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Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue

4/28/16
This is the first of several inks in the Blackstone set. It's an Australian brand carried by Just Write in Australia, and by Anderson Pens in the US. I hadn't heard of it before Brian offered to send me out some samples. From the way that this one performs, I'm really looking forward to the rest of these inks.

Barrier Reef Blue is a bright blue that's plenty saturated. The color is pretty awesome. It's not really like anything I have, I don't think. Just kind of striking. It really does remind me of the video that you see of the Barrier Reef. Just that warm (?) blue color.

Anyway, I've waxed on about this enough. I like it. Let me know what you think of it in the comments.


Written Review



Close-Ups

 I think the architect nib really shows a different side of this ink. It's lighter and more blue, for some reason. It's certainly the same ink, though. Promise.

Copy Paper Test

 That's really solid performance, actually. Even with the big nib it's not bleeding through. Good stuff.

Chromatography


Video Review and Water Drop Test









You can find this ink (only) at Anderson Pens, and it's totally worth a try.

This ink sample was provided free of charge for the purposes of this review. All opinions and impressions are my own. Your mileage may vary.  Etc. Etc.
Post Comment
Paul Hurley said...

Hi Mike,
After watching your review I decided to pick up a bottle of the Barrier Reef Blue.
Very interesting ink.
When preparing a color swatch card I noticed that the ink held onto the artist palette knife that I use for the swatches.
Typically most inks will collect in a couple of beads or simply not adhere to the stainless steel knife.
This makes me believe that the ink has no added lubricants (and could explain your description of the ink feeling "thick").

Also, when I opened the ink bottle there was quite a bit of foam and air bubbled at the top

One characteristic I could not miss was the bright red sheen the ink left on the WORD card, after the ink had dried; both in the writing and in the color swatch from the knife.

I do like the great color and love the sheen, and am looking forward to trying the ink out in my TWSBI ECO Clear at the office next week.

Great review and video, by the way.