thINKthursday
Bookbinders Ground Rattler

Ground Rattler is one of eight inks offered by Bookbinders. A relative newcomer to the world of fountain pen ink, Bookbinders inks are produced by the Australian online retailer by the name… you guessed it – Bookbinders.

Bookbinders Ground Rattler

The collection of ink is also called Snake Ink, which is 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 a Sailor Pro Gear Slim w/14k Fine Nib and a Lamy Safari in Charcoal w/Broad Nib on Rhodia No. 18 blank paper.

I’m always looking for the perfect grey ink, and Ground Rattler offers a lot of what I’m looking for. The color is a slate grey with a hint of blue that adds some dimension to what can sometimes be a boring color. Grey inks can sometimes be so light they are difficult to read. Ground Rattler, however, was easily legible in the fine Sailor pen, although there was little shading. In the Broad Lamy nib the ink shaded nicely from a light cloud grey to darker graphite and slate colors.

I was impressed that writing was still legible even after our waterproof test.

Feathering was also low, which is a problem I find with other grey inks. Flow was good, and the dry times wen’t bad at around 20-30 seconds.  I really enjoyed the shading that occurred with the broad nib, but it wasn’t apparent in a fine point.

Ground Rattler is a great option if you’re looking for a grey ink. I appreciated that it wasn’t just a watered down black and that it is easily usable for both writing and drawing. It didn’t feather the way so many other grey inks tend to and the shading in a broad nib surprised me.

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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