Today’s ink is No. 175, Stendhal from PenBBS. The ink honors the French writer known as Stendhal (1783-1842). His writing took French literature from romanticism to realism and accurately describes the struggle between the individual and society in France at the time. His masterpiece is titled The Red and The Black, and perfectly matches this lovely ink.

Visually, this is a wonderfully rusty, earthy black-red. As the splatter shows, it hits both light cranberry red-pinks, and deep, almost black reds in its extremes. A brassy, gold sheen tops the dark edging surrounding areas of pooling. It’s a nice shading ink, and the dramatic halo gives it great definition. This is a very good-looking ink on the page.

Appropriately, this is a writer’s ink. It’s neutral in wetness, but it performs well and glides smoothly on the page. Strokes were crisp on all five premium papers, and on office copy, as well. Drying was 15 seconds on premiums, and under 5 seconds on office copy.

I like the color here. It’s a very earthy Oxblood, and very pleasant to use. The shading is nice, and the halo really stands out. This ink deserves your attention!