Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Ah, Sweet Mystery of Ink! In Which Dr. inkenstein Reveals Part One

On the Fountain Pen Geeks forum, we have been playing a wonderful Ink Guessing Game, started by KLP and Laura N.  

Here's how it goes:  They send us a sample vial of Unmarked Ink.  We test it, not knowing the maker or color name, so we won't be unduly influenced by Industry Hype (ie: 'This is the Best Ink Ever!' Or, 'This Ink Will Eat Your Pen Alive!'). Sort of, almost, like a double blind science experiment.

And as we all know, Dr. Inkenstein loves science experiments.  Muahahaaaa.

I missed MI 1 so...

It started with MI 2.

By chance, I believe I picked the perfect pen for this Mystery Ink:

 

The image is scanned so you can't see much shading, but I believe there is some. For a wet ink, it still dries fast enough for this southpaw overwriter.

This has been such fun, and I can't thank you two enough for the opportunity.

PS: Chroma:



(MI 2 was revealed as Sailor Kobe Maiko Green.  Loved it.)


MI 3 proved to be a bright spot in a dark winter.

Here are just my quick impressions, but I love it too! It's not anything like any color I have or know...I call it Raspberry Sorbet. 

The chroma reveals a not-all-that-complex color halo, unlike some of my other inks, which fan out into multi-hued coronas. That's okay.  I found that J Herbin Rouge Bourgogne had a very similar chroma, but...that waan't this ink.

Have I mentioned I loved this ink? 

It dries fast enough, and does not seem quite as wet as MI 2. But it seems unique. (Now, given that I was wrong with both my MI 2 guesses, watch this 'become' an ink I already own and use, lol).

Thank you both, Laura and KLP, for this wonderful ink-ertunity, and for brightening up a snowy winter day.



This ink turned out to be...Caran D'Ache Sunset.  Never used a CDA ink before, and sadly, this is a discontinued color.  It got a little bit sticky in the pen after a coupoe of weeks, refusing to dry well.  Coulda been the pen.  Anyway the ink was a wonderful color and fun to use.

Up next: Part Two!  With at least two more inks!

No comments:

Post a Comment