Posts filed under Ink Reviews

Wearingeul Macbeth & The Phantom of the Opera - A Review, Part 2

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

Last time, I did a review of Wearingeul Macbeth & The Phantom of the Opera but you may recall that I wasn’t done! Sure, I finished the ink review portion but there was more that I wanted to share, so here we are!

In addition to the inks he picked up at the Atlanta show, Brad also got some other fun swatching items from Dromgoole’s. They include the Wearingeul Color Chart Cards, Instant Film Color Swatch cards, and Clear Chart book/binder.

*Clockwise from upper left: Instant Film Color Swatch cards, Clear Chart Book, and Color Chart Cards.*

100 Color Chart Cards cards come in a plastic card case and measure approximately 3.5” x 2” (90mm x 50 mm). They have a bottle printed on the front as well as two dots on the right, one on top of the other. I’m not sure what the dots are for, so I just wrote next to them. On the back of each card is the word ‘Jaquere’, which is Wearingeul’s sister stationery brand that “aims to provide a better writing experience through Quality Writing”. The Color Chart Cards are available in a Horizontal and Vertical orientation; this is the Horizontal version.

The Instant Film cards come in a pack of 50 and are approximately 3.75” x 2.25” (87mm x 53mm). They have this shiny, slightly textured border around the swatch (not the entire card) and feels similar to the edge of a Polaroid picture.

*Shiny but unobtrusive border around the Instant Film cards.*

I compared the swatches on the Color Chart Cards and Instant Film cards to swatches made on Col-O-Ring swatch cards using both the Wearingeul inks from the last review as well as non-Wearingeul inks - Jacques Herbin Violet Imperial (shimmer) and Robert Oster Napa (non-shimmer). The colors were true to the swatches I had made on the Col-O-Ring.

*Comparison with Wearingeul Macbeth & The Phantom of the Opera.*

*Comparison with Jacques Herbin Violet Imperial and Robert Oster Napa.*

Now that I had these swatches done, I wanted to see if they would fit in the binder! I’m calling it a binder even though the pages aren’t removable and it doesn’t have rings. It measures approximately 7.5”L x 4.5”W x 0.75”D (195mm x 110mm x 20mm) and has a pliable but firm plastic cover with a button closure. There are 40 sheets (80 pages) of sleeves, each containing 6 slots (3 on the front and 3 on the back), so you can put 240 swatch cards in here!.

*The binder, also made by Jaquere, was designed to hold the horizontal or vertical Ink Color Chart Cards.*

*It can also fit the Instant Film swatch cards, but the Col-O-Rings are a bit too long. They do fit, but I think the ends would start to curl as you put more cards in the sleeves.*

This is gonna get nice and thick once it’s filled!

*These stickers are “DIY” (Do-It-Yourself) because they aren’t pre-cut. You can cut them to any shape/size you’d like and decorate your binder!*

The Color Chart Cards are available for $6, the Instant Film Swatch cards for $5, and the Binder for $6. They can be found in the Wearingeul paper section on the Dromgoole’s website. I’m still going to stick with my tried-and-true Col-O-Rings for all my swatching, but I might use this for all of my Wearingeul swatches!

(Disclaimer: The Wearingeul products were purchased from Dromgoole’s for a discount at the 2023 Atlanta Pen Show. The Jacques Herbin and Robert Oster inks as well as the Col-O-Rings are my own purchases.)

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!

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Wearingul, Ink Reviews.

Octopus Fluids Purpur Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

It's getting difficult to keep up with all the new ink makers that have popped up in the past couple of years, and I'm not complaining. The latest new ink to hit my desk comes from Octopus Fluids in Germany, and it's a gorgeous purple ink with a little bit of shading and lots of personality.

Octopus Fluids Purpur is a medium purple with a little hint of red that makes it a great choice for everyday writing and doodling. This color is part of the standard line of inks that Octopus Fluids offer, and I think it's a great standard representation of purple. It's not as vibrant as some, but it's also dark enough to make it easy to use in a professional setting.

Writing with this ink is a pleasant experience. It flows easily and smoothly, and works well with all the pens I've tried it with so far. The ink doesn't feather or bleed, and it cleans up easily as well. There's a bit of shading in this ink, but it isn't extreme. In the medium cursive italic nib I've been using recently, you can see slight color variation in each stroke, but it doesn't jump out at you. Still, it does add just a touch of variation that indicates that a fountain pen was used to make the marks.

An interesting feature of this ink that I've only seen when doing swatches or making large pools of ink is that there's a reddish sheen that hangs on top of the dried ink. It looks great under the right light, but it's only easy to pick out in swatches or areas where ink has pooled significantly. Realistically, you won't see the sheen under normal writing circumstances.

Dry time for this ink does leave something to be desired, though. In my testing, the ink normally took between 20 and 40 seconds to dry to the point where it wasn't easy to smudge with light pressure. This isn't the slowest ink to dry in my testing, but it is pretty slow. Definitely something to consider if you're left handed or want to use this ink in a notebook where you plan on quickly jotting down notes and closing the book. There will be ink spots on your hands and/or opposite pages of your notebook.

Despite the dry time, I have zero complaints with this ink. I'm partial already to purple inks, and this color just makes me happy when I'm using it. It's not as bright as some of my other purple inks, but the medium hue is gorgeous and makes it easy to use in any setting while still being obviously purple.

I'm excited to explore more from Octopus Fluids because my initial exposure with this ink has been a great experience. The 30ml bottle of Purpur cost $14, so the price is fairly standard for other small-shop ink vendors. Vanness also offer a small 4ml sample vial if you want to try it out (and others while you're at it) to see if you want to commit to a larger bottle. Try out Octopus Fluids the next time you're able!

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

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

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Octopus Fluids, Ink Reviews.

Parings Party: Waldmann Titan Fountain Pen, Wearingeul 7 Colored Ocean

The tactile feel of the Waldmann Titan Fountain Pen is something to behold.

I didn’t know what to expect when requesting this pen from Luxury Brands to review, and that is exactly why I choose it. The Titan is not a pen I would have picked out blindly for myself, but after using it for the past month, I’ve come away impressed.

If you aren’t familiar with Waldmann, we have reviewed a couple of this German manufacturers pens previously, with very positive results. Given that, it should come as no surprise that I feel similarly about the Titan. What does surprise me is that Waldmann decided to make this pen in the first place.

I shouldn’t be surprised, as they are a metal pen manufacturer at their core, but the Titan is a visual outlier compared to the rest of their lineup. And, like the rest of their lineup, they nailed the execution.

Back to my first comment: I can’t get the feel of the Titan out of my head, or my hands. Metal barrel pens ride a fine line between showing off materials and manufacturing, and making a blunt force object far too heavy to write with comfortably.

Titanium is lighter than many other metals used in pen manufacturing, but the manufacturer still has control over the final weight. How thick are the barrel walls, for example? Too thick, and you throw off the balance. Too thin, and you compromise the structure. Waldmann landed on a nice balance and weight with the Titan, allowing for long writing sessions without fatigue, while making a sturdy pen that is built to last.

The sandblasted finish is an added bonus. I like a bit of texture on metal pens, especially in the grip area, and they did a great job with the overall feel. It is a tip-to-tail finish, too, as this pen is all titanium outside the nib, nib housing and feed, and converter.

The only question I have is the use of Bock’s #5 steel nib, instead of the larger #6 model. This is a full-sized pen, and could handle a #6 easily. Luckily, Bock’s #5 is sized like a 5-1/2, so visually it works fine. I simply have to ask the question of why not the bigger nib?

My review unit sports an Extra Fine (hooray Bock nib markings!) and writes perfectly for me. My usage has run the gamut from planning, journaling, scratching notes, and, inked with the brilliant Wearingeul 7 Colored Ocean, has worked flawlessly every time I uncapped the pen thanks to the internal plastic liner that seals it upon closure.

How did I decide on 7 Colored Ocean for this pen? Well, what color ink would you have chosen? Literally anything would have matched the titanium barrel, so when you can choose everything, how do you choose anything? I ended up going with this Blue Steel vibe, despite running bright green, hot pink, orange, and purple shades through my mind before settling on this one.

I think I made the perfect choice. 7 Colored Ocean isn’t breaking new ground on bright blues with darker shading and a hint of red sheen, but dang if it isn’t perfect for this pen. I lean towards this color a lot with my finer nibs, and the results usually pay off. This could be an all day, every day writing combination.

The Waldmann Titan is a limited edition of 200 worldwide, and is currently priced at $385 at site sponsor Pen Chalet. It’s expensive, but every part of this pen feels worth it to me. It’s hard to imagine a better built pen that what Waldmann has done here. Add in a $22 bottle of Wearingeul 7 Colored Ocean, and you too may end up with a pairing party of your own.

(Luxury Brands USA loaned the Waldmann Titan to The Pen Addict for review purposes. The Wearingeul Ink was purchased from Vanness Pens at a discount.)

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