Diamine Inkvent 2025: Day 24 — Antler
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*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Day 24!
Welcome to day 24! Today, we’re looking at Antler
The Color and Properties
Diamine Antler is a pigment ink. It contains solid pigment particulates that give the ink water and fade resistance. The base color is a light, dusty brown with a slight purple undertone. It shades into a slightly darker brown with a soft cut where the ink pools in both cursive and print writing.
Ink splat
Ink droplets
Performance | Water Resistance | Cleaning
Rhodia
Leuchtturm
Diamine Antler is well-behaved, and I didn’t notice any traces of bleeding or feathering on the papers I tested it with. The ink has a medium flow and is well lubricated for a pleasant and consistent writing experience across all the nib sizes. I didn’t have any hard starts or drops in flow during writing, but the ink often needs to get “started” again after uncapping. Once the pen is writing, everything seems fine.
As expected, the ink didn’t wash away or fade after water exposure.
Like the other pigment inks, Antler left a dark stain and a lot of residue on the inside of the barrel.
I was able to get this out with some basic blue Dawn dish soap and a cotton swab. The syringe that I used to fill the pen was able to be cleaned this way too!
The nib units were more difficult to clean because water alone isn’t enough to clean away the pigment (and in this case, the nib units were soaking for 3 days). Instead, I used the blue Dawn dish soap and a toothbrush to scrub between the nib and feed, but even then, I needed the help of a brass shim to get out caked pigment, especially from between the tines. While it eventually cleaned, it took a while. This is a maintenance-heavy ink. I don’t recommend it if stains or easy cleaning is a concern. I would also caution against letting the ink dry out in the pen, as this will make cleaning even more difficult.
Writing Samples
Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper (white, 7mm ruling) with a medium nib.
Written on Midori MD paper (cream, 7mm ruling), with a medium nib.
Taken in lower, single-sided lighting to better showcase the shimmer.
My personal thoughts…
Antler is the final pigment ink in this year’s calendar, but if you ask me, it’s by far the best, and it may even be one of the best inks in the calendar as a whole. Yes, it’s a pigment ink, and that’s not for everyone, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. If it’s going to be inconvenient, it may as well be good, right? And it is! I love the name, I love the rustic shade of brown, and I really enjoyed the writing experience. I’d even go as far as to say this is a perfect Inkvent ink. I’ll leave it at that.
Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper with a medium nib.
More Images/Info:
Featured in the photography and writing samples:
Diamine Diamine Antler
TWSBI Diamond 580AL Silver, medium nib — Amazon
Traveler’s Company “Have a Nice Trip” brass clip — Endless Pens | Amazon
Traveler’s Company brass clip — Endless Pens | Amazon
Nanami Paper Tomoe River Cafe Note B6 Slim - Ruled
Midori MD A6 lined notebook — Amazon
Current text: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens — Amazon
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Tools and materials used in the writing samples:
A TWSBI Diamond 580 AL with 3 nib units including a Fine, Medium, and Broad. All nibs are tuned to perform at the same wetness.
A Rhodia No16 A5 DotPad
A Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook