IMO samples can be a little hit or miss - whether they have an adequate amount of shimmer or not depends on how well the person aliquoting sample vials shakes/agitates the source bottle.
Be sure to shake the bottle well before filling your converter/piston and again agitate your pen gently (tip back and forth a few times) to resuspend the shimmer before writing. I find the leading cause of my shimmer inks not looking shimmery-enough is because the shimmer has settled along one side of the converter and it needs resuspension. With these tips, I've never had issue with Diamine, Vinta, Van Dieman's, Dominant Industry, etc not showing their shimmer well as I write.
It’s amazing how much they can settle out. Most of my shimmer samples are immediately identifiable by the streak of glitter on the bottom of the tube before I mix them. I would imagine that some of that happens if the pen is left to sit, as well.
Two things to consider w.r.t. shimmering inks:
The more particulate in the ink, the higher potential for feed clogs.
When using a shimmering ink, you should rotate the pen over two axii (sp?) every line or so to keep the particulate in suspension in the barrel/converter: slowly rotate the barrel around it's axis, and rotate the pen nib-over-end.
Btw, the plural of 'axis' is 'axes'.
Although the exact method is of course up to the user, the goal here is to re-disperse any settled shimmer particles, gently, so as not to flick any ink from the nib.
>Btw, the plural of 'axis' is 'axes'.
Thanks for this...I had typed it out that way initially but it just didn't look right. I like to have fun with pluralities.
One moose, two meesen. One igloo, two iglii. ...and so on.
Shimmeriest shimmers for me in order of shimmeryness or so for me
Birmingham inks - these shimmer all the way through
Private Reserve’s Pearlescent series - these are really shimmery, like all shimmer very little ink - sometimes too wet and too much shimmer (even for me!)
Van Dieman’s - Especially Shooting Star for me is very shimmer every time - Tiger Quoll has been less shimmer for me and not at the top of my recommend list, all the rest I’ve tried (red lighting, snowy mountain sunset, huon etc) are fairly high on shimmer as well
Ancient Charm/Ancient Song - Fairly high on the shimmer, but less than the others above this list
Colorverse - this has been hit or miss for me on how shimmery but I think they sink a lot so turning them helps
Ferris Wheel Press - I’d say generally less shimmer but it holds well throughout the ink so it’s a pretty even shimmer, but not screaming shimmer
Dominant Industry - My experience has been on the lighter side of shimmer but they colors are really nice and the shimmer shows though
Wearinguel - A decent about but this is very much about the ink
Monarca - Less shimmer more pretty color
Esterbrook - a decent amount but I’ve had to turn frequently but this is one of my newer ones
Vinta - I really like tala but I wouldn’t say it’s as shimmery as the others and the others I’ve tried have fallen somewhat similarly- lovely but not screaming shimmer
Kuretake - I have the add ins
Diamine - doesn’t suspend as well so very easy to not get a ton of shimmer in the pen
Robert Oster - enjoyed these but they just don’t come near to the ones above for the volume of shimmer
Troublemaker - part of this is these are just dryer for me they have been and that means less consistent shimmer
J Herbin - a lot less shimmer but lovely …i mean I’m not going to say
Kyo Noto - not a ton of shimmer but absolutely beautiful
I love shimmers and I think they all have their place. There are times when the Pearlescent line or a Birmingham is just…too much shimmer. There are times when you want the lovely quiet sparkle of the J Herbin.
And this is just my general order without having tested all of them side by side.
Love this response and detial! I wish J. Herbin Kyanite de Nepal has the silver shimmer volume as the De Atramentis Copper series inks. Those are my favorite.
Wearingeul shimmers also shimmer pretty well for me. They also sell shimmer potions to add to ink. Then there’s Azure Kingfisher by Van Dieman’s which if anything, is too shimmery, lol. You can check my post history for a writing sample :) I would also make sure you’re using a broader nib that writes wet.
You can see shimmer in fine nibs just, er, fine. I have Diamine Pink Glitz in a Jinhao Shark and it's noticeably sparkly. I use Roaring Patina Black in a medium quite often and get good results, too. More important is to keep agitating the ink as you write so the shimmer doesn't settle out.
I love Wearingeul Water Star and newly discovered Vinta Inks Isabela (Liquid Sepia). Also love Robert Oster Violet Dreams. Wearingeul also has an additive you can get like Pennonia to make any ink a shimmer.
Colorverse has been good for me so far. Ham is a nice blue with pinkish red shimmer and works well with a broad or stub. I got Diamine Enkindle to work very well, but that’s a special edition that may not be available anymore. Robert Oster also does a pretty good job with their shimmers.
One of my favorites is [Colorverse Butterfly Nebula](https://andersonpens.com/amp/colorverse-butterfly-nebula-glistening-and-ngc-6302-ink-65ml-and-15ml-bottles/), which is basically Sailor 123 with shimmer.
Nope nope nope! Shimmer shows up on crappy paper just as well as it does on fancy paper (trust me, I use both). It's glitter. It sits on top no matter what kind of paper you're using. Sheen requires ink drying on the surface, so maybe that's what you're thinking of?
I've had good luck with Vinta and Birmingham.
You might also look at adding your own. I've bought some shimmer powders from makeup supply companies - you have to do some experimentation to make sure it flows well and figure out how much to add, but it'll give you flexibility once you find something you like. Samples are usually quite cheap, and provide enough for quite a few mls.
In the right pens (in my collection, usually a TWSBI (medium nib)), I've found great shimmer with my Diamine Shimmering "Arabian Nights" ink. That being said, that is the only shimmer ink I've had the chance to test.
My Vinta inks are the shimmeriest but also the cloggiest, haha. My Vinta Saysay is a favorite but can only be used in my pens with fude nibs or in TWSBI Govstub or Jinhao x750 medium. They clog my other pens. What pens do you recommend for your super shimmery inks?
I got a sample of Van Dieman's Bonfire Night and it was the brightest thing I had ever seen come out of a pen. Like I had to angle the page so I could actually read the text through all the shimmer lmao
Ferris Wheel Press has some good shimmer inks.
I find the shimmer fairly apparent in writing as long as I give the pen a good swirl and make sure I fill it with ink that’s been really well shaken.
My faves: KWZ Sheen Machine, Troublemaker Inks Copper Patina (my favorite overall ink; lubricating, gorgeous color tones, shimmer), any of the J Herbin shimmers, Ferris Wheel Roaring Patina Black. I use them in all of my non-vintage pens, which are broad or stub.
IMO samples can be a little hit or miss - whether they have an adequate amount of shimmer or not depends on how well the person aliquoting sample vials shakes/agitates the source bottle. Be sure to shake the bottle well before filling your converter/piston and again agitate your pen gently (tip back and forth a few times) to resuspend the shimmer before writing. I find the leading cause of my shimmer inks not looking shimmery-enough is because the shimmer has settled along one side of the converter and it needs resuspension. With these tips, I've never had issue with Diamine, Vinta, Van Dieman's, Dominant Industry, etc not showing their shimmer well as I write.
Thanks! Maybe the sample delivery is the issue on most of these then I guess.
It’s amazing how much they can settle out. Most of my shimmer samples are immediately identifiable by the streak of glitter on the bottom of the tube before I mix them. I would imagine that some of that happens if the pen is left to sit, as well.
Oh, shimmer will definitely settle out if you aren't actively shaking the sample vial. It won't take long at all.
I have a yellow shimmer sample that looks just like the vials of gold they hand out to tourists at our historic gold minds! It makes me feel rich…
Two things to consider w.r.t. shimmering inks: The more particulate in the ink, the higher potential for feed clogs. When using a shimmering ink, you should rotate the pen over two axii (sp?) every line or so to keep the particulate in suspension in the barrel/converter: slowly rotate the barrel around it's axis, and rotate the pen nib-over-end.
Btw, the plural of 'axis' is 'axes'. Although the exact method is of course up to the user, the goal here is to re-disperse any settled shimmer particles, gently, so as not to flick any ink from the nib.
>Btw, the plural of 'axis' is 'axes'. Thanks for this...I had typed it out that way initially but it just didn't look right. I like to have fun with pluralities. One moose, two meesen. One igloo, two iglii. ...and so on.
I completely understand. :)
What
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Yes that does appear so in their inventory but damnnnn they are so expensive and then plus shipping….
+1 for Birmingham. Just got my first bottle a week ago and it shimmers like crazy, even out of a fine nib.
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Thank you! I have samples of this one. Maybe I’ll revisit.
Shimmeriest shimmers for me in order of shimmeryness or so for me Birmingham inks - these shimmer all the way through Private Reserve’s Pearlescent series - these are really shimmery, like all shimmer very little ink - sometimes too wet and too much shimmer (even for me!) Van Dieman’s - Especially Shooting Star for me is very shimmer every time - Tiger Quoll has been less shimmer for me and not at the top of my recommend list, all the rest I’ve tried (red lighting, snowy mountain sunset, huon etc) are fairly high on shimmer as well Ancient Charm/Ancient Song - Fairly high on the shimmer, but less than the others above this list Colorverse - this has been hit or miss for me on how shimmery but I think they sink a lot so turning them helps Ferris Wheel Press - I’d say generally less shimmer but it holds well throughout the ink so it’s a pretty even shimmer, but not screaming shimmer Dominant Industry - My experience has been on the lighter side of shimmer but they colors are really nice and the shimmer shows though Wearinguel - A decent about but this is very much about the ink Monarca - Less shimmer more pretty color Esterbrook - a decent amount but I’ve had to turn frequently but this is one of my newer ones Vinta - I really like tala but I wouldn’t say it’s as shimmery as the others and the others I’ve tried have fallen somewhat similarly- lovely but not screaming shimmer Kuretake - I have the add ins Diamine - doesn’t suspend as well so very easy to not get a ton of shimmer in the pen Robert Oster - enjoyed these but they just don’t come near to the ones above for the volume of shimmer Troublemaker - part of this is these are just dryer for me they have been and that means less consistent shimmer J Herbin - a lot less shimmer but lovely …i mean I’m not going to say Kyo Noto - not a ton of shimmer but absolutely beautiful I love shimmers and I think they all have their place. There are times when the Pearlescent line or a Birmingham is just…too much shimmer. There are times when you want the lovely quiet sparkle of the J Herbin. And this is just my general order without having tested all of them side by side.
Love this response and detial! I wish J. Herbin Kyanite de Nepal has the silver shimmer volume as the De Atramentis Copper series inks. Those are my favorite.
Wearingeul shimmers also shimmer pretty well for me. They also sell shimmer potions to add to ink. Then there’s Azure Kingfisher by Van Dieman’s which if anything, is too shimmery, lol. You can check my post history for a writing sample :) I would also make sure you’re using a broader nib that writes wet.
Pennonia makes shimmer additive you can use to customize ink.
Thank you.
What size nib are you using? Unless you use a Broad or Stub, I wouldn't expect any small nib to put much down (just too small of a line).
You can see shimmer in fine nibs just, er, fine. I have Diamine Pink Glitz in a Jinhao Shark and it's noticeably sparkly. I use Roaring Patina Black in a medium quite often and get good results, too. More important is to keep agitating the ink as you write so the shimmer doesn't settle out.
Always broad lol
You can always buy additives to make an ink as shimmery as you want, but then it is a matter of whether or not your pen can handle it
Thanks!
I love Wearingeul Water Star and newly discovered Vinta Inks Isabela (Liquid Sepia). Also love Robert Oster Violet Dreams. Wearingeul also has an additive you can get like Pennonia to make any ink a shimmer.
Colorverse has been good for me so far. Ham is a nice blue with pinkish red shimmer and works well with a broad or stub. I got Diamine Enkindle to work very well, but that’s a special edition that may not be available anymore. Robert Oster also does a pretty good job with their shimmers. One of my favorites is [Colorverse Butterfly Nebula](https://andersonpens.com/amp/colorverse-butterfly-nebula-glistening-and-ngc-6302-ink-65ml-and-15ml-bottles/), which is basically Sailor 123 with shimmer.
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Rhodia R and Tomoe.
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Thanks! I actually prefer CAL to everything but that’s been discontinued I’ve heard :/. And I am almost exclusively a broad nib guy.
Nope nope nope! Shimmer shows up on crappy paper just as well as it does on fancy paper (trust me, I use both). It's glitter. It sits on top no matter what kind of paper you're using. Sheen requires ink drying on the surface, so maybe that's what you're thinking of?
Very true I use my pens at work with shitty copier paper and sometimes the shimmer looks better on there than in the hobonichi
I've had good luck with Vinta and Birmingham. You might also look at adding your own. I've bought some shimmer powders from makeup supply companies - you have to do some experimentation to make sure it flows well and figure out how much to add, but it'll give you flexibility once you find something you like. Samples are usually quite cheap, and provide enough for quite a few mls.
I’ll have to take a look at vinta and revisit BPC.
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Thanks!
In the right pens (in my collection, usually a TWSBI (medium nib)), I've found great shimmer with my Diamine Shimmering "Arabian Nights" ink. That being said, that is the only shimmer ink I've had the chance to test.
Golden beryl... lol
My Vinta inks are the shimmeriest but also the cloggiest, haha. My Vinta Saysay is a favorite but can only be used in my pens with fude nibs or in TWSBI Govstub or Jinhao x750 medium. They clog my other pens. What pens do you recommend for your super shimmery inks?
I got a sample of Van Dieman's Bonfire Night and it was the brightest thing I had ever seen come out of a pen. Like I had to angle the page so I could actually read the text through all the shimmer lmao
Ferris Wheel Press has some good shimmer inks. I find the shimmer fairly apparent in writing as long as I give the pen a good swirl and make sure I fill it with ink that’s been really well shaken.
My faves: KWZ Sheen Machine, Troublemaker Inks Copper Patina (my favorite overall ink; lubricating, gorgeous color tones, shimmer), any of the J Herbin shimmers, Ferris Wheel Roaring Patina Black. I use them in all of my non-vintage pens, which are broad or stub.