This is the first South African ink that I’ve tried, and I was not disapointed. This is a small bottle of ink, only 20ml – but I love the way this bottle has been designed, it’s made from glass, which I always prefer, and has this cutout in the cap with a visible silicon seal. Besides giving a really unique effect, it makes the bottle immediatly stand out when opening my ink box. The translusent type silicon seal also hints at the colour in the bottle. If they sold this bottle seperatly I would add a few in my collection to use as decanters while travelling.
The silicon seal in this bottle was added to allow the user to use a syringe to fill cartridges without even opening the cap – this is genuis. Not just for cartrige filling, but also for getting the last drops of ink out without making a mess. (I’ll be honest though, I have not had a chance to give this particular method a try.)
This is a bright saturated blue that reminds me of KWZ Sheen Machine – just without the sheen, or rather without such an extreme sheen. This shade of blue has more complexity and depth then your traditional blue, but still stays firmly in the blue category without leaning towards the purple or green spectrum. The shading on this ink is minimal, and I have only noticed sheen on endless paper – when the ink is fairly wet.
Water resistance is not great, some sections remain visible – but anywhere the ink was not a dense it washes away. Cleaning this ink out is average for a saturated ink, it requires a few extra flushed then normal – but still better then Diamine Majestic blue in my opinion.
Overall I think this is a perfect travel ink, the bottle is small, but sturdy enough to carry even in the smallest of bags, it seals exceptionally well, its dark enough for more formal settings but has enough depth that I won’t get bored of the colour quickly.
I wouldn’t say this is a completely unique ink, as I own a few fairly similar colours – but this is a well behaved ink in the perfect ‘Try Me’ size. I’m hoping they come out with much more colours in the future.
This ink was given to me as a gift, with no obligation/expectation or mention of a review. All opinions are my own and are in no way altered for promotional purposes. The links provided are not affiliate links, and I do not get any form of rumination should you chose to purchase from the link provided.
As always this ink can be bought here: https://writegear.co.za/product/frararoadfountainpenink-pinestreet/
I’ve decided to add an image of all my blue swatches, hopefully this will help those who are trying to decide between two colours.
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