Colorverse Strelka and JFK's Dog Pushinka Ink 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.)

Colorverse’s Trailblazer in Space Series pays homage to animals, insects, and rockets that were launched into space. The Strelka and JFK’s Dog Pushinka set is based on the following story: in 1960, two dogs named Strelka and Belka boarded Sputnik 2. They were accompanied by forty mice, two rats, and several plants, and they successfully orbited Earth eighteen times. Strelka later gave birth to a litter of puppies. One of them, Pushinka, was given as a gift to John F. Kennedy (Dogs in Space).

Photo Credit: Cecil Stoughton. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston; Public Domain

The Strelka/Pushinka set comes with some pretty fabulous packaging. The outer box has pictures of both dogs with their respective color inks. The inner box is decorated with stars and the solar system.

In addition to the ink, the box contains some extra goodies: two branded napkins for wiping ink off nibs, a cardboard bookmark, a cardboard pen holder, and stickers.

Strelka

The Strelka ink comes in a 65ml teardrop-shaped bottle. It is a bright, peacock blue color with little shading or sheen.

I tested the ink using a Sailor Cross Point nib on Maruman Septcouleur paper. The ink flows extremely well and is definitely an eye-catching color. It’s a wet ink and is not colorfast.

My chromatography test showed little variation in color.

The color is really quite beautiful. But writers (like me) who enjoy shading and/or sheen will be disappointed that Strelka is so flat.

JFK’s Pushinka

The Pushinka ink comes in a tiny 15ml bottle. Pushinka is a rather odd color that looks tan in swabs. But with a nib it almost looks looks greenish. The ink does not contain any sheen.

I tested this ink using my Franklin-Christoph medium SIG Flex nib on Maruman Septcouleur paper. It exhibits a tiny bit of shading when you write with it, but is a flat tan color in swabs. It is much drier than Strelka ink, and it is not waterproof.

The chromatography test indicates that this rather bland color actually contains several interesting hues: gray, yellow, orange, and blue.

In spite of the cool chromatography, I’m not at all impressed with this drab color, though it does capture the tan colors of Pushinka’s ears and tail. Although the tiny bottle is adorable, it’s not practical for pens with large or long nibs. In fact, I filled the converter straight from the bottle rather than trying to draw ink up through the nib.

This is my first experience with Colorverse inks, and I’m definitely intrigued, even though the colors I tested didn’t have shading and sheen. I love the space themes Colorverse emphasizes, and I hope to try out some different colors in the future. You can purchase this Trailblazer set from JetPens for $33.00.

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

Graf von Faber-Castell Viper Green Ink Review

Out of the vast rainbow of fountain pen ink colors available, there are two shades I generally don’t care for: Red and Green. Red does nothing for me - bright, brick, blood - none of it registers. Green was there at one time too, especially traditional greens and dark greens. I think it is time I moved green off the list, because I found a new one I am enjoying immensely.

Graf von Faber-Castell Viper Green is one of the newest GvFC inks, which I picked up from Vanness Pens at the D.C. Pen Show. I was looking for a new ink to match my recently purchased Nakaya Piccolo Heki-Tamenuri and its brown-green finish, and Viper Green has turned out to be a great match.

For me, Akkerman #28 Hofkwartier Groen is the only green that sees regular use. It’s bright with yellow undertones and has fantastic shading. It looks great in all nibs, but shines in wide ones. Viper Green shares some of the same brightness I enjoy from Hofkwartier Groen, but with less yellow. It’s like a bright apple green hard candy on the page.

Traditional, standard production line greens (think Lamy, Waterman, Sheaffer) are some of my least favorite inks around. They tend to look washed out and weak, with no character at all. Viper Green has great character, with a deepness and saturation that makes it pop off the page. There is not a huge shading range, but enough to where you can see the variance. It dries reasonably well too, at least on the few pages I’ve tried it on.

While I’ve enjoyed several of the darker green inks I’ve reviewed, they never stick in the rotation. I’m not sure why. They are nice, and loved my many. Maybe it’s not my aesthetic. That’s ok, I have bright greens to fall back on, and Viper Green fits the bill perfectly.

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

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Graf von Faber-Castell Turquoise Ink Cartridge Review

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

We're currently in the middle of summer vacation season, and Turquoise from Graf von Faber-Castell has me thinking of Indonesian beach scenes due to it's calming light turquoise color. While not my favorite turquoise ink, the one does offer a different, lighter take on the hue that is refreshing.

Like any turquoise ink, there's a delicious mixture of blue and green that reminds me of an idyllic tropical paradise. In some light, I see more blue coming through predominately, while other lights bring out the green. This changing nature is something that I always enjoy in an ink (as long as it matches up with the name and base color).

What gives this ink a unique feel is the precise lack of saturation compared to other teal and turquoise inks on the market. The ink looks thinner and less saturated than others I've used, but that's an illusion. There's plenty of color in the ink, but the light saturation doesn't lower the vibrancy at all. It's still gorgeous, which is something I can't say about other inks that seem watered-down or semi-transparent.

One of my favorite features of any blue or green ink is the shading property. In Turquoise, I'm delighted to report that there's plenty of moderate shading to be found. Obviously, this will be more dramatic with wider nibbed pens, but it even shows up well with fine nibs.

This is my first exposure to a Faber-Castell ink, so I wasn't sure what to expect as far as feathering, dry time, lubrication, and cleaning. Well, this ink is incredibly well-behaved. I haven't detected any feathering or bleeding, and due to the light color, there's almost zero show-through on most papers. The ink lubricates the nib very well, which makes writing smooth and effortless.

Dry time is something that surprised me the most. In most cases, the ink is smudge-resistant after ten seconds, and completely dry by 15. Very fast!

After running the ink through a couple of pens, I was also happy to find that cleaning this ink out from my pens was incredibly easy. It didn't require several passes.

Overall, this is a fantastic ink that I've enjoyed using over the past few weeks. It has a cheery color, great properties, and a great price as well. I'm using cartridges, which can be had for under $4 for a box of six. If you want a bottle, you're stuck with the gigantic 75ml bottle that runs about $30. To me, a "normal" bottle size is about 50ml, so you get quite a lot for the price. Just make sure you like the color before you commit to such a large amount!

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

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