Yazeh Ink Reviews

  Barock Umbra   Ink Review #  156   Originally posted on FPN: Oct 31, 2024   Ink:  Umbra Brand:  Barock / Octopus Country:  Germany Availability:  30 ml bottles. Pens Used:  Pilot F3A EF semi-flex, Lamy Safari (EF / F / M / B / Stub 1.1). Description Barock inks are a reissue of an East German brand, which went kaput in 2011 and was revived by Octopus. As of 2024 there are six colours.   "The story of the brand goes back to 1826, when the company August Leonhardi was founded. August Leonhardi became famous for his patented, legendary Alizarin inks. These were the first inks in the world that could be called document proof."   You can read more about it here: https://www.octopus-office.de/shop/en/barock/   This is a complex brown / green ink: wet, with below-average lubrication. I enjoyed it most with an M nib on Iroful / Tomoe River 68 gsm and with Pilot F3A with a subtle EF semi-flex nib.   The wetter the nib, the d...

  Calamus Antik Braun (Antique Brown)   Ink Review #  155   Originally posted on FPN: Oct 25, 2024   Ink:  Antik Braun (Antique Brown) Brand:  Calamus Country:  Germany Availability:  30 ml bottles. Pens Used:  Pilot F3A EF semi-flex, Lamy Safari (EF / F / M / B / Stub 1.1). Description This ink is to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of Aratrum, the distributor of many fountain pen brands in Europe. They also have their own design fountain pens and pencils.   There are three inks in the line-up as of October 2024: Antique Brown, Antique Red, and Antique Green. I bought my sample from fountainfeder.   It is a beautiful reddish / pink brown when smudged, very wet, lubricated, and with lovely shading. Depending on the wetness of the pen and nib size, the wetter your pen the darker it becomes and the shading disappears.   I prefer my browns dark and murky with little red.   It is not suitable for thin copy paper, as it beco...

  Diamine x Niche Pens Alexandrite   Ink Review #  154   Originally posted on FPN: Oct 21, 2024   Ink:  Alexandrite Brand:  Diamine x Niche Pens Country:  United Kingdom Availability:  30 ml shimmering bottles; 30 ml / 80 ml non-shimmering bottles. Pens Used:  Lamy Safari (reverse EF, EF / F / M / B / Stub 1.1), Noodler's Nib Creaper. Description Many thanks to @JungleJim for the sample. This was a part of a blind test on FPGeeks.   Ink is made by Diamine for Niche Pens, aka Pure Pens UK. It comes in both shimmering and non-shimmering versions. This sample was the non-shimmering version.   It's a gorgeous, saturated teal / turquoise, with beautiful shading and a red sheen on most papers. The writing experience is so exquisite that it makes you forget about the world.   Dry times are about 25 seconds on Rhodia, so this ink is not suitable for lefty over-writers. I left the ink for a long time in the pen. Surprisingly, clean...

Diamine — Celadon Cat   Ink Review #  153   Originally posted on FPN:  Oct 14, 2024   Ink:  Celadon Cat Brand:  Diamine Country:  United Kingdom Availability:  30 ml plastic /80 ml glass bottles. Pens Used:  Pilot Elite EF, Lamy (EF/F/M/B,1.1), Waterman W2 flex Description Disclaimer:  My initial review of this ink was as harsh as my review of Jacques Herbin, Les toits de Paris as both are quite similar and that I don't particularly appreciate washed-out inks. But with time, it grew on me, especially for drawing. So read this review with a pinch of salt and make up your own mind. A dryish green-grey by Diamine designed by r/fountainpens on Reddit. I wanted to review this after Jacques Herbin Les toits de Paris. These two inks are very similar, the former leaning green, the latter, blue. Both need soft, smooth nibs and are paper-dependant. I would say Celadon Cat is slightly more lubricated. Personally, I hated the writing experience...

  Jacques Herbin — Les toits de Paris   Ink Review #  152   Originally posted on FPN:  Oct 5, 2024   Ink:  Les toits de Paris / Gris Toits (Couleurs de Paris) Brand:  Jacques Herbin Country:  France Availability:  10 ml bottles/ 30 ml bottles, or a set of 5 X 10 ml bottles Pens Used:  Pilot F3A EF, Lamy (EF/F/M/B), vintage Conway Stewart Oblique flex. Description The last of the Paris inks, in J Herbin packaging. Again the naming is confusing, it's sold under Gris Toits (Grey roofs) but on the bottle, It's written Paris rooftops in French, bien sûr! The name is a nod to the zinc rooftops of Paris. When the colour is applied lavishly with a brush you get that, but in writing it's a pale blue grey. I was looking forward to this ink. But it turned out to be my least favourite for writing. It’s pale and lacks lubrication (think Kyoto Tag). It was so bad that I didn’t want to touch the pens anymore. When I filled a vintage Conway Stewart...