pens, inks, stores, companies and about the pleasure of owning a fine pen

Graf von Faber-Castell

Near the end of 2013 the inks from Graf von Faber-Castell started to appear on the market. I was luck to be in my local pen store when their stock had just recently arrived. Already the Stone Grey had sold out.

Graf von Faber-Castell notes their inks are indelible. That is, smudge-resistant, reproducible, light-fast and waterproof, cannot be erased and is resistant to many chemicals and solvents.

The Bottle

The ink is bottled in a very attractive oblong 75 ml art deco bottle. I think I would have preferred a black cap on the bottle, but the packaging of this ink is excellent. The bottle has an enlarged base so the bottle sits very securely on the desk. The glass of the bottle section is fluted giving the bottle an elegant look. There is good depth to the bottle which is a plus when it come to filling pens and accessing all of the ink. A little deeper would be better yet. I think the style of this bottle is timeless. It would look good if it was 1950 or any year.

Colours: Blue, Black, Night Blue, Turquoise, Sienna

Although the square bottles were smart good looking ink bottle but the bottles were next to useless in terms of fill up a pen. There is style and there is function. The best is when the two meet.

The Colours

Additional colours have been added, by Spring 2020 there were 19 different colours - Burned white, India Red, Garnet Red, Yozakura (a soft pink), Electric Pink, Violet Blue, Cobalt Blue, Midnight Blue, Royal Blur, Gulf Blue, Turquoise, Deep Sea Green, MOss Green, Viper Green, Olive Green, Cognac Brown, Hazelnut Brown, Carbon Black, Stone Grey. All inks are listed as indelilible with the exception of Royal Blue which is washable. Cognac Brown and Burned white have no designation.

 

Graf von Faber-Castell

 

Cobalt Blue

One aspect of packaging that I do not appreciate is when the colour protrayed on the package is nothing like the colour of the product. Here is a case where if you look at the colour on the box, it is almost a blue-purple, but the colour of the ink is a beautiful cobalt blue - dark and rich in colour.

The ink is one I regularly use. It is dark in colour, has a good flow, and leaves an impressive line of link on the page.

Cobalt Blue

Garnet Red

Garnet Red

 I enjoy this ink as it is what I refer to as a true red. Some reds have an white tone, others such as Star Ruby by Edelstein, which is a colour I really like, have a pink tone to give the red a vibrancy. Garnet red, on the otherhand is a true red. It the flat colour is easy on the eye. It is a good performing ink. If you like red, this is a very good solid colour to consider.

Grnet Red

 

 

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