Posts filed under Ink Reviews

Octopus Fluids Petrol Buffalo Pigmented Ink Review

You may not have heard of Octopus Fluids prior to this review, but don’t be fooled: this is a big-time company. With a lineage dating back prior to 1900, the modern version of this German brand focuses on the industrial ink market, supplying manufacturers of varying sizes with ink used in large-scale production.

Over the last decade-plus, Octopus Fluids has used that expertise to expand into what they call the creative market. Ink for dyeing resins, alcohol-based ink for art, stamp ink, and so on. Importantly, for us Pen Addicts, Octopus branched out into fountain pen inks, which I have started to test, beginning with this review of Write & Draw Petrol Buffalo.

Octopus has two primary ink lineups for pen hobbyists: standard, and pigmented. The basic writing inks are simply marked Octopus Fluids, and ship in Pelikan-esque 30 ml bottles. The ink in this lineup is designed to be easy to use and clean, and is not waterproof. The pigmented inks are marked as the Write & Draw series, and are contained in taller, 50 ml bottles. These inks are designed to be permanent on the page, and require a little more consideration around their use and cleaning.

Petrol Buffalo is a beautiful dark teal-blue, which I inked up in my TWSBI 580ALR Prussian Blue pen, with a 1.1 mm stub nib. I like to use this pen for ink reviews for two reasons: the stub nib spreads the ink well, and the clear barrel shows if their is any staining, which is an important consideration for a pigmented ink.

From a writing perspective, Petrol Buffalo is fantastic. The flow is nice and smooth from this 1.1 mm nib, with various amounts of shading and light sheen depending on the paper being used. The color is relatively flat on bank paper, and shows more character on slower drying papers like Sanzen Tomoe River.

Permanence-wise, it is rock-solid under the faucet. Once dry, it is completely waterproof, with barely a fuzzy line edge to be seen. This level of performance is why you would buy a pigmented ink. Do know that you will want to take added care with any pigmented ink filled in your pen. If you leave the nib uncapped, it will dry out quicker than with a standard ink. Also, it could stain your barrel if you leave it inked for long periods of time. Time will tell on this one.

I don’t hesitate to use pigmented inks in most pens, but given the added care required, I will be particular to choose one that is easily cleanable, and that I will be using daily. If it isn’t in my regular writing rotation, it gets cleaned.

I’m impressed with my first Octopus Fluids experience so far. I’m a pigmented ink fan due to the colors available and permanence of the formula, and this Write & Draw Petrol Buffalo is as good as any as I have used. The price is right, too, at just over $17 for a 50 ml bottle. I have some of their standard inks on hand also, and so far so good with those as well. If their formulas or colors are something that ticks your boxes, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.

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

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Posted on March 6, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Octopus Fluids, Ink Reviews.

Wearingul Cheshire Cat Fountain Pen Ink Review

Finding a new ink to break into my regular writing rotation is not an easy task. I have a lot of inks, and even more particularness when it comes to picking out an ink to use on a regular basis. Some pens have specific inks tied to them-my Namiki Milky Way and Pilot Iroshizuku Tsui-yo, for example-while other inks are a favorite in a lesser used color category, like Akkerman #28 Hofkwartier Groen.

Since I purchased Wearingul Cheshire Cat late last year, I haven’t limited it to a single matchy matchy pen setup, but have actively looked to use it in as many pens as possible. That’s how much I’ve been enjoying it.

Cheshire Cat, from South Korean ink maker Wearingul, features a mixture of magenta, fuchsia, pink, and purple shades, designed to mimic it’s mysterious Alice in Wonderland namesake. I find it colorful, yet extremely comfortable on the eyes. It’s not one of those searing hot pinks.

Wearingul Cheshire Cat Ink — *Tested on Mitsubishi Bank Paper from* *The Paper Mind*.

Performance-wise, it is a simple and safe color. It flows well while not being overly wet, dries quickly, has slight shading even in finer nibs, and has been easy to clean each time I’ve used it. That’s a good feature list in my book.

Wearingul not only makes great inks, they tell good stories. Many of their ink creations are based on literature. Cheshire Cat isn’t the only Alice in Wonderland ink-there is the shimmery blue and gold Alice, and the deep green Mad Hatter, among others. There are more classic tie-ins with the Wizard of Oz, feature inks for women in Korean literature, and wild ink sets like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And lest we forget one of the greatest inky creations of all-time: Chicken ink!

I’m a fan of the stories Wearingul is telling, and an even bigger fan of the qualities of their ink. Cheshire Cat is by no means a groundbreaking color or formulation, but it doesn’t need to be for me to love using it. I look forward to adding a few more to my ink shelf ink the coming year.

(I purchased this ink from Goldspot at a discount.)

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Posted on February 20, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Wearingul, Ink Reviews.

Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo Ink Cartridge Review

Under no circumstances are fountain pen ink cartridges a good value. The cost per milliliter is higher than with bottled ink, and there is the added waste of a bunch of little plastic cartridges laying around.

Yet, I love them.

As with a lot of things ink life, moderation is key. My current ink bottle situation is an exercise in excess. Anarchy is a better term. Adding new ink cartridges to the situation doesn’t help, but I have some fixed ideas about pen and ink combinations, where the use of cartridges grants me the freedom to use certain pens more.

That sounds ridiculous, and it is. Then again, here you are reading a blog about stationery, so let’s at least be ridiculous together.

Would you be surprised if I told you that in three* of my priciest pens I regularly use ink cartridges? Why? Two reasons: 1. I want to use these pens, and this allows me to use them more, and 2. I found ink in cartridge form that I love.

Point one is laziness, let’s be honest. But if that is what gets me using a pen more frequently, then sign me up for a nap! In conjunction with point two, that ease of use combined with a heck of a good pen and ink combo, well, that is really what it is all about.

When I bought my Namiki Yukari Milky Way, I committed to using only one ink with it: Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo. It’s a great color, and a perfect match for the pen. I use it in bottle form, with the Pilot CON-70 converter, aka the best, worst converter in the world. The CON-70 is Pilot’s largest ink capacity converter, which is good, but I can only fill it and clean it well with a syringe, which is bad/annoying. Would I ever be able to get Tsuki-yo in cartridge form so I am less angsty about inking up what is quite possibly my favorite pen?

Pilot announced the launch of their Iroshizuku ink cartridge lineup in early 2022, and after a few delays in their worldwide release, they have arrived. 12 of the 26 stock colors are available in packs of 6 for a whopping $12.50 per pack. Each cartridge holds 0.8ml, putting the cost at two dollars and sixty cents per milliliter. Compare that to the 50 ml Iroshizuku ink bottles, which track at right around fifty cents per milliliter, and you realize how ridiculous they are.

But I love them. One six-pack at a time, because they make me want to use my pen more.

Like I said, there is no narrative that makes these a good value. Except one. How many milliliters of unused ink is sitting in a bottle on your shelf? Is it better to spend $25 and use 25% of it, or spend $12.50 and use 100% of it? There are a lot of ifs, ands, or buts in that statement, but we all want to use our stuff more. Smaller and less cost-effective may work in certain situations, as silly as that sounds.

Again, moderation is key here. I bought Tsuki-yo for a specific use case. I will not be adding another five boxes of Iroshizuku ink cartridges to the collection.

As poor as the price for these cartridges is, the ink itself is fantastic. I wouldn’t have sprung for them if it wasn’t. Tsuki-yo translates to “Moonlight Night” and is a beautiful dark blue with a hint of teal. On the right paper, there is a touch of red sheen to be found around the edges. It matches the Raden planets in the Milky Way wonderfully.

Fountain pen ink cartridges will always cost more than their bulk bottle brethren. They are great for travel, portability, and ease of use. The trade off is the price, and, on occasion, that’s a trade I’m willing to make.

(*The other two pen/cartridge combos I use are the Nakaya Portable Kuro-tamenuri with Platinum Mt. Fuji Blue Black, and the Nakaya Piccolo Negoro Orange with Platinum Carbon Black.)

(I purchased these cartridges from Yoseka Stationery for review purposes at full retail price.)

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