Diamine Inkvent Calendar Day 1

It’s Day 1 of the Inkvent Calendar reveal! Happy Holidays everyone! Every day from today through the 25th Pen Addict will reveal what’s behind each door of the Diamine Inkvent Calendar 2019. If you have the calendar and don’t want the surprise spoiled, don’t open Pen Addict until after you’ve opened the door on your calendar. If you don’t have the calendar and want to enjoy the experience vicariously, come to Pen Addict at 8:00 a.m. each day to see the ink and a brief review.

Day 1’s ink is called Blue Peppermint.

Blue Peppermint is a light turquoise shimmer ink with silver particles.

You can see the shimmer best in the close-up photographs.

Ink testing on white Rhodia paper shows the brightness of the color a little more clearly but the shimmer isn’t as obvious. The ink is fairly light, so using it in broader nibs is recommended. One thing to note about all the 7ml bottles in the Inkvent calendar: the openings are quite small. For the Col-o-ring Cards, I carefully poured some ink into the cap and used a dip pen. I was able to fit Lamy Vista nibs into the bottle, but if you want to use the ink with larger nibs, you’ll have to fill your pen using a syringe or converter.

Blue Peppermint is a gorgeous light turquoise that reminds me of the antique ornaments from my parents’ first Christmas tree. It flows well, dries quickly, and might be the perfect unique color for addressing your Christmas cards.

(Cult Pens provided the Diamine Inkvent Calendar to Pen Addict free of charge for review purposes.)

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Diamine Inkvent Calendar 2019: Introduction (No Spoilers!)

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

By now, most of you have probably seen pictures of the Diamine Inkvent Calendar. This has to be one of the best ever ideas for pen addicts across the globe! I mean, what true geeky fountain pen person wouldn’t want to open up a new bottle of ink every day of Advent?

Most of the Inkvent calendars are sold out, however, so for those of you who weren’t able to purchase one, I’m going to give an introduction to the calendar itself in this post. Then, on each day of December, I will reveal the ink behind each door of the calendar and provide a brief overview and ink test. It’ll be a virtual Inkvent calendar for all Pen Addict readers!

The Inkvent calendar is made of sturdy cardboard with blue, white, and gold decorations. It measures 10.24 inches/260mm wide x 13.72 inches/350mm long x 1.4 inches/35mm deep. Unfortunately, there’s no hanging tab included to display the calendar on your wall. So, you’ll either have to lean it against a wall or buy a sturdy self-stick hanging tab (the calendar is rather heavy with all the glass bottles inside).

Behind each door is a 7ml glass bottle of ink (on the 25th there’s a 30ml plastic bottle). The inks were specially created for this calendar, and the colors can’t be found elsewhere in Diamine’s collection. Included are standard, shimmer, sheen, and shimmer/sheen inks in a variety of colors.

I’ve had so much fun opening these inks and testing them (talk about inky fingers!) The variety of colors and types of ink is fantastic. If you purchased this calendar, you won’t be disappointed. If you didn’t, you can enjoy it vicariously over the next 25 days.

(Cult Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Cult Pens Diamine Christine Iridescink Review

I guess I’m a sheen ink guy now. At least somewhat.

For any ink that is created to exhibit properties on the more extreme end of the spectrum - sheen and shimmer, for example - I am cautious. That means, I stick with the big brands who have a track record of good inky behavior. Not only do I expect them to work well, they need to flow well, clean well, dry well, and not act odd on the nib or on the page.

Diamine is one of those brands I have had great luck with, so when Cult Pens asked if I wanted to review round two of their Iridescink collection, it was an easy yes.

The relationship between these two great British brands extends back for several years, beginning with the Deep Dark series. Those colors were a hit, and the Iridescink has turned this entire collaboration up to eleven.

Previously, I reviewed Maureen and Robert, the first two inks in the series. I love both, but I cannot tell a lie: I love Maureen the most. Sorry Robert! Maureen is a bright blue with a red sheen, so when I saw Christine’s formulation - blue black with red sheen - you could say I was excited. I’m happy to report Cult Pens and Diamine delivered another winner.

I used my TWSBI ECO 1.1 mm stub to test Christine with. The ink goes down dark on the page, and dries with a red sheen covering what seems to be around 90% of the line. Where the letters start, and the ink is thinner, a bright blue peeks out from underneath, making for a great result on the page. I’m biased, of course, because blue black ink with red sheen may be my single favorite every day ink option. (Note: Similar to my Maureen and Robert review, it is practically impossible for me to get a good picture of this ink.)

It’s this level of sheen that I am not used to. It shows up the best on sheen-favorable (aka long dry time) paper like Tomoe River and in my Yoseka notebook. On Rhodia, it’s not as pronounced and more of the blue comes out on the page, with some sheen around the edges. On Leuchtturm, it was darker with less sheen, but dried the fastest.

Rhodia DotPad

Cult Pens lays all of this out on the product page, stating:

“Sheen can be fickle. Everything has to be just right for sheen to show up, so we can't guarantee you'll see sheen when you write with these inks, but they give you a good chance in the right conditions. You need the right combination of ink, pen and paper.”

This matters if you want the full effect of Iridescink, or any sheening ink. Heck, this matters for any pen, ink, and paper combination. That said, Christine is a color I enjoy on any paper type so far. The next test will be if I like it in a fine nib, as opposed to a stub. My guess is I will.

Yoseka Notebook

As much as I have fawned over these inks, I have yet to discuss possibly the best part of all: The price. At £9.50 (just under $12) for an 80 ml bottle, they are practically giving it away. That makes biting the bullet on international shipping a whole lot easier.

I’m a fan of sheen when it is well-behaved. The Iridescink inks from Cult Pens and Diamine are exactly that, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

(Cult Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)