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Franklin-Christoph Red 187

6/29/15

 I'm finishing up the inks from Franklin-Christoph this week, and two of my favorites are in this set. Today's is one of those inks.

Red 187 is a straight-up red. It's not bloody and it's not dark or brooding or off-red. It's red. It flows well, a little on the wet side, and it doesn't behave badly on 20lb paper. That's an important feature in an ink I'm going to use for grading papers. Check out the review below.

Written Review





Ink Comparisons
I inked up a pen with Kaweco Red to compare to this ink because my mom called me up and asked me how they compared. Fortunately for her, I had one cartridge remaining of that color. In comparison, 187 is much more pure red than the Kaweco ink. That one is more pink when it goes down and more maroon when it dries. 187 is just a bright red. 


Chromatography


Copy Paper Test

 There is a little bit of bleed, but it's really minimal. Not enough bleed for me to worry about.


Compared to Kaweco Red on a Word Card
 

Water Drop Test and Video Review


You can find these inks at Franklin-Christoph's site for $12.50 in a 2oz glass bottle.Red 187 is great looking red, it behaves well on copy paper, and it's a good bet for anyone looking to add a red to their inventory. This is another ink that I would have bought if I didn't already have a bottle. So good.

This ink was provided to me for review purposes, but all of my reviews reflect only my own experiences and opinions of a product.

Do you like this blog? Want to help support it? Well! Head over to Patreon to find out how you can lend your support to this blog.

Franklin-Christoph Emerald 357

6/26/15

My new favorite green ink? Yep. this one is a bright, rich green that works perfectly well even on copy paper.  I've not used it in a fine nib, yet, but it works really well in mediums and huges (the 1.9mm Christoph nib).

I realize that this isn't going to be the ink that everyone reaches for when they want to write something serious. Probably most offices won't encourage you to write in green. If you're writing notes, letters, shopping lists, etc then you're going to like this ink.

Written Review


Close-Ups



I thought that the different nibs deserved a bit more of a close-up. Even the two mediums are quite different. Really good shading, on these, though. 





The shot below is one that I took last year when we got Audrey a Franklin-Christoph with the music nib. I really liked the green ink they filled it with, and I'm nearly sure it was this one. It was in a cartridge, I think. 


Copy Paper Test


There's just a little bit of bleed on the music nib sample. That's pretty impressive for a nib that big. Well done, Emerald 357. 


Chromatography


I really like that blue at the top. It's kinda like the old Sailor Sky High. If this is an ink color then take my money!


Ink Comparisons

This one isn't really close to any of the "green" inks that I have loaded up. I don't have any true greens in pens right at the moment, but these three near-greens will have to suffice. 


(This is not Ku Jaku. That's not even a Sailor color. I really meant Yama Dori. )

Water Test and Video Review




You can find these inks at Franklin-Christoph's site for $12.50 in a 2oz glass bottle. Emerald 357 is a fresh green, it behaves well on copy paper, and it would be a good buy for anyone looking for an awesome green to brighten their day (or page, whatever). This is one that I would have bought if I didn't already have a bottle. So good.

This ink was provided to me for review purposes, but all of my reviews reflect only my own experiences and opinions of a product.

Do you like this blog? Want to help support it? Well! Head over to Patreon to find out how you can lend your support to this blog. 

Franklin-Christoph Noir et Bleu

6/23/15

 This is the second of the six Franklin Christoph inks that I have to show. This one is a deep blue-black that verges on purple. It's far darker than most blue-blacks, I think, and it doesn't tend towards green like many of those do. This one verges on purple, if anything.

Like the rest of this set, these bottles were given to me free-of-charge for review purposes.

 Long story short, this is a cool ink that flows well, doesn't bleed significantly, and feels very smooth on the nib. Check it out below.
 Written Review




 Close-Ups

 This ink has a good amount of lubrication to it, and it's a little too slick for some nibs, I'd think. This new L-Tech is a really smooth nib (maybe too smooth), and it tends to skate a little on the Rhodia. I didn't have any problems with the Rotring, though, so I don't think it's the ink's fault. Both pens felt good on regular papers. Remember, an ink's performance often has as much to do with the paper and the nib as it does the ink itself.




Ink Comparisons

Just like the last ink, this one is unlike the others in my collection. I'm always happy to find an ink that is unique. What does this one remind you of?



Chromatography

See that purple? I think that's what makes it so dark and keeps it from looking greenish.



Copy Paper Test

 There are a few spots of bleed there, but hardly anything to worry about.


Water Drop Test and Review Video




You can find these inks at Franklin-Christoph's site for $12.50 in a 2oz glass bottle. Noir et Bleu is a unique ink, it behaves well, and it would be a good buy for anyone looking for a serious blue-black. This one would not be out of place in any environment.

This ink was provided to me for review purposes, but all of my reviews reflect only my own experiences and opinions of a product.

Franklin-Christoph Midnight Emerald

6/22/15
So, as promised, here's the first of the Franklin-Christoph inks. They had some a couple of years back, but this is an all new set. Different colors, different properties. They're still made by someone else and then bottled at Franklin-Christoph's facility in Wake Forest, NC. (That's a really cool place, and I hope to visit it again in the near future.)

 All of the inks in this set were provided by Franklin-Christoph for me to review. I always do my best not to allow that to sway my reviews, but it is something that I always have to put upfront in sponsored reviews.


This first one is called Midnight Emerald, and it's a bit of an enigma. I can't really figure out what to call this color. It's definitely a green/blue of some kind, but I can't put a name on it. It's a cool ink, though, and it's not much like the other blue/greens that I've got in my collection. It reminds me of some inks in the blue-black range, but it's not quite like any of them. It's more green than inks like Noodler's Air Corps or Private Reserve's Ebony Blue. It's closest to Sailor's Yama-Dori, I think, but it lacks the sheen. It's its own color.


Written Review



Close-Ups



 That Targa has a nib like a paint brush, and this ink looks much different in that one than the tiny "medium" on the Tanaris. Both write smoothly with this ink.

Copy Paper Test



Mnemosyne Word Card



Ink Comparisons

Midnight emerald is much more green than the Air Corps below it, and it's lighter in tone than the Cadillac Green, as well (though that one is unusually dark in that pen)


Chromatography

 Lots of blue, right? There's certainly a band of green in there, though.

Bonus Bottle Pictures

This ink definitely looks more blue when it is wet than when it is dry. It looks like a straight-up blue when you look in the bottle, but it's certainly got green in its heritage, and that shows more when the ink dries. 


This might seem kinda silly, but I really like the plastic insert in the cap of these bottles. I don't know exactly what it does, but I like it. 


If there's one quibble about this ink, it's that the name on the bottle could be easier to read. It's legible here, but this is really bright sunlight, and it's harder to read inside a house. 


Video Review & Water Drop Test





You can find these inks at Franklin-Christoph's site for $12.50 in a 2oz glass bottle. Midnight Emerald is a unique ink, it behaves well, and it would be a good addition to your ink rotations.

This ink was provided to me for review purposes, but all of my reviews reflect only my own experiences and opinions of a product.