Today I will be reviewing my first iron gall ink: Rohrer & Klingner's Scabiosa. This is a waterproof dusty purple with lots of lovely shading.
Rohrer & Klingner have been manufacturing inks since 1982. They have a wide array of inks as well as glass dip pens. R & K have two irongall inks --Scabiosa, and Salix.
According to Wikipedia, iron gall inks have existed since the middle ages and consist of iron salts and tannic acids. The "gall" refers to tree galls, which are abnormal, external bumps on plants. The inks are traditionally prepared by adding gallotanic acid to iron (II) sulfate, which produces glucose and gallic acid. As a result, these inks are waterproof and will "darken". Because of the formulation, these inks are more acidic than modern inks and have been known to erode steel nibs!
Swabs:
This ink has medium shading and no sheen. It has cool, gray purple tones compared to J. Herbin's Violette Pensee. I love that this is waterproof and that you can see the ink "darken" as you write.
I love colors that shade and this is no exception! This ink dries quickly and is waterproof--which makes it one of my favorites for the office.
Overall: Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa is a gray-purple iron gall ink with medium shading.
Disclaimer: This pen was purchased by me and all opinions/photos are my own. This post was not sponsored.
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