Sailor Jentle Inks. Image Courtesy of PenBoutique
Hello dear readers,
It is indeed a sad day for me today. I’ve just heard the rumor on FPN that Sailor Jentle Inks are being discontinued.
I’m really dumbfounded that Sailor is going to be discontinuing some of their most popular inks.
Yes, they will be replacing them with similar colors in a different line of inks, but why??!!
I still remember the first time I loaded up a pen with the Epinard and wrote with it and was amazed at that color.
I’ve been searching for an equivalent green color, but none are quite the same as the Epinard, I tried Private Reserve Avacado, Noodlers Army Green (which had its own identity crisis, don’t even get me started on that), R&K Alt Goldgrun, and Franklin Christoph Olde Emerald..
I also remember the last SF pen show I went to in 2012 and spoke with a Sailor Rep at the sailor booth and he re-assured me that these inks are not going anywhere.
The Epinard infatuation was quickly followed by the purplish blue UltraMarine, which was a nice companion color for the Epinard. These two inks tag-teamed each-other for a long time and then they were joined by the Grenade which didn’t strike me as a very noteworthy color, but it grew on me over time. And the golden sheen exhibited by the grenade is priceless!
The last to join the party was the Jentle black (which lives in the shadow of so many other excellent blacks, it’s own cousin the Kiwa-Guro being one of them), and the orange colored Apricot, with a slight silvery sheen.
I’ve heard so many accolades of Jentle Sky High, but I’ve never had a chance to meet with it in person. A straight blue ink with a gorgeous sheen.
The Jentle line of inks is remarkably well behaved in most situations, and they flow very nicely. I’m very big on superfluous ink flow on the page when I write.
Some of these inks are known for their ability to shimmer in the right angle of light (the Epinard, UltraMarine, and Grenade come to mind)
And last but not least, all of the Jentle inks have a very unique odor, which I absolutely LOVE. It’s what ink is supposed to smell like.
I had already amassed a small stockpile of the colors I’ve come to rely on, and now I’ve ordered some more to set me up for life.
I was jarred by a similar experience when Caran d’Ache killed their “Colors of the Earth” line and I built a stockpile at that time. They did the same thing, re-introduce colors that were “similar” in bigger more pricey bottles. It was a huge turn-off for me. And now CdA is one of the forgotten colors for me. I don’t even use what I have in my CdA stockpile of Amazon, Saffron, and Grand Canyon.
Well that about does it for my venting. I felt I needed to blow off some steam.
Now I’ll sit tight and wait for my EIGHT bottles of various Jentle inks from Pen Boutique.
Thanks all for listening and commiserating.
Nib & Lens 