Duotone, dichromatic, or whatever you want to call it. Inks that present on the paper with different colours have been very popular in recent years. The first of these inks that really took off were from Sailor’s Ink Studio set of inks but since then there are many from Sailor, from Troublemaker, Vinta and of course Birmingham Pen Company. Many of the dichromatic inks are based around a pink dye that separated from a blue teal or green dye. That is fundamentally the same combination there! The ink is green with a pink that separates when the ink pools and dries.
Read MoreInk Review: La Couronne du Comte (Diamine) Vert Sapin
In September 2019 La Couronne du Comte, a stationery store based in Tilburg, Netherlands (and sponsor of this blog) released Comte d’Or (“Count of Gold”), a gold ink made by Diamine exclusively for their store and the first from what will become their Les Couleurs du Comte (“The Colors of the Count“) ink series. La Couronne du Comte describe the series as “a range that focuses on special colours, rich in colour intensity, with a wonderful shading and/or sheen”. A year later they released three more inks, Bleu Cuivré (“Copper Blue”), a blue ink; Pan d’Epices (“Gingerbread”), a red ink; and Vert Sapin (“Pine Green”), a green ink . I’ll be reviewing all the ink in the series alphabetically.
I received Comte d’Or as part of a general promotion from La Couronne du Comte and I purchased Bleu Cuivré, Pain d’Epices, and Vert Sapin myself. You can find the inks here and use code “MACCHIATOMAN10” for 10% off!
Read MorePen Review: Esterbrook Estie Oversize (CANDY) with Kirk Speer Needlepoint Nib
Esterbrook’s latest release is the CANDY Estie and for this review I have the oversize model (which I haven’t tried before) and most importantly the new Kirk Speer of Pen Realm Needlepoint nib. Esterbrook release many different finishes for their Estie line and they are seemingly very popular. I’ve bought a few myself and received a few for review just like this one. I’ve said it before on reviews but custom nibs are always exciting to try!
A big thank you to Esterbrook for sending this in for review!
Read MoreInk Comparison: Iroshizuku Out with the Old In with the New (Tsuyu-kusa, Tsukushi, Ina-ho, Sui-gyoku, Hana-ikada, Hotaru-bi)
Pilot giveth and Pilot taketh away! In October 2021 we found out that Pilot was discontinuing three inks from their Iroshizuku lineup, Tsuyu-kusa, Tsukushi, and Ina-ho. In November the same year they announced three new inks that will essentially replace the discontinued inks. These new inks are Sui-gyoku, Hana-ikada, and Hotaru-bi. Overall the changes make the Iroshizuku lineup more vibrant and colourful. This is going to be a long post with six comparison reviews (which quite aren’t as extensive as normal reviews) packed into one post.
Thank you to Pen Classics for sending me the new Iroshizuku inks for review here.
Read MorePen Review: Platinum Curidas
This Platinum Curidas, sent to me by Pen Classics, has been a little while in the making! Platinum released the Curidas in early 2020 and it has always been a curious fountain pen and one I always wanted to add to my collection and compare with other retractable nibbed fountain pens! Now is the time.
Thanks again to Pen Classics for sending me the Platinum Curidas which was given away (curtesy of Pen Classics) after the review to celebrate six years of Fountain Pens Australia!
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