Wearingeul Edward Hyde
Ink Review #161
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Disclosure: This ink was sent to me by Wearingeul for the purpose of review. This in no way impacts my review, and as always, all of my thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.
Overview
The color/properties:
Wearingeul Edward Hyde is a medium purple with heavy magenta undertones. There’s not a lot of shading, but there is a consistent green sheen. It’s not the brightest sheen, but it’s easily visible in both print and cursive writing wherever the ink pools the most.
Ink Splat
Ink Droplets
Performance on paper:
Edward Hyde is well-behaved. There was some minor bleeding through the Kokuyo sheet, but otherwise, there was no visible bleeding or feathering on any of my test sheets. This ink should be safe to use on most fountain pen-friendly papers.
The dry times were average, though lower than expected for a sheening ink. The large nib sizes dried between 15 and 25 seconds with a few exceptions, and the finer nib sizes took slightly longer than normal, drying from 5 to 15 seconds. Keep in mind that because this is a sheening ink, it’s highly prone to smudging from residual hand moisture.
Water exposure causes heavy clouding of the color. While there’s some retention of the writing, it’s very messy, and legibility may vary.
Water resistance
Chromatography
Performance in the pen:
Edward Hyde has a medium flow, and the lubrication is okay. However, depending on the pen you use this ink with, I think it can leave something to be desired. Especially if you have a more feedback-y nib, the ink may feel too dry for some. Similarly, the ink performed well in my test nibs (shockingly well in the needlepoint, even), but I ran into a lot of pesky hard starts with the pen I used in my writing sample — it seems the higher saturation makes the ink more prone to drying out too quickly in the nib when lifting off the page for too long. This will be a bigger issue in some pens over others, but at the very least, this ink seems to be slightly pen-picky, and that’s not abnormal for a sheeny ink.
Cleaning the ink out only took a single soak and flush, but much like the Henry Jekyll ink, there was a light ring of residue left over inside the pen. This may be harder to remove in some pens, especially if the filling system is inaccessible. In my case, I was able to easily remove it with a twisted-up paper towel.
Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper (white, 6mm ruling) with a medium nib.
Written on Midori MD paper (cream, 7mm ruling) with a medium nib.
Wearingeul’s Henry Jekyll on the left and Edward Hyde on the right.
Performance in a pen: 8/10
Performance on paper: 9/10
Color saturation: 8/10
Sheening: 6.5/10
Shading: 0/10
Dry time: 7/10
Water resistance: 1/10
Ease of cleaning: 8.5/10
Shimmer: None
My personal thoughts (and spoilers, probably)...
Compared to Wearingeul’s Henry Jekyll ink, the color choice here is appropriately less nuanced. It’s blatant and intentional. Just like in the book, Edward Hyde was nothing short of that. He was repulsive and unsettling. The color easily captures that unrestrained inner evil that took over the late Henry Jekyll. As far as literary interpretation goes, the ink is great. As a functional ink, I’m glad to say it performs a lot better than their Henry Jekyll ink. That’s not to say it’s perfect — my initial experience with the ink was bad, but it quickly turned around once I started trying it out in different pens. It’s pen-picky, that’s for sure, but when it’s good, it’s good, and the pickiness seems to be more the exception than the rule. Even if it requires a little trial and error, I still recommend this ink, especially for those who love the novella it’s based on. Even though it hasn’t been that long since I first read it, it took me right back, and that’s the best thing an ink like this one can do.
Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper with an Asvine P20 (medium nib).
Featured in the photography and writing samples:
Wearingeul Edward Hyde
Franklin-Christoph Model 19, medium nib
52 gsm B6 Tomoe River notebook by Sterling Ink
Midori A6 lined notebook (Amazon)
Galen Leather Brass Clip
Traveler’s Company Brass Clip
Current text: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (Amazon)
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 Midori MD A5 Notebook
A 52gsm A5 Tomoe River Notebook
A Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Spiral Notebook
A Kokuyo Campus A5 Notebook