Ostrich — Purple Snowflakes (严凝 / Yánníng) — Ink Review #264

 Ostrich — Purple Snowflakes (严凝 /Yánníng)

 

Ink Review # 264

 

Ink: Purple Snowflakes (严凝 /Yánníng)
Series: 24 Solar Terms
Brand: Ostrich
Country: Manual check needed
Availability: Unknown
Pens Used: Platinum Preppy EF, Kaweco Sport (EF/F/M/B/BB stub 1.1), Jinhao 450 fude, Noodler’s Ahab with an FPR ultra-flex nib.


Description

All the inks in this series are based on Chinese poetry and the 24 seasonal markers in the Chinese calendar. The bottle’s text comes from Lu You’s (1125–1210) “Heavy Snow.”

Here is an adapted translation by me and ChatGPT.

Deep freeze—Jiangnan has never seen such snow.

Flakes traverse the curtain; the treetops bow beneath their weight.

Dice tumble in felt tents; a sleepless night.

The bridled horse is ready at dawn; the rider hesitates.

Too late to reclaim the lost north, in vain I dream of the Yellow River frozen to its depths.

This is a wet, gorgeous, dark, muted purple. Ink has excellent lubrication. It was unusable in the Ahab, it either poured or stopped writing. But with the other pens it was excellent. Ink has no water resistance. You’ll have show-through and bleed-through with all nibs on copy paper.

As usual with chromo-shading inks, it only shows off with BB, fude or flex nibs, most prominently on Midori and Tomoe River 68 gsm paper.

Chroma

Writing Samples

Photos LED only. 

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

Rhodia

Deep freeze—Jiangnan has never seen such snow.


Close-up

Iroful

Flakes traverse the curtain; the treetops bow beneath their weight.


Close-up

Midori

Dice tumble in felt tents; A sleepless night.


Close-up

Tomoe River 68 gsm

The bridled horse is ready at dawn; the rider hesitates.

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


Close-up

Hammermill 20 lb

Too late to reclaim the lost north, in vain I dream of the Yellow River frozen to its depths.

Close-up

Comparison

Col-O-ring swatches. Scans are approximate.

 

Water Test

Artwork

Fury

Cat and Mouse enjoy the ocean.

Ostrich Purple Snowflakes, Octopus White Polar Bear, Uniball Signo White Gel Pen, Talens Mixed Media Paper.

Monarch

Miniature.

Cat & Mouse observe a monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a globe thistle.

Jinchen Xi Xia, Ostrich Purple Snowflakes, Ostrich Green Robinia, Tintenlabor Monte Rosa, Uni-ball Signo white gel pen, Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook.

Winterreise

Cat & Mouse are transported to a desolate landscape while performing Schubert’s Winterreise.

Ostrich Purple Snowflakes, Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook

Ink Characteristics

·      Writing Experience: Excellent with most nibs.
·      What I Liked: I have a thing for muted dark purples.
·      What I Did Not Like: Not pleasant in Ahab. Lack of water resistance.
·      Shading: From subtle to gorgeous.
·      Ghosting: Yes, on copy paper.
·      Bleed Through: With all nibs.
·      Flow Rate: Wet to very wet.
·      Lubrication: From average to very good depending on the nibs.
·      Nib Dry-out: Did not notice.
·      Start-up: No problems.
·      Saturation: Dark, muted grey-purple.
·      Sheen: None.
·      Chromo-shading: Most visible with fude and flex.
·      Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: With some nibs on copy paper. 
·      Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.
·      Staining (Pen):
·      Clogging: No.
·      Cleaning: Relatively easy. The longer it stays, the more difficult to clean.
·      Water Resistance: None.

Closing

After having tested and tried many pale pale inks, I truly appreciated this darker purple for writing. While it doesn’t have the purported chromo-shading effects with normal Western nibs, it won me over with its lovely behavior.

I truly appreciated it for art by diluting the ink and exploring a wide range of tones, whereas with pale inks, the range is limited.

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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