Diamine Asa Blue Ink Review

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

Blue inks are a weakness of mine. I'm always searching for something that's a little different and interesting compared to the ones I've already tried.

JetPens recently started carrying small trial size bottles of many Diamine inks, and I've been trying those out pretty frequently.

Asa Blue is one of those inks, and it's probably one you've heard of before. This is one of those standard blues that gets recommended quite a bit. Even though I've known about it since I first started using fountain pens, I'm only now just getting around to trying it.

In this case, better late than never.

Color

Asa Blue is a deep, rich blue. I'd call it a royal blue, and it lives up to the name much better than Kaweco's version of the color. Calling it navy might be too much, since navy is closer to blue-black in most cases. Either way, this is a standard blue that looks fantastic and fits in professional environments with no problem. This ink won't turn heads because of its stand-out color, but it might for the small amount of shading it exhibits.

I think the best way to describe this color is to compare it to most blue gel ink pens that you can buy. It's a standard blue, and it looks fantastic. And, like I said earlier, this is a deep, dark blue, but I wouldn't classify it as a blue-black.

Properties

Like other Diamine inks I've tried recently, it behaves admirably in my pens. Feathering is non-existant, show-through is minimal, and there's a pleasant level of shading evident in some strokes. It's a smooth, well-lubicrated ink that works well in dry, small-nibbed pens, but also doesn't over-saturate the page in a broader nib. It behaves just as you'd expect a Diamine ink to behave, and that's a compliment.

The shading in this ink is subtle. It's not flamboyant like Kon-peki, Ancient Copper, or Rouge Hematite, but you notice it in the strokes after the ink has settled on the page. There's just enough variation in the color that you can tell a fountain pen created the line. For an office setting, you can't go wrong with properties like that. It looks professional, but it's also gorgeous instead of bland.

Conclusion

I've been really happy so far with the Diamine inks I've tried. They behave well, clean out of the pen easily, never have issues starting or skipping, and have great color and saturation. With a deep blue, I'm not expecting a lot of shading, but the small hints evident in Asa are a real pleasure to notice when writing.

There are a couple of different options for buying this ink. You can get a full-sized 80ml bottle, or a smaller 30ml bottle for about $17.50 or $7.50, respectively.

If you're interested in dark blues that behave well, this is a swell place to start.

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

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 174 - Safety Glasses Are Critical

Meeting Chris Manning of Silver Hand Studios at the 2015 DC Pen Show was one of the many highlights of the show for me. I was thrilled to get him on the podcast to discuss how he goes about making his stunning fountain pens. Chris also drops a sneak peek of a new release coming before the year is out. Listen and learn about Chris' black magic!

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Pen Chalet: use the code PENADDICT to save 10% on your order or click the ‘podcast’ link at the top of the website and enter the password 'penaddict' for even more savings, as well as your 10% off.

Tombow 2558 Pencil Review

I rarely find myself without a wooden pencil within reach these days.

That's quite a change, isn't it? I used to say this about fountain pens too, something along the lines of "I don't get it." Well, I'm starting to get it more and more, and I don't like being without a pencil. I may not use one every day - if fact I don't - but the comfort knowing the sweet smell of cedar is just an arms reach away is comforting.

I'm still in the discovery phase in my pencil addiction. What I have found so far is that I like good point retention and a medium/dark line. I also like nice paint jobs and dipped ends (no erasers) but those things are far down the list compared to the first two items.

For example, my two favorite pencils right now are the Tombow Mono 100 HB and the Palomino Blackwing 602. The Mono taught me that 1. Pencils can be beautiful, and 2. Point retention is a thing. I could write and write and see only moderate wear in the graphite. Certainly much less than some random #2 pencil from my school days. The Blackwing 602 taught me about smoothness and depth of color. It really leaves an amazing line on the page and is a pleasure to write with.

Taking what I like about those two pencils, I wanted to start climbing up the H side of the hardness scale to find the best point retention in combination with the darkest graphite. The Tombow 2558 H seemed like a nice place to start considering how much I like the Mono 100.

The 2558 is likely the most normal Tombow pencil going. It has that traditional yellow pencil paint job, standard size and shape ferrule, and a pink eraser. Put it in a pile with a bunch of first graders pencils and you may not be able to pick it out easily (although the ferrule has a sweet purple tint.) The looks of the pencil were a bit of a turnoff at first. Why buy something normal looking when their are so many better (for me) choices?

Fortunately, the graphite delivered what I was looking for in performance. It sharpened up well and the point held nicely through several writing sessions. Once you cross the HB middle line, the harder graphite cores are naturally lighter, and although this H is light, it is dark enough for me and how I like to write. I think I could go one to two grades harder in fact, although they are not available in this model.

While I'm not normally an eraser guy, the 2558 eraser is very nice. Probably the best I have used, although my sample size is admittedly small. It doesn't take much action to remove the graphite from the page, and the eraser bits roll up nicely for easy sweeping away.

The Tombow 2558 isn't going to knock off my favorite pencils any time soon, but every time I try something new (like this pencil), I learn more and more what my preferences are. Luckily for me, there are many more pencils to be tried.

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