Lamy Petrol Bottled Ink + Cartridges

For 2017, Lamy released a special edition Al-Star, the Pacific, with matching turquoise ink, and also a special edition Safari, the Petrol. The fountain pen is a dark teal colour, with a matte texture and matching black trim - and the ink is also a great match for the name and the pen. Like many Lamy releases, we received the pen first and were waiting anxiously for the ink to arrive. The ink bottles and cartridges have finally come in, and so I thought I would share a few photos of how the ink looks. I suppose what would've made sense is for me to put the Petrol ink into the Petrol pen, but, actually, what really happened is that Jon ordered in some Kaweco Ice Sports and I couldn't resist the Yellow version, especially as an eyedropper. Neon and an eyedropper?? And there was something sort of satisfying about pairing up the dark teal Petrol with the bright, translucent yellow-green-neon of the Sport. The ink is a dark teal, and goes very well with the pen: dark and rich with a hint of that greenish teal. It's a bit more of a serious ink, so it's good for the workplace or anywhere you want need an ink that's almost black (but still has a hint of something more fun!). There is a bit of shading, which comes out more if you have a drier nib - if your nib is too wet, the line out of the pen is just dark throughout. These special edition inks are only around for a limited time, and the stock we have for the Petrol ink is all we're going to get. Every once in while a company will bring something from a special edition release into its standard line, but for the most part we anticipate that once it's gone, it's gone. The writing sample is a Kaweco Sport medium nib, on a page in a Hobonichi. The Lamy ink bottles also come with some blotting paper tissue, which you can tear off and use to wipe off your nib after you've filled your pen. I actually don't use it because I always seem to have a cloth lying around to wipe off excess ink, but I guess I should start - I would hate to have wasted a whole roll of blotter paper once my bottle is empty (I suppose this is a hypothetical that is decades in the future, or possibly in my imagination). My favourite part about the ink is that there's a bit of sheen in it! It's a dark teal with a reddish sheen, but just a bit of sheen. It's not the same level as the Lamy Dark Lilac's gold sheen - it's hard to see if you're not writing with a broad or very wet nib, so it's not an ink I would buy for the sheen if you don't really like the colour. It's sort of a trade-off, because with a drier nib you might get more shading, but with a wetter nib you'll get better sheen, and keep in mind that sheen will show best on super quality paper, such as Japanese papers or Rhodia/Clairefontaine. And as a side note I'm loving my Kaweco Ice Sport. I think I have a weakness for eyedropper pens, and of course I have a growing collection of Sports. I filled my Sport at the cottage, and I couldn't find my silicone grease, so I just filled it while crossing my fingers for the best. I've told this story a few times now, about a customer who had a white Kaweco Sport that he eyedroppered with no silicone grease and carried in his pocket with zero leaking or accidents. He would pull it out of his pants pocket and it would be totally fine. I, however, had what looked like might turn into leaking after a few precarious weekend trips into the forest, and traveling home to Toronto. Some ink starting to seep its way down past the threads - so I think you really do need silicone grease with a Kaweco Sport as an eyedropper.  

***

In other news, our Introduction to Fountain Pens workshop has filled up fast! Our first session, Saturday, May 20th, filled up the same day, and so we've opened up another one for the next Saturday, May 27th, from 10:30 - 11:00 at the shop. You can call the shop (416 799 5935) or email us (orders@wonderpens.ca) to reserve a spot.

Who knew there were so many of you looking for a crash course in fountain pens! Actually, for some of you I suspect most of the material will be review, but it will be great to have you there in any case. I'm really looking forward to the first workshop.