Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Sneak Peek: J. Herbin 1670 Ink

Here is a little sneak peek at the New ink from J.Herbin they call it simply 1670. I will be doing a full review.



Sunday, March 28, 2010

Ink Review: Noodler's Lexington Gray



Another Noodler’s and one that I honestly never thought I would have. The idea of a gray ink just never hit me, but a friend asked me to review this ink for them so here I am. The ink lays down a very nice very wet line and has some subtle but pretty shading. It is hard to see in the scan but I promise its there, subtle like a wisp of grey mist. There is some very slight feathering but you cannot notice it without looking very close, no bleed through and some slight shadowing on the other side of the paper.

In this review, I did forget to write a dry version of the Lexington Gray as I have in all of my other reviews. however because it lays down such a nice wet line I am going to assume that aside from the shading being muted out (as it often is in a finer nib for all inks) that it will look very similar. The ink is supposed to be modeled after the Lexington, which it does well, but the other thing I think of when I look at this ink is Confederate Gray’s so bring on the civil war historical thoughts.

The ink has a nice dry time and does not take as long as some of the other Noodler’s Inks and the water did not have any affect on it at all which since it is listed, as a bulletproof ink is what I would expect.


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Friday, March 19, 2010

Ink Review: Noodler's Dragon's Napalm


I liked the name of this ink from the get go. I thought it would be interesting to use an ink called Dragons Napalm. Now the bottle claims that it is a Sepia Shading Carmine and honestly, I do not see that. What I see is a very vivid orange with a little bit of red in it. So while it does not look (to me) like what it says on the bottle it is still a fantastic orange. Bright and vivid and easy to read on the page, because it is not TOO bright.

Once again, I used my Staples paper and the Jinhao F5 pen what can I say I watch Mythbusters and like to keep variables to a minimum as they do. The line is nice and wet when laid down and does not bleed through the page there is minimal shadowing on the other side of the paper and no feathering at all. Dry time is about the same as other Noodler's inks and a lefty will want to be careful. There is not a very good water tolerance either.

Using my Dollar SP-10 a dry writer the line is not as intense and there is not any shading at all but it is still a very nice intense color but just dryer and fine line written. Overall if you like Orange and like saturated ink this is a great color for you.


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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Paper Review: G.Lalo Vergé de France : Rose



Here comes another paper review hot off the presses. G.Lalo Verge De France has been one of my favorite papers they have a fantastic quality and a wide variety of colors. I plan to do reviews of several of the colors from the line because they each show different inks differently. So first, up we have the Rose color large tablet.

I used my trusty Jinaho (a friendly reader pointed out I had it spelled wrong…although my pen honestly does say Jinaho maybe it is a pen oppsy ;) ) F5 with Medium nib loaded with De Atramentis Caramel (can I say again how much I love this ink?). I also pulled out my little no name pen that I got from xfountainpens.com loaded with J.Herbin Perle Noire.

The large size tablet for G.Lalo is Letterhead size (8-1/4" x 11-3/4") you can also get it in a smaller size if you prefer smaller paper. The paper is a good quality weight and there is no bleeding or show through even with a wet writer like my Jinhao. It is very fountain pen friendly as would be expected for a higher end quality product.

The retail price is $15 on the large tablets and puts it in the higher end of the price range but even from an El Cheapo like me I think the price is worth it. G.Lalo has been making stationery since the 1920 and it shows this is a quality product that lends an air of class and elegance to your correspondence. There is a little bit of drag to the pen (not as smooth as Clairefontaine Triomphe) but because of the antique laid feel of it and the lines there, that is to be expected. It is not a rough paper by any means but has a little bit of texture and feel to it.


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