Sailor Jentle Apricot Orange Ink Review

I mentioned my disdain for red fountain pen inks recently, but orange and I have a great relationship. I may not use it as frequently as my beloved blue black inks, but orange will always have a place in my rotation when warranted.

Sailor Jentle Apricot Orange is a true, bright orange. On the white Rhodia DotPad page it really pops. While it may not have the variance in shading of Noodler's Apache Sunset, it has moderate shading in its own right, showing a range of orange with hints of yellow. It goes down light and a bit dry from the nib and dries into what is shown in the photos.

In the realm of alternate fountain pen inks Sailor Jentle Apricot ranks right near the top for me. What non-standard colors are your favorites? I'd love to check them out!

Diamine Red Dragon Ink Review

Red fountain pen inks are tough for me. Red gel, red ballpoint, red roller ball inks - no problem. But red fountain pen inks can't seem to crack the rotation. Why is that?

I think the obvious answer is maintenance. I try to keep as few fountain pens inked as possible, ranging from five to a somewhat overwhelming ten. My preference lies with blues, predominantly blue black, with possibly one turquoise, one black, and one orange ink filled somewhere within the group. Anytime I have inked up red I end up not using it (maybe orange is my red?), and down the sink it goes.

Friends and readers of this blog seem to love red inks though, at least judging by the amount of questions I get about them. Luckily my friend Thomas sent a couple of samples my way, like this Diamine Red Dragon, so I am able to test without comittment. That is always a bonus in my book.

In my admittedly limited experience I categorize red inks two ways: bright or dark. Bright includes pure reds that really pop off the page, or reds that show strong hints of pink and/or orange. Dark includes inks that are on the blood or brick end of the spectrum, possibly with some brown showing through. Red Dragon is an ink you should consider if you are looking for a dark, blood red.

Like most Diamine inks - which are becoming some of my favorites - it is well behaved from my TWSBI 1.5 mm stub nib. The feedback is smooth and consistent with minimal shading, and an average to below average dry time. I'm impressed by it, but it isn't the red ink that is going to make me reconsider adding one to my rotation.

What other red inks should be on my radar?

In honor of this review, I present the song that got me hooked on Okkervil River:

performed at MusicFest NW, Crystal Ballroom, Portland, September 10, 2010

Scribal Workshop Cryptid Siren Blue Ink Review

I had only heard about Scribal Workshop inks in passing before running into several bottles for sale by Anderson Pens at the Atlanta Pen Show. My blue ink radar went off, and I came home with a bottle of Cryptid Siren Blue.

Scribal is a family run business with ink being made by "Scribe and Chemist" Lucas Tucker. Along with the Cryptid line of inks, Scribal produces Bunny Washable Inks and Historic Inks, which is their iron gall line. Cryptid is essentially the standard fountain pen ink line, so that seemed like a good starting point.

The Siren Blue is a fantastic shade of blue - one of my favorites in fact. It leans on the darkish side of the spectrum with hints of black, grey, and even a touch of green. There is a moderate amount of shading and the dry time would fall into the "fast" category. And that may be an issue.

My nib would dry out almost as fast as the ink did on the paper. If I paused for a few seconds I would have a hard start, even with the 1.5 mm TWSBI stub used in the review. I loaded it up in my EF nib Vanishing Point and had the same issue. It frustrated me enough to where I had to clean it out. I could see this being a feature for artists and sketchers who like a dry, controllable line, but I need a little more smoothness for writing.

I'm going to keep trying it in different pens until I find a good match because the color is excellent. I can even get past the oregano-ish scent from the bottle if it were just a bit more lubricated.

Brian Goulet reviews the entire line of Cryptid Inks at Ink Nouveau. Has anyone else tested out ink from Scribal Workshop?