Brown Inks

rich, soft, golden brown with slight shading. Nice color, but not a knockout.

Rich reddish brown, shades to semi-sweet chocolate brown, light chocolate scent. I can’t decide between this, PR Copper Burst, and PR Chocolat – I love them all!

I went on a bit of a ‘scented ink buyng spree’ recently, and this is one of the haul. It’s a really nice caramel-ish golden brown, something that will shine in a wetter, broader nib. It has a lovely rich amaretto scent that reminds me of almond cookies my grandmother made at Christmas.

Deep, deep, espresso brown, shades to a true dark roasted coffee brown, with a dark-roasted, espresso scent.

I grabbed a sample of this for the scent, and it’s lovely; sweet and rich with just a trace of the chemically undertone of ink. Interesting golden brown, too.

Another one that’s touch to classify: red or brown? In any case, it hits that sweet spot I love between red, brown, and just a fiery hint of orange.

A gorgeous, richly shaded, warm, medium brown with a heady tobacco scent. It’s not at all a nasty cigarette type smell, but the sort of scent that evokes woolen vests, watch chains, oriental carpets, and well-loved upholstered chairs. Personally, it that took me back to my grandfather’s pipe tobacco. And it’s a really lovely and unique shade of brown, too. I love this ink.

A rich warm coppery brown, that shades wonderfully. Very much like a gently aged copper penny, but far from ancient; after all, wouldn’t that be verdigris green? Nevertheless, I love it!

One of Diamine’s Shimmertastic line, a rich golden brown with gold shimmer. The photos don’t quite capture it, but it’s got a lovely bit of sparkle.

A light orangey brown, lighter than I expected. Approaches what I would call a burnt sienna in its darkest shading, when lighter seems more like a café au lait (or maybe a chai latté!).

A rich cinnamon red brown, saturated and fiery but not orangey. Shades beautifully, not as darkly as Oriental Red, but with nice depth. Another Opium red, and another favorite!

A deep, rusty red, heavy with shades of iron and burgundy. A perfect deep dried blood, but a lovely color nevertheless.

Deep red-brown, similar to PR Chocolat, but lighter in its deep tones; for me it displays much less of a shading range, and its very lightest shades seem a little washed out.

Another deep espeesso, surprisingly not at all what I’d expect from a ‘cocoa.’ I am underwhelmed by this ink, much as I love browns.

Lighter and softer than most of my browns, still has a richness and warmth I like. It’s a red-brown, to be sure, but more saturated than Lie d’The, or even the Diamine Saddle.

Another of Herbin’s 1670 Special edition shimmering inks, this one is a stunner; probably my second favorite of the line after the Rouge Hematite. It’s a rich, warm brown with a hint of red in its lighter tones, and a gold shimmer and a hint of green sheening around the edges. Overall (unlike some inks with both shimmer and sheen) the effect is a rich, cohesive effect, suggesting not just the carob pods for which ti’s named, but the warm jungles of Cyprus from which they came.

Soft sepia brown with a hint of a green cast. It shades well to a true walnut, but lighter tones don’t seem very saturated.

One of the more saturated Herbins I’ve used, but still shades really well. Overall, for some reason, none of the Herbins really excite me. This is a eminently usable ink, though, and I like this one more than most.

Levenger’s brown is a sweet rich brown that leans red, but on a cooler side of red. Not quite purpleish, but a defninite burgundy cast. Puts down a lovely rich brown line, and is a pretty well-behaved ink.

This is SUCH a magnificent color; I adore it! Sadly, however (at least my bottle), it does a weird crystallization thing, where it forms a bit of crusty stiff on then of most (not all) of the pens I’ve had it in. It seems harmless; more of an annoyance than a hazard, but still. I will probably try another bottle and see if it’s an issue with he color formula, or just a weird Bach. Watch this space….

I love this ink. It’s a rich, warm, rusty, red-brown, so of course I do! It also has all the same ‘cleaning & lubricating’ aspects of all the MV inks, which makes it a very well-behaved, trouble free ink, reliable and a pleasure to use.

A pleasing sort of pale sepia, a medium brown with h=just a hint of of greenish hue. And, as a bonus, it’s one of Noodler’s ‘bulletproof’ inks, meaning it’s waterproof. as well as temper-proof.

This is a lovely warm light golden brown with a bit of a reddish sheen/shift, that is also bulletproof (water- & tamper-proof).

Clearly I have a thing for brown/red hybrids! This is another lovely one from Noodler’s.

If there is a color I like as much as the “Opium Reds,” it’s obviously brown. Here is Omas’ Sepia, a lovely warm brown, just in that range I like. Not too much shading, but very well behaved ink, in a fantastic octagonal bottle

One of the infamous, ‘love-it-or-hate-it’ Penman inks. Gorgeous neutral brown, ranges from a dark walnut to a true brown, maybe a hint of a burgundy cast in some light. Discontinued, sadly. (I’m in the ‘love it’ camp!)

This is a lighter brown than many others I have, but it is vibrant and rich nonetheless. It shades well in a fairly wet pen, and is stunning from a bold, stub, or italic nib. In a drier writer or a fine nib it can end up looking a little weak. however.

Rich chocolatey red brown, shades well to a deep reddish walnut. A favorite!

Just a hair lighter & brighter than Chocolat, with a hint more red, shades to what I’d call Victorian Cherrywood. Has a similar feel to DA Chocolate, but a wider shade range.

I didn’t really need another warm brown, but I love the Visconti bottles, so here it is. Visconti makes a very high quality ink, and I’m sure it will get its regular place in my brown rotation.