Schneider Cognac, a wee review

[Black16]

Disclaimer: I have only cheap noname off-white 100gsm paper, I'm not a pro at reviews and my handwriting is awful and gets even worse when I'm trying to make it look better. But I do have some inks I didn't see being mentioned much so I decided to contribute to the community with these wee reviews of them, simply because I love these inks and I hope even these pieces of information will help someone to find something they might enjoy. Oh and also my scanner hates inks so I'll be posting only photos as they're more accurate than the scans.

 

 

Brand: Schneider

Ink name: Cognac

Available in: 15ml glass bottles or short international cartridges, worldwide, seems affordable

 

Colour group: warm brown

Saturation: I'd say medium

Shading: yes, a very nice one; shades in all nib sizes but is grayer in finer and redder/oranger in broader nibs (see the pic with "ASAP" compared to the main sheet, that's the same ink)

Sheen: didn't notice but it might be my paper

Shimmer: no

Flow: medium, I wouldn't say it is a very wet ink comparing to Waterman, but it is wetter than Pilot's regular Black and a lot wetter than Herbin's

Nib lubrication: medium, feels nice in Parkers and EFs, but doesn't make the nib loose its feedback

Feathering: happens in fude nibs on cheap paper

Bleeding: no, only when poured on paper, see the tests - even on the most crappy paper it doesn't bleed (when Kaweco does)

Nib crud: no

Dry time: 3 to 5 seconds, depending on the nib (ie longer time in wet broad nibs)

Dries out: never happened, it stayed for weeks in Parker IM (capped) and for more than an hour (uncapped) in the same pen

Start up: flawlessly, same time range as for the "dries out" above

Waterproof: I wouldn't say so, see the tests (on the main sheet it is just smeared with a few drops of water, on the smaller sheet it is put under tap water for ~10 seconds)

Similar inks: I guess a lot of inks are similar but I do not posses any of those to provide a proper comparison, but I added all my brown inks to the tests anyway

 

Summary: I personally like this ink, if I was building my ink collection from the scratch I'd buy it again from the start. It indeed resembles cognac shades, on paper towels after flushing pens it has yellow and pink tints. I consider it low-maintenance as it cleans out easily, seems to never dry out in pens and doesn't stain transparent and white parts. Medium flow, medium wetness - nothing exceptional, but it is still well lubricated and the pros are noticeable. I use it in my workshop pen (Parker IM Achromatic <F>) as when I'm writing down my field notes I tend to leave the pen uncapped for hours and sometimes I don't use it for weeks so it just stays with ink (tho capped in this case of course), and I never had any issues with clogging or drying out or hard starts or nib creep. It is a reliable ink from an old respected brand (Schneider actually merged with Heiko AFAIK) and for many people the fact that it is available in both international short cartridges and bottles might be a huge advantage, I guess. There's an actual con - the bottles, they're tiny and have no ink well.

Unfortunately I didn't try it in any flex or naginata nibs but I did try it in a fude to show some broader experience.

 

The pens used in this review: Parker IM <F>, Lanbitou 2053 <fude>, Manzoni Positano <generic IPG M>

 

The pics:

(with artificial lights; tried to keep them at 680pixels but let me know if it's better to shrink them more)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I hope it was of any use

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Black16 said:

But I do have some inks I didn't see being mentioned much so I decided to contribute to the community with these wee reviews of them, simply because I love these inks and I hope even these pieces of information will help someone to find something they might enjoy.

Would that more folks would do this!  Thank you!

 

1 hour ago, Black16 said:

tried to keep them at 680pixels but let me know if it's better to shrink them more

Nope, the image size is good.

 

This is a great review!  Good job showing the color range of the ink, giving us all the specs, and giving us a couple of comparisons!   I love brown inks - there's something very vintage about them.  Thanks for helping us see a rarely-featured brand!

[InesF]

Thank you, @Black16, for this ink review!

All the aspects of the ink are shown, including next-to-no-shading close-ups, chroma and comparisons with other inks of the same colour family!  It is well done! 👍 

 

While brown is not among my favourite colours, from time to time, I use one. It's always good to see what else is out there in the wild, wild world of pen and ink!  

[Black16]

@LizEF, @InesF, thank you kindly and glad you liked the review. Schneider have other colours in the same form actually, here links to their promos:

https://schneiderpen.com/us/ink-container/pastel-ink-glas-15-ml/6937

https://schneiderpen.com/us/ink-cartridge/660-pastel/166136

I have only Cognac so far.

 

I grew up admiring German stationery and Schneider was on the same level as Pelikan to me, the inks are of the same quality at least. Schneider inks are wetter though. I also enjoy ONLINE pen company's inks very much but haven't "catch them all" yet. I plan to do reviews on two I've soon - Cedar Wood and Cranberry. Beautiful almost black teal and non-staining red.

[Penguincollector]

   Oh, I had been wondering about Cognac. I have been adding the pastel series to my cartridge collection, so far I have all but Cognac and Bermuda Blue. Now I really want this one, it’s very pretty! Thanks for the mini review!

[Black16]

11 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

   Oh, I had been wondering about Cognac. I have been adding the pastel series to my cartridge collection, so far I have all but Cognac and Bermuda Blue. Now I really want this one, it’s very pretty! Thanks for the mini review!

Do you have the Lemon Cake one by the way? I was wondering if it is a highlighter ink or a regular yellow similar to Herbin's Ambers maybe. I planned to try it and Apricot after good experience with Cognac.

[Penguincollector]

Just now, Black16 said:

Do you have the Lemon Cake one by the way? I was wondering if it is a highlighter ink or a regular yellow similar to Herbin's Ambers maybe. I planned to try it and Apricot after good experience with Cognac.

 

  I do, it’s actually the only one of that series that I am currently using. I will write with it and take a picture after I get the housework and errands done tonight. It’s surprisingly legible, depending on the paper. 

[Black16]

42 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

 

  I do, it’s actually the only one of that series that I am currently using. I will write with it and take a picture after I get the housework and errands done tonight. It’s surprisingly legible, depending on the paper. 

Will wait, thank you very much in advance!

[yazeh]

This is substantial for a "wee" review @Black16.  

Thanks for doing it. The photos are very helpful, the writing is legible   and the paper towels show off the chroma. 

Like @LizEF , I wish other members would write "wee-ish" reviews. A few photos, a few lines, and we get a picture, and feel of the ink. 🙏

[Penguincollector]

11 hours ago, Black16 said:

Will wait, thank you very much in advance!

  Here are the three Schneider Pastel Series cartridges that I have in pens currently. I deliberately put them in fine nibs to see how light they are. Ice Blue on top, Lemon Cake on the left, Apricot on the right.

 

[Black16]

11 hours ago, yazeh said:

This is substantial for a "wee" review @Black16.  

Thanks for doing it. The photos are very helpful, the writing is legible   and the paper towels show off the chroma. 

Like @LizEF , I wish other members would write "wee-ish" reviews. A few photos, a few lines, and we get a picture, and feel of the ink. 🙏

Thank you! I don't have any special (watercolour?) paper for chromas so decided to use paper towels - works okayish imo.

 

I also thought about a lot of people out there who use cheap paper for lots of notes and about a lot less reviews with off-white paper shown (that's a personal pain honestly, I wish there were more!) on any ink in general, so I have a guessing that my reviews might be useful even when done on old famous stuff. So am considering reviewing all of my fave inks, Waterman included

[Black16]

2 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  Here are the three Schneider Pastel Series cartridges that I have in pens currently. I deliberately put them in fine nibs to see how light they are. Ice Blue on top, Lemon Cake on the left, Apricot on the right.

 

Many thanks! I guess I will have to buy both Apricot and Lemon Cake, they seem to be perfect for a few projects I have currently...

[yazeh]

5 hours ago, Black16 said:

Thank you! I don't have any special (watercolour?) paper for chromas so decided to use paper towels - works okayish imo.

I use paper towels. But some use chromatography paper strips. You can do it in an artistic way, on watercolour paper, but that's more art than colour. NIck Stewart does it. He applies three water coats on papers, and drips ink and guides it with a fountain pen or brush to create dreamy landscapes. 

5 hours ago, Black16 said:

 

I also thought about a lot of people out there who use cheap paper for lots of notes and about a lot less reviews with off-white paper shown (that's a personal pain honestly, I wish there were more!)

I use one copy of paper per review. But that's about it.

5 hours ago, Black16 said:

So am considering reviewing all of my fave inks, Waterman included

Looking forward to them.

 

[Black16]

3 hours ago, yazeh said:

8 hours ago, Black16 said:

 

I use paper towels. But some use chromatography paper strips. You can do it in an artistic way, on watercolour paper, but that's more art than colour. NIck Stewart does it. He applies three water coats on papers, and drips ink and guides it with a fountain pen or brush to create dreamy landscapes. 

If I'll ever get some watercolour paper accidentally I'm definitely gonna give it a shot!

[yazeh]

27 minutes ago, Black16 said:

If I'll ever get some watercolour paper accidentally I'm definitely gonna give it a shot!

👍

[namrehsnoom]

@Black16This is an excellent review, and of a company whose inks I've never tried before, and that isn't as visible as it should be. A big thank-you for showing that ink on the forum!

I enjoyed your presentation of the ink, with the accompanying photos that give a good feel of what the ink looks like. Keep on doing them!

 

This specific cognac looks really nice. A shade of brown that appeals to me. And after getting a peek at Schneider's website, looking at their other "Pastel series" inks ... drooling ... these look like inks that are right up my alley. So a double thank-you for bringing these to our attention.

 

For doing chromatography - I find that using white coffee filter paper (in Europe, N°4 Melitta e.g.) works really well.  Cut out a rectangular strip, put a drop of ink at one end, and hold that end over a glass of water, so that the paper just touches the water. Then let capillary action do its magic. Water will filter up the paper and through the ink, carrying the dyes with it, and seperating them out. Works like a charm.

 

[Black16]

On 7/19/2025 at 2:04 PM, namrehsnoom said:

@Black16This is an excellent review, and of a company whose inks I've never tried before, and that isn't as visible as it should be. A big thank-you for showing that ink on the forum!

I enjoyed your presentation of the ink, with the accompanying photos that give a good feel of what the ink looks like. Keep on doing them!

 

This specific cognac looks really nice. A shade of brown that appeals to me. And after getting a peek at Schneider's website, looking at their other "Pastel series" inks ... drooling ... these look like inks that are right up my alley. So a double thank-you for bringing these to our attention.

 

For doing chromatography - I find that using white coffee filter paper (in Europe, N°4 Melitta e.g.) works really well.  Cut out a rectangular strip, put a drop of ink at one end, and hold that end over a glass of water, so that the paper just touches the water. Then let capillary action do its magic. Water will filter up the paper and through the ink, carrying the dyes with it, and seperating them out. Works like a charm.

 

Thank you for your kind words! I actually enjoy Schneider for decades now and I never doubted their quality. 2 decades ago their school tier fps were very durable and nice as well but I can't tell you about the recent models as I never tried them (yet!). Also theu have international cartridges available, very convenient.

 

I usually do chromatography after wiping the nibs but thanks, might get myself some coffee filters later! Also heard some folks use watercolour paper strips for the same purpose.

 

I recently discovered a whole lot of cool inks from China but haven't ordered any yet (what a shame). But yeah that is what in my plans - to get them into my hands ASAP too.