Diamine Delamere Green

Up today is a fun green from Diamine Ink. It is Diamine Delamere Green. I’m not big on green inks, but I quite like this one. I think it is because of its blue undertones (I’m a sucker for blue-green inks). Make no mistake, it is definitely more green than blue.

My husband has to use a green ink for work, and this is one of his favorites to use. He usually uses a Lamy Safari with a fine nib or a Faber Castell Basic with a fine nib. He is a lefty over-writer, and he reports no issues with smearing.

The Details:

• No feathering or bleeding on good paper
• Great flow and lubrication
• Drying time is average with a normal sized nib, but was a bit extended with the fat stub on this Estie. There was no point in even trying to get a calculation. The time was well in excess of 30 seconds.
• Shading is good especially with a fat juicy nib on a coated paper like Rhodia, et al.
• Not waterproof or water-resistant.

This ink was sent to me for review by the good folks at Diamine ink. I am not otherwise affiliated with them.

Swabs of New Platinum Mix Free Inks

(click to enlarge and sharpen the image)

I just received my 9 super samples of the new Platinum Mix Free line. I thought you all might want to see the swabs. I haven’t played around with the inks yet, but I will definitely put up some reviews as soon as I have formed opinions of them.

Initial Thoughts:

• Smoke Black is a rather average black.
• Earth Brown is a reddish-brown. It is very similar to J. Herbin Cafe des Iles.
• Aurora Blue is one of my favorite. It is very similar to Diamine Sapphire Blue.
• Aqua Blue is a nice turquoise blue. It is very similar to J. Herbin Blue Prevenche.
• Leaf Green is also a nice green color. It reminds me a bit of J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage.
• Silky Purple is definitely my favorite color of all these, and it is nearly identical to J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen. It’s very bright and a very red purple.
• Cyclamen Pink is nearly identical to the long since discontinued Levenger Pinkly.
• Flame Red is nearly identical to Noodler’s Dragon’s Napalm.
• Sunny Yellow is a fantastically rich yellow.

Sample Kit retailers:

• ISellPens.com sells a sampler for $20. In their kit you get a 10ml sample of each 9 colors of Mix Free inks, 2 extra bottles, and 2 ink syringes. This is where I purchased my kit.
• GouletPens.com sells a sampler for $30. In their kit you get a 5ml sample of each of the 9 Platinum Mix-Free fountain pen ink colors in labeled plastic vials, a Goulet ink syringe set, and ten empty ink vials.
• PearTreePens.com sells a sampler for $29.95. In their kit you get one 5mL sample of each of the 9 specially designed colors, one Write-Fill Kit, an empty full-sized ink bottle (of their choice), and three empty sample bottles.

There are several places you can get full bottles of Platinum Mix Free inks. Individual bottles are around $20 each. Many places are selling full-sized sets of all 9 inks for $149.

Happy mixing!

No Affil.

Diamine Evergreen

Diamine Evergreen is one of those colors that many hoped would replace the now discontinued Montblanc Racing Green. Alas, this isn’t it. While this is a nice dark green it lacks the olive tones and antique appearance of Montblanc Racing Green. Really, I’d say this is a more obviously green version of Noodler’s Zhivago. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of Racing Green, then this color will probably appeal.

Honestly, I’m not much of a green ink sort of person, but even I’m kind of fond of this ink (but not fond enough of it to use it on any regular basis).

The Details:

• No feathering or bleeding
• Flows very freely and has decent lubrication. Not a dry writer at all.
• Dries pretty quickly on the papers tested.
• Not much shading at all. It’s a bit too saturated/dense for that.
• Definitely not waterproof and really not very water resistant. If you are quick you can salvage a faint trace of your writing.

(Click to enlarge and sharpen the image. Scan appear slightly more yellow than in reality.)

This ink was sent to me for review by the good folks at Diamine Ink Co. I am not otherwise affiliated with them.

Diamine Green/Black

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My apologies for not putting up a review of some sort on Monday. There were two things working against me: the Iroshizuku reviews have hit a bit of a snag, and I’ve just started a new exercise and diet regime that is zapping up a lot of my time and energy.

Since the Iroshizuku reviews are at a bit of a stand still, I thought I’d review one of the new Diamine ink colors. Up today is Diamine Green/Black. Yes, it is a good Mont Blanc Racing Green (MBRG) sub. It actually seems to be a mix between MBRG and Noodler’s Zhivago. It’s dark but still visibly green, but it’s not as olive in color as the MBRG.

I’m not a green ink fan, but I like this one better than I liked either MBRG or Zhivago.

The details:

No feathering or bleeding
Excellent flow
Lubrication is decent: not bad, not excellent.
Drying time of fairly quick at 5 seconds.
I haven’t seen any shading with this combo.
There is some level of water resistance, but nothing spectacular really.

(Click to enlarge and sharpen these images)

I received this ink sample from the good folks at Diamine. I am not otherwise affiliated with them.

Diamine Sherwood Forest (bespoke)

I don’t like dark green ink. I’ve tried, but it’s just not my cup of tea. A FPN friend sent me part of a bottle of this ink in hopes of swaying me. It didn’t work. Nevertheless, I know many of you love dark green, so I thought I’d review it for you.

The Details:

• I’d describe this ink as a very deep dark forest green with a bit of a glow to it. My understanding is that this ink was formulated to be similar to Noodler’s Zhivago, but greener. I think it has done it.
• There is no feathering or bleed through
• It flows very well and is pretty lubricating
• The drying time is rather speedy at about 4 seconds
• There isn’t much shading at all
• It isn’t waterproof, but does show some water resistance

No Affil.

Diamine Umber

Despite the fact that I love, love, LOVE blue-greens I’m not such a fan of green inks. I tried this ink on a whim. If you didn’t know already, when you order three 30ml bottles of ink from Diamine directly they send you a box of assorted ink cartridges. I’d seen everyone raving about how much they loved Diamine Umber so I checked and there was an Umber cartridge in the box. I popped it in a pen and fell in love with it immediately. I promptly ordered an 80ml bottle.

The ink:
It’s a subdued dark green ink. Definitely not vibrant or light.
No feathering or bleed through on cheap or high quality paper.
The flow is good and so is the lubrication.
This ink dries very quickly in cheap and high quality papers.
The shading is quite good with ink. It is subtle, but pleasant.
Now, if you are looking for something water resistant this ink is not the one for you. If you even sneeze at the page, be ready to lose some legibility.

All  and all, this is a well behaved and pleasing dark green. I really like it.

This photo is from another write up I did of this ink on bagasse paper .

This is a close up from a different angle

NOTE: The picture posted is not the one used to write this post. The image posted was the result of an initial test with a cartridge. This post was written after a while of using the bottled ink. This explains some of the difference in opinion between the two. The image is the right color. The note card didn’t photograph well, so it was completely the wrong color. SO, please only consider the picture for how it shows off the ink color not for the information. Sorry.