As winter is coming to a close, I figured a gloomy black ink would be a fitting ink choice as I anticipate the warmer and brighter weather. Van Dieman's Tassie Seasons series is a beautiful collection of inks that take their inspiration from the natural beauty of Tasmania, and Black Truffle is a dark brown that looks black in most light. I'm hoping that by the time I write all of this ink through my pen, spring will be here!
While I usually favor bright and cheery inks, there's definitely plenty of space for dark inks. It doesn't matter if you're required to use a dark ink in some situations, if a dark ink just works better in others, or if you just enjoy using it in any scenario — they should still be pretty and interesting. Black Truffle doesn't disappoint. When you first write with this ink, it looks a couple shades darker as a fairly mediocre black. But as the ink dries (which happens really quickly, by the way), the dark overtones give way to a dark brown hue that pops out in the thinner areas of the ink. It provides a perfect amount of color and shade variation to make it visually interesting on the page. If you're looking for a solid, rich black ink, this isn't the one for you. This black ink vacillates between brown-black and black depending on the thickness of the nib stroke, and that's why I've really been enjoying it.
Along with the mild shading, there's also a shine or black sheen in certain areas where the ink pools. It's hard to catch on camera, but it adds a little depth to the finished product. It's not enough sheen to steal the show, but it catches my eye every now and then when I'm not expecting it.
The lubrication of the ink is fantastic. The pens I've used with this ink have no trouble gliding across the paper. It starts quickly and feeds perfectly. I've had zero issues with the behavior of this ink in my pens, and that's what I've come to expect from Van Dieman's.
I can't see any feathering or bleeding from the ink either, which makes this an excellent performer for an all-around ink pick. It's done great in any combination of paper and nib I've thrown at it.
One of the things that shocked me about this ink was actually the dry time. I thought I was doing something wrong or getting distracted when I was doing the timed tests because I couldn't make the ink smudge after 10 seconds. I thought I was surely losing track of time somehow, even though I was using a watch to time it. Well, there's nothing wrong with my watch or my smudging technique — this ink just dries ridiculously fast. In my tests on Rhodia paper with a medium cursive italic nib, the ink was smudge-proof by 8 seconds. In some cases, it was dry by 5 seconds. In my tests, I haven't been able to get a smudge when I wait until the 10 second mark. It's just incredible.
While the color isn't something that really excites me, this is still a superb ink. The color is dark and somewhat ordinary, but it's still interesting due to the background hues and shading effect. It behaves well in pens and writes marvelously. Throw the super quick dry time in there and you've got a killer ink on your hands.
If you're in the market for a dark brown-black ink with a little character and a fast dry time, check out Van Dieman's Black Truffle. A 30ml bottle will set you back $13.95, but you can also pick up a small sample to try first.
(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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