Posts filed under Ink Reviews

Sailor Yurameku Zare Gokoro Ink Review

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

The latest ink that I've been using in a couple of my pens is a dark brown ink from Sailor's Yurameku line called Zare Gokoro. This particular ink looks almost black when wet, but dries to a lighter shade that has some brown-black to dark brown hues that show through.

There are several Sailor inks in my collection, so I'm always excited to try something new from this Japanese brand. Zare Gokoro looks exciting due to the marketing copy that claims this "mysterious" ink changes color as it dries. How can you pass that up? I already have some inks in my collection that do this, but they're most iron gall inks. In this case, Zare Gokoro is a water-based dye ink. How does it stack up against the iron gall alternatives?

Like all Sailor inks I've used, this ink flows well, doesn't feather or bleed, and is incredibly consistent and easy to use. It's an incredibly slow ink to dry, though. In my tests, it takes at least 30 seconds to dry to the point where it doesn't easily smudge. For areas where more ink has pulled up in the valley of a direction change from the nib, it can take up to a minute to dry. This is a really slow drying ink.

I was really curious to see how the ink color changed as it dried, so that was the first thing I was focused on after inking up the pen. Sure enough, writing with the ink lays down a dark line that looks black to my eyes. I wouldn't even call it black-brown because I can't discern any brown while this ink is wet. Magically, the ink color lightens as the ink dries, revealing a dark brown with mild shading. In some areas, you can even detect some dark red or rust color. It's really fun to watch this transition happen as the ink slowly dries.

Since this is an ordinary water-based ink, it doesn't fare well when introduced to water. It doesn't wash away, but just a little bit of water rinses away the darkness of the ink and leaves behind a de-saturated blue color instead. You would be able to read what was on the page as long as the paper survived, but it might be difficult in some areas.

Overall, I was expecting more out of this ink. The color changing behavior was interesting since most inks get a little darker as the dry, not lighter. Iron gall inks also get a bit lighter as they dry, which is something I've always liked about them. It was one of their unique qualities aside from their water resistance. The super long dry time, lack of much shading, and the price all put me off this ink.

At $20 for a 20ml bottle, you're paying a premium for the Sailor name, and I don't think the price justifies the ink performance in this case. There are so many other interesting and well-performing inks on the market, so it's easy to point in almost any other direction here.

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


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Posted on July 19, 2023 and filed under Sailor, 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.

Color Chart Cards.

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.)


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Posted on July 14, 2023 and filed under Ink Reviews, Wearingeul.

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.)


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 12, 2023 and filed under Octopus Fluids, Ink Reviews.