Ink Review #335: Ancient Song Winter October

This week we are looking at Ancient Song inks, which are made in China. I purchased my inks from Straits Pen. They don't have any available online right now, but I think they will have some Ancient Song inks available at their table at the San Francisco Pen Show in August. First up is Ancient Song Winter October.

The color:

Winter October is a medium teal with dark pink sheen and bright gold shimmer.

Swabs:

In large swabs there is a ton of bright gold shimmer.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-mainly in the flex nib on Tomoe River paper.

Other properties: medium shading, medium sheen, and lots of gold shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering and bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (top to bottom for mobile RSS): J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor, Ancient Song Winter October, and Diamine Sparmint Diva. Emerald of Chivor is a bit darker than Winter October.

Robert Oster Deep Sea, Colorverse Gravity Wave, and Robert Oster Tranquility.  Click here to see the teal inks together.

Winter October vs. Emerald of Chivor:

Winter October has an average flow, medium shading, and medium pink sheen. The shimmer is also a bit brighter gold.

Emerald of Chivor has a wet flow, low shading, and medium red sheen.

I don't think one is necessarily better than the other, it just depends on what properties you are looking for. If you want a wetter ink, Emerald of Chivor is better. If you want more shading, Winter October might be better for you.

Longer writing: 

I used a broad Twsbi Eco Pink on Tomoe River paper. The ink had an average flow. I didn't have any clogging issues, but like any shimmer ink you need to rotate the pen to keep the shimmer in suspension.

Overall, I found this ink to be really interesting. I love the color, and it's pretty well behaved too.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links.