2300 Inks!

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We have surpassed 2300 ink reviews so it’s time for another favorites post! Today is the first day of fall so we’re going to focus on autumnal inks! Today I’ve been inking up all my favorite fall inks and pens.

Reds:

I love all four of these!

Pinks:

Pink isn’t really a fall color but there are still some good deep pinks.

Oranges:

Gimme all the orange inks in fall! Monteverde Fireopal is a favorite in the autumn.

Yellows:

I wasn’t a big fan of KWZ Honey when I first tried it but it has really grown on me and now it’s a favorite!

Greens:

I love all the olive greens in fall.

Teals:

Sailor Yama-dori is a long time favorite of mine. It’s just so good!

Blues:

Diamine Tudor Blue is probably my favorite fall blue.

Purples:

Colorverse Pillars of Creation is so under-rated! Why is no one talking about this ink?

What are your favorite fall inks? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Green Inks Part 2

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Here are swabs for all of the green inks I have reviewed so far. If you click on the swab it will take you to the review of that ink. I will update this page every time I review a green ink.

There are too many green inks to fit on one page so here’s part 2. You can find part 1 here.

2200 Inks!

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We have surpassed 2200 ink reviews so it’s time for another favorites post! We are now into summer so today let’s focus on my favorite bright colors.

Reds:

Irori is my long-time favorite red ink!

Pinks:

You can’t go wrong with any of these pinks, but Momo is definitely the brightest.

Oranges:

I love how water resistant Carmen is but Gerbera is probably my fave summer orange!

Yellows:

I love all four of these yellow inks!

Greens:

Ryde Green is probably my favorite summer green!

Teals:

Diamine Marine was the first ink I ever bought, and it’s still one of my favorites!

Blues:

If I had to pick one favorite Robert Oster blue it would be Blue Water Ice.

Purples:

Amethyst is my favorite summery purple!

What are your favorite summer inks? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

2100 Inks!

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We have surpassed 2100 ink reviews so it’s time for another favorites post! We are now into spring (well, most of us…sorry Utah!) so today let’s focus on my favorite spring colors.

Reds:

Whisper Red is probably my favorite spring red. It’s the one I feel is a true pastel red.

Pinks:

Out of these four Kosumosu is probably my favorite, but I love all four.

Oranges:

Peach is my favorite out of the three, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.

Yellows:

I love Honey Bee every time I use it. It’s a lovely yellow but still readable.

Greens:

I love almost all greens in the spring but Bungubox Kaoru is a fave.

Teals:

I reach for Soft Mint over and over in the spring.

Blues:

Milky Ocean is my favorite spring blue, simply because of the spectacular shading.

Purples:

I love all four of these purples.

What are your favorite spring inks? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

1900 Inks!

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We have surpassed 1900 ink reviews so it’s time for another favorites post! We are almost into fall so today let’s focus on my favorite fall colors.

Reds:

There are so many good fall reds! Robert Oster Australian Shiraz is one I reach for over and over.

Pinks:

I don’t love pinks in the fall, but Diamine Raspberry Rose is a good one!

Oranges:

Like reds, there are so many good fall oranges! You can’t go wrong with almost any orange inks.

Yellows:

KWZ Honey is a sneaky ink. The first time I used it I didn’t really love it-it just never clicked for me at first. Now it’s one I reach for often.

Greens:

I love olive greens in the fall. R&K Alt-Goldgrun is a must-try for every ink lover.

Teals:

Robert Oster Monsoon Sky is a more recent interest, but it’s such a good ink.

Blues:

In the fall I reach more for blue-black inks rather than traditional blues, but Diamine Oxford Blue is always in season.

Purples:

Pillars of Creation is possibly my favorite purple right now. It’s so good.

What are your favorite autumn inks? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

1800 Inks!

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We have surpassed 1800 ink reviews so it’s time for another favorites post! We are so close to summer that I decided to focus on my favorite summer inks.

Reds:

I don’t reach for a lot of red inks in the summer but i love all three of these.

Pinks:

There are so many good summery pink inks but I love a good coral in the summer!

Oranges:

Gerbera has been a long standing favorite of mine but Yu-yake is a classic.

Yellows:

Yellow inks are hard! Most of them are too light to be easily read but I like all three of these.

Greens:

I always seem to forget about Apple Glory but it’s such a good one!

Teals:

Marine was the first ink I ever bought and it’s still one I reach for often.

Blues:

Robert Oster has so many good blues but Blue Water Ice is a long-time favorite.

Purples:

I don’t know why Tender Purple isn’t talked about more-it’s a great ink.

What are your favorite summery inks? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Diplomat vs Octopus Fluids

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Diplomat recently released 15 new inks made by Octopus Fluids. As soon as I saw them I knew they looked very familiar. I immediately swabbed them up and compared them to the Octopus Fluids inks I reviewed previously. Each of the 15 inks is a re-branded ink by Octopus Fluids. Below you will find photos of the new Diplomat ink next to the original Octopus Fluids ink. You can find Diplomat inks for sale at Vanness Pens.

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  • Diplomat Black = Octopus Fluids Schwarz

  • Diplomat Sepia Black = Octopus Fluids Sepia Schwarz

  • Diplomat Pine Tree = Octopus Fluids Pinie

  • Diplomat Caramel = Octopus Fluids Karamell

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  • Diplomat Burgundy = Octopus Fluids Burgunder

  • Diplomat Red = Octopus Fluids Rot

  • Diplomat Orchid = Octopus Fluids Orchidee

  • Diplomat Orange = Octopus Fluids Orange

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  • Diplomat Moss Green = Octopus Fluids Moosgrun

  • Diplomat Deep Green = Octopus Fluids Tiefgrun

  • Diplomat Caribbean = Octopus Fluids Karibik

  • Diplomat Deep Blue = Octopus Fluids Ultramarinblau

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  • Diplomat Royal Blue = Octopus Fluids Konigsblau

  • Diplomat Purple = Octopus Fluids Purpur

  • Diplomat Lilac = Octopus Fluids Flieder

Overall, Caribbean and Deep Blue are my two favorite Diplomat inks.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Love & Hate Inks

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Happy Valentine’s Day y’all! This weekend I’ve been playing with some of my favorite pink inks for Valentines and it made me think about some of the inks I absolutely love and some I can’t stand to use. I love reading about other peoples’ favorites so here are a few inks I both love and hate.

Inks I Hate:

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Noodler’s House Divided is probably the #1 ink I hate. Why? Because not only does it feather like a baby duck, it also tends to separate dyes-the red stays where you put it but the blue underlying dye separates out and travels up to an inch away from the red. I get that the ink creator was trying to make a political statement with this ink, but I prefer the ink to say what I want it to, not what someone else does.

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Organics Studio Amino Acid seems like a normal blue with a little bit of shimmer, right? Well, it seems fine at first but over time the ink broke down which not only damaged the paper I wrote on but also ate some of the interior of one of my pens, so this ink is a no-go for me.

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3 Oysters Navy Blue had a weird thick, stringy consistency. I greatly disliked the ink just based on the flow and consistency. It didn’t smell weird and I know it was a fresh samples so it wasn’t moldy or anything, just had a funky consistency.

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Tono & Lims Universe and Moon. Universe is a clear ink with silver shimmer which weirdly reminds me of sparkly nail polish top coats from my teenage years. Both of these inks fluoresce under UV light so I know they have some use out in the world, but not in my world.

Inks I Love:

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Platinum Carbon Black is an ink I always have in a pen, it currently lives in a TWSBI Mini Rose Gold. I use it almost everyday. It’s highly water resistant and gives a great writing experience.

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Sailor Ink Studio 224 has awesome shading and is a little more readable than the ever popular Sailor Ink Studio 123.

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KWZ Butterscotch aka Meet Me in St Louis 2019 is such a great ink I wish I had ten bottles of it. It’s smooth and has the most gorgeous shading. I use it constantly in the autumn. I might cry when my bottle is empty.

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Sailor’s Sailor is a beautiful blue, shades really well and is nice and smooth. It’s just an overall great ink.

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Pilot Iroshizuku Tsutsuji is a fabulously bright, fun ink. It’s well-behaved and has a nice wet flow.

So now it’s your turn! Let me know what inks you love and hate in the comments below.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Holiday 2020 Inks

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Yesterday we covered my current favorites and an inky gift guide, today let’s talk about inks that are great for the coming holidays!

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While our Thanksgiving is going to look very different this year, I still reach for specific inks each November (this one is KWZ Honey).

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Christmas is my favorite holiday! There are so many great Christmas greens and reds that I couldn’t limit myself to just a few.

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Not only do I love the dark greens for Christmas, but there’s always room for some lighter brighter greens and of course some shimmer inks as well.

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I have a love/hate relationship with red inks. I’m always on the lookout for my perfect red, so far the closest I’ve found is Sailor Jentle Irori, but it’s still a bit too bright for me.

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I posted my favorite Christmas inks last year, and had a lot of requests to include Hanukkah inks this year.

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I wanted to include a range from black to silver even though I know the traditional colors are only blue and white. White inks are almost impossible in fountain pens (yes, I know some actually exist I just haven’t tried them yet).

What are your favorite holiday inks? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: all photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page, and this post is not sponsored in any way.

1300 Inks!

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We’ve passed 1300 inks so it’s time for another favorites post! Since we are so close to the holidays I decided to make this not only my current favorites but also a gift guide of sorts, based on ink properties.

This year has been really difficult, especially for small retailers. When you are doing your holiday shopping please remember to support small businesses! I did a blog post awhile back about my favorite small businesses and another post about custom pen makers if you are looking for more pen people to support.

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Water-resistant Inks:

Water-resistant inks are perfect for the journaler who wants their writing to last, the klutzy friend who always spills their coffee or the artist who loves to mix fountain pens and watercolors.

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Copy Paper Inks:

These inks perform well on cheap paper so these inks are perfect for the penny pincher friend who doesn’t want to buy nice paper, the office-dweller who doesn’t get to pick their paper or the student stuck with school papers.

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Wet Inks:

Wet inks are great for the writer who loves big juicy broad nibs or the calligrapher who uses flex and stub nibs.

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Dry Inks:

Dry inks are great when you have a nib that’s too wet and needs a little taming.

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Iron Gall Inks:

Iron Gall inks are great for the archive journaler, artist or historian.

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Non-shading Inks:

Non-shading inks are great for the office-dweller when shading isn’t appropriate, the boring friend who wants their writing to look like “normal” or the perfectionist who hates variation.

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Shading Inks:

Shading inks are a great gift for 99% of pen users, especially when they are as pretty as these ones!

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Crazy Shading Inks:

Dual shaders, chromo shaders, multi shaders-whatever you call them, they are fabulous for the artist in your life. They are rather pale in writing so I stick to broad and flex nibs to see the gorgeous shading.

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Sheeny Inks:

While I love a good sheeny ink, I hate ones that smear. I tend to stay in the medium to high sheeners, where Sailor and Colorverse perform well.

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Shimmer Inks:

Shimmer inks are great for those in your life that want a bit of sparkle and shine in their writing.

So now that we’ve covered the first 1300 inks, on to the next ones! What’s your number one ink to penable a friend? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links and is not sponsored in any way.