Posts filed under Ink Reviews

Wearingeul Verethragna Ink Review

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

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Wearingeul's Sedna ink, which is part of their World Myth Collection. This week, I'm back with another ink from that same collection, but this one is from the other side of the world.

Verethragna is a Zoroastrian deity that represents strength and victory, among other things. Reading up on this subject made me remember the world history classes I took in college, and it's also incredible to read about anything so ancient. In the case of the ink, though, it's a lot more straight-forward.

Wearingeul Verethragna is a subdued medium purple shade with mild shading and a dry flow. I typically prefer more saturated and punchy purple inks, but this one has a dusty, reserved tone that I've really enjoyed. It doesn't pop like the bright purples I normally prefer, but it's beautiful in a quieter way.

Despite the ink being a little on the dry side, it flows easily and encourages me to slow down and be more deliberate in the lines I make. It can certainly keep up with a fast writing pace, but the color becomes a good deal lighter with faster strokes.

The ink does shade a bit, but it's not dramatic. It shades plenty enough to set itself apart as a fountain pen ink and provides a pleasant amount of color fluctuation. To my eyes, I can't detect any other tones in this in besides purple and gray. There aren't any other effects (like sheening) present.

Like the other Wearingeul inks I've tried, this one also performs well when it comes to how it behaves on paper. I haven't seen any feathering or bleeding on the different papers I've tried. The edges of the nib strokes remain crisp and sharp.

Dry time for this ink is a little higher than I'd like considering it's a bit on the dry side in terms of flow. It typically dries between 20 and 30 seconds, though it's a little faster in smaller nibs. In a European EF nib, the ink was smudge-proof in as little as 15 seconds.

Being a part of the World Myth collection means that this is a limited offer. Vanness is already showing low stock for this ink, so act quickly if it strikes your fancy. Verathragna is currently on sale for $23 for a 30ml bottle. Like other Wearingeul inks, this is a great value proposition and one you won't regret if you like the color or the inspiration. Despite this being a more subdued purple, I've found myself reaching for it more than my standard bright purples lately. It's certainly a beautiful color, and I've really enjoyed using it during these past few cold and gray weeks.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on January 22, 2025 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Wearingeul, Ink Reviews.

Diamine x Sugar Turtle Studio, Slowpoke Series 1

A few months back, I did a review of Sugar Turtle Studio’s four Diamine inks and recently remembered that I still had more of their inks in my review bin, so here we are! Tom Forsythe of Sugar Turtle Studio released another collaboration with Diamine - a 3 ink set called “Slowpoke Series 1”, his first ink series!

The Sugar Turtle Slowpoke Series 1 is a set of 3 inks: Lollygag, Dawdle, and Trudge. This set of inks launched last summer and come in Diamine’s 30ml plastic bottles.

*I love the design of this box! The 3 animals give you a hint as to the colors of the inks inside!*

*These inks are all snug in their drawer!*

*The side of the box also shows a “swatch” of the 3 colors, also pictured on Col-O-Ring swatch cards. As you can see, the colors don’t quite match the ink themselves.*

As in the past, all swatches were done on Col-O-Ring cards using a Kakimori steel dip nib, while writing samples were done with a TWSBI Go with a Medium nib and a Lamy Vista with a steel Medium nib. The TWSBI Go is a wetter writer and the Lamy is a drier writer, so these two give me a good idea of how an ink will look from different pens. The notebook used for writing samples is the Endless Recorder with 68 gsm Tomoe River paper. Dry times for the Vista are shown with “(V)” and the Go will be below that and might also be shown with “(T)”. Dry times may be a bit slower on 52gsm TR or faster on paper like Cosmo Air Light, Rhodia, copy paper, or with drier or finer nibs, etc.

Tom describes Lollygag as a “cranberry ink with yellow sheen”, but I think of it more as a magenta ink with a greenish sheen. The sheen is not overpowering in writing samples, despite how it looks in larger swatches.

*Writing sample of Lollygag on 68 gsm Tomoe River Endless Notebook.*

*You get a bit of shading from the drier-writing Vista compared to the wetter Go. You can just see a hint of green sheen with the Go’s writing sample. In both cases, the ink is fairly saturated.*

*Lollygag’s chromatography looked a lot like one would expect, a lot of pink and a bright flash of magenta and purple at the top.*

Inks similar to Diamine Lollygag: Vinta Malayan Apple Makopa, Troublemaker Magallanes Street (both are a touch brighter and pinker), Colorverse Purple Cosmo (more of a gold sheen and more purple), Van Dieman’s Aurora Australis (much more overpowering matte green sheen, the underlying color is a bit more purple and less pink.)

Dawdle is described as “blue-leaning gray…a Blue-Black”. Looking at the label and the cute koala, I was expecting a muted purple. When I swatched it, it looks a bit blue-black with a touch of purple in it, but I wouldn’t call it purple either. I checked the bottle to make sure I swatched the right one as well as checking the website’s swatches to make sure I had the right color.

*Writing sample of Diamine Dawdle on 68 gsm Tomoe River Endless Notebook. Seeing the ink from two different pens is key - now the two descriptions make more sense!*

The ink is much lighter with the Vista than the Go, especially with cursive vs print. Definitely a blue-leaning gray (or gray-leaning blue?) in a drier pen like the Vista, and more of a moody blue-black from a wetter pen.

*I didn’t expect to see such a bright turquoise blue at the top, as well as the pink in the middle. The gray towards the bottom was what I expected from this gray-blue ink.*

Inks similar to Diamine Dawdle: Montblanc Midnight Blue (less gray), Diamine Silent Night (slightly more blue), and Diamine Chilly Nights (shimmer). Not surprising that the two closest matches are also from Diamine.

*Diamine Trudge on 68 gsm TR. Trudge is described as “deep teal with red sheen”. I was expecting more of a blue leaning teal, but it’s slightly more green leaning on the Col-O-Ring swatch card.*

Writing sample of Diamine Trudge on 68 gsm Tomoe River Endless Notebook. I accidentally wrote with the Go for the first paragraph (instead of the second). Comparing the writing sample to the TWSBI Go’s blue barrel, it is a bit more of a green-leaning teal.

As usual, the ink is much lighter with the Vista than the Go, with shading more prominent in print. The red sheen doesn’t show up much with the Vista, so if that’s your jam, make sure you’re using a wetter pen.

*A mix of blue and green for this teal, but the chroma is also showing a fair amount of blue, including that electric blue at the top.*

Inks similar to Diamine Trudge: Diamine Garland, Diamine Smoke on the Water, Pure Pens John Frost (I believe their inks are also made by Diamine), Diamine Season’s Greetings. Not surprising that all of the matches are from Diamine. The other inks that I had that were “similar”, were actually more blue leaning and not weren’t close when I put them next to these swatches.

*Swatches of Lollygag, Dawdle, and Trudge on 52 gsm TR in a 2021 Hobonichi Weeks.*

*Swatches on 68 gsm TR in the Endless Recorder.*

All 3 inks behaved well and wrote nicely. Dry times weren’t too bad, but Dawdle was the fastest to dry 30 seconds, while the other two were 45-60 with a wet writer.

The Diamine x Sugar Turtle Studio Slowpoke Series 1 set is currently available on their website or in their Etsy shop for $25/set (shipping is not included). Given that this is Series 1, I hope this means that a second series will be coming soon!

(Disclaimer: Brad bought these inks from Sugar Turtle Studio. All other inks and notebooks are my own.)

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Posted on January 17, 2025 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Sugar Turtle Studio, Ink Reviews.

Wearingeul Sedna 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 not often that I come across products that are inspired by mythology, and even less often that the mythology in question is Inuit. With Wearingeul's Sedna ink, that's exactly what inspired this dusky blue ink. Sedna is actually the Inuit goddess of the sea and marine animals, so this cold blue fits perfectly with the choppy, cold seas of the north.

I've had the privilege of using several Wearingeul inks in the past, and I've always been impressed by their behavior and colors. The South Korean ink maker does a fantastic job, and I'm always excited to try new inks.

Sedna is part of the World Myth Collection, which draws inspiration from several mythical and religious deities from around the world. With Sedna, I'm really happy that it prompted a research session to learn about the background of the name choice and the Inuit culture and beliefs. And taking notes with a namesake ink feels appropriate in this case.

Sedna is a medium blue with a cool tone and dusty gray undertones. It definitely reminds me of the cold sea, but it simultaneously reminds me of my favorite pair of worn-in denim jeans. It's a cozy color that also manages to impart some mystique due to the unique color and slight shading.

Aside from the slight shading, this ink is a pretty normal performer. It dries in about 30 seconds in most cases, though it can take longer when using it with a wet nib and coated paper. In my swatch samples, I was able to detect a small amount of dark green/red sheening on the surface, but this only happened when I was heaping ink onto the same place on the page. I wouldn't expect to ever see the sheening effect in practice.

Normally, I lean pretty hard toward the lighter, brighter hues of blue ink — or in the opposite direction to darker, moodier blue-blacks. With this middle-of-the-road shade, I've been surprisingly picking it up more often than not over my other pens just because the unique shade of blue makes me happy for some reason. Just like how I can get rid of that old pair of jeans because I still like how they feel.

If you'd like to pick up a bottle of this ink, you can purchase a 30ml bottle for $22 from Vanness. And, I'd recommend checking out the other World Myth inks in the collection. With Wearingeul, it's safe to assume that you'll get a great ink, so it's just a matter of choosing the colors that speak to you.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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