Van Dieman's Wilderness Series Ink: Devil's Kitchen Review

Van Dieman's is a totally new ink maker to me, and before I received several sample vials from Vanness to try out, I had never heard of them. It's fascinating now to see so many small ink shops popping up around the world offering so much variety and vitality to the fountain pen ink market. It was tough to pick one to start, so I really just picked one at random and came out with Devil's Kitchen — part of the Wilderness Series.

The Wilderness Series is a collection of ten inks that are, in the words of the creator, inspired by the "majestic, beautiful and ofttimes humbling wonders that await in the Tasmanian wilds." The description of Devil's Kitchen had me itching to try it out in a pen.

The Devil’s kitchen, where The Great Southern Ocean smashes into scattered inlets lining the Eagle Hawk Neck cliff face on the eastern side of the Tasman Peninsular, creating a violent churn and the rich vibrantly cool teal which inspires this colour. Tasmania’s wilderness of this caliber is breath-taking.

With a description like that, I can't decide if I want to try out the ink or plan a trip to Tasmania to see this in person.

Since traveling is a joke right now, I guess my decision is an easy one. Devil's Kitchen is a lovely dark teal with a great deal of green covering up slight hints of blue. There's a good amount of shading, but not so much to be dramatic. It's well-behaved and would look great on business papers and journals alike. Using this ink has been really enjoyable because of the slight amount of drama the murky shading adds to the page.

The ink is dye-based, which makes it more robust than your typical fountain pen inks. Despite that, the ink is still very well lubricated and flows quite nicely. I haven't had any issues with dry starts or scratchy nibs. Even after being capped for a while in a pen that usually has trouble regardless of what ink I'm using, it does just fine starting after being dormant for a few days.

There's no shimmer in this ink, but there's a rare sheen that I've only noticed a couple of times in areas that the ink has a chance to pool up significantly. The sheen is hard to detect, requiring perfect lighting and near impossible conditions — but it's there if the conditions are perfect.

I've really enjoyed using this ink over the past couple of weeks. I didn't expect much because I had never heard of Van Dieman's before, but the name has quickly rocketed to the top of my list. A 30ml bottle costs $12.95 from Vanness, but you can also pick up a small sample vial for under $3 if you're unsure. If, like me, you haven't heard of Van Dieman's yet, make sure to add it to your list when you're next in the mindset to do some ink shopping.

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

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Van Dieman's Ink Sample Review, Part 3

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Here is the final installment of my trove of Van Dieman's ink samples. I saved these three for last, because they looked like my kind of colors and they had cool names, which is very important to me in ink. While an ink color name might have nothing to do with its performance, it gets me every time.

First up is Eclipse. Looking at the sample, one might ask, "Is it grey? Brown? Purple?" And really, the answer is yes. I love mysterious colors that can't quite be pinned down, and this one has some great complexity to it. It's like a warm, smokey color that doesn't come across well in pictures. The chromatography shows a bit of its character, especially in that gold hue that gives it its warmth. This ink behaved very well, though it had a longer dry time. It doesn't show much shading, but it does have a little bit of water resistance. By far its best characteristic is its way of looking like completely different colors in different lighting.

Next is Hanging Lake, a gorgeous, slightly ominous navy. This is a very saturated color, rich and deep, with some great complexity. Grey, rose, and cobalt blue show up in the chromatography. It also has a long dry time, but it does show some shading on longer pen strokes. It was quite water resistant in the drip test, with all lines still visible, regardless of whether the water was dabbed or wiped away. This is a very professional looking blue. With its ability to withstand spills, it would be great for office or school use.

Last but not least is Hastings Caves Shimmer. Like the shimmers I tested in part one, the particles in this ink require regular, vigorous agitation to remain suspended. They settle quickly and need some encouragement to disperse themselves back into the liquid. But once that is achieved, it's a really gorgeous color. The ink itself is a gold tone, with brass-colored shimmer that gives it an antique gold look. Chromatography shows a surprising progression, from pale pink to saffron yellow, to a touch of almost teal that I can't really explain. The shimmer is very pronounced in the lines, so long as you make sure to agitate the ink before writing. Like the other shimmers, I'd recommend using this in a pen that can be easily and thoroughly cleaned, because those particles settle like river sediment and I'd be a little worried about what they might do to a feed. This color did not have any water resistance, and had a long dry time.

My biggest takeaway from this line of inks is that the creators are dedicated to complex color recipes. Chromatography isn't usually this exciting, but every sample was like a fireworks display, with surprising colors creeping out of each of them. While I think some of the samples are better suited to fountain pens than others, there are some fantastic, unique colors in this lineup. With all the ink colors out there in the world, I'm always amazed when a new one arises, with no look-alikes. This is a great line for experimenting with some fun, new tones.

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

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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!

Van Dieman's Ink Sample Review, Part 2

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Here are three more samples of Van Dieman's ink, all from their "Seasons" series. These three are not sparkly inks, so I was curious to see how they would differ from the ones I reviewed last week.

The first is Spring Native Cornflower, a bright blue. It was the best behaved of the bunch, with no feathering and a very reasonable dry time. The color is lovely, too, and it had some great shading properties. It does not have any water resistance, and washed completely away at the faintest hint of water. This was my favorite of this brand that I've tried so far. It's bright enough to be a fun ink, but still blue in a practical way. Chromatography shows a hint of lilac to its hue.

The second ink is Spring Butterfly, and this ink is perfect for if you want to whisper someone a note. It is almost unusably faint. It's a gorgeous, delicate, key-lime green, but I don't think I'd enjoy writing with it. It has a longer dry time, no water resistance, and doesn't appear to shade. Chromatography shows a balance of blue and yellow tones. It almost seems watered-down or undersaturated. I think it would make a lovely tone for illustration, but isn't great for fountain pen use.

The third color this week is Autumn Deciduous Beech. This is a lovely rich amber orange. I did experience some feathering with this color, but it also had the fastest dry time. It shows some pretty shading, and a slight touch of line is still visible after a water drip test. This color had a fun chromatography, with a defined split between bubblegum pink and bright yellow tones.

So far, all of the Van Dieman's inks have shown a lot of character in chromatography, and though I'm not loving all of them for writing purposes, they are a blast to review and play with. There are three more colors for next week, and I saved those three for last because I'm most intrigued by them. Here's to another week frolicking with inky fingers!

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