Diamine Turquoise Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Sometimes, an ink name is simple and direct. Black, blue, green, etc. But, in most cases, these colors are bland compared to their exotic alternatives.

With Diamine Turquoise, the simple name does not indicate a simple, bland ink. It goes to show that you don't need an exotic name for an exotic, beautiful color.

Diamine Turquoise is a beautiful blue-green color with excellent properties. It dries quickly, it shades nicely, and it works like a champ in every pen I've tried. Really, it's a typical Diamine ink, and the only difference from the others is the color. That beautiful turquoise color.

Unlike many of my favorite blue-green inks, this ink has a lighter shade that shows off more of the variety of hues. With Sailor Yama-dori or Iroshizuku Ku-jaku, the shade is darker and harder to discern. It's subtle, which possesses its own beauty and delight. But Turquoise doesn't hold any punches, it's not meant for business use, and it delights with its bright, Caribbean hues. If you want to liven up a page, this ink is a great choice.

When you get down to it, Turquoise is a standard Diamine ink. It flows well, it dries relatively quickly, it exhibits some nice shading, and it's dependable. I really have nothing bad to say about the ink at all. The main draw is the color — the bright, turquoise that jumps from the paper when you write. If turquoise or bright blue-greens aren't your thing, you won't like this ink. But, if you happen to like the color, you can be assured that the ink behaves admirably.

One significant characteristic about this ink that's worth pointing out is the shading. It doesn't exhibit a crazy amount of shading, but it's definitely noticeable when writing normally. You can coax out more shading with a larger nib and slower strokes, but it isn't a slouch by any means. If there's one complaint about this ink, it's that the shading is a bit light for my taste. But, I'm not qualifying that as a complaint, because it has plenty of shading for most occasions. No ink is perfect, right?

In the land of standard Turquoise inks, I only have experience with Diamine's. I know that many people are fans of Lamy's offering, but I haven't yet tried it. With how pleased I am with Diamine's, I'm not sure I'll ever need to try another one.

It's turquoise, it's dependable, and it's affordable. As long as you like the color, it's a big win all around. As with other Diamine offerings, you can score this in a large 80ml bottle or a pack of 18 cartridges. It's a great ink, and I highly recommend it.

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

Akkerman #1 Passage Blauw Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

After this last pen show at Atlanta, I've realized that I've established a pattern in regards to Akkerman inks. I buy a bottle at every pen show I attend. The latest show in Atlanta introduced me to one of the brilliant Akkerman blues -- Passage Blauw.

Passage Blauw was one of the samples available at the Vanness ink testing station, so that's a primary reason for why I picked up this particular ink. It's also the reason I picked up another ink, but that's another review.

After testing the ink and weighing the many, many options available at the show, I chose to go for the Passage Blauw. I'm really glad I did, because it's one of my new favorites.

First off, the bottle is killer. You get the same type of bottle with every Akkerman ink, but I still think they're extremely cool. It never gets old watching the top reservoir fill with ink from the bottom — all thanks to an ingenious marble system inside the bottle neck.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this ink is the color. After all, every Akkerman ink I've tried is very well-behaved and a joy to use. After that point, it's all about the color and specific properties of the ink. In this case, the color is a bright, happy blue that springs off the page with its translucent, Caribbean glory. It's very similar to Iroshizuku kon-peki, but a bit lighter. It's also very similar to Iroshizuku ama-iro, but a tad darker. It's somewhere in between these two inks, and that's just fine. The color is gorgeous and worth owning even if you have other similar colors.

The shading is the other killer aspect of this ink. It shades like a palm tree (I'll see myself out now). In pens with wide nibs, it shows off the shading characteristics like a champ. There's something tropical about watching a medium blue ink pool in the slower parts of letters while you're writing. It's my affinity for this effect that makes my blue ink collection continue to grow.

Dry time was actually a surprise here. It normally dries in less than 10 seconds in most cases. And, most of the tests were done with a medium cursive-italic nib. In a German fine nib, the results were similar. Either way, that's a spectacular dry time and it really impressed me.

Bleeding and show-through are minimal unless you are using a cheap paper. In that case, it feathers quite a bit. But, as long as you're using decent paper, it performs admirably.

In both pens I've tested so far, the flow and lubrication are top notch. This is an extremely well-behaved ink that I wouldn't hesitate to use in any pen I own.

Lastly, the price is a bit high at $28, but you have to remember that this ink is imported from the Netherlands and also has a super fancy bottle. For the joy I get from this ink, the price is completely fair.

I've gotten an Akkerman ink from the Vanness table at every pen show I've attended, but you can also order a bottle at any time from their website. If you're unsure about a bottle, go for a small sample first!

Diamine Woodland Green Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Spring is upon us, and that means there's probably a lot of new greenery popping up around you. It's felt like a long winter, so it's great to see some color coming back into the world. I've always had a special place in my heart for green inks of all kinds. I happened to pick up a sample of Diamine Woodland Green over a year ago, but totally forgot that I had it. When I was cleaning up my ink sample collection, I picked it up and decided to give it a try in one pen. Well, 2 more pens later, I've decided it's a new favorite green ink for me.

Woodland Green is a medium to dark green ink depending on the pen it's in. It makes me think of deep, dark forests of Oregon or Bavaria that have thick, mossy greenery from floor to ceiling. And, like a forest, the green changes brightness depending on where you are. To me, it's a beautiful blend of greens that makes it a pleasure to see on paper. It's a dark enough shade to be professional, but still has gobs of character and interest when you look closely.

Like all Diamine inks that I've ever tried, this one behaves like a champ. No bleeding, no feathering, and plenty of gorgeous shading in the right pen. I enjoy using this ink in something like a medium or italic nib. Extra fine and fine nibs seem to limit the color from really showing off the incredible shading characteristics. In a large-nibbed pen, the shading is very satisfactory, but mediums do just fine.

Dry time is a little long on this one -- somewhere around the 25 second mark. While this is to be expected for green inks, it's still a bit on the long side. Not a great ink for lefties or notebooks that you'll close immediately after writing, that's for sure.

Even with this long dry time shortcoming, it's a delightful ink to use. It's refreshing on the page, and invites you to keep writing or doodling.

Like most colors, there are just too many green inks out there to choose from. It's impossible to try them all. For a medium to dark green with great shading, I couldn't be happier with Woodland Green. I'd be hard-pressed to find something that would replace this one in my rotation.

JetPens sells the ink in a large 80 ml bottle, or cartridge packs of 18. Both options are very well-priced, which is a great deal for such a beautiful ink. Definitely give it a try the next time you're in the mood for a gorgeous green.