J. Herbin Bleu Nuit

It took some real effort for me to decide to switch up my daily driver ink for another. Usually, I make sure to keep a stable pen that I know I can depend on with an ink that I can trust to not mess up when I’m using an ink I’m going to review in the future. I’ve had bad experiences before with missing an entire class worth of notes because the ink I was testing didn’t properly go with the paper I was using and started to bleed through. After a couple of those experiences, I made sure to always have a backup ready just in case. This semester, I didn’t take as many fountain pens to Indiana, because I wanted to stick to the bare minimum because cleaning can become a hassle. I stuck to my trusty Lamy 2000 and TWSBI ECO. For the entirety of the last semester, I had the Lamy inked up with Iroshizuku Shin-Kai, which quickly became a daily driver of mine and I’m almost finished with the bottle. I needed to review Bleu Nuit, but my TWSBI was already inked up with Bleu Pervenche. So I decided that I needed to switch things up a little bit.

Bleu Nuit is an interesting ink, because of the way it looks straight out of the bottle. Honestly, I was initially skeptical of the color because I saw both the grip of my pen and my hand being stained with a purplish blue color and thought that maybe this was going to be reminiscent of Diamine Midnight. However, once I actually used it, it turned out to be a true neutral blue-black ink. Directly from the nib, it holds a purplish color, but dries to become blue-black with hints of grey undertones. Unlike Diamine Midnight, which acted the opposite way and caused me to dislike the end result.

It has all the characteristics that one would expect of a J. Herbin ink. It’s lubricated, well-behaved and there is a decent amount of shading. This was especially accentuated through my use of a slightly wet medium Lamy nib. I’m sure the shading would be turned down if used in a fine or extra-fine, so that’s something to keep in mind if shading is something you look for. As I mentioned above, the color you see in the ink bottle and directly from the nib can confuse you, but be assured that it dries to a neutral blue-black. I honestly enjoyed watching it drying as it looks similar to how Shin-Kai looks when it has dried.

One thing that might be a bit of a drawback with this ink is, as always with J. Herbin, a little bit on the expensive side. The 10mL can be bought for $5.50 on JetPens (not sponsored) and the 30mL can be bought for $12.00 from all your favorite pen shops. On the other hand, Diamine Blue-Black, another great blue-black ink, is priced at $7.50 for 30mL. My advice would be to get the 10mL to test it out and decide if you like it before purchasing any larger sizes.

Sailor Souten Review

So sorry for not being active for the last month almost. After Spring Break, the amount of work I had to finish went up drastically and there’s still lots more to come. I just finished my exam week and only have a month to prepare for finals. This weekend is a small respite, as I finally had time to sit down and finish a couple of reviews. This will be number 1 of 3, to make up for the end of February. The second and third will come tomorrow, officially finishing the quota for March. I don’t know if I’ll be able to put any out until after the semester’s over in May, but I’ll try my best to keep you guys updated. Please follow me on social media for quick updates. You can follow me through the buttons on the right for Twitter and Facebook, and my Instagram feed gallery is linked to my profile.

As you all may know after all this time. I love me some blue inks. Any shade, any brand. You name it, I’m willing to give it a try. I’ve had this ink for almost 2 years now. The ink is almost finished, so I knew I needed to get a review in before it ran out.

By the time I got onto the Sailor bandwagon, I found that some of the inks I really wanted to try had officially been discontinued. I could no longer find Grenade, Epinard and Sky Blue. I was immensely disappointed at not getting the chance to review them, but perked up when Sailor announced that they would be revealing a new Four Seasons ink line that would be the future of Sailor inks. Excited, I waited with bated breath for the Los Angeles International Pen Show to get my hands on some. When I reached, I went straight over to the Anderson Pens booth and got this bottle of Sailor Souten (Azure Sky), the touted successor of the Sky High. I have to say, I was not disappointed at all with my purchase.

The performance of Souten is about as expected of any Sailor ink. It behaves well in every pen I ink it up in and shades differently based on the nib size and any special characteristics. While I wrote the review with my Lamy Safari M, I usually used it with my TWSBI 580 Pendleton BLS grind fountain pen. The unique grind on the nib allowed for the shading to really show through.

The ink also has a beautiful red sheen when used in a broad or wide italic nib. The red is concentrated around where the ink typically pools inside the letters. However, if you’re using this ink with a fine or extra fine nib, don’t expect any real shading or sheen to show when writing.

Now for the Sailor performance, you’re going to be paying a rather premium price. This ink typically retails for around $18 at Anderson Pens and other similar retailers, I’ve seen it go for $14.25 on JetPens, which is by far the cheapest I could find it going for. If the price doesn’t bother you, then this is a solid, well-behaved blue that will perform well in any pen you use it in. I recommend this to anyone who likes Sailor inks and wants a nice blue to add to their collection.

 

Lamy Safari Review

Let me start this review by saying that this pen was an impulse buy. I wasn’t exactly thinking I would love it with all my heart, but it was pretty cheap, so I decided I may as well add it to the family. What started off as an impulse buy slowly turned into something I could never have imagined. What pen could possibly have such a profound effect on me you ask? It’s the famous Lamy Safari.

This pen is one of the most highly recommended beginner fountain pens in the entire pen community. All one has to do is Google “best beginner fountain pens”, and this pen will have a spot on every single list made. After extensive use, I can see why it holds its own against all the other contenders.

This pen redefined the word “workhorse” for me. It’s been nearly 5 months since I purchased it, but I have used it for the whole of spring quarter for all my notes, assignments, and side projects. I was impressed by the quality as well as the durability of this seemingly cheap looking fountain pen. When I first took it out of the case, it felt too light, and plastic-y for me. I didn’t imagine it would hold up too long, so I used it without hesitation, waiting to see its limits. Needless to say, I’m still using it to this day, but have yet to experience a drop in quality.

The biggest reason this pen is so highly recommended is, in my opinion, the interchangeable nib system. For beginners, finding the right nib size is an arduous task. I also had to struggle to find the perfect size that was complimentary to my writing style, as well as providing the writing experience I desired. It took me about 2 months and scouring innumerable reviews from other pen bloggers to finally narrow it down.

I tend to prefer a Japanese medium which is equivalent to a Western fine, so I chose to get the Safari with a fine nib. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it was. I had heard a lot of complaints about Lamy’s nib QC, but apparently, they’ve fixed their problems because I found nothing wrong with all the ones I tested.

Let’s talk about the grip. Now this was something that confused me. I have seen a LOT of fountain pens, but none of them have the particular shape of the Lamy Safari. the triangular grip is pretty unique to Lamy pens, and I find that while slightly annoying to adjust to in the beginning, it becomes pretty natural after extended use. Initially, this grip had me hating this pen, as I could never grip it comfortably without it stabbing into my fingers. So for those of you who grip differently than the norm, be aware of this before you get this pen.

Another aspect of this pen that makes it perfect for beginners, is the simple maintenance. This pen can be easily taken apart and cleaned. It takes me less than 2 minutes to take it apart and clean it thoroughly before leaving it to dry.

Overall, the Safari has got to be one of the best beginner pens out there. These words have been repeated many a time among those of the pen community, and today I join their ranks as a fellow admirer of the Lamy Safari. Beautiful, simplistic, and durable. These three words describe my thoughts on the Lamy Safari. While I’m probably not going to get a another one in a different color, one never knows what the future holds. 😉