Hi! I’m Ramona.
You may recognize me from the Ramona Writes section of the EndlessPens blog. While I enjoy writing about the hows, whys, and whats of our products, I also love trying out new fountain pens, inks, stationery items, and accessories. So we’re happy to introduce a new blog series with you called Ramona Reviews!
We’ll be featuring some of our favorite products here at EndlessPens and taking a closer look by providing reviews from yours truly. Today, we’re starting with an ink from a brand we recently highlighted in our previous blogs: Troublemaker Inks.
Troublemaker Inks: The Basics
Troublemaker Inks (TMKR) is a fountain pen ink brand from the Philippines that was founded in 2018. The specific ink we’ll be featuring from this small but growing brand is Polar Lights. This is a dark purple-grey shimmering ink with plenty of turquoise shimmer. It comes in a 60ml plastic bottle, which is packaged in a white box with the brand and ink variant’s name on it.
Review Mechanics
Before we take a closer look, it’s worth mentioning our review mechanics to give you some context and important details on how we looked at this product.
Pens
I decided to use three different pens for all our ink reviews. The first is the Kakimori Frost fountain pen, which has a fine steel nib. It is a reliable and functional writer that allows me to see how smaller nibs work with various inks.
Next is the ever-popular LAMY Safari, fitted with a broad nib. I wanted to use another functional, beginner-friendly, and commonly used pen with a wider nib to see how the ink performs differently.
Lastly, I used the Kakimori steel nib and its nib holder to lay down generous ink swatches.
Paper
I decided to go with two of the most popular and high-performing fountain pen-friendly papers on the market: Rhodia and Tomoe River Paper (TRP). To be more specific, the TRP paper used is the original or “old” Tomoegawa variant and not the new Sanzen type. While differences between the two may not be that pronounced for some writers, I found that using this specific paper allows many inks to perform at their best and showcase their true properties.
Reviewer Background
Another very important factor to remember while going through this review is how my experience, background, and preferences regarding fountain pens and inks will shape what I say. For context, I have dabbled with fountain pens and inks since early 2018 but have not had the chance to explore an extensive selection of brands. Given this, I’d like to call myself an experienced novice. I prefer wet, well-lubricated inks to dry ones, and I like a tiny bit of feedback on my nib as opposed to a frictionless, glassy writing experience. Sailor is my favorite brand, and I lean towards medium and stub nibs.
Biases and preferences aside, I will do my utmost to provide a review that is as objective as possible.
Let’s dive in.
First Impressions
I’ve had some experience with Troublemaker Inks, which made me even more excited to test this specific shade. Upon swatching, I thought that it was a beautiful purple-grey shade that was safe to use for everyday writing. As the ink dried and the shimmer showed up, my excitement grew! To me, it immediately made sense why they called this ink Polar Lights. The turquoise shimmer really captured the breathtaking beauty of auroras that most of us only get to see in photographs and videos. And I may be mistaken, but depending on how the light hits the shimmer, there seems to be some glimmer of purple in there too. The grey-purple base made sense, as it was the backdrop of the night sky for the shimmering lights.
TMKR Polar Lights: Performance
In terms of flow and lubrication, TMKR Polar Lights wrote drier than many of my other inks. For instance, when compared to something like Pilot Iroshizuku fountain pen ink, which is known for being well-lubricated and having a generous flow, this ink was definitely drier. I had some difficulty using it with the Kakimori Frost and its fine nib, but there were no issues when writing with the LAMY broad nib. I recommend using a medium nib or wider to write comfortably with this ink.
Polar Lights on Tomoe River Paper
Aside from its dry texture, TMKR Polar Lights is also a shimmering ink. Historically, I have struggled with using shimmering inks in fine-nibbed pens, and this experience was no exception. While Kakimori Frost wrote without skips for the most part, there was some difficulty in producing a consistent line. The saturation of the ink was reduced, and no shimmering particles were deposited on either of the papers I used. The LAMY broad nib proved to be the better option for this ink as it was wide enough to accommodate the ink’s shimmer. The ink was also more saturated when I used the LAMY. But the ink really showed off its beautiful properties when playing around with the Kakimori metal nib. It seems to work best when deposited on paper in greater amounts, so if you happen to have a Kakimori metal or brass nib on you, I would definitely recommend playing around with it a bit more!
Polar Lights on Rhodia
I also did a chromatography test on the ink. It revealed several layers of color that make up the ink. The shimmer is also very evident here.
Chromatography test
Dry times will vary depending on paper absorbency and the nib you use, but generally, I found TMKR Polar Lights to have a slower dry time than other inks I’ve used, such as LAMY Blue, which has an average dry time of about 10 seconds. Polar Lights took about 25-30 seconds to dry.
In terms of feathering, both nib sizes used did not have issues on TRP. The LAMY broad nib feathered ever so slightly on Rhodia paper using this ink.
It is also worth noting that the ink must constantly be agitated to get the most shimmer onto your paper. I found that the shimmering particles in the ink settle very quickly, so this is something to take note of when using it. This also explains why some of the swatches above appear more shimmery compared to the others. However, when I did disturb the ink enough to distribute the shimmer, the payoff was outstanding on paper.
The Bottom Line: Final Thoughts
Based on its overall performance and aesthetics, I will give this ink a score of 3.5 out of 5. The color is beautiful, and the shimmer is gorgeous, but it is not suitable for all pen types. It is best to use it with a fountain pen with wide feed channels and a wider nib to encourage better flow so that its properties show up on paper.
This ink would be best for artwork and fountain pen calligraphy. This will allow its qualities to really shine. While it can be used for daily writing, the longer dry time may not be suitable for fast or left-handed writers.
The packaging is quite standard and visually appealing. The ink comes in a transparent plastic bottle and a box with Filipino text, the brand name, and cute animal symbols printed on it.
Polar Lights retails for around $20 for 60ml, bringing the unit price to $0.33 per milliliter, which is quite average compared to other popular brands like Pilot and Diamine. The main deciding factor would be whether you like its performance and overall quality.
I enjoyed testing out this ink as it is truly stunning and performs well overall. As a fan of shimmery inks, it’s something I would purchase for my artistic endeavors. However, for journaling and daily note-taking, I might go for something that dries a little faster. Having the right pen also matters when using such inks, so don’t forget to take that into account. Lastly, it helps to get to know the TMKR brand when purchasing these inks so you make a fully informed decision.
Happy inking and happy writing!
Written by EndlessPens Blogger Ramona Kabigting
