Diamine Registrars

[yazeh]

Diamine Registrars

 

Ink Review # 192

 

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🧾 Description

 

Diamine Registrars is a classic iron gall ink. It’s my last blue-black IG ink review. In a perfect world, I would have tested Akkerman’s IG and KWZ’s blue-black. 

It’s my least favorite IG ink, mostly because I tested it after Essri.   

It doesn’t mean it’s bad or anything. NO, it’s an excellent IG ink, but I think I’ve reached IG fatigue.  

Ink writes blue to blue-black and oxidizes immediately to dark blue-black or black with a wet flex nib. Ink flow is drier than Essri, and on occasion, if forgotten, the pen will need some coaxing to write. In Safari, it did fine. 

 

Cleaning, like all iron gall inks, requires patience and care—ideally, powdered ascorbic acid, pen jacuzzi, soaking, and a bit of scrubbing. 🛁

 

If you buy the 100 ml bottle, you need to transfer it into glass bottles.  Iron gall inks have expiry dates, so depending on the level of oxygen in the bottle, the precipitation process can accelerate. Do not shake IG ink bottles, in case the ink has expired. You don't want iron particles to get stuck in your feed. 

 

Iron gall inks are waterproof, but not lightfast. In case of prolonged humidity above 70%, the ink will deteriorate. 

 

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 🧪 Chroma

 

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 ✍️ Writing Samples (scan)

Rhodia  / Iroful

 

 

 

Midori  /Tomoe River 68gsm

 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb  

 

 

 

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 📸 Photos

Photos were taken two weeks after the review.

Rhodia/ Irofu

 

 

 

Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm

 

 

Hammermill

 

 

 

Oxidation

 

 

 

🔍 Comparison

 Note that these swatches will oxidize over time. 

 

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 💧 Water Test

 

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 🎨 Artwork

I created numerous draft sketches with this ink, but only a few finished pieces. 

Cancer (Zodiac)

 Inktober yearlong challenge 2025

The zodiac sign Cancer originated in Babylonian astronomy, where it was known as AL.LUL, a hybrid creature with the body of a turtle and elements of a fish or crab. It was associated with the summer solstice and symbolized cosmic transition. The Greeks later reinterpreted the sign as a crab, linking it to the myth of Heracles and the Hydra.

Ancient doctors thought tumors with spreading veins looked like a crab’s legs. The Greek word karkinos meant both “crab” and the disease. Latin kept the name—so did the zodiac.

 

Here is my interpretation: a cigar-smoking crab (incorporating my cat & mouse theme) in the heat of summer, perched atop a hybrid turtle wearing a Mesopotamian headdress.

 

Diamine Registrars' Iron gall, J Herbin Bleu Calanque, Diabolo Menthe, Diamine Sepia. 

Paper is Strathmore. 

 

 

Mr. Percival 

Inspired by the movie Storm Boy, about a boy who saves three baby Pelicans. In the story, every time a Pelican dies, a storm brews.

 

Paper is Talens Mixed Media 

 

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- Pens Used:  Pilot Kakuno EF,  Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1) , Kanwrite Desire, fitted with a FPR flex

- What I Liked: The writing was great with M-B nibs. 

- What I Did Not Like:  Writing with Japanese Ef nib. 

- What Some Might Not Like: IG ink.  Lower lubrication. 

- Writing Experience: Good with M/B nibs. 

- Pros: Waterproof, oxidation. Good on copy paper. Comes in 30 ml bottles also. 

- Cons:  Not lightfast. 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

 

- Shading: Yes

- Ghosting:  Faint on copy paper.

- Bleed Through: Very faint with flex primed nib. 

- Flow Rate: Ok

- Lubrication:  Below average. 

- Nib Dry-out:  Did not notice. 

- Start-up: Good with all pens but Kakuno. 

- Saturation:  Lovely blue-black to black. 

- Sheen:  No. 

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

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen):  

- Clogging:  No.

- Cleaning:  I went directly with ascorbic acid and pen jacuzzi through several cycles.

- Water Resistance:  Excellent.

 

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 🛒 Availability

- [ ] Available in 30ml glass bottles or 100 ml plastic bottles.

 

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 💬 Closing

 

This is an excellent iron gall ink by Diamine, readily available in small 30 ml bottles and big 100 ml plastic bottles. The only hick for me was that the writing expereice in comparison with Essri is not up to par, but this is just a matter of taste. 

 

No fountain pens were hurt in preparing this review. ;) 

Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier. :)  

 

 

 

[lapis]

Nice. Adds to any IG collection. The very slightly brownish touch is fine, but I find the whole ink too dry.

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, lapis said:

Nice. Adds to any IG collection.

1 hour ago, lapis said:

The very slightly brownish touch is fine, but I find the whole ink too dry.

I didn't detect any brown I should check it again. But you're right that as a first IG this would be a shock, too dry.

[inkstainedruth]

Great review as usual!  

I tried a sample of of Diamine Registrar's early on, and am wondering if I had a bad/old batch.  Because it went down on the page as a washed out blue-grey -- not like what you're showing at ALL.  It had nice shading (like what Bo Bo Olsen loves) but that was about all I could say for it. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LizEF]

4 hours ago, yazeh said:

I think I’ve reached IG fatigue

My final Tintenlabor "new formula" ink is in my pen now, and when finishing the review of the previous, I realized why they're the most difficult / draining to review - you have to process the images immediately because what's on the paper is changing.  So to get the images color-corrected, you can't wait.  So I have to do everything without a break.  With other inks, I can wait a day or longer (not that I often do, but I can).  The need to hurry adds a bit of pressure to the process.

 

5 hours ago, yazeh said:

pen jacuzzi

I love this phrase you've coined.  I predict that soon, all ultrasonic cleaners in our community will be called pen jacuzzis.

 

Nice chroma - the black dot in the center seems unique.

 

Once again, I find the swatches showing the variations in color to be most interesting and very useful!  Diamine makes ESSRI look like it has a very slight purple tinge.  I prefer the oxidized color of Diamine over the fresh.

 

I'm not sure I want to know what's going on in that water test drawing, but that's a mighty big quill for such a small mousey.

 

Thanks for the history on "Cancer" - it's really interesting.  Meanwhile, I'm sorry to report that your crabby drawing has me thinking it's been too long since I visited Red Lobster for some snow crab legs.    (Personally I think snow crab legs taste better than king crab, and you can break them open by hand.)

 

I think Mr. Percival needs a certain German pen...

 

Thanks, @yazeh, for another review and covering so many iron galls!  FWIW, your bunching all these together and including the comparisons makes for a really helpful IG library that I'm certain will be of great use to ink-seekers for many years to come!

[lapis]

Sticking to dryness, it's well known that all IGs are "relatively" dry (I think). Even my favourite (4001) is pretty dry, ESSRI (not my fave) even drier. Akkerman was better (IMO). Pretty subjective...  and then there's all those different pens and papers etc..................................

[yazeh]

7 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Great review as usual!  

Thanks!

 

7 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

I tried a sample of of Diamine Registrar's early on, and am wondering if I had a bad/old batch.  Because it went down on the page as a washed out blue-grey -- not like what you're showing at ALL.  It had nice shading (like what Bo Bo Olsen loves) but that was about all I could say for it. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I can't comment about that. I bought mine several years ago. I didn't enjoy the writing experience, so I went for Essri, and then I fell into the IG rabbit hole.  

Here is another photo, to show you the depth of the ink: 

[yazeh]

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

My final Tintenlabor "new formula" ink is in my pen now, and when finishing the review of the previous, I realized why they're the most difficult / draining to review - you have to process the images immediately because what's on the paper is changing.  So to get the images color-corrected, you can't wait.  So I have to do everything without a break.  With other inks, I can wait a day or longer (not that I often do, but I can).  The need to hurry adds a bit of pressure to the process.

I don't color correct. Sometimes when I do the writing samples, I do it over two days. I compensate by taking oxidation photos. Afterwards I scan and then the wait begins. Before posting the review, I take photos, to see the final result after two weeks. Ideally, I should scan all the pages in a years time, to see if there has been any colour change. 

And then there's all the historic of IG inks, how they react in humidity, and how to clean them, etc, etc.    😴

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

I love this phrase you've coined.  I predict that soon, all ultrasonic cleaners in our community will be called pen jacuzzis.

Glad you like it. It was out of necesstiy. Everytime I was writng a reivew or comment about the cleaning process, the word ultrasonic, disappeared from my vocabulary. Necessity is the mother of invention.  

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Nice chroma - the black dot in the center seems unique.

I added a lot of ink to the paper towel with a syringe.  Here is my first chroma. I dipped a glass pen in the ink and wiped it on the paper towel and forgot it for 20 minutes in the water. The black is less present. 

The joys of reviewing ink.  

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Once again, I find the swatches showing the variations in color to be most interesting and very useful!  Diamine makes ESSRI look like it has a very slight purple tinge.  I prefer the oxidized color of Diamine over the fresh.

Who doesn't?  I wonder what they would look like in a year.  

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

I'm not sure I want to know what's going on in that water test drawing, but that's a mighty big quill for such a small mousey.

It's a stream of consciousness, hope for the best drawing. Mousey is writing his Ode for Kitty on parchment paper.  

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks for the history on "Cancer" - it's really interesting. 

Isn't it? 

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

Meanwhile, I'm sorry to report that your crabby drawing has me thinking it's been too long since I visited Red Lobster for some snow crab legs.    (Personally I think snow crab legs taste better than king crab, and you can break them open by hand.)

Break a few legs for me.  Now, I'm dreaming of seafood. 😋

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

I think Mr. Percival needs a certain German pen...

 I first posted the sketch on the art forum. When I added the description to this review, I realized that I'd written pelican, Pelikan.  

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks, @yazeh, for another review and covering so many iron galls!  FWIW, your bunching all these together and including the comparisons makes for a really helpful IG library that I'm certain will be of great use to ink-seekers for many years to come!

Glad it was helpful. I still have the Gold to review sometime, and the light grey. However, it won't be anytime soon. I'm craving summer inks.  

[yazeh]

8 hours ago, lapis said:

Sticking to dryness, it's well known that all IGs are "relatively" dry (I think). Even my favourite (4001) is pretty dry, ESSRI (not my fave) even drier. Akkerman was better (IMO). Pretty subjective...  and then there's all those different pens and papers etc..................................

So true. I used Essri in an eyedropper Ahab with a FPR flex nib. Diamine Registrars in a Kanwrite with the same nib, but with a leaky converter. Ideally, I should have used the same pen. But that would have driven me to madness.  

[LizEF]

52 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I don't color correct.

Man!  You must have better cameras / scanner / lighting than I do.  Lucky you!

 

52 minutes ago, yazeh said:

the word ultrasonic, disappeared from my vocabulary

  I know that experience.

 

53 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Mousey is writing his Ode for Kitty on parchment paper.  

 

53 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Break a few legs for me.

Will do, though heaven knows when I'll go there again - it's awfully expensive.

 

58 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I first posted the sketch on the art forum. When I added the description to this review, I realized that I'd written pelican, Pelikan.  

 

58 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I'm craving summer inks.  

I hear that!

[yazeh]

11 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Man!  You must have better cameras / scanner / lighting than I do.  Lucky you!

I doubt it. I just wing it and hope for the best. 😀

11 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

  I know that experience.

Right now, I'm trying to recoup from 2 hours of yardwork. Now I  need an IG treatment in a real jacuzzi. But I doubt my pens appreciate me doing them. 

11 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Will do, though heaven knows when I'll go there again - it's awfully expensive.

Sorry to hear that. Maybe you should go the Big Easy.  Or maybe we should review restaurants.

 

 

 

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Right now, I'm trying to recoup from 2 hours of yardwork. Now I  need an IG treatment in a real jacuzzi.

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Maybe you should go the Big Easy.  

If by that you mean New Orleans - no way!  I would melt before I was half-way there.  I'll stick to the desert, thank you!   (If that's a sea food restaurant, we don't appear to have one around here.)

[yazeh]

14 hours ago, LizEF said:

If by that you mean New Orleans - no way!  I would melt before I was half-way there.  I'll stick to the desert, thank you!   

No I meant bayou land. Though, I'm not sure if associate hot and humid with melting. Disintegrating into murk-dom, would be probably more precise. 

[LizEF]

6 minutes ago, yazeh said:

No I meant bayou land. Though, I'm not sure if associate hot and humid with melting. Disintegrating into murk-dom, would be probably more precise. 

I hate humidity with a passion. CCR is as close as I'm ever getting to a bayou! 

[Sailor Kenshin]

^^^ 😹

 

Like: All the artwork, the quotes, the contrasts, and the cyclopsian chroma!

In fact the whole review. I don't think I'll buy any, but much thanks to you, @yazeh, for strolling through the gall with us.

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

^^^ 😹

I never thought a poor 🦀 would create such passionate discussions @LizEF 😸

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Like: All the artwork, the quotes, the contrasts, and the cyclopsian chroma!

😊

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

In fact the whole review. I don't think I'll buy any, but much thanks to you, @yazeh, for strolling through the gall with us.

Glad it was useful. Thanks for the encouragement, much needed. 🙏🙏🙏

[LizEF]

30 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I never thought a poor 🦀 would create such passionate discussions @LizEF 😸

  Apparently it's been too long since either of us ate crab - it's yummy!

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

  Apparently it's been too long since either of us ate crab - it's yummy!

Hence the crabbi-ness.

 

[LizEF]

21 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Hence the crabbi-ness.