thINKthursday
Bookbinders Everglades Ratsnake

To show off Bookbinder’s colorful side, this week we’re featuring their Everglades Ratesnake ink!

thINK thursday – Bookbinders Everglades Ratsnake

Bookbinder’s is an Australian based company that calls their collection Snake Ink – inspired by the snake oils salesmen of the 1900’s. Each color is named after, and meant to reflect, a different snake species. This review was done with an Edison Collier F, Lamy Safari B, and on Rhodia blank no.18 paper.

Everglades Ratsnake is a bright tangerine orange that has some serious bite. In a fine nib the ink went on fairly uniformly, with only the slightest shading from bright orange to a subtler apricot. A broad nib added more shading, and the additional ink made it really pop off the page. Like most orange inks there was no sheen, and the ink is very matte on the page.

Unlike the Ground Rattler reviewed last week, Everglades Ratsnake did not hold up well to water. It also had very long dry times; a fine nib taking over 25 seconds, and a broad nib well over 35 seconds. Everglades Ratsnake otherwise performed admirably. It is a nice saturated ink, with no feathering or bleedthough. There was a decent amount of shading, and the clean up was fairly easy.

It can be hard to find an orange that can be used as an everyday writer. Many oranges can be too overpowering and have no character, while others can appear washed out. Everglades Ratsnake hits the sweet spot of being an attention grabbing color, while not being obnoxiously bright.

As with any ink review, the pen, paper and person doing the writing will influence the way the ink looks. If you’re not sure about a color, try a sample to see if it’s the color for you.

Ink it Up!
Chris

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