Spiritual Evolution of the Bean

Review: Diamine Presidential Blue Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Diamine Presidential Blue fountain pen ink tested in an extra fine nibbed Lamy Accent fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal.

Great flow, similar in saturation to China Blue, but greener than China Blue. Some shading is evident.

Running out of things to say about blue inks.... To me, this blue just isn't anything special. Not similar to Lamy Blue, Sailor Blue or any of the other Diamine blue inks.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: J. Herbin Cafe des Isles Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0000

From the J Herbin website:

"J. Herbin is the oldest name in pen inks in the world. M. Herbin created “The Jewel of Inks” in his shop on the Rue des Fosses Saint-Germain in Paris in 1700."

"Each bottle of 30 ml has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks. The “D” refers to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”.

* 30 beautiful colors!
* Non toxic and pH neutral
* Lightfast
* Water based
* Flows smoothly and is fast drying
* All natural dyes

J. Herbin Cafe des Isles fountain pen ink tested in a extra fine nibbed Lamy Accent fountain pen. Clairefontaine Basics journal with 90g bright white paper.

Similar in saturation to Terre de Feu but not as reddish. This ink has really good flow. Dark caramel in color.

I'm not usually one for brown inks but I like this shade & love the flow so I think I'll keep it around for a while.

Herbin inks run $8.00 per 30ml bottle at The Ink Flow

All J. Herbin inks provided by Exaclair for the purpose of review.

Review: Diamine Woodland Green Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Diamine Woodland Green fountain pen ink tested in an extra fine nibbed Lamy Safari fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal & Bloc Rhodia.

This ink is more subdued on the off white, brighter on the Rhodia. That's probably typical with most inks, but I find all inks easier to see on off-white paper. Less contrast.

Lots of shading, great flow, nicely saturated.

I usually don''t care for green inks and that makes it difficult to review them becasue what do I say? "It's a nice shade of green that I will likely never use?"

It's good. If you like green inks, it's a very nice green ink.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Diamine Amber Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Diamine Amber fountain pen ink tested in a extra fine nibbed Lamy Studio fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal.

Slightly darker version of the Sunshine Yellow though not as bright. Very nice flow and pretty well saturated for a yellow. Nice shading but difficult to see.

Unsure of what conditions would be right to use this ink with how difficult it is to see. I'd be more prone to paint with it or at the very least, use it in a very wide nibbed pen.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Diamine Florida Blue Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Diamine Florida Blue fountain pen ink tested in a medium nibbed Sailor Sapporo fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal.

I had to re-write this review because I had previously stated that it was too thin and causing this nib to be scratchy. NOT TRUE. I found that the nib tines were out of alignment. When I flushed and filled this pen, I had unscrewed the nib to clean it better and I believe I must have screwed it back in too tightly because the nib was being mis-aligned by the feed. I unscrewed it just a smidge and viola! Now its writing as smooth as can be.

This ink has tremendous flow. A nice mid blue similar to Mediterranean Blue. Great shading. Fairly well saturated.

Only thing is that this ink is causing tiny blood spots on the back of the page in this Paperblanks journal and also in the Rhodia Webbie. It bled and feathered quite badly in a Moleskine. Herbin's Perle Noire, Bleu Pervenche & Rose Cyclamen sometimes does that as well - pushes just a bit through any paper. My first time seeing a Diamine ink do that.

No, wait... looking back through this ink book I see it again with Royal Blue and Steel Blue. I didn't use those colors in the Webbie so I can't compare. Maybe it's the inks because they are in the same color family, maybe it's the paper. Though I find that to be strange since I tested well over 60 different FP inks in this and two other Paperblanks journals with no ill effects.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: New Clairefontaine DCP Digital Color Copy Paper

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

(Blueish cast to paper in above image due to my shooting in direct sunlight.)

People looking for individual blank sheets of Clairefontaine paper (for art, writing or bookmaking, etc.) will be pleased to know that Exaclair will begin importing Clairfontaine's Digital Color Copy Paper into the US in the spring of 2010. Intended to be an alternative to expensive glossy paper for color prints, DCP is A4 in size, 8 1/4 by 11 3/4".

Specs are as follows:

While I typically do not print photos from my computer printer, I was very interested how this paper might work for various art applications. I also know that there are people that have been looking for single blank sheets of Clairefontaine paper for making their own journals and I think people will be quite pleased with the results.

I first tested several different permanent markers on the DCP paper: Sharpie, Staedtler Lumocolor and Bic Mark-it. Each of the markers were quite vibrant on the paper.

There was some bleed through with the permanent markers - but truth be told, I've yet to find a paper less than watercolor weight that didn't bleed. Even my Borden & Riley marker paper bleeds through like this.

Each fountain pen ink I tested flowed smoothly & effortlessly on this paper. It's similar to the Clairefontaine Triomphe in that aspect. (Mandala drawn over top with a Pitt Brush Pen.)

Faber Castell Pitt Brush pens POPPED on this paper and I'm willing to guess it would be like that with most markers, solvent based or not.

I tested three different kinds of colored pencils on this paper. Regular Prismacolor, Derwent Inktense & Faber Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencils. Whatever the Prismacolor pencils are made of, they did not go down smoothly on this paper. As the surface of this paper is super smooth, the pencils didn't have anything to grab onto and it was not a pleasant experience to work with them on this paper. I also tried one of the Rhodia pencils, (HD lead) and the results were similar.

The Derwent Inktense pencils went down on the paper a little better than the Prismacolor. In the above example, I colored in the design and then went over the pencil with a Niji Waterbrush. This paper does not love water - in fact - the less used, the better. (It gets a little crumbly when too much water is used)

The Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils worked quite nicely when doodling on this ultra smooth paper - much better than the Prismacolor or the Inktense. In the above example, on one half I tried coloring in the design & then washing with the brush and on the other half, I touched the tip of the wet brush to the pencil & then painted with it. That method worked better than running the brush over the color on the paper.

My Caran d'Ache Neocolor II watersoluble crayons went down on this paper as smooth as silk. Two similar doodles but on the second, I washed over the doodle with a waterbrush.

Keeping in mind that this isn't specifically a paper to be used with water based media, (some resistance to water and buckling occurred) single strokes of a light wash seem to do fine. Artist grade watercolor paints were used in the example above.

Daniel Smith Watercolor Sticks - same results as mentioned above. Colors are really vibrant.

Testing to see if both sides of the paper react the same when water is applied and the answer was yes.

I wanted to see of there was any liquid substance that this paper would really agree with and painting with J. Herbin China/India ink worked like a charm. Filled in with J. Herbin Rouge Opera fountain pen ink that I have in a Niji Waterbrush.

Of note, looking at a sheet of this paper next to the Triomphe, (which is a bright white) the DCP has a very slight bluish tinge to it. I'm guessing this has something to do with how the colors are able to pop on this paper. It is not a distraction to me and unless you hold it against another paper, it may not even be noticeable.

To the best of my knowledge, it appears as though 100 sheet packages of the DCP will sell for around $12.00. Once again, this product is not currently available, and is expected to arrive later this spring.

49 Songs from my Roller Disco Days or 1980-81's The Soundtrack of my Life

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:10:00 +0000

Perhaps you remember the post I wrote about a year ago about my return to the roller rink of my childhood. The image above was taken sometime around 1980-1981 and this time around, I'd like to talk about the music from that time that stays with me to this day.

I grew up primarily listening to AM radio and Mom's record collection- which at the time included Barry Manilow, The Bee-Gee's, Barbara Streisand, Sonny & Cher, and the soundtracks to Saturday Night Fever and Grease. (Some other time I'll tell you about how I threw out my Dad's old Santana and Jimi Hendrix 8-Tracks because the music scared me... D'oh!)

Around 8th grade, I started to spend an excessive amount of time at the local skating rink courtesy of neighbors who were there 4 days a week. While these days, my iPod is filled with extreme diversity such as heavy metal, ambient, world music, rock, jazz, swing, etc., the music below is what's really in my blood. It's why I can skate, dance, drum & shake the hell out of a shekere. Let me send out a big huge THANK YOU to the rink's DJ (I wish I knew who they were!) who helped create the soundtrack to my life.

I've always held the theory that the music from your early teen years, that time before high school and when things start to get all pubescent & wonky, is the music that stays with you forever.

Let me first preface that I have been working on assembling these songs for YEARS...... Many were only available on 12" EP's and later on compilation tapes. (Which I would later replace with CD's) iTunes helped tremendously to fill in the final missing pieces with the exception of one song which I could never find, (one of my all-time favorites) "On the Beat" by the BB&Q band which I finally found on You Tube - a tinny mono version but a version nonetheless that allowed me to stop thinking it was a figment of my imagination.

These are the ones that I specifically remember skating to. (or at least I think I did.... cut me a break, I'm old.) When one of these songs would come on you'd suck up the last bit of Pepsi from the cup, toss it in the trash and skate like hell to get out on the floor and feel the beat.

Oh heck. I just realized that I don't have a copy of "Always & Forever" or "Superfreak" or "17" or "Double Dutch Bus" arrrrgh!!!! I thought I was done! How could I forget those? iTunes, here I come! (I guess the more time passes, the more I recall though I can't seem to remember what I did 5 minutes ago...)

And so here you go. 49 songs from my roller disco days. There were 50, but I had to cut Michael Jackson's "Wanna be Startin' Somthing" because that came later.

Ai No Corrida	Quincy Jones
Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now	McFadden & Whitehead
And the Beat Goes On	The Whispers
Apache	The Sugar Hill Gang
Boogie Oogie Oogie	A Taste Of Honey
Boogie Wonderland	Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions
Brick House	Commodores
Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)	The Gap Band
Celebration	Kool & The Gang
Circles	Atlantic Starr
Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)	Chic
December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)	Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Disco Inferno	The Trammps
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough	Micheal Jackson
Donna Summer - Bad Girls	Donna Summer
Early In The Morning (12" Version)	The Gap Band
Fantastic Voyage	Lakeside
Forget Me Nots (12" Version)	Patrice Rushen
Get Down On It	Kool & The Gang
Got to Be Real	Cheryl Lynn
The Hustle	Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
I'll Be Around	The Spinners
I Got My Mind Made Up	Instant Funk
I Will Survive	Gloria Gaynor
Instant Replay	Dan Hartman
It's a Love Thing	The Whispers
Knock On Wood	Mary Griffin
Ladies Night	Kool & The Gang
Let's Groove	Earth, Wind & Fire
Let's Start the Dance	Bohannon
Mama Used to Say	Junior
Never Can Say Goodbye	Gloria Gaynor
Off the Wall	Michael Jackson
On the Beat	BB&Q Band
Que Sera Mi Vida	Gibson Brothers
Rapper's Delight (Long Version)	The Sugar Hill Gang
Rock The Boat	Hues Corporation
Rock With You	Michael Jackson
September	Earth, Wind & Fire
She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)	Carl Carlton
Stomp!	The Brothers Johnson
Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)	Kool & The Gang
Take Your Time (Do It Right)	The S.O.S. Band
Too Hot	Kool & The Gang
TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)	MFSB/The Three Degrees
Vertigo / Relight My Fire	Dan Hartman
Working My Way Back To You	Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
You Dropped A Bomb On Me	The Gap Band
8th Wonder	The Sugar Hill Gang

Note: There of course were a few quintessential disco songs such as Chic's "Le Freak" and Lipps Inc's "Funkytown" that I really didn't care for which is why they don't live on my iPod.

Please enjoy.

FYI - Amazon often has music (MP3's) cheaper than iTunes. I'll give you one to get you started.

Mandala: Center of Bloom

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

You know it's funny, but though I've created over 1,000 mandalas in the last 3 years, I don't color many of them in.

There are two main ways I create them. Either by using a single colored pen or marker on paper, or by putting watercolor on paper and then coming back and creating a mandala over top of the painting. I think I do it this way because I kind of like doing the mandala part more than adding color. Coloring them in doesn't seem to hold the same rhythmic pleasure for me and so I think once I finish one, I abandon it in favor of working on another. (It's less about art for me than the meditation of creating it.)

But once in a great while, I get the urge to color one in... It's usually a just little urge because I just don't have the patience to stay with it and so I take an inked piece like the one above, and I will add just enough color to make me happy.

Since I treat this work less about art and more about personal growth, I wonder if there is a part of me that worries about "messing up" if I try and think too much about adding color and making it look "pretty.". But isn't that what I teach in my workshops? That the end result is irrelevant? That it's about the journey rather than the destination? I think once you start to turn a subjective eye on what you create, it can muck up the original intention.

Right now, I think I'm going to go and color one of my mandalas and I'm not even going to TRY and stay within the lines....

Review: Diamine Dark Green Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Diamine Dark Green fountain pen ink. Tested in an extra fine nibbed Lamy Safari fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal.

A bluer green than the shamrock green of "Ultra Green." Very nice flow with some shading.

I myself could never really warm up to green inks. If any at all, I like the muted earth colors like Emerald and Umber.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Diamine Burnt Sienna Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Diamine Burnt Sienna fountain pen ink. Tested in an extra fine nibbed Lamy Studio fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal.

I put this next to the Monaco Red - this is more of an orangey brown to the Monaco's reddish brown.

A medium brown, not as interesting as I first thought. Too light for me. Great flow, nice shading.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Mandalas everywhere...

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Ever since I started drawing mandalas, I see them everywhere. Car rims, manhole covers, ornamental building designs... This is one of my favorites. It's a wrought iron table that sits on the rear deck of the college dorm where I stay during my yearly summer drumming retreat. I enjoy being out there all alone with a journal and my thoughts. I reflect on the events of the day and imagine what fun there is yet to come... I'm looking forward to seeing it again this coming summer, as it has become much like an old dear friend.

That hallway needed painting anyway....

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

My husband and I have lived in this house (which we own) for just under twenty years. As strange as this might sound, I just never think about carpets or paint or even new furniture.

For the first 21 years of my life I grew up living in apartments. Apartments that got re-painted white once every 5 years and had the same carpets until you moved out. It seemed as though it was just never an option to decorate an apartment so I guess I got to the point where I just don't see the color of the walls any more.

We painted this house when we moved in back in 1991. I know it needs to be painted but I just don't think about it. If you asked me the color of my living room, I'd have to give it some thought though I sit in in every day.. sitting in it right now as I am typing this. Let me quick look.. .oh yeah - it's a light sandy pink.

At least every year or two I go over to Lowe's and pick up some paint chips and tape them to the wall. And eventually the tape gives out and they fall to the floor and then I toss them away.

A while back I asked my husband if he would mind if I painted mandalas on the walls. He said "Go right ahead" and so this was my first - in the hallway that needed to be painted anyway. (I guess the colors of the walls aren't important to him either.

It was my largest mandala to date and my first time using acrylic paints that I bought from the craft store. It's about 3 1/2 ft in diameter and it makes me happy every time I walk past it. So maybe I should paint a few more. After all, all it would take would be a few brush strokes and it would be gone.... though I'd always still know it was there.

Review: Diamine Dark Brown Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Diamine Dark Brown fountain pen ink. Tested in a .7 Cursive Italic (Binderized) Pelikan M200 fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal.

FANTASTIC shading with this ink. (In this pen) Not sure I've seen another Diamine ink with this much shading- but then again, I didn't use this wide nibbed of a pen in testing every ink.

If you are looking for a medium brown ink with great shading, try this color.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Ecosystem Blank Journal

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

From the Ecosystem website: "With a mandate to protect the environment, ecosystem journals, planners, and notebooks were developed with only 100% post-consumer recycled paper." Read more about Ecosystem's commitment to the environment here.

Large: 7 3/8" x 9 7/8" Medium: 5 1/4" x 8 1/4" Small: 3 5/8" x 5 5/8"

Ecosystem products utilize both hard cover and flexible cover options. A variety of colors are available such as, Onyx, Watermelon, Lagoon, Clementine and Kiwi.

Several paper versions are available including: Advisor, (planner layout) Architect, (Grid) Artist, (Blank) and Author. (Lined)

Available inserts fit in the back pocket of the journal or planner to add an additional functionality and include:

Calendar: A month at a glance - save the date!
Grid: Great for diagrams and planning.
Personal Info: Keep track of friends and colleagues.
Ruled: Write a little something, from haikus to inspirations.
To-do List: Keep yourself organized.
Blank: Sketch

All but the exception of the calender are sold in a set of three.

Top to bottom - Large Rhodia Webnotebook 192 pages 90g ($20), Large Moleskine 240 pages approx 70g ($13-$18), Medium Eco System 240 pages *60lb ($17). I bought the plain Artist version for full price ($16.99) at Barnes & Noble. (Which were located at the front of the store right next to the Moleskines which were conveniently on sale at 20% off...)

*Note - I don't know the type of paper being used (bond/text etc) of the Ecosystem paper to convert it to gram weight. I'm guessing it to be in the vicinity of 90g.

Nice tight elastic band. Journal has round corners on both the cover and the paper. Square edged paper digs into my hand as I reach the bottom of the page and I much prefer and appreciate the rounded edging. This is the blank Artist model, and it has bright white paper. Every page is micro perforated and if you fold the page back on the perf before you remove it, it comes out fairly neat.

Cloth ribbon (like a thin flat shoestring) bookmark is too short to be useful - barely sticks out of the bottom of the book.

The cover has a really nice feel to it, but it's difficult to describe. The cover itself is very firm.. a huge plus in my book, (because I often like to write on my knee) and the material allows for a nice grip. It's almost sort of skin-like. Slight imperfections give it an interesting leathery look.

Inside the front cover - romanticized blurb about the product and place to put your name & contact info.

Nice sturdy pocket in back cover for holding ephemera. A pocket in a journal is not a deal breaker for me as I never use them but I know lots of people that do.

Book includes a tracking ID that you can register on the EcoSystem website should your book ever go missing. Took me 6 times to enter my registration code because it was impossible to discern between the O's and the 0's.... (Letter "O" and the number zero.)

To me, this seems to be more of a convenience than a key selling point. I wonder if they removed this option if it would cause any reduction in price....

(Sample shown from "toothy side" of paper)

The one thing I noticed right away about the paper in this book is that it has two different surfaces. One side is smoother, the other is toothier. It's a slight different but to a fine/extra fine nibbed fountain user, it will be fairly noticeable. I found it to be quite bothersome.

Tested a number of different fountain pen inks and while they did not feather, they spread just a slight bit on the toothier side of the paper. By spreading I mean that if you look closely, the lines aren't quite as crisp and are a little wider as they would be on other more fountain pen friendly papers. On the smoother side of the paper, the pens wrote more true to their nib width.

Most of the inks behaved well, but there was some noticeable bleeding/see-through with some of the more saturated blue inks.

I find the smoother side of the paper to be way too glassy for use with a pencil - the toothier side is better.

Prismacolor pencils - a chore to fill them in on the smooth side of the paper. Wasn't a pleasant experience for me.

Pitt artist brush pens - these and all markers I tested worked fabulously on this paper (either side) and the colors just pop! The book opens and lies almost completely flat.

Artist grade watercolors- come out very vibrant, but hard to apply. Much warping.

In closing, I appreciate this company's dedication to making an eco-friendly product here in the US but I have to be honest when I say that I would not choose a product solely on that merit. I am more concerned that the paper and the overall product suit my needs for that effortless writing experience. While this journal might not work for me, I am certain that others will find it quite satisfactory. I enjoy the product's design and think the only real necessary structural improvement would be to lengthen the bookmark.

See these books being made here.

Review: Diamine Crimson Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Diamine Crimson fountain pen ink. The 60th Diamine ink I've tested. Tested in a fine nibbed Sailor 1911 fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal.

Like almost all 60 Diamine inks, great flow, moderate saturation and some shading.

Similar to J. Herbin's Rose Cyclamen though RC is more vibrant. Crimson is pinker than Claret, as Claret is redder. Deep Magenta is very close to Crimson though Crimson is a little darker.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: J. Herbin Bleu Myosotis Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

From the J Herbin website:

"J. Herbin is the oldest name in pen inks in the world. M. Herbin created “The Jewel of Inks” in his shop on the Rue des Fosses Saint-Germain in Paris in 1700."

"Each bottle of 30 ml has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks. The “D” refers to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”.

* 30 beautiful colors!
* Non toxic and pH neutral
* Lightfast
* Water based
* Flows smoothly and is fast drying
* All natural dyes

J. Herbin Bleu Myosotis fountain pen ink in a very wet writing Sailor Sapporo. (Which has since been tweaked by Mr. Nagahara of the Sailor Pen Company) Clairefontaine Basics journal with 90g bright white paper. (My camera has a very difficult time with this paper - it often comes out with a bluish cast that I am unable to correct for.)

I found this ink to be the darkest and most saturated of the Herbin blue inks, with some shading. This ink had great flow in this wet writer. It's a nice dark blue - I like it, though it's difficult to describe. Not a bright color blue, somewhat subdued. When swabbed, looks dusty/chalky like the Blue Nuit. A faded blue jean color.

Bleu Myosotis mandala created with an Herbin glass dip pen in an Exacompta sketchbook.

Herbin inks run $8.00 per 30ml bottle at The Ink Flow

16 Pages.....

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

16 pages... that's how many pages are left in the above journal and it's frustrating the beans out of me.

I am less intimidated staring at a book of blank pages than I am these final few. I don't write in my journal every day, so I get antsy anticipating the start of a new one while I still don't have the words to finish the one I'm currently on. And this one has been taking longer to finish than normal. I usually run through a journal in about 2 months yet I'm almost at the end of my third with this one. Granted its one that's larger than I'm used to, at 7x9"and that's a bit more space to write in in comparison to the typical 6x8" size I prefer.

Larger books take me longer to write across the page and I think it gets a little tiring for me - less sense of accomplishment in finishing a page or two when it would be 3 or 4 in a smaller journal. Come to think of it, I remember struggling to finish a similar sized hardbound Clairefontaine journal about a year ago.

Hardcover books get a little awkward to handle in their last few pages as well. I almost always write on my knee or in my hand and when all of the paper is on the left hand side of the book it becomes clumsy and awkward and I just don't want to use it as much.

The whole thing in my eyes comes down to whatever your choice of journal, you have to love writing in it all the time, from the first page to the last. Though I really like writing and doodling in the blank off-white Paperblanks paper, this will most likely be the last time I use one of their journals in the Ultra size.

Then comes the big decision on which journal to pick next as I've got quite a few different ones on hand. I like trying new books, and I've got one of the new Leuchtturm journals here, and also an Eco-System. Decisions, decisions.....

So which is easier for you? Starting a new journal or finishing one with 16 pages to go?

Review: J. Herbin Cacao du Bresil Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

From the J Herbin website:

"J. Herbin is the oldest name in pen inks in the world. M. Herbin created “The Jewel of Inks” in his shop on the Rue des Fosses Saint-Germain in Paris in 1700."

"Each bottle of 30 ml has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks. The “D” refers to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”.

* 30 beautiful colors!
* Non toxic and pH neutral
* Lightfast
* Water based
* Flows smoothly and is fast drying
* All natural dyes

J. Herbin Cacao du Bresil fountain pen ink tested in a fine nibbed Sailor 1911 fountain pen. Clairefontaine Basics journal with 90g bright white paper.

While this Sailor pen can sometimes be a dry writer, (especially on this Clairefontaine paper) this ink is very smooth with this pen/paper combination.

I see this color as a dark grayish brown - not overly saturated, but rich with shading. I can imagine that the color/saturation might be more intense in a wider nibbed pen.

Not a color I would typically use, but very nice. It has a classic look about it.

Herbin inks run $8.00 per 30ml bottle at The Ink Flow

All J. Herbin inks provided by Exaclair for the purpose of review.

Married 8 years ago today, together for a total of 23 years.

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:01:00 +0000

In this pic, I'm 19 and Jeff is 24 - 1988.

In this pic, I'm 40 and Jeff is 46 - 2009. Time flies.... I've been with him over half my life.

Happy Anniversary Sweetie!

Review: Diamine Indigo Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Diamine Indigo fountain pen ink tested in a .7 Cursive Italic (Binderized) Pelikan M200 fountain pen. Paperbanks off-white ruled journal.

Like a thinner, lighter version of the Prussian Blue. Looks like a vintage color that would be great for fancy calligraphy. Like what you might find in an antique journal or ledger. (Notice the way I'm inspired by this ink/pen combination to write using all kinds of fancy flourishes.)

Very nice flow, some shading. I'm on the fence with this color. I like it in this pen but usually I prefer more saturated colors.

Diamine inks provided by Diamine for the purpose of review.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Diamine Blaze Orange Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Diamine Blaze Orange fountain pen ink tested in an extra-fine nibbed Lamy Accent fountain pen. Paperbanks off-white ruled journal.

Good flow, not very saturated. Shading is evident. This ink was difficult to see on the off-white paper and I don't really have much use for inks that light in color. (Except for creating art.)

Diamine Orange & Pumpkin are much more vibrant shades of orange.

Diamine inks provided by Diamine for the purpose of review.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Updated Review: US versus UK paper comparison of Quo Vadis Habana journals

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:15:00 +0000

My review of the large American made Quo Vadis Habana journal can be found here and the small version here. (Though for the purposes of this post, we will only be comparing the 90g paper found in the large US Habana to those manufactured outside the US.)

In short, both are great journals with excellent quality Clairefontaine paper. (90g white in the large and white 64g in the small.) Clairefontaine paper is silky smooth, thick and probably one of the most fountain pen (ink) friendly papers around.

I had read a comment somewhere from my friend Sophie, (who lives in Canada) that she has 2 Habana journals with very different paper. One was bought in Canada but made in the UK, and the other was purchased directly from the UK. She voiced a concern that the paper was not exactly what she had expected in the larger journal, and that the small journal had different paper - which she liked much better. Sophie was kind enough to desecrate her journals and send me some pages to compare to the US version. (When we say UK/US made, we mean assembled, as the paper all comes from the French Clairefontaine mills. )

Let me fist say, that there is a world of difference between these three papers.

Of note - no inks feathered on ANY of the three.

Nothing bled through the white paper except some of my permanent markers. It's a thick, smooth paper that is a dream to write on.

The large ivory Habana paper? I don't like that it's ruled to the top of the page. I also don't like how small the ruled lines are. And the paper quality is awful. It's very thin and has a very odd feel to it. It's got a slightly rough surface, or "tooth" that I never, ever, want to write on again. Several of the inks tested bled through it, including the Diamine Imperial Blue, (not shown) the Noodler's Red Black, (ok - my Lamy 2000 is a bit of a wet writer on the downstroke,) the Noodler's Aircorp Blue-Black, the Private Reserve Arabian Rose, and the Noodler's Squeteague.

Now the small Habana paper that's shown, It's smooth - not Clairefontaine smooth, but more like Moleskine smooth. It's thin like the larger Habana paper, (and like Moleskine paper) but NONE of the tested inks bled through it at all.

I actually kind of liked the thin off-white paper found in the small UK Habana and somewhere around here I have one with blank pages. I'm going to have to go and dig it out.

As of 10/02/08 Karen Doherty of Exaclair said, "The French version with ivory paper, (currently 60g in both the large and small,) will be replaced with 85g in each. These will NOT be imported to the US, as Exaclair WILL be importing the Rhodia Webnotebooks instead." (with 90g paper)

I would need to follow up with Karen whether or not that change has taken place.

Review: Diamine Imperial Blue Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Diamine Imperial Blue fountain pen ink tested in a fine nibbed Sailor 1911 fountain pen. Paperbanks off-white ruled journal.

This was one of the first blue inks I bought but soon abandoned when it was badly feathering and bleeding in my Moleskine journal. I have since abandoned Moleskine journals for paper that will allow me to use any kind of ink my heart desires. (Rhodia, Clairefontaine & Paperblanks)

Imperial blue is a highly saturated purplish blue. Hard to see any shading. Not as dark as the Majestic Blue. Great flow. I think I might be keeping it this time around.

Interesting... it goes down more purple and dries more blue.

Diamine inks provided by Diamine for the purpose of review.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Diamine Light Green Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Diamine Light Green fountain pen ink tested in a fine nibbed Lamy Safari fountain pen.(The light blue one with the red clip) Paperbanks off-white ruled journal and Bloc Rhodia pad.

Right away, this ink is much easier to see on the off-white paper than on the white. Shading more drastic on white which makes it harder to see.

Light Green not as bright as Kelly Green but is darker than the Jade Green. I don't know if I want to write with it so much as paint with it.

Great flow. A very earthy plant color.

Batik style mandala created by painting mandala with Bombay White India Ink and then washing over top with the Light Green ink

Diamine inks provided by Diamine for the purpose of review.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: J. Herbin Bleu Azur Fountain Pen Ink

Stephanie@biffybeans.com (Biffybeans) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

From the J Herbin website:

"J. Herbin is the oldest name in pen inks in the world. M. Herbin created “The Jewel of Inks” in his shop on the Rue des Fosses Saint-Germain in Paris in 1700."

"Each bottle of 30 ml has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks. The “D” refers to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”.

* 30 beautiful colors!
* Non toxic and pH neutral
* Lightfast
* Water based
* Flows smoothly and is fast drying
* All natural dyes

This was a very bad ink/paper combination. The Bleu Azur is a very light colored ink and its flow was extremely dry in an extra fine nibbed Lamy Safari fountain pen. Clairefontaine Basics journal with 90g bright white paper can sometimes be a bit unforgiving with dry inks, and such was this case with the Bleu Azur. It looked nice when I used it with the glass dip pen, so perhaps it might be better suited for wide nibbed wet writers. (A pen that typically writes very wet.)

Bleu Azur Mandala created with an Herbin glass dip pen in an Exacompta sketchbook.

Herbin inks run $8.00 per 30ml bottle at The Ink Flow

All J. Herbin inks provided by Exaclair for the purpose of review.