Diamine Inkvent Calendar Day 15

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I am feeling quite cheerful as I write this review because I just finished turning in my grades for the semester. Christmas doesn’t start for me until grades are in, so now I can start thinking about shopping, writing cards, and dreaming up my Christmas list. Oh, and I need to make my special holiday candy. Sigh. I still have so much to do!

Today’s ink is called Festive Cheer, and we can all use some of that. It’s a glorious deep blue that definitely leans towards purple, and it has copper sheen.

The ink looks much bluer on white Rhodia paper, but you can still see a bit of purple in the swab. This vivid color looks great in fine, medium, and broad nibs. It’s dark enough that it doesn’t exhibit much shading, but the color and sheen give it plenty of character.

I wish actual festive cheer came bottled like ink and that we could take a sip every so often when the crowds get too much or when getting together with family is more like engaging in battle. Alas, bottled festive cheer doesn’t exist, so we’ll have to create our own. This ink provides a good start. It’s a brilliant color that will definitely bring a smile to your face. Maybe take some time today to write a note of encouragement to someone you know who is struggling this holiday season.

**Cult Pens provided the Diamine Inkvent Calendar to Pen Addict free of charge for review purposes.

Diamine Inkvent Calendar Day 14

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

One of the things I don’t like about living in Abilene, Texas, is that it just doesn’t get very cold here. Today, for example, it is 80 degrees--in December! Ugh. I realize that some people would love 80 degree temperatures in December. But I want it to be cold. I like snow and icy windowpanes and seeing my breath when I walk outside.

Unfortunately, Jack Frost doesn’t visit Abilene much, but he is featured in Diamine’s Inkvent Calendar today. Jack Frost is a stunning deep blue shimmer and sheen ink. The shimmer is silver (of course) and the sheen is purple.

If you read any of my fountain pen reviews, you know that my favorite color of pen is blue. That’s also true for ink, and this one is absolutely gorgeous, combining cobalt blue with purple sheen. The color looks fabulous in any size nib (but especially in broad and flex nibs), and swabbing the ink brings out the sheen and shimmer.

This is one ink I wish came in a larger bottle than the tiny 7ml one in the calendar. Plus, since these inks are limited edition, I’ll only have Jack Frost around for a few fills. It’s sort of like “winter” in Texas--you just get a little taste of cold weather--maybe even an ice storm--and then it’s spring.

(Cult Pens provided the Diamine Inkvent Calendar to Pen Addict free of charge for review purposes.)

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Diamine Monboddo's Hat Ink Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

If you've ever found yourself worried that Diamine might someday run out of ideas for new ink colors, fear not! Inspiration is everywhere. With Diamine Monboddo's Hat, inspiration was drawn from a purple top hat. This is one of the inks that Diamine created in collaboration with the Fountain Pens UK Facebook group, and while I'm not a member, and therefore the inside joke here is a bit lost on me, I can certainly appreciate a good purple ink.

This is a great jewel tone purple with just the right balance of pink and blue. It's bright enough that it feels like a modern lilac, but it's still got an air of classic purple about it. Not too wild, but still exciting. In terms of both color and sheen, this ink falls right in between Lamy Dark Lilac and De Atrementis Alexander Hamilton —two very sought-after inks in their own right. With that in mind, I think this may be a very popular color. And like all Diamine inks, it behaves very well in the pen and on paper.

I had heard of this ink's reputation for sheening, so I loaded it up in a wet, broad Pelikan, hoping to see some drama on the page. I didn't get much sheen with plain writing on Clairefontaine paper, but on the Col-o-ring card where the ink pooled, it practically looks like an olive gold foil. I can't even see much purple under the sheen, in places. The color combination between ink and sheen is striking. The olive gold is a very Victorian tone, while the purple is just a bit too modern, taking the overall effect into a decidedly Steampunk territory. I like it.

There's a very long dry time on this ink, though the broad nib certainly accounts for some of that. I never did get a fully dry test line before reaching the threshold of "might as well just get up and go make a cup of tea while I wait for this to dry." Drip tests showed that it isn't very water resistant, but if you gently blot your spill instead of wiping it away or letting it sit, you can still see a ghost of the line left behind. Chromatography showed a fairly predictable progression of purple tones.

This bottle is 80ml, in a slightly fancier version of Diamine's squat, cubed, blown glass jar. It has a lovely vintage-looking label on it and a gold cap that almost matches the sheen on the ink. It retails for about $16, which is an excellent price for such a generous portion of a snazzy ink like this. If you like purple inks, and sheen delights you, this is one you need to have in your collection.

(Cult Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!