Carol asks:
I wrote Brad Dowdy this question and he didn’t know however thought you might be able to help me understand.
I am looking to find a way to desaturate some of my fountain pen inks.
As an artist I’m looking to add ink lines, marks by drawing on top of my watercolor washes. Most of my inks: Diamine, Noodlers, Birmingham, Faber Castell, Pelikan and Edelstein are great inks yet their values are too saturated. I’m looking for a way to reduce the saturation to create a more muted tone in the line. Birmingham are some of my favorite as Nick and Josh have created inks that are favorable to me by their faded look – yet those are still a bit dark.
Diluted water I have found does little to alter the saturation while it makes the ink obviously wetter – which is a bit defeating as I am also looking for drier inks. A permanent or water resistant quality would be wonderful to maintain as well in those inks that offer this. I love for example Faber Castell Stone Grey and Noodlers Walnut – however both come off severely too dark.
It’s an odd ask I realize. Just thought if any experience has been noted on this. Advise would be welcomed.
Kiera asks:
I’ve been using diamine marine in my hobonichi cousin, but I want to take advantage of the hobonichi’s paper more. Marine is a lovely color, but not a very interesting ink otherwise. Can you recommend some sheening or shading inks that are similar in color? Thank you!
Kiera, most sheening inks tend to sheen because the pigment-to-liquid ratio is considerably higher. As a result, most sheening inks are darker than the lovely aqua Marine because all that pigment doesn’t allow the color to be as translucent. In the fountain pen world, we think of this as an ink’s ability to shade. So, the more pigment, the more sheen, and the less shading.
At least, up until this point. Someone will figure out how to circumvent this at some point, I’m sure.
That said, there are a few aqua/turquoise inks that have more sheen than Diamine Marine.
As you will see in the photo above, the four other ink colors I found that were in the same color family but had more sheen, are Diamine Aurora Borealis, Colorverse Gravity Wave, Robert Oster Marine and Kaweco Paradise Blue. Some of these colors are considerably darker but will have a red, pink or magenta sheen. The sheen will be more or less noticeable depending on how broad your nib is.
Colorverse Gravity Wave probably has the most sheen and I was able to catch the sheen highlights in the photo above.
There are many other sheening ink options available but they are not necessarily in the turquoise or teal color range. I pulled a few for you to consider.
The classic Organics Studio Nitrogen is the first “super sheener” and it will potentially smudge but if you’re looking for lots of sheen, you can’t go wrong with this one. I would recommend a finer nib for less smudging.
Diamine has created many amazing sheening inks. Some were created as exclusives for European pen shops but others are now available directly from Diamine. The colors are not as smudge-y as the Organics Studio and have some unusual sheening. Robert (and the Pen Gallery Exclusive Manggis) is a purple that sheens green. Skull & Roses is a deep vibrant blue that sheens red. Communication Breakdown is a rust red that sheens green. November Rain is a deep teal green that sheensred-violet.
There are many other sheening inks that will pop up in places you might not expect it like this Lamy Crystal Azurite or even in the most unsuspecting inks like Waterman. I often surprise people when I show them the sheen from Waterman inks, particularly Tender Purple and Inspired Blue. Blows their mind.
I decided to swatch the Waterman inks (and some of the inks on some Tomoe River paper) at the last minute just to show more of the sheen. It’s not all the colors mentioned above, but a lot of them.
This morning it’s overcast so I was able to get the sheen better. The Waterman Audacious Red didn’t show but on some papers, it sheens gold.
Kiera, did I give you enough options?
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