KWZ IG Gummiberry — Ink Review #255

 KWZ IG Gummiberry

 

Ink Review # 255

 

 

---

🧾 Description

 

Ink: IG Gummiberry

Brand: KWZ

Country: Poland

Bottle size: 60 ml

Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno JEF flex, Kaweco Sport (EF/F/M/B/BB/ stub 1.1, 1.9), Noodler’s Nib Creaper with a Waterman W2 flex nib. 

 

This is a gorgeous iron gall purple, which oxidizes from violet to a dark purple. The oxidation is most dramatic on Iroful paper. 

 

It is a wet ink with good lubrication. It does not like copy paper much, and you’ll have bleed-through here and there and maybe some feathering. 

 

Based on the oxidation level and decent water resistance, this ink behaves like a mild iron gall ink. 

 

I wish they wouldn’t use the artificial vanilla flavor. It’s quite unpleasant for people sensitive to scent.

 

I left the ink for two months in two of my fountain pens (the transparent Nib Creaper and Kaweco) intentionally. Not a good idea. The pink dye visible in the chromatography wouldn’t come off with water. 

 

With iron gall inks, one shouldn’t start with typical ammonia-based pen cleaners. So I used the tip of a teaspoon of ascorbic acid in the pen jacuzzi. After a few runs, and thorough rinsing in plain filtered water, I used an ammonia-based cleaner to make sure. In the end, I don’t know which step removed the stubborn dye, but the whole episode dampened my enthusiasm for this ink. 

 

I wouldn’t recommend using it in a fountain pen that cannot be easily dismantled, such as a piston-filler, for your sake and mine. 😊


---

 

🧪 Chroma

 

---

✍️ Writing Samples (photos LED and daylight)

 

Translations from language are provided for reference only and may differ from published versions.

 

 

Rhodia dotpad

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.” — Maria Skłodowska-Curie (1867–1934), female, scientist.


 

Iroful

“Time is the best censor, and patience a most excellent teacher.” — Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), male, composer.

 

 

 

Midori MD Codex

“We fall asleep on words; we wake among words.” — Zbigniew Herbert (1924–1998), male, poet.

 

 

Tomoe River 68gsm (Taroko Design Notebook)

Note: Tomoe River used here is 68 gsm, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews.

“Every beginning is only a sequel, after all.” — Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012), female, poet.

 

Hammermill 20lb copy paper

“The living owe it to those who no longer can speak.” — Czesław Miłosz (1911–2004), male, poet.

 

Oxidation

 

 

Closeup

 

 

 🔍 Comparison

 

Col-O-ring swatches. Scans are approximate.

 

 

---

 💧 Water Test



 

---

 🎨 Artwork

 

Miles

Miniature homage. 

 

KWZ IG Gummiberry fountain pen ink, Talens Mixed Media Pocket Sketchbook. 

 


 

The Importance of Being Purple

Miniature.

Mouse mocks Cat for being obsessed with wigs and nobility.

 

KWZ Iron gall Gummiberry, Talens Mixed Media Pocket Sketchbook. 

 

 


Gummiberry Dreams!

Miniature.


KWZ Gummiberry, Tintenlabor Onyx, Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook.

 

 

---

- Writing Experience: Good. 

- What I Liked: Lovely colour, water resistant, nice lubrication. 

- What I Did Not Like: Scent. 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

 

- Shading: I only saw with BB nib. So I would say it’s subtle. ;) 

- Ghosting: Yes, on copy paper. 

- Bleed Through: Same as above. 

- Flow Rate: Wet.

- Lubrication: Good. 

- Nib Dry-out: Did not notice.

- Start-up: No problems. 

- Saturation: Oxidates from violet to dark purple. 

- Sheen: Did not notice. 

- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice.

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen): No. 

- Clogging: No.

- Cleaning: Easy enough with soaking only. 

- Water Resistance: Good. 

---

 💬 Closing

 

This is lovely, mild-ish purple iron gall ink with decent water resistance. If you want to try iron gall inks but are afraid of their properties, this can be a good introduction to the tantalizing world of iron gall inks. However, be forewarned: that pink dye is stubborn.

  

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. :) 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Noodler's — Polar Green — Ink Review #5

Image
  Noodler's — Polar Green   Ink Review # 5   Originally posted on FPN:  Jul 10, 2020   Ink:  Polar Green Series:  Polar Series Type:  Bulletproof Brand:  Noodler's Country:  USA Availability:  3 oz, 90 ml bottles.  Pens Used:  Kanwrite ultra-flex, Jinhao 450 M, Pilot Metro F, Nameless Pocket EF fountain pen.   Description The flow is not as wet as 54 Massachusetts or Polar Blue. It’s viscous and reminds me of Kung Te-Cheng or Polar Black.  This ink is paper and pen specific.  The ink can stain transparent sections or body, but it can be cleaned with a combination of elbow-grease and pen flush.  The woolly-line effect happens with a wet, flexed Kanwrite. When wet, the color is emerald green and then it dries to a dark-ish green.  Personally, I really like it with a Kanwrite ultra-flex on Midori. I find the combination gives a vintage look. It’s a sage color on Tomoe River but one would need a blotte...
Read more

Jacques Herbin — Couleurs de Paris Bistro Parisien — Ink Review #266

Image
Jacques Herbin — Bistro Parisien   Ink Review # 266   Ink:  Bistro Parisien Series:  Couleurs de Paris (Colors of Paris) Brand:  Jacques Herbin Country:  France Availability:  10 ml, 30 ml bottles.  Pens Used:  Osmiroid Copperplate EEF flex, Lamy Safari (EF, F, M, B, 1.1) Description This is one of three new inks added to the  Couleurs de Paris  collection.  It’s a tribute to the Parisian bistros. I got my sample from Fountainfeder in Germany.  With a dry pen it’s a lovely, luminous red, with a wet pen it is a lovely red-black with gorgeous shading. It has no water resistance. It made my Osmiroid nib sing; however, with Lamy nibs the lubrication was slightly below-average to excellent, depending on the nib size. This ink has become one of my favorites for artwork and sketching. The range of tones I can extract from it is endless. Chroma Writing Samples photos LED and sunlight Translations from other languages are provided ...
Read more

Zerkon No. 76 — Crushed into Dust — Ink Review #270

Image
  Zerkon — n° 76 - Crushed into Dust - 碾作尘   Ink Review # 270   Ink:  #76 Crushed into Dust - 碾作尘 Brand:  Zerkon Country:  China Availability:  5 ml sample vials, 50 ml bottles. Pens Used:  Jinhao Centennial (EEF Mahjon flex, fude) Kaweco (EF/F/M/B/ stub 1.1) Description The ink’s name is inspired by Lu You’s (1125–1210) famous poem  卜算子 · 咏梅  — “Ode to the Plum Blossom.” Beside the broken bridge, beyond the relay station, Lonely she blooms. At dusk she grieves; then come wind and rain. Heedless of envious flowers, with no desire to compete, Her blooms ravaged and trampled in mud, ground to dust, only her fragrance lingers unchanged. After browsing through their ink catalogue, I chose this one which looked most promising as a chromo-shading ink. It came in a classic ink vial filled to the rim with no identification. The ink has a dry flow. When wet, it’s a green-grey and then it transforms into a dusky purple. The ink disliked the Majohn...
Read more