Tools of the Trade: Ink Review - Diamine Majestic Blue

A while back, in my search for ever-entertaining inks and pens, I discovered a unique concept in fountain pen inks called sheen. This ain't no Pantene commercial kinda sheen. This sheen is cool, and you can write with it.

A "sheening" fountain pen ink is one which is usually highly saturated with dye content, and therefore will give off a unique different colored "glow" when it hits the light just right, especially in areas where the ink has pooled. The last ink I reviewed had a tendency to have a slight red sheen to it in areas of high saturation, but I have run into very few inks that will give you this red sheen like Diamine Majestic Blue.

                                        

Here is my handwritten review for this awesome ink, and I'm attaching a few photos where the sheen is somewhat apparent. The usual caveat is in play here as well: my gear is not too great at color correction, so if you want to see a true blue (ha!) color-corrected swab, head over to Goulet Pens and take a peek.

Without further ado, Diamine Majestic Blue:

Click to embiggen.

Here are a few pics in which we tried to capture some of that awesome sheen.

Be reminded that sometimes cool sheening inks like this come with a price. This ink can become cloggy if you don't write with your pen often. It is an ink with which you should take some special care in your pen hygiene.

Some people like the color, but don't like the sheen or just want an ink that is a little less fussy about clogging. I'm happy to report that you can dilute Majestic Blue quite a bit with water and it still holds its color remarkably well. I haven't done this in a while so I'm not sure of ratio, but there are threads over at Fountain Pen Network which have more information.

I hope this is useful and maybe at the very least, it will inspire someone to PUT DOWN THE BALLPOINT. There is help available. Call 1-800-FPSRBETTER for more information from Ballpoints Anonymous. (Don't really call. I'm kidding...or am I?)