Jinchen Máo Shè / 茅舍 — Thatched Cottage — Ink Review #256
Jinchen 茅舍 — Máo shè. “Thatched Cottage”
Ink Review # 256
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🧾 Description
Ink: Máo shè
Brand: Jinchen
Country: China
Bottle size: 18 ml bottles from AliExpress or similar outlets.
Pens Used: Majohn C4 with Majohn EF flex nib, Kaweco (EF/F/M/B/BB, stub 1.1, 1.9), Hongdian Forest, Fude nib.
This is a legible tan colour. Ink is watery with below average lubrication. However, the writing experience improves with F and above, but don’t expect Sailor Doyou smoothness.
The chromo-shading effect is only visible with flex, fude and stub 1.9 on all papers, except on Hammermill. It shows best with the flex nib, which basically pours a blob of ink, and it’ll take several long minutes to dry. The downside besides that is that you’ll have show-through and bleed-through on Rhodia and Iroful in areas with the heaviest ink application.
The ink work fine on copy paper with most nibs, but you’ll have all kinds of undesirable effects with the flex nib. And frankly why buy a chromo-shading ink to use on copy paper?
Shading is subtle and paper dependant.
In a nutshell to enjoy the chromo-shading effects with this ink, you’ll need to find the right combo of paper, nib and lighting.
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🧪 Chroma
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✍️ Writing Samples (photos LED and daylight)
JEF stands for Japanese EF nib.
Translations from language are provided for reference only and may differ from published versions.
Rhodia dotpad
“There is fine shade wherever there are village cottages.” — Xu Zhimo, male poet/essayist, 1897–1931
“A flower in the corner—when it admires itself, heaven and earth become small.” — Bing Xin, female writer/poet, 1900–1999
“Flowers bloom as if waking from sleep.” — Xiao Hong, female novelist, 1911–1942
Tomoe River 68gsm (Taroko Design Notebook)
Note: Tomoe River used here is 68 gsm, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews.
“Learn from me and live; imitate me and die.” — Qi Baish
“Detached from the picture, isolated brush-and-ink has zero value.” — Wu Guanzhong, male painter, 1919–2010
Closeup
🔍 Comparison
Col-O-ring swatches. Scans are approximate.
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💧 Water Test
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🎨 Artwork
A Pavilion for Cat and Mouse
Cat & Mouse indulge in sumo wrestling.
Platinum Carbon Black, Jinchen Mao She, Xi Xia and Ostrich Cinerous Phoenix, Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook.
Cat and Mouse in the Painted Mountains
Cat & Mouse decided to step into Chinese art.
Kaweco Sport, Jinchen Mao she, Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook.
Together
Miniature.
Cat & Mouse enjoy the warmth of a hearth on a rainy day.
Jinchen Mao She, Xi Xia, Noodler's Lexingtion Gray, Talens Mixed Media Pocket Sketchbook
Cat & Mouse indulge in sumo wrestling.
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- Writing Experience: Awful with narrow nib, acceptable with other nibs.
- What I Liked: Colour. Ink washes.
- What I Did Not Like: Lack of lubrication. And that darned pink dye!
🧷 Ink Characteristics
- Shading: Subtle.
- Ghosting: None or faint with most nib on copy paper.
- Bleed Through: It’ll bleed with nibs that matter for chromo-shading.
- Flow Rate: Watery, very wet.
- Lubrication: Below average to average.
- Nib Dry-out: Did not notice.
- Start-up: No problems.
- Saturation: Nope.
- Sheen: Chromo-shading.
- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice.
- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.
- Staining (Pen):
- Clogging: No.
- Cleaning: Ok.
- Water Resistance: It’ll survive a few drops.
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💬 Closing
This ink needs a soft nib and a wet pen, otherwise you won’t enjoy it for writing. It’s best suited for ink wash and ink art.
No fountain pens were harmed in preparing this review. ;)
Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier. :)
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