GIVEAWAY/CONTEST: Diamine Ink Samples!

Diamine recently released a set of eight inks to celebrate their brand's 150th (!!) anniversary.

I ended up buying all of the bottles for myself - and got a set of samples for you!

The set includes 2 ml samples of the following inks . . .

• 1864 Blue-Black
• Blue Velvet
• Carnival
• Regency Blue
• Safari
• Silver Fox
• Terracotta
• Tropical Green

Well, except Tropical Green. I spilled about one ml of the ink. Arrgh.

How to win?  

Come closest to guessing (over is fine) the number of inky cotton swabs in the gallon-sized bag shown below.  If more than one person guesses right on the number, the person who entered first will win the samples.

These are nearly all of the swabs I used during 2015. It's been a busy year! Last year, the jar I use was only about half full, this year it overflowed with inky goodness.

I'll be back after the beginning of the new year to announce the winner.

Until then...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So, what's your number?  

Contest open to US/CAN only.  Sorry to my friends in far away lands!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


This isn't a sponsored post. The samples (and my bottles) came from Goulet Pens, but they don't know what I'm up to over here today. 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Diamine Poppy Red Ink Spatters

I recently reviewed Diamine Poppy Red (spoiler: I loved it) and I've been practicing my spatter techniques with it.

Here's a link to the full-sized image - it's huge.

INK REVIEW: Montblanc Corn Poppy Red

Montblanc Corn Poppy Red Ink Swabs

 BaBam!  Biff! Boom! Pow!

Montblanc Corn Poppy Red has arrived on the scene.

My very first impression was that the ink is terribly wet. If flowed from my pen with such ease that I was sure it would take forever to dry.  I was wrong and the dry times are perfectly acceptable with no smearing at all at the twenty second mark.

Montblanc Corn Poppy Red Writing Sample

Here's the scoop . . . delightful saturation, beautiful red color, flow is wonderful, definitely not water-resistant.

There was no ghosting and minimal show through on the HP 32 pound paper I was using. There was also the teeny tiniest bit of spread. Not enough to call it feathering, but definitely some spread. Just a touch. Maybe so little that others wouldn't notice it? Probably not enough that it's a deal breaker for me.

I regularly use HP 32 pound paper. I know it's a good and consistent paper that works well with fountain pens. An then I wondered . . . how would Corn Poppy Red behave on other papers?

First I tried Apica CD 15 Notebook paper. This is their regular line, not the premium stuff.

It was not a pleasant writing experience. I felt as I needed to press just a bit harder with the pen (the MB Heritage 1912 that I adore so much) and even then, it just didn't feel as nice.

Then, I tried my old favorite Rhodia 80 gsm . . .

And, man, that was some nice writing! Smooth with crisp lines. I approve!

I know you're looking at the bottom line there and wondering what the heck happened. Silly me put the paper in the scanner before it was dry.  Anyone know how to clean ink off of a feed scanner's rolly bits? Oops.

Bottom line? I like pen and ink combinations that work on all papers. There's so much fuss in the world that when I pick up a pen, I just want it to go. I like Montblanc Corn Poppy Red, but it's not love.

Whomp Whomp.

Tell me - what are deal breakers for you with inks? Color is the big obvious thing, but are there other things that you simply will not tolerate?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Diamine Scarlet Ink Review

In love with Diamine Scarlet

Amazing pink-red color, great saturation.

Side Note: I'm beginning to think that if I put my words in italics, it's like whispering. And whispering is kind of like wordless, right?

INK REVIEW: Diamine Autumn Oak

Hello, Autumn Oak!

I'd been hearing good things about Autumn Oak from Diamine. Seeing is definitely believing!

With its name, I assumed the ink would be some shade of brown and not very exciting. So glad I finally decided to check it out.

Insane shading.  Writes great.  No ghosting or bleeding. Acceptable dry times. No water resistance. Not incredibly saturated, but definitely not watery.

Here's the full review . . . 

And a link to the original file (it's huge).

I mentioned in the handwritten review that Autumn Oak seems to be comparable to other orange inks.  The color reminds of Pelikan Edelstein Amber - though Autumn Oak definitely has more shading.

I wrote in the review, "I like it!" Based on my usage of it over the last few days, I'm going to revise that to . . . I love it!  There are definitely many orange fountain pen inks out there, but this one is definitely unique in terms of color and shading and it writes great.

Ooh - bonus images - I've been practicing my splash techniques.  Getting better!

Alrighty, your turn.  What do you think of Diamine Autumn Oak? Do you have an orange ink that you love love love? 

xo

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Diamine Imperial Blue Ink Review

I like this one. A blue that leans toward purple.

I'll definitely be back with a full review of this one.

Do you like the way it looks?

INK REVIEW: Diamine Poppy Red

It feels like it's been awhile since I've been able to say this - I LOVE this ink.

Diamine Poppy Red fountain pen ink is a pure, bright red ink with a teeny tiny bit of potential for shading.  The ink dries faster than average on the page and doesn't feel dry (nor too lubricated) in the pen. There is not much water resistance, but I didn't expect there to be. There were no hard starts, no ghosting, no bleeding, no problems.  Just plain ole happy red RED saturated ink.

Check it out . . .

The swabs above are 1, 2, and 3 passes with a super-soaked cotton swab.

And here's a close-up of some handwriting with it . . .

Seriously, I have nothing but good things to say about Poppy Red from Diamine.  This review is from a sample I bought from Goulet Pens. I will have a full bottle of it in the very near future.  Love, love, love.

Here's the full review . . .

If you want to see the full-sized version of the handwritten review, here's a link for you.  (It's huge.)

What do you think? Love it? Maybe you have another go-to favorite red ink?

How was your Thanksgiving? Mr. Pentulant and I were at the beach for the long weekend. We had a great time. So relaxing.

xoxox

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Noodler's Texas Blue Bonnet and Noodler's Texas Live Oak

Noodler's Texas Blue Bonnet

It's ok.

This, however, is not ok.

PEN REVIEW: Edison Nouveau Premiere Autumn Harvest (Fall 2014 Special Edition Fountain Pen)

Edison Nouveau Premiere

Fall 2014 Special Edition Fountain Pen

Hello Fall!!!

The Fall 2014 Edison Nouveau Special Edition fountain pen has been released.

Edison Nouveau Premiere 

Fall 2014

Screw Cap

They are calling it Autumn Harvest.

I was thinking the fall edition might be conservative and concerned that could mean that it wouldn't have been. . . uh . . . as wonderfully special as those two.  CraZy!

Shades of brown mixed with hues of gold - light mixed with dark - flecks and flakes mixed with discreet swirls.

This is a fountain pen that can go anywhere with anyone and fit in comfortably. It can be dressed up with a business suit or go casual with jeans.


Gold-tone trim (fancy people call this the pen's "furniture"). Two-toned steel nib (mine is a broad and I think you should go broad, too).

Convenient Converter Fill

It has an almost vintage feel to it, yes? Vintage, but not old. The design is so modern.

This isn't your grandpa's fountain pen (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

OK, so it's pretty handsome, but how does the Edison Nouveau Premiere Autumn Harvest (Fall 2014 Special Edition) Fountain Pen write?

Swoooooon

Click here to see the full-sized handwritten review.

Things to know . . .

. . . . Goulet Pens graciously sent me this pen in exchange for my honest review. As a special edition, they are predicting that the pen will be available through November 2014. If sales are greater than expected, they could be out of stock sooner. You can get yours for $149 right here.

. . . . I have a giveaway (and more pictures of this beauty) coming up on Wednesday - hoping you'll come back and check it out.

Your turn . . . love it? hate it? Does it make you look froward to fall?

ACCESSORIES: Here a Swab, There a Swab

I'm obsessed with fountain pen inks (collect them all!) and make swabs of all of the samples I have on these cards. It's a good solution, but it's not perfect - the cards are cream-colored and textured rather than white and smooth; I was finding it impossible to sort through them all and figure out which inks I had in full bottles, too.

I found this nifty item at Maido in San Francisco.  (If you only have time to go to one of the Maido stores, head to Japantown. The one in the San Francisco Center Mall is good, but not as many fun Japanese items and the prices seem higher - not sure if they actually are, but that's the way it seemed.)

Perfect solution! 

Here's a link to the full-size image of the item with the product information intact. However, this really is just a business card holder - I'm sure any office supply store would be able to help you out with one of those.  Then you'll just need to find business card size paper (Maido has that, too), and you'll be all set.

Have fun!

FOUNTAIN PEN INK: A Sampler by Greg Clark

Anyone who follows me anywhere (and anyone who comes to my house - ha!) knows that I'm slightly obsessed with ink. Swabs, samples, bottles, and more - I love ink. I like to say that I'm working on collecting them all.  Only kind joking.  (The above is Noodler's Habanero on Tomoe River Paper.)

A few weeks ago, Mr. Pentulant and I had friends over for a delightful afternoon of board games. The topic of my ink addiction came up and one of our friends said, "Hey, I had a friend who wrote a book about fountain pen inks once."

What!?  Say what?!

Something about swabs on all of the pages (and I'm thinking, "No way!") and next thing you know, our friend is texting the wife of the guy. But, no, that book has been out of print for a number of years.

Well, the end, right?

Wrong!!

Mr. Pentulant regularly trolls the For Sale section of Fountain Pen Network and in an amazing bit of unbeknownst-to-me serendipity, the book showed up for sale there!!!

Saturday was the one year anniversary of our marriage. Among other wonderful things, Mr. Pentulant presented me with the book. True love.

The book is in excellent condition. The previous owner says it was stored in drawer to protect it from light - and, really, the swabs look like they could have been done just a week or two ago and not in 2007 as indicated in the text.

It's interesting to see some very familiar brands and colors - and it's also interesting to see which brands and colors have not survived.

I see this book/project as a snapshot of a moment in time. The pricing guide, the availability of certain inks, and the articles included in the concerning the changes happening with fountain pen inks.

Granted, this isn't an incredible piece of history (it was published in 2007), but it is a record of someone's love for something I love - and that's pretty special.

Tradition says that paper is the gift one gives for first anniversaries - Mr. Pentulant sure got it right with this.  (Not to mention our other crazy paper adventures over the weekend - but more on that another time.)

What do you think? Would you be crazy for an item like this, too?