(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
The Alchemy Inks Series from Endless Stationery is a fun collection of inks that all tell a story of how an alchemist was able to wield the power of each ink with the help of gods of legends. With Poseidon's Reef, we get a lovely teal ink with heaps of red/purple sheen and a bit of shading to mimic the look of shallow ocean water.
I'm personally powerless to resist adding a new blue, teal, or turquoise ink to my collection. At least with Poseidon's Reef, I get a nice dark teal ink that has a massive sheen flair that shows up on the page easily. The shade is a dark blue with a hint of green that turns it into a teal color. It's a pleasant color that somewhat reminds me of the ocean, but the slight bit of shading and hue variation adds more to that allusion. I'd like it if the ink had more shading variation, but the subtle effect is nice.
The characteristic that really surprised me with this ink is the sheen. There's an obvious and abundant red and purple sheen on this ink once it dries. Even in smaller nibs, the contrasting sheen shines through the dark teal background. It's a great effect, and one that really distinguishes this ink from other similar dark teal inks.
Something else that surprised me is the amount of time it takes this ink to dry. It's mostly dry by 15-20 seconds, where only some small areas still smudge with moderate pressure. In normal writing circumstances with a fine nib, I was able to write and immediate wipe my hand over the page without causing any smudges. The ink will still smear for left-handed writers, so we can't add it to the esteemed list of super-fast drying inks. Still, it dries fast enough to be worth mentioning.
Once you get past the color and sheen effects, there's one characteristic that I've noticed that I don't like. In certain circumstances, the ink tends to feather and bleed. It doesn't happen all the time, which makes me think it has something to do with the paper. Still, it happens about once per sentence and is noticeable.
Feathering aside, this is still a wonderful ink. The flow is smooth and steady, the color is deep and mysterious, and the intense sheen is a lot of fun. The bottle that Endless Stationery use for the Alchemy series is a fun design as well. The base of the bottle is convex, which causes the bottle to twirl around gently. I definitely wouldn't let it twirl with the lid off, but you also get a nice cork stand that keeps the bottle steady when you're filling your pens. It's a fun bottle design, but definitely not something that should influence anyone's decision to buy. The artwork on the box is also fun, with a detailed illustration of Poseidon next to a coral reef with a holographic effect on the box that shifts the colors.
Poseidon's Reef is $20 for a 45 ml bottle, but you can also pick up a small 4 ml sample vial to try out if you're not sure you want the whole bottle. There are a few other color options in this series, and I look forward to trying some others!
(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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