The what now?
I’m lucky to have made some amazing pen friends over the years, including ones who have various pens they are no longer using and want to send them to me, to give to you. One of you, anyway. This lightly used Diplomat Elox Orange Rings Fountain Pen with a Fine Steel nib is a fantastic pen for any fountain pen fan, so read the rules below and enter away!
You may not have heard of Octopus Fluids prior to this review, but don’t be fooled: this is a big-time company. With a lineage dating back prior to 1900, the modern version of this German brand focuses on the industrial ink market, supplying manufacturers of varying sizes with ink used in large-scale production.
Over the last decade-plus, Octopus Fluids has used that expertise to expand into what they call the creative market. Ink for dyeing resins, alcohol-based ink for art, stamp ink, and so on. Importantly, for us Pen Addicts, Octopus branched out into fountain pen inks, which I have started to test, beginning with this review of Write & Draw Petrol Buffalo.
Octopus has two primary ink lineups for pen hobbyists: standard, and pigmented. The basic writing inks are simply marked Octopus Fluids, and ship in Pelikan-esque 30 ml bottles. The ink in this lineup is designed to be easy to use and clean, and is not waterproof. The pigmented inks are marked as the Write & Draw series, and are contained in taller, 50 ml bottles. These inks are designed to be permanent on the page, and require a little more consideration around their use and cleaning.
Petrol Buffalo is a beautiful dark teal-blue, which I inked up in my TWSBI 580ALR Prussian Blue pen, with a 1.1 mm stub nib. I like to use this pen for ink reviews for two reasons: the stub nib spreads the ink well, and the clear barrel shows if their is any staining, which is an important consideration for a pigmented ink.
From a writing perspective, Petrol Buffalo is fantastic. The flow is nice and smooth from this 1.1 mm nib, with various amounts of shading and light sheen depending on the paper being used. The color is relatively flat on bank paper, and shows more character on slower drying papers like Sanzen Tomoe River.
Top, dry, on Sanzen Tomoe River. Bottom, fully soaked under the faucet.
Permanence-wise, it is rock-solid under the faucet. Once dry, it is completely waterproof, with barely a fuzzy line edge to be seen. This level of performance is why you would buy a pigmented ink. Do know that you will want to take added care with any pigmented ink filled in your pen. If you leave the nib uncapped, it will dry out quicker than with a standard ink. Also, it could stain your barrel if you leave it inked for long periods of time. Time will tell on this one.
I don’t hesitate to use pigmented inks in most pens, but given the added care required, I will be particular to choose one that is easily cleanable, and that I will be using daily. If it isn’t in my regular writing rotation, it gets cleaned.
I’m impressed with my first Octopus Fluids experience so far. I’m a pigmented ink fan due to the colors available and permanence of the formula, and this Write & Draw Petrol Buffalo is as good as any as I have used. The price is right, too, at just over $17 for a 50 ml bottle. I have some of their standard inks on hand also, and so far so good with those as well. If their formulas or colors are something that ticks your boxes, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.
(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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Each week in Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter, I publish Ink Links as part of the additional content you receive for being a member. And each week, after 10 to 15 links, plus my added commentary on each, I'm left with many great items I want to share. Enter Misfill. Here are this weeks links:
— The new, upcycled Noris (Bleistift)
— Charles Darwin’s note-making system (Richard Carter)
— My growing Lamy 2000 family. (Fountain pen blog)
— Ferris Wheel Press November-January Inks (Nick Stewart)
— Diplomat Elox Matrix (Figboot on Pens)
— De La Soul's Albums Are Now Available On Streaming Services (The Quietus)
— Sailor Pro Gear King of Pen 2021 LE Blue Dawn Fountain Pen (Gourmet Pens)
— Quick Look: Tsukineko Soramame Ink Pad - Set of 4 (The Well-Appointed Desk)
— Magna Carta Denima (dapprman)
— Kakimori Pen Nib Review (Blake's Broadcast)
— Gift Idea for Industrial Designers: Eames-Themed Playing Cards (Core77)
— SCRIBO La Dotta Domus Fountain Pen Review (SBREBrown)
— Inside Montblanc Haus, an Immersive Museum Designed to Inspire Writing (Cool Hunting)
— ink review : TACCIA Ukiyo-e Utamaro benizakura (inkxplorations)
— Lennon Tool Bar Saira on World Craft Freiheit (Inkcredible Colours)
— Experiments in thread work: Danielle Clough on finding joy with the needle (Creative Boom)
— Ink Review #2063: Van Dieman's Deciduous Beech (Mountain of Ink)
— Ink Review #757: Stipula Dark Grey (Fountain Pen Pharmacist)
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