Waterman Absolute Brown
Ink Review # 58
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Overview
The color/properties:
Waterman Absolute Brown is a medium brown that shades with a soft gradient in areas where the ink pools. While this color mostly appears brown, there are subtle hints of red that are especially visible in brighter lighting. There was a dull black sheen that appeared in the ink splat and droplets, but I don’t think this would likely show up in writing.
Ink Splat
Ink Droplets
Performance on paper:
Aside from the usual but minor bleeding on the Kokuyo paper, Absolute Brown didn’t exhibit any bleed-through or feathering on any of the other test papers. The dry times were more or less average, with the finer nibs drying anywhere between 5-10 seconds and the broadest nibs drying in no more than 20. Water resistance was poor, and exposure to water mostly washed the ink away and caused a lot of clouding, making the remains mostly unreadable.
Water resistance
Chromatography
Performance in the pen:
The performance in the pen was great. Absolute Brown has a medium flow, and I didn’t encounter any hard starts, stops, or skips during my tests. The lubrication was adequate enough for a comfortable writing experience across most of the nibs, but I did experience a noticeably poor flow and dry lubrication when using the architect nib. Nonetheless, it should perform well in most pens. This ink was also easy to clean out, requiring 2 sets of soaks and flushes for the pen and nib units, leaving no traces of color or residue.
Performance in a pen: 9/10
Performance on paper: 8.5/10
Color saturation: 6/10
Sheening: 1/10
Shading: 4.5/10
Dry time: 7.5/10
Water resistance: 1/10
Ease of cleaning: 8/10
Shimmer: None
My personal thoughts…
Among both Waterman inks and brown inks as a whole, Absolute Brown is often overlooked. I don’t see a lot of talk about this ink, much less hear its praises, but it always surprises me how much I enjoy it whenever I ink a pen with it. I use it often with many of my vintage pens. In fact, I really don’t have anything bad to say about it. Like many of Waterman’s inks, it’s basic and inoffensive, and that’s okay! It doesn’t need to be anything more than that, and it’s not trying to be. It may not be as popular as the other colors, but I’m glad it’s here all the same.
Written in a Leuchtturm1917 notebook with a Wasp Pen Co. “The Clipper” (fine)
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 68gsm A5 Tomoe River Notebook
A Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Spiral Notebook
A Kokuyo Campus A5 Notebook