Lennon Tool Bar Indigo Tiegan Fountain Pen Ink Review

As a practitioner of the “Matchy Matchy” lifestyle, I am proud to say I have come up with a real winner here. It’s almost like the beautiful blue black of Lennon Tool Bar Indigo Tiegan was waiting to fulfill it’s destiny of flowing through the nib of the TWSBI 580 AL in Prussian Blue.

I like to have fun with product reviews, especially when the target is something as traditional as a blue black fountain pen ink. What Lennon Tool Bar is, and what they have made with this ink, is something special. Not in a drop everything and buy it kind of way, but more of a pure enjoyment when the color hits the page feeling. Especially when you are as big of a fan of this shade as me.

Based in Taiwan, Lennon Tool Bar began life as an indigo dyeing shop, which is a traditional, respected craft. When they decided to launch an in-house fountain pen ink lineup, their initial colors were based on the colors found in the indigo dyeing process they were familiar with.

Indio Tiegan represents when the dyeing process is freshly completed, and before it is first washed. It has some dark components, but shows a lightness in the shading that comes through on the page. It is a good middle ground compared to many of my favorites. For example, it’s darker than Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Kai, but lighter than Sailor Blue Black.

The ink flows wet from my 1.1 mm stub TWSBI Nib. I need to try it in finer nibs to get a great feel for it, but I think the wetness will show up anywhere. Given that, I’ve found it takes a bit longer to dry on the Clairefontaine Triomphe paper I used for the written review. Comparable to Rhodia, Indigo Tiegan is on the longer side of dry times, but not enough to cause any problems.

I’ll be the first to admit I am swayed by brand and product stories, especially ones coming out of the Asian market that I am so fond of. So it comes as no surprise that I love this ink. At $20 for a 30 ml bottle it’s not cheap, but I think it is a fair price considering the fact that this is a small company, and has to be imported.

The challenge now is to decide which Lennon Tool Bar ink will be next for me, and how it will compare to Indigo Tiegan, which has quickly become a favorite.

(The Pen Addict purchased this ink at full price from Shigure Inks.)

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Kala Tribute to Neon “Groovy Neon Violet” Ink: A Review

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

Kala Ink is a new brand that I’d never heard of until Brad sent me a bottle to review. The ink is made in Taiwan, and the “Tribute to Neon” series is quite unique. The colors in the series are bright, opaque, waterproof, and look wet even after they dry.

Groovy Neon Violet is a neon purple color that leans toward the pink/purple side of the color spectrum. On the Col-o-dex card, the ink comes out rather flat in the swab. But in writing, swirls, and splats, you can see how the ink maintains a wet appearance even after drying. (This card was created over three weeks ago!)

The ink exhibits good shading/pooling on Rhodia Dot Grid paper with the Noodler’s Triple Tail Flex Nib (reviewed here). The ink is completely waterproof.

In finer nibs, the ink looks lighter and the shading/pooling is not as evident.

Kala Neon Violet is the first waterproof ink I’ve ever tested. This stuff really is impervious to water, making my chromatography test rather useless. Alas.

In super wide nibs, like my Handwritmic Ruling Pen, the ink exhibits excellent shading and pooling. I apparently did not wait long enough for the ink to dry, and stacked other papers on top of this one. That accounts for the blotchiness you see where the ink pooled.

When I first opened the bottle, I wasn’t sure if Kala Neon Violet was actually for fountain pens. I had never seen such an opaque, thick ink. It isn’t quite the consistency of acrylic paint, but that’s what came to mind when I looked at it. I inked up my Noodler’s Triple Tail thinking that, if the ink didn’t come out of the pen, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I actually left the ink in the pen for several weeks before cleaning it (not recommended). Most of it rinsed out pretty easily, though a bit remained in the threads and piston. I wouldn’t use this ink in any of my really expensive pens, and best practice would be to clean out your pen immediately after use to avoid stains.

Kala Neon Groovy is the most unusual ink I’ve used. I love how opaque it is and the wet finish it leaves. It’s really quite fun to write with (wet, smooth, and good flow) and excellent for art.

You can purchase Kala Tribute to Neon “Groovy Neon Violet” Ink from Shigure Inks for $12.00 (30 ml). Neon Violet is currently out of stock, but you can sign up for an email to be notified when it’s available again.

(The Pen Addict purchased this ink from Shigure Inks at full retail price.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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Kala Nostalgia Neon Dude Ink Review

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

Bright blue inks are some of my favorite inks, and that hasn't changed much in the past several years. I love the way they pop and look slightly translucent in the right light, and they tend to add some joy to any piece of paper they come in contact with. One thing I haven't expected from any of the bright blue inks I've used in the past is any sort of water resistance, let alone waterproofing. With the latest blue ink I've tested, I can take that last thing off the list.

Kala Neon Dude is part of their Nostalgia series that borrows colors and imagery from the 60's and 70's. Lots of bright, in-your-face colors in this series of eight inks. The one I'm using is called Dude (or just "neon blue") and is one of my new favorites.

Dude is an intensely-pigmented ink that screams at you while still in the bottle. I remember saying "Whoa" when first getting the bottle out. It looks like something that shouldn't be possible in a fountain pen ink. There's zero visibility into the ink for all the pigment, and looks more like neon blue Gak than fountain pen ink. I was incredibly skeptical that this ink would be anything more than a marketing stunt. There's no way something that looks like that can work properly in a fountain pen nib, right? Wrong.

The ink color resembles a bright turquoise that virtually every ink manufacturer offers. It reminds me a lot of Lamy Turquoise or Diamine Turquoise, which are just a couple of inks I have on hand that come really close to this color. When writing, it looks joyful and fun. There's a subtle amount of light shading that also adds some depth to the colors. Blue inks should make you think of water, and the best blue inks make you think of the shallow tides of some tropical paradise. Dude does all of this, while also drying fairly quickly. In my tests, it's smudge-proof at around 10 seconds — 15 max.

The main attribute of think ink that sets it apart from other similar turquoise inks is that it's waterproof. I tested this out myself and can confirm that the ink lines and coloration stays in place when the paper comes in contact with water. This applies to both droplets of water, spills, and even total submersion. This is due to the high level of pigmentation in the ink formula. In my limited experience with different inks, I've never come across a truly waterproof ink that has such vibrant colors! I normally don't care about the waterproof or water-resistant properities of inks, but I'm really impressed that this one backs up the claim while being so pretty at the same time.

While the waterproof nature and bright hue are great aspects of this ink, it does take a little more effort when cleaning it out of your pen. Nothing strenuous — just a few extra rounds of water to completely rinse out all the tiny particulates the ink leaves behind. I have several non-waterproof/resistant inks that are more difficult to clean than this ink, so it's not a major concern for me. The bottom line is that I won't think twice about putting this ink in any modern pen.

One negative behavior that I've noticed with this ink is that it does not work well with highly-absorbent papers. It's a fairly wet ink, so uncoated papers tend to drink the ink very quickly, which pulls more ink out of the feed as you write. In most cases, it isn't a big deal — especially if you're writing on coated paper (like Rhodia). But for cheaper paper or uncoated paper, it can be disastrous. In my testing, Baron Fig paper performed the worst. I like testing Baron Fig because it's so unique when compared to the other paper brands I keep on hand. It's thick, but it's also very absorbent and tends to bleed and feather very easily. In the case of Kala Dude, it not only feathers and bleeds, but it also pulls ink from the feed so fast that it causes my pens to drip large dots of ink while writing with this ink. That's an impressive but inconvenient example of capillary action! So, all that to say, don't use this ink with uncoated, absorbent papers.

Kala Dude is an ink from a brand that I'd never heard of prior to trying the ink. I'm happy to say that I'm really pleased with this ink and look forward to trying other inks from the Taiwanese brand. I'm also tempted to try out the other seven crazy colors!

(The Pen Addict purchased this ink from Shigure Inks at full retail price.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!