While I do my best, especially recently, to only buy inks I’ve already tried, sometimes that isn’t possible. Because of this, I have some inks that are incredibly similar in color.
I’ve decided to have “ink battles” to figure out which to keep. I’m going to put the similar inks into pens with the same nib, then test them out to see which I like better. Or, I may find out that, when used with the same nib, they’re sufficiently different to keep them both.
Depending on how these “battles” turn out, I may tag some of the posts as ink dupes as well. You’ll be able to find all of the ink battles posts on the tag page.
This first ink battle is between Colorverse Space Needle and Lamy Bronze. Both inks are in a TWSBI Mini with a fine nib. The paper is a Rhodia Goalbook with white paper.
As you can see, when written with separately, it’s easy to tell them apart. But, when used together, like in the title, it’s much more difficult.
Jim and I both prefer Lamy Bronze if we had to choose, but I don’t know if they’re similar enough to get rid of one.
What do you think? Should I keep both? Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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I like the Lamy Bronze better because it seems more vibrant. But my computer screen might be making it look that way.
It’s not your screen. It is definitely more vibrant.
Though on my screen both colors look very similar, there are other factors to consider. How fast do they dry? How do they vary in resistance to water, to sun exposure, to staining on skin, on pen innards, elsewhere? What about evaporation on the nib, i.e. “pen snot”? How do you like the bottles, their openings, and what about price? What happens if each ink is left in a pen for some time? Will metal trim tarnish? Decay?
I think it also depends on how well behaved both inks are and whether they work as intended in the pens you want to pair them with. For me drying times, flow, ease of cleaning, suitability for vintage pens and versatility are at least as important as the colour.
Going just by colour I prefer the Lamy and don’t think you need both inks.
Yes, those all factor in as well. In this case, performance was about the same for both.
Great idea for blog posts! Glad Bronze won because I have that one. Don’t think you need to keep the other, unless you have little else in the coral family. (Probably I should follow this advice myself– the only inks I get rid of are ones I don’t like or literal duplicates in large bottles.)
It can be hard when you really like a color, you end up with dupes, and you don’t want to get rid of either because you like them. I think we’ve settled on keeping both in this case, but my next ink battle is also an ink dupe, and we’re letting one go.
Went with Lamy Bronze without looking at which one was which!