Birmingham Pen Co. is doing some interesting things in the ink space. Whether it is a wide range of wild colors, or ink properties to fit your specific needs, BPC has you covered. They have a certain prolific-ness, which I appreciate, even if it means I can’t keep up with all of their releases.
When I check out their ink lineup, I’m never disappointed in discovering something new and interesting. Hydrangea fit that bill on a recent order. This is a purple ink with character, which is what I’m looking for with this particular shade.
Purple ink colors land in that second tier of personal ink favorites - right behind blue black and bright blue, and alongside orange, pink, and green. I prefer moody purples over bright purples (think Imperial Purple,) with a strong lean towards the dusty/grey range of shades.
Hydrangea doesn’t fall into that category, but it has character that I appreciate on a page. It’s as if I inked a pen with grape juice and cut it with a couple of drops of water. It’s a great color, is legible, and has a small amount of shading. Right from the nib it shows a little blue, like the skin of a blueberry, but I wouldn’t call this ink a blurple when dry.
If a lot of ink goes down on the page - say from a swab, folded nib, or brush - you will get some pink undertones, which look great in those inky areas.
In my TWSBI VAC 700R Iris with a Fine Steel nib, it flows perfectly. It’s not too dry, nor is it overly lubricated. It’s just … nice. I think that is the goal of the Crisp ink formulation, of which Hydrangea is a part of. It works well in all writing situations.
I’ve had Hydrangea in use for weeks now, and there isn’t another purple I’m anxious to replace it with. That will happen eventually - it always does - but this bottle has found a home at the front of my ink shelf.
(Birmingham Ink Co. provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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