Vinta The Maiden Lakambini 1950
Ink Review #67
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Overview
The color/properties:
The Maiden Lakambini is a shimmering ink. The base color is a dusky pink that shades with a soft gradient between its lighter and darker tones, and you may even see some black edges around the areas where the ink pools heavily enough. It features a golden particulate that, combined with the base color, can give this ink a slightly rose gold tint under the right conditions. The concentration of shimmer in this ink is very high and distributes throughout the writing evenly.
Ink Splat
Ink Droplets
Performance on paper:
Overall, this ink is very well-behaved. While there was some bleed-through on the Kokuyo sheet, it was mostly with the flex nib in areas where the ink pooled heavily, and there was no observable bleeding or feathering on the other test pages. The dry times were slightly above average, mostly drying by the 15-second mark, but even the flex nib that pooled the heaviest took more than 20 seconds. The water resistance was poor, and water exposure left faint traces of pink that were mostly illegible.
Water resistance
Chromatography
Performance in the pen:
The Maiden Lakambini has a medium flow, and the ink feels lubricated enough to be comfortable to write with. Unfortunately, I experienced constant clogging with just about every nib size. I mentioned earlier that the concentration of shimmer in this ink is very high, and that’s no overstatement. This ink has some of the most shimmer I’ve ever seen in any ink, and it’s just too much for the average pen. Surprisingly, I experienced the least clogging on Leuchtturm paper, but otherwise, it only took a few words (and sometimes just letters) before an inevitable clog occurred. I don’t normally use the flex nib in my tests outside of circling the dry times, but because it was the only nib that worked consistently without any clogging, I’ve decided to include it in my test results. Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t any need to agitate the pen to keep the shimmer flowing once it was writing with the flex nib.
The cleaning process wasn’t surprising, either. While the color washed away easily, the inside of the pen was caked in particulates along the barrel piston crown. It was easy to scrub off with a cotton swab, but the pen required disassembly. I don’t recommend using this in any pens that don’t have easy access to the internals for cleaning.
Performance in a pen: 7/10
Performance on paper: 9.5/10
Color saturation: 3/10
Sheening: 0/10
Shading: 5/10
Dry time: 8/10
Water resistance: 4/10
Ease of cleaning: 5/10
Shimmer: Yes
My personal thoughts...
The Maiden Lakambini is a part of Vinta’s Fairytale collection. It’s inspired by the children’s stories and fairytales by Lola Basyang, a pseudonym of Severino Reyes. This ink in particular is inspired by the story “Ang Binibining Tumalo Sa Hari,” which translates to “The Maiden Who Defeated The King.” The year 1950 noted on the bottle is in reference to a Lola Basyang radio drama from the 1950s; unfortunately, I was unable to find any further information on this program. Thankfully, I did find some resources about the story, including a translated reading, which I’ll leave down below.
It’s a shame that I had so many difficulties with The Maiden Lakambini. I had harbored some concerns when I saw how much particulate there was in the bottle upon opening it, and it would seem I wasn’t mistaken. There’s just too much shimmer. Unfortunately, that shimmer is what makes this ink so beautiful, and it truly is…when it works. I really wanted to find some sort of silver lining here, but in the end, I think this is another example of why shimmering inks are so widely avoided. This doesn’t make The Maiden Lakambini a complete deal-breaker — there are certainly situations where it will work well — but its temperamental nature no doubt alienates a lot of users.
Written in a Leuchtturm1917 Notebook with a TWSBI Diamond 580 fitted with a Fountain Pen Revolution 5.5 Ultraflex nib
More images/info:
Tools and materials used in the writing samples:
A TWSBI Diamond 580 with 5 nib units including an EF, F, M, B, and 1.1mm stub, All nibs are tuned to perform at the same 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
Some links related to the MassKara Festival:
Ang Binibining Tumalo Sa Hari — Untranslated
This is a PDF I found of the full, untranslated story. It’s short, and easily translatable for reading if you wish to do so.
A dual-language paperback of Ang Binibining Tumalo Sa Hari (non-affiliate)
This is a dual-language paperback with text in both Tagalog and English by Christine S. Bellen.
A translated reading of Ang Binibining Tumalo Sa Hari
An excellent, fully translated English reading of “The Maiden Who Defeated the King”. I Highly recommend watching this if you’re interested in the story.
Vinta’s page for The Maiden Lakambini
Provides a brief description of their inspiration for the color.