Welcome back to Inktober Skirmishes. As a reminder, I’m using Inktober to work on my resolution to get rid of some inks. The goal is to remove one ink from my collection for each skirmish, but if the two inks are different enough, I’m open to keeping them both.
Skirmishes are similar to Ink Battles, but without scoring, just final judgment. I am writing out the first chapter, one skirmish at a time, of as many of my favorite books as necessary to get through the 31 days of Inktober.
This time I’ve copied out the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.
NOTE: I still had a lot of trouble with photographing and editing these colors, so most of them aren’t quite true-to-life. I’ve done the best I can, but I wouldn’t advise making a purchasing decision based on this post. Look at some other swatches, too. The close-up photos are more correct than the full-page photos.
I’m using F Jowo nibs because I want to make sure that whatever inks I use are dark/saturated enough to actually show up with the nibs I use most often. The paper is lined Maruman loose leaf.
Now, on to the skirmishes!
The Pens
A new book means new pens in use.
Edison Nouveau Premiere Tequila Sunrise
River City Pen Co Shadyside in Waterlily Koi
October 19, Infinite Grey and Downpour
First up are Caran d’Ache Infinite Grey (odd rows) and Dominant Industry Downpour (even rows). Both are fairly neutral gray inks.
If you’ve been here a while, you know how I feel about Caran d’Ache. Since these are so similar, I’m just going to enjoy having a legitimate reason to get rid of another Caran d’Ache product.
October 20, Cherry Blossom and The Flowers on the Way
Next, we have Robert Oster Cherry Blossom (odd rows) and Wearingeul The Flowers on the Way (even rows). Both inks are slightly purple-leaning pinks.
These two are similar enough that I don’t want to keep both, and I’m holding on to Cherry Blossom just because I have more Wearingeul inks than Robert Oster inks.
October 21, Tsuchi and Coffee Break
We continue with Taccia Tsuchi (odd rows) and Colorverse Coffee Break. Both are brown inks.
Admittedly, I knew going in that I wouldn’t get rid of Coffee Break since I have the entire Joy in the Ordinary set — they’re some of my favorite Colorverse inks. The real question was whether I keep Tsuchi. While it’s a nice color, It’s dark enough that it turns “off-black” in wetter pens, and I just don’t use it much. So… bye-bye.
October 22, Tudor Green and Sugar Snap
And for the last skirmish for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, we have Diamine x Mann Inc. Tudor Green (odd rows) and Diamine Sugar Snap without its shimmer (even rows). Based on my swatches, these two should have been much more similar. However, the water in Tudor Green has evaporated some, which has likely made the ink more concentrated — the writing is darker than the swatch, which is almost unheard of.
With as dark as Tudor Green has become, I don’t see any reason to keep it. It’s practically “off-black” in a F nib, it would likely be black in a M or B.
Winner Recap
- Caran d’Ache Infinite Grey vs Dominant Industry Downpour — Downpour
- Robert Oster Cherry Blossom vs Wearingeul The Flowers on the Way — Cherry Blossom
- Taccia Tsuchi vs Colorverse Coffee Break — Coffee Break
- Diamine x Mann Inc. Tudor Green vs and Diamine Sugar Snap — Sugar Snap
What do you think of Ink Skirmishes? Do you agree with my choices? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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