Sailor Inks are one of my favourite brands of ink β this is no secret. In general the characteristics their inks are what I look for in an ink. Reds are not my favourite colour but Maroons, Burgundies, Bordeauxs (etc.) are shades of red I really like, in fact they are one of my favourite colour families. The range of colours in this family move from inks with more blue, to more brown and more yellow. They also vary quite dramatically depending on the paper. This is by no means a complete account of Sailor's offering in this colour gamut but I think it still has a decent selection (but I clearly need more!)
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Ink Comparison: Parker Penman Sapphire
Parker ceased production of Penman Sapphire in 2000 meaning that the bottle I have is at least 16 years old and probably older; that's more than half my age! I bought my bottle from a seller on eBay (and as of this writing he has another bottle up for sale). The ink is very well regarded and sort-after and the price certainly reflects that with prices upwards of $125 USD common. The price also dissuades many from getting the ink so alternatives are sought, and some, like Bungubox Sapphire, specifically mention that Parker Penman Sapphire was an inspiration for the ink. Brad Dowdy mentioned that Noodler's Baystate Blue, Private Reserve American Blue, and Diamine Majestic Blue come up as suitable substitutes but I've found in my testing that there are much better alternatives to Parker Penman Sapphire than these.
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Ink Comparison: Oranges
These are by no means all my orange inks, but I think they are a pretty decent and interesting set of ten. I have three Sailor oranges, as well as some other well regarded inks. These are swatched and written with a glass dip pen. I have not inked these for this comparison. The inks are: Bookbinder's Online Everglades Ratsnake, Robert Oster Orange, Diamine Marigold, Robert Oster Peach, Sailor Kobe #25 Tarumi Apricot, Bungubox Fresh Orange Mandarin/Tangarine (among other names), Sailor Apricot, Sailor Kin-Mokusei, Noodler's Apache Sunset, and Caran d'Ache Saffron.
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Ink Review: Bungubox Valentine's Choco Brown
in Ink Review
I've had Bungubox Valentine's Choco Brown since late April this year and have never inked a pen with it. In swatch form, the ink never enticed me to ink it. It is a rich deep brown that isn't overly red or yellow leaning but is a nice true brown. The ink is a seasonal ink that comes out around February for Valentine's Day along with another themed seasonal Bungubox ink, Sweet Love Pink.
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