KWZ Ink - Honey: 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.)

KWZ Ink (pronounced "kah-veh-zeh") is a new ink on my radar. I had never heard of it until I started seeing reviews for various colors of this ink. The color that really intrigued me was Honey. So, I purchased a bottle from Vanness Pens.

The ink is packaged in a nondescript white box. The bottle itself is simple as well, which speaks to the handmade manufacturing of this ink. The focus is on producing unique colors not on fancy bottles.

The first thing you notice upon opening this ink is the distinct aroma. Sometimes it smells sort of like a medicinal vanilla. Other times, perhaps because the ink's name influences your brain, it smells like honey. Regardless, it is very . . . aromatic. I contacted Vanness after opening the bottle because the strong smell concerned me. They reassured me that the smell is normal. More on the origins of the strong odor later.

The ink itself certainly reminds one of the color of honey.

It is a beautiful amber with truly excellent shading capabilities, even with fine nibs. The ink flows well – in fact, this is a rather wet ink, especially with broad nibs. The ink is not waterproof.

I've been using KWZ Honey in my Danitrio Hakkaku with a flex stub nib. As you can see, the shading is spectacular with this nib.

I also inked my Pilot Custom 832 with a medium (really more like a fine) nib. Even with this finer nib, the shading is excellent. I really love this color.

I compared it with my other brown/amber inks, and really nothing comes close except Sailor Uca Arcuata which is definitely more greenish.

But then there's the smell. This has obviously caused concern amongst customers because there are at least two threads on Fountain Pen Network about the smell (here and here). Initially, some ascribed it to Phenol which is used as a preservative in Sailor inks. But it definitely does not smell like Phenol. Eventually, the owner of KWZ wrote a response on FPN to explain the smell without giving away too many secrets of his formula.

Hello. No I do not use phenol. I will quote my answer I did send to one of the users lately regarding the smell: "In case of Iron Gall inks the strong smell is caused by gallic and tannic acids - both compounds have relatively strong odor.
Both our standard inks and Iron Gall inks use similar compounds for stabilization. Our inks contain large number of compounds which stabilize and improve them in various ways, for example preservatives, antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, free radical scavengers and more. What has probably the strongest smell is fungicide - in case of this compound this is naturally occurring compound widely used in different branches, including medicine and cosmetics. Additives we use in our inks are approved to be used in food industry or approved for contact with humans in form of cosmetics for example.
Considering allergies - our inks in some conditions might be source of salicylic and/or benzoic acid. I'm very cautious about what I do use in ink making, and will certainly not use toxic compounds in ink making. This is for both safety of users, environment and also my health. We have to remember that concentration of preservative in ink is pretty low (less than 0,05-0,08%) while I have to handle pure substance or highly concentrated solutions while preparing ink."

KWZ Ink is made in Poland by Konrad Żurawski (according to the KWZ website). Now that the ink is becoming more popular because of the unique colors, I wonder if the owner will have to expand production. There certainly seems to be great demand. I contacted Vanness and got myself on an email list so I would be notified when they had more KWZ Honey in stock. The minute I got the email, I purchased mine because it doesn't tend to stay in stock long.

You can purchase KWZ Ink in a wide variety of colors from Vanness Pens for $12.00 per 60ml bottle. Ink samples are also available for $2.00. KWZ Iron Gall inks are a little more expensive at $14.00 per 60ml bottle.

My next bottle will probably be Brown Pink, but at $12.00 I may buy several, including the delightfully-named "Rotten Green." I think that might make an appropriate grading ink, don't you?

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KWZ Iron Gall Green #4 Fountain Pen Ink Review

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

KWZ Iron Gall inks are no strangers around here, and that's for good reason. These inks are pretty, well-behaved, and stand the test of time. Previously, we've written about KWZ's Iron Gall Blue #1, Blue #4, Gold, and Gummiberry colors, but the Green #4 is a new one for me. I've had this sample for quite a while, but this one went unnoticed behind other samples until I did some cleaning in the ink supply drawer. Once I realized I'd never tried it, I put it in a couple of pens immediately to give it a shot. Just like the other KWZ inks, I was happy with the results.

To provide a little background, this ink is categorized as "Iron Gall," which really means it's nearly permanent once it meets paper. A chemical reaction happens between the ink and the page that makes it highly resistant to water damage, fading over time, and losing its color over the years. Iron Galls are great for archival quality projects, and this Green #4 is just as good at the job as the others. Vanness has a great overview of what makes the KWZ Iron Gall inks special if you're interested in learning more.

Once you get past the Iron Gall archival aspect of this ink, there are only a couple of other things to consider when using it. For one, you might be surprised when the ink dries either the same shade as when it's wet, and (in some cases) it actually dries darker. Most inks become lighter as they dry, which can diminish some of the original pop of the ink color. Not so with the Green #4. It stays the nice medium-green color and dries a bit darker in the wetter spots.

The other thing to remember when using an Iron Gall ink is that it should not stay in your pen for long periods without being used. To me, I don't view this any differently than other inks, in so much that I like to clean out pens if they've been unused after about a month. If you're mindful about how long the ink has been in your pen, you should be fine. However, if the pen you're using has special sentimental value, or is difficult to replace, you might be a bit more careful about keeping it clean. Either way, these KWZ inks are fairly gentle, and I've never had an issue with pens getting clogged or becoming difficult to clean.

Now, after those differences, the Green #4 acts just like any other ink. The color is a wonderful woodland green with brown hints and a very subtle gold shimmer in certain lights. I wasn't really sure about the color when I first started using it, but I grew to love it because it has an abundance of character.

The shading is a large part of that character, along with the subtle shimmering effect. The shading isn't dramatic, but it's definitely noticeable in nibs from the F size and higher (German standard). It's a perfect amount of flare for the color.

The other fantastic quality of this ink is the dry time. In most cases, it's dry between 8 and 12 seconds. In fountain pen terms, this is very quick. Really, it's astonishing how quickly it dries, and the other KWZ IG inks are pretty close to this as well. Definitely something to consider if quick-drying inks are your preference.

At the end of the day, the KWZ Iron Gall Green #4 is a lovely medium or dark green ink that behaves wonderfully in all pens and on all papers. Just like the other KWZ IG inks I've used, I highly recommend this color. It's a very strong contender in the "work safe" green ink category, and it gets bonus points for being permanent.

You can find KWZ Iron Gall inks at Vanness Pens in 60ml bottles or 4ml sample vials.

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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, which I am very grateful for.

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

KWZ Iron Gall Gold Ink Review

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

On my third KWZ iron gall ink, the KWZ IG Gold color has managed to shock me again. These KWZ inks really are special, and you owe it to yourself to try some out at some point. The hardest part of this will be choosing.

Previously, I reviewed KWZ IG Blue #1 and KWZ IG Blue #4 and was mesmerized by the way the ink changed color as it dried. The Gold is no exception. This behavior is a characteristic of iron gall inks, and you can read a bit more about the KWZ variety over at Vaness Pens.

The Gold ink is very similar to the other KWZ inks I've tried when it comes to the behavior and ink characteristics. It never has trouble starting or skipping, it doesn't feather, show-through is minimal, there's a nice medium level of shading that looks fantastic on the page, and it's a tad on the dry side when writing. After using several of these inks, this all feels normal now. Dry time isn't among the fastest — you're looking at around 20-25 seconds in most cases. Sure, this will be quicker the smaller the nib and thinner the paper, but it's still on the slow side.

Once it dries, though, it's nearly permanent. The drip and dunk tests were congruent with the other KWZ inks. The water damages the paper and blurs the ink, but it's 100% readable afterwards.

The color is what sets this ink apart. Gold isn't really a color you think of when looking at inks. Gold is a yellow metal that shines and sparkles. That's difficult to emulate in an ink without introducing some kind of sparkling particulates in the ink. J. Herbin and Diamine both have experience in this, but KWZ went another route. Instead of trying to produce a Goldschläger ink, the shading provides the depth of color that you need when trying to emulate gold. It doesn't look exactly like gold (nothing will, which is why gold is highly valued), but it definitely reminds you of gold.

When writing, the ink has a light-straw yellow color. As it dries, it turns partially to a light brown with yellow tones, while thinner ink strokes retain a more light-straw color. It's this straw and light brown color combo along with the beautiful shading characteristics of this ink that evoke the thought of gold in this ink. I'm not sure if I'd describe this ink as "gold colored" if I didn't know the name of the ink, but I definitely see the connection. If it's not called gold, then it's some sort of mix between dirty yellow, light brown, and some slight green tones to enhance the yellows. Overall, it's a strange, unique color that I can't stop inspecting. It's beautiful!

When looking at the ink in the bottle and samples online, I didn't think this ink would impress me much. This is definitely a color that will appeal to some people, while completely flopping with others. If you like light to medium brown inks, this is definitely worth trying. If you like inks that shade, it's also something you need to try. In any case, you need to try some KWZ iron gall inks! These inks are so much fun, and the colors are so unique compared to non-iron gall inks.

As with the other KWZ inks, you can pick up a 60 ml bottle of Gold, or a 4 ml sample vial to see if the color is something you appreciate.

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