Rohrer & Klingner Fountain Pen Ink (50mL) - Sepia

For those who are tired of blue and black but still need to remain on the professional side of things, this is IT, that shade of sepia is dark enough to be very easy to read. It is easy on the eye too and poses no problem of fluidity, dryness, etc... None of those. It is perfect... and still original enough that onlookers comment with a touch of envy.

Of all the sepia-labelled inks I’ve tried, R&K’s version is the closest to what I consider ‘sepia’: a dark, almost black, brown—although Sailor Kobe #3 Kyu-Kyoryuchi (Foreign Ward) Sepia and #40 Sumiyoshi Brown come close. J. Herbin Cacao du Brésil is greyer, but has the same tonality.

I had heard that this ink would be dry and would work best in wet writers, but I was surprised at how smooth it was, especially in my 1911S 21kt H-M, which is a dry writer, and my least favourite pen. It doesn’t beat Kastanienbraun, R&K’s 2019 LE ink, simply because I prefer red-leaning browns.

It’s well-behaved, doesn’t feather or bleed on the Japanese papers I’ve used; just some ghosting on thinner paper. I’ve seen no sheen, but lovely low to moderate shading is present, and is pen and paper dependent. On Life Noble paper (yellowish tone), I did notice a green tinge to the ink I’ve not seen on white or ivory-coloured papers.

This colour reminds me of Dick Van Dyke’s singing, “Chim, chimney, Chim, chimney, Chim, chim, cher-ee […] Chim, chim, cher-oo” in Mary Poppins.

I find Sepia very pleasant; I enjoy taking long copious notes with this ink, and going over them is not eye straining.

I love the Sepia colour and the shading of this ink. It is a very classy ink that looks great. It dries quickly and flows well (I am left-handed and appreciate that). There is no bleed or smudge. This has become one of my favorite inks.

It has colour of soot which I really like. It seems to run a bit dry. I tried it with three different pens and compared with anther ink from the same manufacturer. In fact, it actually helps not to smudge or look visible on the other side of the paper.

I think this ink should be R&K's flagship ink as far as I am concern... VERY unique "soot" colour ink that soothes the mind yet dark enough to be legible.

Highly recommend for those who love unique inks that are business/causal with a bit of a twist!