So...
I've been away a while again...
This I find is something that happens periodically, in particular when you're building up to the biggest and best games show (I don't count Essen, you can't sit down and play games there) outside of the States.
But I find myself with time once in a while, and recently, I got given a whole bunch of KWZ sample inks to try for free from Pure pens. As those who know me understand, just because I got it free doesn't mean that I'm going to say good things about it, the things have to be good as well...
Cheerfully however...
So there were four inks in the sampler, Honey, Gummiberry, Brown Pink, and Azure.
With each one I've taken a bit of a different step to how I used to do ink reviews, because I know that my writing and favoured pens are often too fine to let the real colour shine through. So in each case, I've also took a shot of the tissue that I used to clean the pens up when I'd finished refilling them, which gives a much broader spread of the colour in question and lets everyone get an idea of what the ink looks like on a broader pallette. All the writing samples are on a Darkstar notebook, which incidentally is my favourite for using as an ink journal, just the right blend of absorbency, doesn't drink the pen, doesn't leave the ink sitting on top of it for an hour.
We'll start with Honey
This is one of the less viscous of the inks I tried, far lighter than it seems to be in the bottle, and though I suspect it would be far lighter on less absorbent paper, on the paper I was using, it looks excellent.
I don't think the colour would hold as well on something like Tomoe River or similarly non-absorbent paper, but on Darkstar it works really well.
Then I tried Brown Pink, and I have to say with this, there was a certain amount of head scratching when it came to the name of the ink. I mean, it's either Brown, or it's Pink, the two aren't exactly compatible...
Or so I thought, because while the sample here (to me) looks more purple than anything else, when you get it on the paper and start writing, it's something a little bit special...
The problem here is that the photos don't really do this particular ink justice, when you're looking at it, it does have that rich brown hue, and the edges come up lighter, almost as if the ink separates when you're writing with it. Now I know that that's not something most people look for in an ink, but in this particular case, it works really well. It's not my favourite of the inks that I got to try, but it's a very close second.
So then I came to Azure
The closest comparison of inks that I could have to this is Diamine's Deep Dark Blue, but this ink has a richness of colour that shines through even on a finer line. It's easily the most viscous of the inks that I tried here, and that comes through on the writing test.
I don't use dark blue's too much, too close to black for this man's eyes, and whereas things like Deep Dark Blue have a strange sheen to them when they dry, this stays the same colour you wrote with from Wet to Dry. I like this one, it's the best of the deeper blue's that I've seen in recent times.
And that brings me to my favourite for this bunch, this is Gummiberry...
Because everyone knows I'm a sucker for a good purple, and this is the most interesting one I've seen, in the bottle it looks like Imperial purple, on the tissue test it looks like Tyrian Purple, but on the page...
And I should point out that this is a Sailor EF nib, one of the finest nibs I own, and prone to jamming with many inks. In this case, this wrote smooth and easy from the off, dried well, but covered well, and I like that it had a faint scent to it as well as being a nice ink to work with. Easily my favourite of the samples that I've tried, and one I'd consider picking up a full size bottle of.
KWZ inks are available from Pure Pens at http://purepens.co.uk/acatalog/KWZ-Ink.html
I've been away a while again...
This I find is something that happens periodically, in particular when you're building up to the biggest and best games show (I don't count Essen, you can't sit down and play games there) outside of the States.
But I find myself with time once in a while, and recently, I got given a whole bunch of KWZ sample inks to try for free from Pure pens. As those who know me understand, just because I got it free doesn't mean that I'm going to say good things about it, the things have to be good as well...
Cheerfully however...
So there were four inks in the sampler, Honey, Gummiberry, Brown Pink, and Azure.
With each one I've taken a bit of a different step to how I used to do ink reviews, because I know that my writing and favoured pens are often too fine to let the real colour shine through. So in each case, I've also took a shot of the tissue that I used to clean the pens up when I'd finished refilling them, which gives a much broader spread of the colour in question and lets everyone get an idea of what the ink looks like on a broader pallette. All the writing samples are on a Darkstar notebook, which incidentally is my favourite for using as an ink journal, just the right blend of absorbency, doesn't drink the pen, doesn't leave the ink sitting on top of it for an hour.
We'll start with Honey
This is one of the less viscous of the inks I tried, far lighter than it seems to be in the bottle, and though I suspect it would be far lighter on less absorbent paper, on the paper I was using, it looks excellent.
I don't think the colour would hold as well on something like Tomoe River or similarly non-absorbent paper, but on Darkstar it works really well.
Then I tried Brown Pink, and I have to say with this, there was a certain amount of head scratching when it came to the name of the ink. I mean, it's either Brown, or it's Pink, the two aren't exactly compatible...
Or so I thought, because while the sample here (to me) looks more purple than anything else, when you get it on the paper and start writing, it's something a little bit special...
The problem here is that the photos don't really do this particular ink justice, when you're looking at it, it does have that rich brown hue, and the edges come up lighter, almost as if the ink separates when you're writing with it. Now I know that that's not something most people look for in an ink, but in this particular case, it works really well. It's not my favourite of the inks that I got to try, but it's a very close second.
So then I came to Azure
I don't use dark blue's too much, too close to black for this man's eyes, and whereas things like Deep Dark Blue have a strange sheen to them when they dry, this stays the same colour you wrote with from Wet to Dry. I like this one, it's the best of the deeper blue's that I've seen in recent times.
And that brings me to my favourite for this bunch, this is Gummiberry...
Because everyone knows I'm a sucker for a good purple, and this is the most interesting one I've seen, in the bottle it looks like Imperial purple, on the tissue test it looks like Tyrian Purple, but on the page...
And I should point out that this is a Sailor EF nib, one of the finest nibs I own, and prone to jamming with many inks. In this case, this wrote smooth and easy from the off, dried well, but covered well, and I like that it had a faint scent to it as well as being a nice ink to work with. Easily my favourite of the samples that I've tried, and one I'd consider picking up a full size bottle of.
KWZ inks are available from Pure Pens at http://purepens.co.uk/acatalog/KWZ-Ink.html
