Wearingeul Tick Tock Croc Ink Review

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

It's another week, so that means I'm on my continued green kick. I'm personally loving all the green I've been subjecting myself to, and I don't see any signs of this recent obsession dying anytime soon. This week, I'm looking at Wearingeul Tick Tock Croc.

Tick Tock Croc is a cool toned forest green with a little teal that shows through in the shading. Part of Wearingeul's Peter and Wendy collection, this ink takes inspiration from Peter Pan and the namesake crocodile villain.

I've had a great track record with Wearingeul inks in the past, but this ink marks my first slight issue. After inking a pen and cleaning up the nib and section, the pen wouldn't write despite having plenty of ink loaded in the feed. Touching a paper towel to an area around the feed would pull lots of ink, but the ink just wasn't making it down to the tip of the nib. I emptied the pen and refilled it, and the problem didn't persist. I've never had an issue like that before, so it could just be a fluke. At any rate, this ink is a touch on the dry side. The TWSBI 1.1mm stub that I used for the writing sample is typically a very wet and soft-feeling nib due to the large surface and good flow. With this ink, the nib feels a tiny bit scratchy. The flow is still great, and it can keep up with a fast pace, but it just feels a little dry. Not a problem, but something to consider if you plan on using this with a pen that you know to be on the dry flow side as well. Might not be a good combination!

But, the dry flow translates to pretty fast dry times on the page. In most cases, the ink is basically smudge-proof after 15 seconds if you're using a medium nib or smaller. With this large 1.1mm TWSBI nib, the ink is dry at 20 seconds. Not bad!

Since this ink is taking inspiration from something that is dark green (at least in the Disney adaptation) and lives in the water, I love seeing both of these portrayed in the actual ink colors. The dominant color is a forest green, and there are teal shades that peek through in the lighter areas of the ink. The shading is subtle in variation, but still easy to see on the page with any size nib. In general, this is fantastic green shade with delightful teal and cold green accents that come out through the ink shading.

One thing that the marketing material mentions is that this ink also has a red sheening characteristic. Technically, this is true, but it's incredibly difficult to demonstrate. I tried many different swabs on different paper using different instruments, and I just wasn't able to bring out the sheen in a way that is easy to see. In the cases I could detect some slight sheen with my naked eyes, I couldn't capture with a camera. And, when I was able to pick out some sheening, it was more of a dark purple instead of red, which blended in with the dark green easily. For practical purposes, you can just ignore the red sheening aspect of this ink's marketing information. It's there, but not easy to reproduce. There are plenty of other green inks that create obvious red sheening with zero effort.

Overall, Tick Tock Croc is a beautiful forest green ink with lovely teal undertones that add a lot of character to an otherwise plain color. The quick dry time is also big plus, but just be aware that it might make your pen feel a bit scratchy.

You can pick this ink up from Vanness for $22 for the 30ml bottle, or you can also grab a small 4ml sample for a few bucks instead. One cool thing to note about the bottle is that is features a holographic sticker on the front that changes between the standard logo and name to a graphic of a crocodile coming out of the water with its mouth wide open. Very cool! Not something that will influence anyone's decision to buy the ink, but it's definitely a fun surprise.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Wearingeul The Old Man and the Sea Ink Review

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

One of the inks I've been using recently takes inspiration from a work of literature that I'm sure many are familiar with. For me, it was required reading for 9th grade English in school. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway was my first exposure to his work, and it's also the inspiration for Wearingeul's ink of the same name. While the source material is about an epic struggle of human versus beast and nature, the ink focuses on the serene but unknown beauty of the sea.

The Old Man and the Sea is a deep teal ink with lots of shading and a heavy dose of red shimmer to mimic the sparkly reflection of the sun off the ocean's surface. I've used many Wearingeul inks at this point, and I've come to expect great performance. This ink is no exception.

I've really enjoyed the color of this ink. The dark teal is a pretty shade and there's enough shading to produce a good amount of color variation in even small nibs. Comparing this ink swatch to others in my collection, I was surprised by how similar it is to Sailor's Yama-dori. The main difference is that the Wearingeul ink has an additional red shimmer component.

While I'm not a huge fan of shimmering inks, it's really well-done with this ink. The ratio of glitter particles to ink is on the lower side to ensure it never overwhelms the beautiful teal color, and the choice of using red glitter is a fantastic complimentary color. There are many blue/green inks that use a red sheen for the same reason — they just go well together.

Writing with this ink is a joy. It feels smooth on the nibs and papers I've tried, and it flows well. Since this is a shimmering ink, you need to remember to shake the bottle well and ink your pen immediately to get a good sampling of red glitter. If you forget to shake the bottle, you will barely notice the red shimmer when you start writing.

The ink also dries in what I'd call an average amount of time. It's not setting any records (on either end of the spectrum), but it falls right in the middle at around 20-30 seconds to become smudge-proof. Not an ideal candidate for anyone that wants a fast-drying ink. That said, I think the color and shimmer is worth the extra hassle of waiting for the ink to properly dry if you know you won't be in a hurry. For left-handed writers, it will be challenging to keep your hand from smudging this ink as you write — even if you're using a really small nib.

It's been so long since I read The Old Man and the Sea, but I'm pretty confident that I can say that I've enjoyed using this ink for the past several week more than I enjoyed reading and writing about the novella. To each their own, right? Wearingeul really did a great job at designing an ink that pays homage to the source material, while also making it a fantastic ink on its own rite.

The Old Man and the Sea is $22 for a 30ml bottle, or you can pick up a small sample vial to try out first for a few bucks. Regardless of what you think about the book or the author, this ink is a great color that looks great on paper. If you like how it looks, you'll really enjoy using it.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount 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!

Wearingeul Verethragna Ink Review

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

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Wearingeul's Sedna ink, which is part of their World Myth Collection. This week, I'm back with another ink from that same collection, but this one is from the other side of the world.

Verethragna is a Zoroastrian deity that represents strength and victory, among other things. Reading up on this subject made me remember the world history classes I took in college, and it's also incredible to read about anything so ancient. In the case of the ink, though, it's a lot more straight-forward.

Wearingeul Verethragna is a subdued medium purple shade with mild shading and a dry flow. I typically prefer more saturated and punchy purple inks, but this one has a dusty, reserved tone that I've really enjoyed. It doesn't pop like the bright purples I normally prefer, but it's beautiful in a quieter way.

Despite the ink being a little on the dry side, it flows easily and encourages me to slow down and be more deliberate in the lines I make. It can certainly keep up with a fast writing pace, but the color becomes a good deal lighter with faster strokes.

The ink does shade a bit, but it's not dramatic. It shades plenty enough to set itself apart as a fountain pen ink and provides a pleasant amount of color fluctuation. To my eyes, I can't detect any other tones in this in besides purple and gray. There aren't any other effects (like sheening) present.

Like the other Wearingeul inks I've tried, this one also performs well when it comes to how it behaves on paper. I haven't seen any feathering or bleeding on the different papers I've tried. The edges of the nib strokes remain crisp and sharp.

Dry time for this ink is a little higher than I'd like considering it's a bit on the dry side in terms of flow. It typically dries between 20 and 30 seconds, though it's a little faster in smaller nibs. In a European EF nib, the ink was smudge-proof in as little as 15 seconds.

Being a part of the World Myth collection means that this is a limited offer. Vanness is already showing low stock for this ink, so act quickly if it strikes your fancy. Verathragna is currently on sale for $23 for a 30ml bottle. Like other Wearingeul inks, this is a great value proposition and one you won't regret if you like the color or the inspiration. Despite this being a more subdued purple, I've found myself reaching for it more than my standard bright purples lately. It's certainly a beautiful color, and I've really enjoyed using it during these past few cold and gray weeks.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount 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!