review: de atramentis charles dickens

Here's one of the rarer inks I've reviewed. The full De Atramentis line isn't carried at a lot of places.

De Atramentis is kind of like the German Diamine or Noodler's. It's a small company making a whole lot of inks, some of which are store- or region-exclusives. Because of their rather expansive product line, it's hard to find a place that carries everything.

De Atramentis Charles Dickens is a dusky, dark green.

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It's quite a bit grayer in this scan than it should be, unfortunately. My other photos are more accurate.

This ink isn't completely waterproof, but it does stick around on the page. It dries fairly quickly as well—it takes less than 30 seconds on this Kokuyo MIO paper.

There's no shading or sheen in either the fine or broad nibs.

On Tomoe River paper, it's much the same story. There's no shading or sheen.

I have a lot of dark greens now, don't I? Charles Dickens is grayer than the rest though. Diamine Salamander is more yellow. Colorverse Interstellar Space and Pelikan Edelstein are similar and both are more saturated. De Atramentis Dark Reseda is similar, but not as gray. De Atramentis Sha Wujing is brighter.

I have this ink in my Live In You Shiyou Shisan, which has been a little bit of a difficult pen to work with lately (though I do still love it). It hard starts on occasion and needs a dip in water to get it going, but it usually kicks right back into gear. Considering the weather here in San Jose, I'm not too concerned, but with any luck it'll start performing better with some different inks (though I don't think it was Charles Dickens' fault).

De Atramentis Charles Dickens is quite an interesting color. If you like murky, dark greens, it'll be right up your alley. I don't have a feeling for it one way or another, but I do like the way it looks on the page, especially on cream or ivory paper. It has a pleasant vintage feel.

Where to buy

I received this sample as a gift.

• Vanness: bottle + sample