(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
The more inks I try, the more I like the ones that don't necessarily commit to a single color. Blue inks with shades of green, purple, or gray. Purple inks with hints of gold, teal inks with red sheen, etc. These are the truly interesting inks because they exhibit depth. Sure, I do love some Kon-peki because the blue just pops off the page, but other times I want something that keeps me guessing.
Callifolio Bosphore is a perfect example of that description. I'm still not sure what color this ink really is, but it's a very interesting ink regardless. When I first look at the ink, I think it's purple. But as I keep looking, I change my mind to blue with some purple undertones. And then, wait — was that a patch of green I saw? I don't know anymore. Oh, now it's blue again! I don't mean this in a bad way at all — it's absolutely positive characteristic of the ink.
Let's back up a bit. L'Artisan Pastellier's Callifolio inks are all made by a single individual in Southern France. Brad wrote about one of them recently, and made the same remark: you won't find a lot of bright, poppy colors in the line-up.
These inks are apparently very easy to mix together, so keep that in mind if that's something you're interested in. The ink is also extremely well-behaved, but I'll get into that in a bit.
BYOG (bring your own glass)
Let's start with the container. This is unlike any ink container you've ever seen. It's a flexible pouch with a screw top. Really, it feels and acts like a sturdy Capri-Sun. This is very interesting because the opening on top isn't big enough to fit a pen into, and I'm pretty sure that's intentional. This ink container is meant to be emptied into a more proper container, like a spare glass bottle you may have. In my case, I didn't have a spare container, so I just used a syringe to get out a bit of ink for testing. I'm still amazed by how small the container looks next to a 50 ml glass bottle of ink.
The 50 ml pouch of ink runs around $8, while a 40 ml glass bottle is $11. You get a nice savings from opting out of the glass bottle, but that just keep in mind that you'll want something to transfer this ink to if you get the larger pouch option.
Ink characteristics
This is an extremely well-behaved ink. Even though it feels dry in the Monteverde, which usually feels a bit more wet with most inks, it never skips a beat or has flow issues. I wish the ink was a tad more lubricated, but it's not a major complaint. Once I'm writing, I don't notice it, but it is fair to note since this pen is typically a wet writer. Strangely enough, writing with a Japanese F nib didn't yield bad results either. Really, the ink is lubricated just enough to provide a nice level of feedback between the page and the nib tip.
Again, the color of this ink is interesting. I'm going to stick with calling it a dusty purple, but it's so much more. Purple, blue, gray, and even a hint of green sometimes are some of the colors you can expect to see regularly. It's these types of color mixes that keep me very interested in an ink.
The ink dries fairly quickly on thick paper — just under 10 seconds before most smudging isn't a problem. Probably not quick enough for some lefties, but not bad either.
This ink shades pretty easily, but it maintains the main color profile throughout. This isn't an ink that is blue through the main strikes and green through the light strokes. You just get darker and lighter shades of the mysterious dusty purple. Don't get me wrong, this is nice — just trying to accurately describe the behavior with words.
Wrap up
For the price, you should definitely check it out if this type of color is in your area of interest. This is a solid ink that will work well in any pen, and it's unlike anything you can buy from any of the large manufacturers.
((Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
