The eighth and final in this batch of reviews is for Kaweco Paradise Blue ink. I’ve ended on a short sprint!

This ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

All the comments that I made regarding the bottle, box and cost of the ink in my Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review apply to this case too, so I shall not repeat them here. The only difference in this case is that the front and top labels have white text on blue, matching the colour of the ink.

The test pen was a Pilot MR in silver with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost nil – no lines were left after holding a writing sample under running water, and text was obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was easy.

The drying time was good at around 20 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Another good performing ink. While the colour is attractive it’s not something I would normally like in an ink. The shading is interesting though.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Some feedback on this paper but still good overall.

Yellow Post-It

Still good on the Post-It

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Feathering and bleed are acceptable, so this isn’t too bad.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This shows some rather nice shading.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

The name of the ink suits the colour, light blue with a hint of green, alluding to the Bird of Paradise. It’s too light for me for normal use, but could have a role as a highlighter ink. I will conclude with the same comment that I’ve made the in other reviews of Kaweco inks: if you like the colour, and are willing to pay for the reassurance that comes with a pen manufacturer’s ink, then you won’t be disappointed.

Kaweco Paradise Blue - Word Card

Kaweco Paradise Blue - Close Up

Kaweco Paradise Blue

Kaweco Paradise Blue - Word Card

The post Kaweco Paradise Blue Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The seventh in this batch of reviews is for Kaweco Caramel Brown Ink.

This ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

All the comments that I made regarding the bottle, box and cost of the ink in my Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review apply to this case too, so I shall not repeat them here. The only difference in this case is that the front and top labels have white text on brown, matching the colour of the ink.

The test pen was a Pilot MR in black with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost nil – only very faint lines were left after holding a writing sample under running water, and text was obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was easy, presumably a result of the low water resistance of the ink, but was interesting for such a dark ink.

The drying time was good at around 20 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

A good writing experience but the colour isn’t for me. The shading is interesting though.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

A good performance on this paper.

Yellow Post-It

Performance was okay on this paper.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

More spread, bleed and feathering than most of the other Kaweco inks.

Mnemosyne Word Card

A rich dark brown similar to the writing samples.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

I wouldn’t really call this a caramel colour, more a chestnut brown. Ultimately it all comes down to taste and this ink doesn’t really appeal to me, but again the ink stands up as a good performer which can be relied on if you like the colour and the price.

Kaweco Caramel Brown - Word Card

Kaweco Caramel Brown - Close Up

Kaweco Caramel Brown

Kaweco Caramel Brown - Word Card

The post Kaweco Caramel Brown Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The sixth in this batch of ink reviews is for Kaweco Summer Purple.

This ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

All the comments that I made regarding the bottle, box and cost of the ink in my Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review apply to this case too, so I shall not repeat them here. The only difference in this case is that the front and top labels have white text on green, matching the colour of the ink.

The test pen in this case was a yellow Pilot Prera Green with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost nil – only faint grey lines were left after holding a writing sample under running water, and text was obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was easy..

The drying time was very fast at around 10 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink was a little on the dry side, but performance was okay over. The problem is I don’t like the colour.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Still a little dry, but okay overall.

Yellow Post-It

Coverage and flow were okay.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Good performance on this paper.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The swab makes this ink look much darker and more saturated. If it was like this in the writing samples I would be happy. This suggests the drier flow may be a factor in the writing samples.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

The name “Summer Purple” prompted another search on Google, as it’s not not really a term that I have come across before. The search results showed something much darker, which I found quite appealing (more of an aubergine, plum or deep mauve), quite close to the Word Card swab. So maybe this ink would have fared better in a wetter pen. I may give that a try at a later date, but for the time being the ink didn’t impress me too much. However, as with the other Kaweco inks, if you like the colour and the price then give it a try.

Kaweco Summer Purple - Word Card

Kaweco Summer Purple - Close Up

Kaweco Summer Purple

Kaweco Summer Purple - Word Card

The post Kaweco Summer Purple Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The fifth in this batch of ink reviews is for Kaweco Palm Green.

This ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

All the comments that I made regarding the bottle, box and cost of the ink in my Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review apply to this case too, so I shall not repeat them here. The only difference in this case is that the front and top labels have white text on green, matching the colour of the ink.

The test pen in this case was a Pilot Prera Green Demonstrator with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost nil – no traces of lines were left after holding a writing sample under running water, and text was obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was very easy, presumably a result of the low water resistance of the ink.

The drying time was okay at around 30 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Excellent performance and colour.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

A good experience on this paper.

Yellow Post-It

Good performance on this paper too.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Even decent results on the Field Notes Paper.

Mnemosyne Word Card

A good representation of the ink and the texture shows some of the possible shading.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

In writing this review I wasn’t really sure what “Palm Green” was meant to look like, so I resorted to Google. None of the images came that close to this colour – most leaned towards grey (actually closer to the label), and a few were a lot darker. I appreciate the problem that Kaweco had when naming this ink, as it’s neither too blue or too yellow, so I suppose it is mid green and while “Palm Green” may not be the best name, short of just calling it “Green” I can’t think of anything better. The colour itself is exactly the kind of green that I like, so this one will come into use as soon as possible. The performance is very good too so it should be suitable for markup on most papers. Once again, if you like the colour and are okay with the cost, this ink will not disappoint.

Kaweco Palm Green - Word Card

Kaweco Palm Green - Close Up

Kaweco Palm Green

Kaweco Palm Green - Word Card

The post Kaweco Palm Green Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The fourth in this batch of reviews is for Kaweco Midnight Blue ink.

This ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

All the comments that I made regarding the bottle, box and cost of the ink in my Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review apply to this case too, so I shall not repeat them here. The only differences are that the front label states the colour of the ink, and the front and top labels have white text on what I can best describe as greyish-blue or a dark lavender.

The test pen in this case was a Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib.

The ink showed minimal water resistance under running water, leaving only a faint grey line behind. Water drops obliterated any text. Cleaning was easy.

The drying time was relatively quick at around 20 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

In normal writing the flow was okay but a little on the dry side. I only experienced real issues when drawing lines for the water test – then the ink couldn’t keep up. I like the colour (which is good for a blue-black).

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Better flow on this paper – maybe it has a bit more “tooth”.

Yellow Post-It

Considering flow can be an issue on Post-Its, this ink performed okay.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Despite the feathering and bleed the results were acceptable.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Although more blue than the label, I would still describe this as a dark lavender colour, and the swab also demonstrates that the name was well-chosen.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

From previous reviews it will come as no great surprise that blue-black inks are not my favourite, but I do like this one. It’s probably down to the unusual dark lavender colour. The only issue is restricted flow under certain circumstances so it is perhaps better suited to a wet nib. Otherwise, once again it’s a premium quality ink, with a price to match, which does not disappoint.

Kaweco Midnight Blue - Word Card

Kaweco Midnight Blue - Close Up

Kaweco Midnight Blue

Kaweco Midnight Blue - Word Card

The post Kaweco Midnight Blue Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The third in this batch of reviews is for Kaweco Ruby Red ink.

This is a slightly more complicated disclaimer than usual. I received one bottle of Ruby Red free of charge by Kaweco, but I already owned a bottle which I had paid for. I was not paid to write this review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied with a bottle free of charge. I hope that makes sense, but the next paragraph should clarify a little more.

I originally purchased a bottle of Kaweco Ruby Red ink around a year ago from a US supplier – at that point in time there were no suppliers I was aware of in the UK. The ink cost $16.95, and the shipping $24.95 (a total of over $40). It was a moment of madness – the only time I had paid that much for a bottle of ink before was for Pilot Iroshizuku, and that was before I knew where to get it for a better price. Although I was pleased with the colour and performance of the ink, I couldn’t justify to myself paying that much again, so I hadn’t planned to try the other Kaweco inks until they were available in the UK. The kind offer from Kaweco rendered that unnecessary, and means that I also have a nice pristine bottle of Ruby Red safely stored in its plastic box, with its seal still intact. It also explains why the picture above shows a sealed bottle with an open cap and and swab – I didn’t go to the trouble of steaming off the seal and reattaching it – the swab and cap are from the first bottle that I bought, the sealed one is the bottle supplied by Kaweco. I’ve dwelt on this too long.

All the comments that I made regarding the bottle, box and cost of the ink in my Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review apply again here, so I shall not repeat them, except that in this case the front and top labels have white text on red (which matches the ink colour).

The test pen in this case was a Pilot MR White Tiger with a medium nib.

Water resistance under running water was almost nil, and water drops obliterated any text. Despite the lack of water resistance, cleaning was more of a challenge that expected and it took longer than usual to clear all the ink from the feed, but it didn’t require anything other than water.

The dry time was relatively quick at around 20 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Looking carefully at the ink again it does lean sligthly towards pink, but not too far for my taste. Otherwise it’s a good performing ink.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Fine on this paper, although there was more feedback than expected – not enough to be a problem.

Yellow Post-It

Good here too.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Okay performance on the “great leveler”.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This shows the lean towards pink.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

When I first bought the ink I probably let the high price I had paid for it overshadow the fact that it is a good performing ink with a bold but attractive colour. Once again (and this may become a constant theme with the Kaweco inks) if you want a red ink suitable for markup (less so as a note taker) and are happy to pay the premium price for it, you will be rewarded with good performance. It may be a while before I get to break into the second bottle, but it won’t be out of dislike.

Kaweco Ruby Red - Word Card

Kaweco Ruby Red - Close Up

Kaweco Ruby Red

Kaweco Ruby Red - Word Card

The post Kaweco Ruby Red Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The second in this batch of reviews is for Kaweco Royal Blue Ink.

This ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

All the comments that I made regarding the bottle, box and cost of the ink in my Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review apply to this case too, so I shall not repeat them here. The only real differences are that the front label states the colour of the ink, and the front and top labels have white text on blue, which is a fairly close match to the colour.

The test pen in this case was a Pilot MR Silver with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost nil – no traces of lines were left after holding a writing sample under running water, and text was obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was very easy which was not surprising considering the low water resistance of the ink.

I was much more surprised by the drying time – which was around 10 seconds. This is one of the quickest drying inks that I have come across so far.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Overall the performance was good but the writing experience was a little more dry than I would like, and colour was a little watery. If it had been a little more saturated this would have been a very impressive ink.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Still a good experience.

Yellow Post-It

Still good on this challenging paper, but looks a little washed out.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Considering this is the paper that trips up most inks, this is not too bad at all.

Mnemosyne Word Card

I wish the writing samples popped of the page in the same way that the swab does.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

The ink itself is not what I would normally consider to be a Royal Blue, but if the Wikipedia Page on the colour is to be believed it is quite close to the bright shade and quite similar to the Royal Blue web colour. Although it’s slightly too watery to be an instant favourite with me, it is not unattractive and I may give it the occasional run in rotation. The same general comments apply as in my last review – it is an expensive ink, but it does come with the peace of mind of being from a respected pen manufacturer. If you are happy to bear the cost and like the colour then it is unlikely to disappoint. The quick dry time is an unexpected bonus.

Kaweco Royal Blue - Word Card

Kaweco Royal Blue - Close Up

Kaweco Royal Blue

Kaweco Royal Blue - Word Card

The post Kaweco Royal Blue Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The latest batch of ink reviews will cover all the currently available Kaweco Fountain Pen Inks, and the first in this batch is for Kaweco Pearl Black.

These reviews also mark my first serious attempt at using lighting cube I received at Christmas. I need to play around with the setup a bit more – the exposure isn’t quite how I want it yet, there’s a curious colour cast coming from the right in some of the photos and the arrangement could be better.

This ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

The ink is supplied in a 30ml glass bottle, which is a model of simplicity, and in my view all the more elegant for it. It is almost identical to the bottles used by Pelikan for their 4001 and highlighter inks. The sloping sides allow the bottle to be rested at an angle, which should make it easier to get the last of the ink out when necessary, although the bottle is too full at the moment to try that out.

The bottle arrived in a clear plastic box, which almost looks like an afterthought in the design process and I can’t imagine offers much protection, other than to stop the two strips of paper which act as a seal breaking in transit. I haven’t come across a seal like this in other ink brands and it really contributes to the retro styling, but it does feel like a shame when the time comes to break it.

The retro styling carries through to the front label, which looks like it could almost date back to the founding of the company in 1883 (or at least to the early 1900s). The text is white on black, in fact with all the Kaweco inks the front and top label/sealing strips use white text on a background to match the colour of the ink, which is just as well as the label doesn’t actually stated what colour of the ink is (only two of the blue Kaweco inks state the colour on their labels).

The bottle cap is plastic and smooth but not too glossy so almost looks like bakelite. Despite the small size of the bottle, the neck is wide enough to allow easy access.

As stated above, this ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco, and I’ve only found one supplier in the UK of the bottled ink, where it retails at £12.50 for 30ml. I would therefore consider this to be an expensive ink. Cartridges are more widely available.

The test pen for this review was a Pilot MR with a medium nib.

The ink showed very little water resistance, although lines were still present after holding a writing sample under running water. Water drops obliterated any text. The pen was easy to clean after use, apart from a few sooty deposits. Drying time was around 45 seconds, which is not too slow considering some of the results I’ve been getting in other tests.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

I found this to be a really smooth writing experience, pleasant and with exactly the kind of end result I want from a black ink – deep and saturated with the minimum of shading.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Another good result.

Yellow Post-It

Good performance on this challenging paper too.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Not as good as on the other papers, but better than a lot of other inks.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The swab shows a small amount of sheen (not visible in the photo) and a hint of brown (visible in the photo) which do not show in any of the writing samples.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

The name of this ink is quite descriptive – there is some gloss to it without it being a piano black. I like the colour and the way the ink behaves, although it would be nice if there was more water resistance. The only thing that would stop me replacing this ink when I have used it up would be the price – there are many inks that perform just as well at a much lower cost. However, if you want the reassurance that comes from buying an ink from a respected pen manufacturer, and are willing to pay a premium for it, then the performance of this ink should not disappoint.

Kaweco Pearl Black - Word Card

Kaweco Pearl Black - Close Up

Kaweco Pearl Black

Kaweco Pearl Black - Word Card

The post Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.