Monday, August 11, 2014

2 things I don't like about Diamine Syrah

In my Diamine Syrah review I waxed poetically about how great this ink is. I will maintain my opinion (kind of), but in the meantime I discovered two things which made me cool down my assessment somewhat. Usually Diamine inks are very well behaved so I was surprised to discover that...

1. It stains plastic. Notice my Kaweco Sport demonstrator after I thoroughly washed it. I had to use copious amounts of rubbing alcohol and q-tips to get it clean again.



2. It smears on good/glossy paper (such as Clairefontaine 90g) even after it has had a week or more to dry. I used the Kaweco's broad nib so you might notice different behavior with a thinner nib.

In conclusion, caveat emptor.

6 comments:

  1. That ink was on my "to get" list in the future. I really dislike inks that stain. There is one ink that I am thinking about trying, but it appears to have stained the sample bottle it came in "Platinum Pigmented Rose Red". What chemicals or cleaning materials do you use to help clean inks that stain? Especially during a flush, I worry about inks staining the inner parts that can be more difficult to clean.

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  2. So far I've used ammonia solution and my favorite, rubbing alcohol. The latter seems to clean most staining inks, including Noodler's Baystate Blue. A 10% bleach solution is also an option from what I've heard from people.


    I wouldn't recommend using this ink in a demonstrator. The sample vial it came in is now pink instead of clear.

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  3. Hmm, that's weird. Syrah is one of my favorite inks and so far I've never had any staining issues with converters. I have noticed, however, that it does smear even when it's already weeks old. I use Japanese F nibs and Western EF nibs, by the way, so yes, it sometimes behaves like that even with thin(er) nibs.

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  4. This might be a stretch but is it possible that with a thin converter it's harder to notice? In my case, both the sample vial and the Kaweco (which I use as an eyedropper) are much thicker in diameter than a converter.

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  5. I still love the deep saturation of the color but have also learned to keep them out of my demonstrators. I admire your efforts to erase all traces of it.

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  6. Well, then for certain stay away from Noodler's is about all I can say!

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