Birmingham Pen Co. Heron

Okay, I know that there are blue herons out there. They never really look blue to me, though. They always look sort of grey. This ink is a dark teal, and it doesn't really look like a heron to me, either. That aside, I do like this ink pretty well. It's not perfect, and it's not going to be my favorite, but it fits a niche that I occasionally need filled.

Like the rest of the (formerly?) Crisp Formula inks that Birmingham Pen Co has been (was?) making, Heron is fairly dry. It's just on the line for me, really. Any drier and it would have gone in the ink cabinet and never been used again. It does behave really well on bad papers, though, and I'm still using it in this Narwhal Nautilus all these months later. It's a go-to when I need to write on some suspect paper. It doesn't bleed or feather even with this broad nib. 

Here's a link to the store page for this ink. 

Close-Ups

My full-page review picture didn't work out, so I'm just not going to show it to you. It was too dark, and I didn't like the way it looked. These close-ups are better across the board. Heron gives you a little shading on the right papers, but not much and you shouldn't expect to see it often.

My bottle isn't the 60ml one, but that seems to be the only way they're selling inks these days over at BPC.

Not exactly water-resistant, but the grey layer sticks around on the paper while the teal layer disappears. Thtat's pretty good if you care most about recovering your work and not about it being a green/blue.

Chromatography

There's that grey. Interesting how it is all an un-broken sheet of color on the strip, huh?

20lb, 30% Recycled Copy Paper Test

This is trash-tier paper, and Heron performs well on it even in a broad nib. It's a little dry, but it's dependable and doesn't seem to dry up in the nib.

Domtar Bold 28 Paper (from Blank Slate Paper)

I didn't like the way it felt on this paper all that much. It's dry enough to feel a little draggy instead of gliding like a fountain pen ought to. Dry inks aren't really my jam, and this is toeing the line for me.

Tomoe River Paper

It looks really nice on Tomoe River, but that's not a surprise.

Wheat Straw Paper

Good here, too. The wheat straw paper isn't coated, but it is very smooth and this ink liked it.

Color Comparisons (on col-o-dex and col-o-ring cards)

Are these all the same? Maybe not, but they're really similar. Apparently I like this color enough to buy it several times. :-P

Video Review

** I bought this ink from Birmingham Pen Co. I try not to let that sort of thing color my reviews. What you see is what I got. Thanks for the support, Patrons!*