Pen: Parker Sonnet Cisele – EF Nib
Ink: Diamine Denim
Paper: Rhodia dotPad, No. 16 – Top Spiral Bound
Reminder: Today is the last day to enter to win a new Pilot Prera, courtesy of Goldspot Pens!
Head over to this post to enter.
Notes:
Another Diamine review, another one of my favorites. Overall, I think Diamine is my favorite brand of ink. There. I said it. Diamine is my favorite. Every ink I’ve tried, purchased, and seen has been great. They’re super well behaved, clean out easily, and there are more than enough color choices to please practically everyone. Diamine’s Denim is no different, and does not disappoint. This is definitely one of my favorite inks that I do not yet have a bottle of. I’ve gone through three samples, and I think it’s time. After being drawn in by the name, I knew I had to have it. The subtle shading of this dark blue ink is reminiscent of a pair of nice japanese denim that’s just starting to fade. There are slight hints of light blue, and where it’s dark, it’s dark. I really like this ink, and after typing up this review, I think I’m going to go order some.
Pros:
- Name
- Great Color
- Super Smooth
Cons:
- None!
Gallery:
Related Reading:
edjelley.com - Fountain Pen, Ink, and Stationery Reviews 
That is a nice color and thanks for the high recommendation of Diamine inks.
Thanks, it’s a great color. In my opinion, Diamine is some of the best stuff out there!
Great review with, as always, outstanding photos! You’ve convince me to add this to my next order of samples – it’s headed for a showdown with Noodler’s 54th Mass. Thanks for putting the F-C Dark Denim up there too – I’m interested in trying that one but I don’t think you can get a sample. How do you like it?
Thanks for the review, I am also a big Diamine fan. I have several of their dark blues so this one caught my attention. D usually does very saturated inks so I’m surprised this one shades so well. I’m going for my sample of it soon.
I agree – Diamine is awesome. Unless you pick a blinding color, almost all Diamine inks are just con-less, right?? Hehe.
I can’t find a bad one. It’s getting ridiculous.
I own several Diamine inks and on the whole I’m happy with them.
For my personal tastes, though, I wouldn’t go so far as to call Diamine my favorite brand. That honor belongs to Sailor (Epinard, Grenade, Ultra-Marine, and last but not least Kiwa-Guro, they’ve created excellent inks one after the next) That is not to say that Sailor doesn’t have some hideous colors in their portfolio (Sailor Jentle Peche). And some that I’m not too fond of, like Sei-Boku which is a pigmented ink, but it’s a let down compared to Kiwa-Guro (feathering, etc.). And Sailor Apricot is very similar to Caran d’Ache Saffron, so naturally it is obviated.
The thing that I hated was that sailor had a very popular ink called Sailor Red-Brown, which they discontinued, amidst loud protests. So now I live in perpetual fear of hearing that the Epinard will be discontinued.
CdA is in the middle of an overhaul as well, and I’m not all too happy with it. Folks argue that per ml the price of CdA is the same in the new set, but I just can’t find the courage to hit the “buy” button on an, albeit larger, ink bottle costing $40.
In general I ascribe to the idea that an ink company shouldn’t bombard you with too many color choices that are extremely close to each other and the 10-15 inks offered, let’s say in the red color category, are more or less indistinguishable from each other with very slight variations.
Noodler’s (123), De Atramentis (96) , and Diamine (103) are among the top vendors with a blinding array of options (counts taken from Goulet website).
Sheaffer (8), Pelikan (18), Sailor (11), Montegrappa (4), Rohrer & Klingner (18) have a more reasonable palette to pick from. (again, thanks Goulet’s)
And it should be the consumer who selects, let’s say a Pelikan Brown, or a Sheaffer Red, or a bordeaux purple from Montegrappa and mix and match according to their taste. I don’t like this “one-stop-shop” idea. The ecosystem should be richer. (that’s just my personal opinion)
Back on Diamine inks, I own the following:
– Red Dragon: Beautiful Maroon color, very sober.
But I did tinker with this ink and mix some dish soap into it, to reduce the surface tension and enhance flow.
It backfired and the ink started turning an ugly brown on me over time, it felt like the red fizzled out and the thing went stale, when compared to a fresh writing sample with the pure stuff.
I admit I shouldn’t have tinkered with it.
– Ancient Copper: Very beautiful sepia / brown / burnt sienna color, and the shading, ooh boy watch out.
The thing seems to crystallize readily on the nib and it even clogged up the intake tube on my TWSBI Diamond ink well.
Very strange, this is the only ink I own that does that.
– Majestic Purple: Also a very nice striking purple color.
I found its harder to clean out, most purples are that way though.
– Matador: Plain Red, no frills.
It behaves very well on cheap paper, I don’t see any feathering. It’s a strong contender against Sheaffer Skrip Red.
Thanks for the review by the way. It’s good stuff. I see you’ve used two F-C inks there, how do you like Olde Emerald? I have a prototype bottle of it and I like it a lot. (I know you hate pea soup 🙂
Sorry for the ramblings on..
I love dark blues that shade. How does this compare to noddler’s bad blue heron?
It’s definitely darker than the Bad Blue Heron. Has a bit more purple to it as well.
If I had to compare it to anything, it’s kind of close to J. Herbin 1670 Bleu Ocean!
I might have to take another look at this one! I got a sample and remember liking it but thinking that it couldn’t compete against the 6 or so bottles of dark blues/blue blacks that I already own. Still, it looks wonderful!
I haven’t tried this one from Diamine yet, but I like the FC Dark Denim. Looks like the Diamine is just a little bit lighter, maybe? Which do you like better?
I like the way the Diamine performs much better. The FC ink is pretty dry and can be a bit scratchy.
Huh. I’ve only had the FC DD in one pen, and it doesn’t feel scratchy to me. Maybe the nib I’m using is just that good, but it’s new, too, so I can’t tell yet.
I mean, the amount of variables is pretty crazy. Everything from pen, to nib, to paper makes a huge difference in how an ink feels. Pretty much this is just what I experienced.
Here’s another review over at Gourmet Pens, who also found it to be a bit dry:
http://www.gourmetpens.com/2013/06/review-franklin-christoph-dark-denim.html#.Ucc7GfYisqc
Yep, I’m the first comment on that review. I get around. I’m going to go and see what pens I can empty out and try with this ink right now.
This is without a doubt my favorite ink, taking that mantle from Diamine Majestic Blue. I love every detail of this ink.
I NEED to pick up a bottle, just ran out of the sample I had and I’m missing it already. The only thing stopping me is its similarity to J. Herbin’s 1670 Bleu Ocean, which I still have a nearly full bottle of.
I purchased some 2 ml samples of various Diamine blues including Denim. I am loading it in my Parker “51” and am going to give it a try. I want an ink with a vintage look for the ’51. Maybe Denim is it…especially if it is well behaved on assorted papers.
Denim is great, well-behaved and one of my favorites!