Organics Studio Henry David Thoreau: Ink Review

Ink Splatter of Organics Studio Henry David Thoreau Fountain Pen ink with uncapped LAMY AL-star

 

Organics Studio Henry David Thoreau is also known as Walden Pond. We had heard about the sheen in these inks for a while, and this one certainly didn't disappoint! Read on to see what we found!

 

Organics Studio Henry David Thoreau ink tests
Organics Studio Henry David Thoreau Fountain Pen Ink writing test
Organics Studio Henry David Thoreau ink writing sample

Ink Review

Supplies Used:

  • LAMY AL-star with medium steel nib (also EF and B nib)
  • Rhodia No. 16 dotpad, 80g white paper
  • Tomoé River white paper
  • Moleskine notebook (not available from Goulet Pens)

Smear Test (Dry Time):

  • About 35 seconds– When I did the smear test, the ink still smeared at 30 seconds, so I imagine it would dry around 35 seconds. Maybe a bit longer, this is not a quick drying ink!

Drip Test (Water Resistance):

  • Low – Not much ink stuck around when I applied water, and it smeared pretty badly.

Saturation:

  • High – You couldn't see much difference in the three swabs on the swab test, and the ink looked pretty saturated even coming out of my nib.

Ease of Cleaning:

  • Medium – I actually happened to spill some ink on my desk while I was doing my testing, and it wasn't the easiest to get off. It also took a few flushes to come out of my pen- the saturation likely had to do with that.

Shading:

  • Low – While there was a ton of sheen with this ink. I didn't see much shading.

Flow:

  • Wet – The ink went down pretty wet and took a while for it to dry.

Packaging and Aesthetics:

  • The plastic bottle the ink comes in is simple, but it does the job. The sticker on the outside says "Walden," so that can be a bit confusing since the ink goes by two different names. 

Organics Studio Henry David Thoreau fountain pen ink bottle and swab

Summary:


I couldn't believe the sheen while I was writing- I've never seen so much! I will say that I did have frequent hard starts when I put my pen down, so that was a bummer. Overall, I really enjoyed it though, and I look forward to trying it in some different pens!

You can find a 55ml bottle of Henry David Thoreau and we also have a 2ml sample available if you're just not sure it's for you!