Franklin-Christoph's Syrah Syrah

Syrah Syrah on Anderson Pen Company paper.

This is the third of the Franklin-Christoph inks that I have to show you. We've seen Dark Denim and Olde Emerald. Syrah Syrah is a maroon-ish red. I don't drink a lot of red wine but, according to the good folks at Wine Folly, they hit Syrah right on the head. It's dark and rich.

(Here are a couple more pictures. I was getting picture-heavy on this post.)

I think this ink looks better on the more absorbent Proper Pads paper from Anderson Pen Company than it does on the Rhodia Dot Pad that I usually use for my reviews. On Rhodia, the ink shows more shading, but it really only looks great from a nib that puts down a lot of ink. When you look at the broad and stub nib samples below you'll see that they just look better. The Lamy medium and the F-C medium nibs look pretty good, too, but that extra fine just doesn't look as good to my eye. Admittedly, I'm not comfortable with an extra fine nib. I don't know if I should just avoid them or if I should learn to write with one.

(I've only just gotten a small notebook from Franklin-Christoph, so I haven't had a chance to try it out on that paper. It's also more absorbent than Rhodia,, so it probably looks similar to the APC's Proper Pad.)

This got cramped with text. I'm slowly learning to be less precious with my paper.

Also on display: a single cat hair.

I'm going to have to be a little more reserved in my appreciation for this ink than I was for the previous two. I like reds, and I like those reds dark, but this red is a little inconsistent. It's finicky.

When you leave it in a pen for two long it dries in the feed, and it isn't a red anymore.

(Edit: It just dawned on me that I still had this ink in my Lamy, and that ink started immediately and was still wine-colored. Maybe my Conklin is just not all that air-tight?)

The top sample is from a pen that sat on my desk for a few days. The bottom is after a quick cleaning of that pen's feed. 

Just a little bit of feathering on an average notepad. 

Close up!

Here's the video with a brief review and a water test. I'll tell you up-front that the ink's resistance was surprising.

Disclaimer: Franklin-Christoph supplied this ink to me free of charge. No money changed hands. My impressions and review are my own. I am not paid for my opinion, my endorsements, or any other service.