Ink Review: De Atramentis Sahara Grey

This ink almost ranks as bad as another recent ink I reviewed (J. Herbin Bouquet D'antan) I made a remark with the last ink that it would be better off as an artists ink. I believe this ink would also fall in that category of ranking.

Horrible, horrible ink! When I first started writing with this ink (In a neon yellow Lamy Safari "Fine" nib) I was not impressed. I actually had the same feelings and concerns about the pen, like I did when reviewing an ink by J. Herbin.

 So, undoubtedly I gave the ink the benefit of the doubt. I wrote with it some more, played with it on different papers, and made sure that it was facing nip down (with the cap on) when not in use. I was very disappointed when it worked poorly in my Paperblanks journal.

Writing in a Paperblanks Journal

So what are the pro's and con's of this ink?

Pro's

• It is a beautiful natural color shade
• It is at least "somewhat" readable
• Makes a great artist ink

Con's

• Seems pretty dry
• Hardly able to read it
• Very poor shading
• Goes on very light (although it does dry a bit darker; making it more readable, but not by much
• Really too light of a color for anyone wanting to write

Overall, this ink is a bad ink. I am not impressed by the brand or the color. Not what I was expecting. Needless to say, writing and reviewing this ink has caused me to go back to Goulet Pen's website and re-do my "Wishlist".

Photography Bonanza!

The last couple days I have had the opportunity to take my camera with me and catch some beautiful photos (while exploring random roads to see where they lead). So I would like to share with you what I have capture. I would also like to invite you to come check out more of my photographs right here on Flickr.

This one was untouched. All I did was added a border and my copyright.

Ink Review: J. Herbin Bouquet D'antan

I finally got around to doing my review for this ink. I purchased a sample from Goulet Pens and needless to say, I am very glad it was only a sample. I took some photos, but it seems that no matter how much I brighten the pictures, that somewhere between transferring from my phone and the computer, they get dark. So I will attach a photo from Goulet's website at the end of this review to help accurately show you the color of this ink.



Comparison: Hero 266 Fine point VS. Lamy Al-Star Fine point

I inked up two pens to do this review. Mainly because I was struggling to really want to even review this ink. With the trouble I was having with this ink in my Lamy Al-Star and the frustration of dumping the ink back in the bottle, cleaning the pen (thinking it was the pen and not the ink) and trying it all over again, it was very frustrating and disappointing.

As you can see from the photo above ^^ there is definitely a difference with the ink in the two different pens. Honestly, the Hero 266 might even be an extra fine point. I ordered these pens over a year ago and they sat in my dresser since then. Now, please excuse the scribbled out mistakes. I had not had any coffee when I did this, and was distracted by a few kids.

The Hero 266 seem to take to this ink better than my Lamy did. It writes darker and does not appear to be as watery as it was with the Lamy.

 

It also appears that it takes longer to dry when using a Lamy pen.

 

 

 

 I must say, after looking at the images shown on multiple websites, I had thought this ink would have done better. I did notice that with my Lamy Al-Star, it does seem to go on light, but when it dries, it dries a bit darker.



You can even see the difference in the line tests between the two pens with this ink.

 

Overall, I rated this ink with 2 stars. I was not impressed with this at all. Maybe it would work great for an ink to paint with or something. But for writing, this ink sucks.

Disappointment... J. Herbin Bouquet D'antan Ink

I do not have the pictures available yet for a good review, but I will get it posted shortly. For now, I am borrowing a pictures from Goulet's website (whom I purchased the sample from) to show you what it looks like.

Via: Goulet Pen Company

It is much darker in the picture than it actually writes...at least that is how it was for me. It wrote lighter, but dried a tad bit darker. Still not as dark as what I see this picture depicts. But that was on my paperblanks journal (which all my inks and pens seem to write splendid on). So After inking it up, dumping the ink back into the sample container, and re-inking it using a, 18 gauge 3/4in. needle and syringe, I am letting it sit for a few days before I really give it the final review. So far, I am disappointed. However, I thought I was disappointed with Noodler's Blue Nose Bear. That will be saved for a different review :)

Well, the pens and paper are calling my name...oh and so are the dishes  :-/ 

This or That?

Oh how I am trying not to go for another fountain pen....resist the temptation!
But how can I? It is for a LAMY! I have been really dying for a Lamy Safari Neon Coral now for a couple months. Recently I have been looking over the Lamy Vista and am now on the fence. I love the fact that it has great visibility into the pen! However, I love the color of the Safari....

Either way I choose to go, I think I would decided to order one with an Extra Fine nib. I have several Lamy's with fine nibs and they write really well. However, I would love to see if I can get a thinner line, and so thus would be trying an extra-fine nib. What are your thoughts on nib sizes for Lamy? What would you choose, a Safari or a Vista? Price is the same for both (so that does not make a difference).

This...

Via: Goulet Pens - Lamy Safari Neon Coral

Or

 

Via: Goulet Pens - Lamy Vista

That?

Ink Review: Diamine Ancient Copper

The long awaited (for me) testing and review of Diamine's Ancient Copper Ink!

I first spotted this ink on Goulet Pens website and was taken back and how beautiful it looked. I, personally, have always liked burnt orange or copper colors. Dreaming of a future muscle car in a burnt copper color. This ink is inked up in my 2014 Bluegreen Lamy Al-star. (Yes I oops'd and but Safari. When in all actuality I have a different ink in my Yellow Safari pen (which I think I will have a review for in the near future!)

This ink is a beautiful smooth writing ink. The hardest part of doing reviews, that I find, is getting the right lighting to accurately show the true tones and colors of the different inks. So if my pictures look different in brightness...well, yea my lighting is by far from being professional.

As beautiful as this ink is, it does remind me of an ink I recently used that I was on the fence about. Noodler's Antietam. The two inks were very similar, and I am thinking that I may do a comparison review of both inks in the future (just need more pens so I can actually have multiple inks going at the same time, hehehe).

Drying times were fairly reasonable.

Overall, I think this is an ink that I will have to put in my favorite inks "collection". It writes nicely, has good flow and character.... Yup, I am pleased.

Future Reviews:

• Noodler's Burma Road Brown
• Noodler's Blue Nose Bear

Preview of what's to come next...

Well, I was hoping to actually get to be able to do some reviews on some new ink samples I purchased. However, as the time is now in the wee early hours of the morning and my body calls me to rest...I must listen and call it a night... or morning, whichever you prefer.

The upcoming inks that I have reviews on are:

 

Diamine Ancient Copper

&

Noodler's Burma Road Brown.

I do realize that I have already done a review on Noodler's Burma Road Brown. However, it was not a great one, and I have some more pictures to add.

One day I will post a review on comparison of Diamine Ancient Copper and Noodler's Antietam (since they are very similar in color, although made by different companies).

For now, I leave you with a glimpse of what tomorrow's review will hold...

Diamine Ancient Copper

Noodler's Burma Road Brown

More Journals & New Photography

I recently purchased some Piccadilly journals and I am looking forward to doing some reviews and writing my future memories, thoughts, emotions, and such in them; forever preserving memories.

Just wanted to share some photos that I took from today on our journey up into Northern Idaho (Bonner and Boundary County).  I took many, many more pictures, but I do not like to share my private life online (Sorry my dear friends!).  So, here is just a sample of my work. If you would like to see more of my work, please feel free to go to my photos page to view more.



 



There will also be a review of some more inks to come in the near future! Diamine, Noodler's, and a few more! It is likely that I will be starting a new page of Favorite Inks at this rate!

Noodler's Antietam VS. Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses

The two inks that I am attracted to the most currently.

Noodler's Antietam

I am especially fond of Noodler's Antietam because of the different shading and beauty that it has. It goes from light to dark while writing. Has a tad bit of a copper/orange flare to it. I will definitely be buying a bottle of this in the near future. However, this is not an ink that I would consider writing something "professional" with. It is too light, and makes just fine for writing in my journals and personal things.

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses

Now, Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses is a much more professional ink. I am also somewhat partial to this ink as well. It writes darker and works better for those more "professional" type of documents....well at least the ones that a person is allowed to write in a dark red ink with. A perfect ink choice for a professor or a teacher to write correctional notes with on papers and essays.

TOP: Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses
BOTTOM: Noodler's Antietam

"Arrow with MORE INFO" is Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses
"DISEASE, PLUS" etc stuff is Noodler's Antietam

Below, I have shown directly from the gouletpens website, pictures of the two inks. The samples that are given are pretty close the actual ink itself.

 

 

Hopefully this helps anyone interested in any of the two inks. Have a wonderful day!

Pen & Ink: Lamy Al-Star Bluegreen w/ Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses

It was exactly as I had hoped it would be! The Lamy Al-Star Bluegreen!

2014 Special Edition Lamy Al-Star Bluegreen. Fine point nib.

This was definitely a surprise for me. Before purchasing this pen, I Googled the pen to attempt to get the correct color. However, as most people know, each camera and lighting situation is different. So it was really hard to get an idea of what this pen would look like. Some people described it to have more of a teal look, which was not what I wanted. Others said it had more blue than green. Maybe they were color-blind because I do not see much blue. Even my camera (picture above) from my phone was unable to capture the perfect picture displaying the correct color. It almost has a metallic appearance to it, and in my opinion is perfectly made with both blue and green.

Lamy Al-Star with a Z24 cartridge converter

Then it was time to choose an ink. I specifically ordered Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses because it appeared to be darker than the last "red/burgundy" ink that I had tried (Noodler's Antietam). Sure enough, it was darker.

Lamy Al-Star inked up with Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses

I must say that I am pretty pleased with this ink. It does seem to be a bit wetter, and can bleed through slightly more in thin paper. But it does well in my Paperblanks journals (and anyone who writes often in a journal, especially a Paperblanks journal, knows that the pages are nice and thick. Only a Sharpie might penetrate the pages) which is my current journal for writing at this time.

Top left & bottom left: were both in my Arc notebook and paper from Staples.
Top right and bottom right: were in my Paperblanks journal.

It is a pretty consistent ink (stays the same color most of the time while writing) unlike Noodler's Antietem. I definitely like this ink. I did my best with what I had to attempt to show you the best color. In my opinion, this ink is more of a red/purple mix than the color you see on the example at Gouletpens.com. When I compare what I see here, and what is written in my journal, it is pretty close.

Via: Goulet Pens