The well known and needs no introduction, River City Pens Co. last year, around the Triangle pen show, released a blue ink that could only be bought at the show. I believe it was Urban Ripple.
Fast forward to the Philly Pen show this past January. River City is one of the usual suspects at the show, and I got excited that I would not only see Rich’s pens in person, but that he would have his ink! And he’s expanded into three additional colors! As of this writing, his inks are now available online. Extra bonus if you’ve been wanting to try his inks, and you should!
I picked up Coal Barge and Viva La Violet. Today, I’ll be focusing on Coal Barge, described on his website as a blue/black, I see more of a dusty purple that dries down with a hint of grey in writing. although on the Col-O-Ring swatch I see blue. This one is a weird one and unlike another color that I have in my collection.
Writing Sample
The writing sample was done on Tomoe River S 52gsm with a medium nib. The writing was smooth. Good flow. There is some shading in the letters. To me the writing has more of a purple-grey tone then a blue/black tone.
Swatches
The large swatch on Tomoe River S 52gsm also dries down more of a purple-grey dusty color. But on the Col-O-Ring swatch I can see more of the blue coming through in the middle which is one part water to two parts ink.
Chromatography
The Chromatography shows just grey dye, not much going on with this one.
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts on this one is this is a weird ink. Goes down more of a dusty blue and dries into a dusty purple. Dare I call this a chromashader? Or maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me? This was in my new River City Pens CrazyFibre in the Westwood model with a medium nib. It was nice to write with. Shading came through in the writing. I wouldn’t say this ink is overly wet. It has a nice flow to it. Overall I’ll certainly be reaching for this again and of course, it’s a little homage to the barge’s that still go up and down the rivers of Pittsburgh. It’s certainly a sight to see if you’re not used to it.