquiring and reviewing this ink! It is, as always, a pleasure to watch and to read! 

 

Heavy Metal Inspired Drawing is a totally new art style - shapes are moving on the paper while shaking (banging) the head! Those can no longer be called "still life".  

 

While I absolutely love this colour - yes, I do 🤷‍♀️ - I hesitated buying it, because of the expected mess it will do when becoming wet or even damp when on paper and with all those dried ink crystals spreading over the desk when opening the bottle. 🙄 I have a similar ink from Colorverse which I adore but requires something like an L3 laboratory to be used.   So, I will skip this Hell's Ink from Diamine.

 

This time mouse seems to be on the receiving end while cat is exceptionally active. I feel pleased by the quantity and by the quality of your drawings! 👍  

Looking forward to your next review!

 

[yazeh]

On 12/19/2024 at 11:04 AM, Sailor Kenshin said:

You took one for the team again!

Thanks!

On 12/19/2024 at 11:04 AM, Sailor Kenshin said:

I dunno…Hell's Bells reminds me of soooo many other darkish tealish Diamine inks that will not let go of your fingers no matter what. And I have a few! I do, however, like sheen. This one's a beaut in that regard.

So true!

On 12/19/2024 at 11:04 AM, Sailor Kenshin said:

The artwork makes me smile. Many thanks, Yazeh, for this Heavy Metal Review. 😸 👏🏻 🐭

A pleasure!

[yazeh]

19 hours ago, Baggins said:

I think I have a sample…from Fountainfeder of course. In the EU basically the place to go for samples, and other interesting stuff.

One of my favourite sample stores

19 hours ago, Baggins said:

I’m not a big fan of teal, sheen or not…yet.

 

19 hours ago, Baggins said:

Your art however maintains its mysterious style. Nobody could draw metal singer as a cat with a hat 😍just genius. 
yes that’s it you’re a Genius!🤩

 Thanks!

19 hours ago, Baggins said:

 

very very nice, Happy season wishes.

To you too. I'll try to add a dog at some point  

[yazeh]

18 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  Thanks for your review, Yazeh.

🙏

18 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

I love your hand and your art style so much!

Thank you!

18 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

 

I like this ink, especially on Iroful in your photo—

It's looks quite need, when angled correctly towards te light

18 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

I will place it on my list of interesting inks, so when I look for certain European pens I can see if they carry them.