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By Cheryl Lindo Jones in Fountain Pens —

Ink Swatch Wednesday: Birmingham Pen Co Mulberry Silk

I almost forgot to post for #InkSwatchWednesday! Last week when I got my bottle of Lennon Tool Bar Sesame Oil, I also got an ink sample of Birmingham Pen Company's Mulberry Silk from the same pen friend. I think he described it as a gray purple, but the color looks blue-black to me.

Scan of an ink swatch on paper for a blue-black fountain pen ink, Birmingham Pen Co Mulberry Silk

In my own ink collection, the first swatch that looked similar was Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Kai, but Shin-Kai has some red sheen:

Scan of an ink swatch on paper for a blue-black ink that shows a little bit of red sheen where the ink pooled heavily, Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Kai

A more recent addition to my collection, Lamy Cliff, looks a lot like Mulberry Silk, but again, it has some red sheening that Mulberry Silk doesn't appear to have:

A scan of an ink swatch for a blue-black ink that also shows sheening where the ink is heavily applied, Lamy Cliff

When I got Lamy Cliff, I ended up filling a Kaweco Sport with an EF nib with it (even though I bought the two Lamy Safaris from the same collection). Its EF nib made the ink look one-dimensional, boring.

Writing sample using a Kaweco Sport fountain pen with an EF nib, listing the pen name, ink name, some figure-8s, horizontal and vertical lines, demonstration of reverse writing, and "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"

I tested the ink with a few other nibs which all made Cliff look more interesting, showing off its shading.

Writing sample using a Kaweco AL Sport fountain pen with a B nib, listing the pen name, ink name, some figure-8s, horizontal and vertical lines, demonstration of reverse writing, and "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
Writing sample using a TWSBI Swipe fountain pen with a B architect nib, listing the pen name, ink name, some figure-8s, horizontal and vertical lines, demonstration of reverse writing, and "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
Writing sample using a TWSBI ECO fountain pen with a stub nib, listing the pen name, ink name, some figure-8s, horizontal and vertical lines, demonstration of reverse writing, and "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"

I like the ink best from the TWSBI ECO stub nib.

Anyway, this is supposed to be about Birmingham Pen Co Mulberry Silk, not Lamy Cliff! 😅 I did dip test Mulberry Silk in my newest Kaweco Sport from Galen Leather which I got with a "bilateral italic fude" nib, meaning it's a fude made from a 1.1 stub, and the reverse writes like an italic.

The above writing sample transcribed:

Galen Leather x Kaweco Sport Carmine
bilateral italic fude
Birmingham Pen Co Mulberry Silk
drawn figure-8s, horizontal and vertical lines, "reverse writing" written with the nib in reverse orientation

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog (x2, once with fude, once with reverse writing)

This bilateral fude is interesting, but it doesn't really mesh with my small writing. I should've picked the architect nib instead. 🙁

As you can see from the swatches and writing samples, these inks are very similar, if not the same color. Birmingham Pen Co doesn't appear to sell this ink any more, but at least I have a similar ink in Lamy Cliff. I really like blue-black inks, so if anyone has other recommendations for such a shade, hit me up here or on Mastodon.

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