Franklin-Christoph Shop Denim Blues
Ink Review #17
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Overview
The color/properties:
Shop Denim Blues is a medium-dark faded blue that offers some light shading between varying shades where the ink pools. I noticed the shading most on Rhodia and the least on Leuchtturm, but there isn’t a high degree of tone variation, and I expect that any results using this ink in different pens would be largely the same.
When looking over the ink splat I was surprised to find a minor red sheen as well. It’s possible that you may be able to bring out sheen from this ink with the right combination of paper and pen, but in my view, it would be so minimal that it would hardly be worth the effort.
Ink Splat
Ink Droplets
Performance on paper:
Shop Denim Blues is very well-behaved. During my tests, I didn’t experience any feathering or bleed-through on any of the test pages. The dry times were mostly average, but they were consistent across all of the test pages. The larger nibs were almost always dry within 20 seconds, and the fine nibs mostly shared the average 5-10 second dry times.
From looking at the chromatography I expected the water resistance to be good, and it was even better than expected. There was some color retention, but there are also deep grey shadows left behind anywhere that the color is washed away. There’s some slight clouding, but the results are still very readable.
Water resistance
Chromatography
Performance in the pen:
Shop Denim Blues has a medium flow that was consistent across all of the test nibs. The ink is well lubricated, making for a noticeably silky-smooth writing experience. During my tests, I didn’t experience any hard starts, skips, or stops, and I suspect that this ink would be very well-behaved in just about any pen. Cleaning did take just slightly longer than average, but it still didn’t take more than a routine flush to run clear.
Value/cost per ml:
At the time of writing, Shop Denim Blues is available from Franklin-Christoph for $8.25 in the 1oz size used in the review. This makes Shop Denim Blues $.28 cents per ml, but I should note that Franklin-Christoph also offers inks in a 2oz eyedropper for $12.50, bringing the cost down even further.
The bottle/packaging:
Shop Denim Blues comes in a simple glass bottle with a basic label and no exterior packaging. The glass has a moderate level of transparency, although I found that the ink often sticks to the inner walls of the bottle, leading me to initially mistake the glass for being ambered. The cap has shallow ribs on the edges to assist opening (though I found that they don’t provide as much grip as they would appear to) and there is an inner plug that will help create a seal. The opening is large enough to fit most pens easily, but because the bottle is light and taller than wide, I find that the bottle is lacking in stability for filling.
Score: 64/70
Price per ml: 7.5/10
Performance in a pen: 10/10
Performance on paper: 10/10
Color saturation: 6.5/10
Sheening: 0/10
Shading: 4/10
Dry time: 8/10
Water resistance: 6.5/10
Ease of cleaning: 7.5/10
Bottle form: 1.5/5
Bottle function: 2.5/5
*Only 70 of the 100 available points are required for an outstanding score.My personal thoughts...
I was just getting into Franklin-Christoph’s inks when I picked up Shop Denim Blues. I had previously tried a few others, and though the results in terms of their performance were mixed, I dove into the purchase with an open mind. I admit, it was the name that lured me into choosing Shop Denim Blues over the others, but I’m glad that’s how it turned out. The name checks out: it’s a somberly toned and muted blue that leans on the darker side of denim. I don’t have a lot else to say about this ink, but in the end, it didn’t disappoint. It performed well and turned out to be a great offering from Franklin-Christoph.
Written on Leuchtturm1917 paper with a Parker 45 (14k medium)
More images/info:
Tools and materials used in the writing samples:
A TWSBI Diamond 580 AL with 7 nib units including a Needlepoint grind, EF, F, M, B, 1.1mm stub, and an Architect grind. All nibs are tuned to perform at the same medium wetness.
A Rhodia No16 A5 DotPad
A Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook
A 68gsm A5 Tomoe River Notebook
A Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Spiral Notebook
A Kokuyo Campus A5 Notebook