Platinum Classic Iron Gall Inks

I have been eagerly awaiting this line of inks, Platinum Classic Inks, to arrive to the shop: a line of earthy-coloured Japanese inks in beautiful packaging - how can I resist. I'm always on the lookout for brown inks, especially permanent ones, and this is line of iron gall inks - which are water resistant and become more so over time - has two beautiful ones, a Sepia Black, which is more of a grey brown, and a Khaki Black, which has hints of red/orange to it. The inks are, from top to bottom: Platinum Sepia Black PLatinum Khaki Black Platinum Forest Black Platinum Citrus Black Platinum Lavender Black Platinum Cassia Black These inks all get darker with time - iron gall inks have elements that oxidize and darken - hence each ink ends with "black." I'm not sure if they're going to darken all the way to black, or stop at a certain point, but you should be prepared for some colour change from when they hit the page - this is actually my favourite characteristic of the inks! I love that it's a bit of a mystery and change on the page from what you put down. Platinum Classic Sepia Black           The most noticeable darkening happens with the Citrus Black, it starts off a bright yellow and quickly darkens to an almost olive black green yellow. The yellow is readable, but still very light immediately after you put it down; after even just a few seconds, it darkens noticeably and is definitely readable - and after several hours or days even more so. "Classic Ink. It is a water-soluble ink made by blending ingredients derived from plants such as tea leaves wtih iron. It penetrates the paper and solidifies due to oxidation; therefore it is suitable for preserving the documents for an extended period of time as it is highly resistant to light and water. Due to such characteristic, the ink color that is bright when you start writing becomes gradually black as it gets oxidized, which lets you enjoy the progress of changes in color." If you're in the shop, we've got tester ECOs with these inks in them for you to try out! This is something new for us, but we're planning on changing up the ECOs every month with a new selection of inks. Let us know how you're liking them, or if you'd like a certain selection or theme of inks for future months. If you're not local, your best bet will be to get samples. I'm loving these inks so far - the subtle colour changes, the permanence, the unusual colours all make it worth it to at least try these inks. I think my favourite has to be the Khaki Black, although the Citrus Black was a dark horse for me - I love an ink with so much shading and colour variation. Old, historical formulas of iron gall inks were a bit aggressive and meant to be used with dip pens - the danger being corrosion of metal pen parts. Modern formulas, such as Rohrer and Klingner's Salix or these new Platinum inks, have a much gentler formula, and are generally safe for fountain pens - with the caveat that you're careful not to leave these inks in for long periods of time without use. Use caution and care, for example flushing out your pen thoroughly every once in a while, when using iron gall inks, but also remember that pens and inks are meant to be used.

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In other news, I found my sandals. You might recognize them from Instagram, if you are observant, or you may have noticed their absence if you are even more particularly observant. In any case, they went missing. I suspected Caleb of hiding them somewhere, which wouldn't be the first time, and I was even vaguely suspicious that he tossed them in the garbage, but I felt fairly confident that he is aware of the concept of garbage and in any case, he doesn't typically toss random things in (or at least not that I've noticed so far...). I kept telling everyone to keep an eye out for them, and everyone kept saying they would turn up. Jon ordered me an inexpensive pair of flip flops from Amazon to tide me over, but it turned out to be a disaster because he ordered me the cheapest pair which were shipping from somewhere in Asia, and it took two months to come in - the entire duration of which I kept pestering everyone to keep an eye out. I kept accusing him of forgetting and not having even ordered them, which is why it was taking so long, considering we have Amazon Prime, and he kept saying "no, no, they're coming, just wait." In any case the flip flops came in, and it still was not quite the same. For one thing, it was always slightly awkward to be flipping and flopping into the shop in the middle of winter. Birkenstocks, while admittedly still sandals, at least have an aura of mild seriousness, being brown and leathery, that turquoise flapping beach sandals do not. Eventually the conversation gradually shifted to a more chipper "well, now you can get a new pair!" which I took to mean no one was keeping an eye out any more. I was literally on the verge of ordering a new pair of Birkenstocks when we moved the couch in the apartment the other day, and along with finding an unpleasant assortment of various goods, including a very old clementine, we found my sandals.