Stationery Review 14: Karkos Brown Fountain Pen Ink (USD 1.97) 30ml Bottle

Hi Guys,

Karkos Brown Fountain Pen Ink comes in this amazing brown colour and I really wanted a brown coloured ink. I bought Diamine's, Ancient Copper from Stationery & Print Shop in a 30ml bottle. I came to know later that the ink from that particular batch that comes in plastic bottles is not the right Ancient Copper ink. Only the ink in the bigger glass bottle is the real Ancient Copper Diamine fountain pen ink. 

Comparing the Ancient Copper we got in the plastic bottle is more like an Orange Brown in colour. When I compare Karkos Brown Ink with the Lamy Topaz Crystal Ink, there is hardly any difference in both the colour inks. Karkos Brown is a little lighter and that's it. Why spend so much amount of money when you have the same kind of colour at cheaper prices in the Karkos Range of inks. Even the ink pigmentation on the paper looks exactly the same so maybe the same colour dye is being used or the same chemical formula is being used in Karkos and Lamy inks is my feeling. It feels like if you dilute the Topaz crystal ink with distilled water, it can become Karkos Brown. 

I have thought that I would use the Lamy LX Fountain Pen in Brown body Colour with either of these two inks. If you have another better brown ink, please do let me know and till that time, I will continue to use this one. 

After my first order with the Ali Express App, I was glued to the platform mainly because of the two games that give you gold coins that you can pay for your products with. I found some of the fountain pen inks that I wanted to try. Whatever Inks I was getting here in South Africa were very expensive and I thought of not investing that much amount of money into the same.

I bought this Karkos Orange Fountain Pen Ink in a 30ml bottle for USD 1.97 (ZAR 38) each. Express Pencils Store is available on the Ali Express App from where I ordered this ink. Check it out and if you like it, you can also order it.

Also, the South African Post Office charged me only ZAR 36 to release the packet so based on the items inside the package that got equally distributed to all the 6 ink bottles and 1 glass pen. The overall cost of the ink then came to ZAR 45 approximately based on the exchange rate for a 30ml ink bottle.

Link to Video - https://youtu.be/qjYBvbLRK1w - Your Views Are My Only Blessings!

The ink comes in a plastic bottle with a simple sticker saying the name of the ink. The opening of the bottle is protected by a plastic seal that can be taken in and out to not spill during transport etc. The plastic quality of the bottle is fine. The cap is in the same colour as the ink but it doesn't truly match the same. It takes a little while to take the plastic seal out but on its way from China to South Africa, it's kept in a ziplock bag and there was not even a single drop of ink spill. All the inks came fine and perfect.

If any ink brand wants to send us their inks, please contact me at editor@thelifesway.com. Even if they cannot ship to South Africa, I can provide them with the Aramex Global Shopper Address where they can send the same to their local country address as well and I pay the courier charges to get them to South Africa.

#Karkos #Brown #FountainPenInk #KarkosBrown #AliExpress #TheLifesWay #TechBlogger #Youtuber #Johannesburg #SouthAfrica

Aum Namah Shivay!

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for historical tech, new gadgets, stationery, product reviews

and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay Link to other platforms - https://linktr.ee/thelifesway

Your Lifestyle and Technology Blog for the Last 11 Years!

Stationery Review 13: Karkos Red Fountain Pen Ink (USD 1.97) 30ml Bottle

Hi Guys, 

Karkos Red Foutain Pen Ink was my first red ink and since then I have been using the same. Karkos Red is totally different from the Lamy T52 Red Fountain Pen Ink. Lamy Red ink is more like a peach colour and Karkos Red is also not red colour as well. It seems like a mixture of pink with red to make it a little lighter than red. 

The water-based ink has a much darker colour where it's more wet on the paper. Overall, it's a colour that's really pastel in nature and the same goes for Lamy Red as well. Check out the video and also some of the other ones and this is also a reminder of the inks that I have in my arsenal or collection. What shall I name my Fountain Pens and Ink collection? 

Karkos Red Fountain Pen Ink is a really good value product and I think I will experiment with mixing this ink with some of the other inks from Karkos only so that I can create some new colours. There is a saying that you should not mix one brand's ink with some other brand's ink. The best practice is to mix the same brand inks. But life is all about experimentation and I don't think anything is going to happen with these inks even if you mix it with whatever you have in a sample size of 2-3 ml in total as general fountain pens only take around 1ml ink. 

Always remember to write down the drops of ink or the millimetres in the syringe when mixing the ink in a small test tube if possible else in an empty plastic sample vial. 

After my first order with the Ali Express App, I was glued to the platform mainly because of the two games that give you gold coins that you can pay for your products with. I found some of the fountain pen inks that I wanted to try. Whatever Inks I was getting here in South Africa were very expensive and I thought of not investing that much amount of money into the same.

I bought this Karkos Orange Fountain Pen Ink in a 30ml bottle for USD 1.97 (ZAR 38) each. Express Pencils Store is available on the Ali Express App from where I ordered this ink. Check it out and if you like it, you can also order it.

Also, the South African Post Office charged me only ZAR 36 to release the packet so based on the items inside the package that got equally distributed to all the 6 ink bottles and 1 glass pen. The overall cost of the ink then came to ZAR 45 approximately based on the exchange rate for a 30ml ink bottle.

Link to Video - https://youtu.be/nplh0hF_KwQ

The ink comes in a plastic bottle with a simple sticker saying the name of the ink. The opening of the bottle is protected by a plastic seal that can be taken in and out to not spill during transport etc. The plastic quality of the bottle is fine. The cap is in the same colour as the ink but it doesn't truly match the same. It takes a little while to take the plastic seal out but on its way from China to South Africa, it's kept in a ziplock bag and there was not even a single drop of ink spill. All the inks came fine and perfect.

Your Views Are My Only Blessings!

If any ink brand wants to send us their inks, please contact me at editor@thelifesway.com. Even if they cannot ship to South Africa, I can provide them with the Aramex Global Shopper Address where they can send the same to their local country address as well and I pay the courier charges to get them to South Africa.

#Karkos #Red #FountainPenInk #KarkosRed #AliExpress #TheLifesWay #TechBlogger #Youtuber #Johannesburg #SouthAfrica

Aum Namah Shivay!

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for historical tech, new gadgets, stationery, product reviews

and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay Link to other platforms - https://linktr.ee/thelifesway

Your Lifestyle and Technology Blog for the Last 11 Years!

Stationery Review 12: Karkos Hot Pink Fountain Pen Ink (USD 1.97) 30ml Bottle

Hi Guys, 

Karkos have these fountain pen inks in 10 colours which you can buy in one go and I would strongly recommend so as well. I also liked this Glass Dip Pen that you see in my videos. This glass dip pen also writes very nicely. I should have bought this one only and no need for any fountain pen ever. 

Karkos Hot Pink fountain pen ink has a unique name and the colour of this ink is really great. This ink colour really pops up on the paper. After the Bourdex ink, my second choice will be Karkos Hot Pink ink. I really loved these water-based colourful inks from Karkos a lot. They offer great value and maybe in some countries, you may get them cheaper than 2 dollars as well. 

Karkos Hot Pink ink is really great and a little bit darker as well. I am using the same in the Fine nib pen and the writing is legible. I think I should switch the same to the EF (Extra Fine) Nib pen. The problem with this ink is that due to its dark colour, the ink sometimes covers the feed and grip section strongly and as I am using the same in a white colour pen, it's more visible. Overall, I would definitely buy the same ink again and maybe dilute it a little bit with distilled water to reduce its dark colour to make it cool pink rather than hot pink. I don't have any other pink coloured ink so I won't be able to compare it with any other branded ink. I think I bought Faber Castell fountain pen ink cartridges but don't have any Faber Castell Fountain Pen as yet to test it out. 

After my first order with the Ali Express App, I was glued to the platform mainly because of the two games that give you gold coins that you can pay for your products with. I found some of the fountain pen inks that I wanted to try. Whatever Inks I was getting here in South Africa were very expensive and I thought of not investing that much amount of money into the same.

I bought this Karkos Orange Fountain Pen Ink in a 30ml bottle for USD 1.97 (ZAR 38) each. Express Pencils Store is available on the Ali Express App from where I ordered this ink. Check it out and if you like it, you can also order it.

Also, the South African Post Office charged me only ZAR 36 to release the packet so based on the items inside the package that got equally distributed to all the 6 ink bottles and 1 glass pen. The overall cost of the ink then came to ZAR 45 approximately based on the exchange rate for a 30ml ink bottle.

Link to Video - https://youtu.be/eH24T5b4mZ4 - Your Views Are My Only Blessings!

The ink comes in a plastic bottle with a simple sticker saying the name of the ink. The opening of the bottle is protected by a plastic seal that can be taken in and out to not spill during transport etc. The plastic quality of the bottle is fine. The cap is in the same colour as the ink but it doesn't truly match the same. It takes a little while to take the plastic seal out but on its way from China to South Africa, it's kept in a ziplock bag and there was not even a single drop of ink spill. All the inks came fine and perfect.

If any ink brand wants to send us their inks, please contact me at editor@thelifesway.com. Even if they cannot ship to South Africa, I can provide them with the Aramex Global Shopper Address where they can send the same to their local country address as well and I pay the courier charges to get them to South Africa.

#Karkos #HotPink #FountainPenInk #KarkosHotPink #AliExpress #TheLifesWay #TechBlogger #Youtuber #Johannesburg #SouthAfrica

Aum Namah Shivay!

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for historical tech, new gadgets, stationery, product reviews

and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay Link to other platforms - https://linktr.ee/thelifesway

Your Lifestyle and Technology Blog for the Last 11 Years!

Stationery Review 11: Karkos Violet Fountain Pen Ink (USD 1.97) 30ml Bottle

Hi Guys, 

Karkos Violet fountain pen ink has the best bottle cap for sure. I really loved the same and it attracted me first towards making a purchasing decision. Karkos Violet looks like blue ink in the swab photo as I see but the reality is not like that. 

Karkos Violet is a different colour from blue ink and really sparkles on the paper. This one doesn't have any shimmer or sheen. This ink is a little lighter in colour than the Lamy Azurite that I purchased later during the Black Friday sale but the price difference is huge. I used this ink and since the start, I have been putting this pen into the Jinhao metal pen. But I think all these Karkos inks are much better for the Bold nibs or any size bigger than those because it will leave much more ink on the paper and then that will be easy to read. The pen I am using has an EF (Extra Fine) nib which is a little thin to identify the ink colour on paper. 

So if your thinking is that the expensive brands are putting something special in their inks, then it's a huge lie told by the stationary brand's stores who are selling them. To a normal eye, you won't know the difference as well. It's the same chemical dyes or colour that every ink maker is using and maybe they are procuring from the same Chinese manufacturer. With this analysis that I just did, I now will buy the remaining 4 colours available in the Karkos range of inks. 

After my first order with the Ali Express App, I was glued to the platform mainly because of the two games that give you gold coins that you can pay for your products with. I found some of the fountain pen inks that I wanted to try. Whatever Inks I was getting here in South Africa were very expensive and I thought of not investing that much amount of money into the same.

I bought this Karkos Orange Fountain Pen Ink in a 30ml bottle for USD 1.97 (ZAR 38) each. Express Pencils Store is available on the Ali Express App from where I ordered this ink. Check it out and if you like it, you can also order it.

Also, the South African Post Office charged me only ZAR 36 to release the packet so based on the items inside the package that got equally distributed to all the 6 ink bottles and 1 glass pen. The overall cost of the ink then came to ZAR 45 approximately based on the exchange rate for a 30ml ink bottle.

Link to Video - https://youtu.be/zk21Gk3wrDs - Your Views Are My Only Blessings!

The ink comes in a plastic bottle with a simple sticker saying the name of the ink. The opening of the bottle is protected by a plastic seal that can be taken in and out to not spill during transport etc. The plastic quality of the bottle is fine. The cap is in the same colour as the ink but it doesn't truly match the same. It takes a little while to take the plastic seal out but on its way from China to South Africa, it's kept in a ziplock bag and there was not even a single drop of ink spill. All the inks came fine and perfect.

If any ink brand wants to send us their inks, please contact me at editor@thelifesway.com. Even if they cannot ship to South Africa, I can provide them with the Aramex Global Shopper Address where they can send the same to their local country address as well and I pay the courier charges to get them to South Africa.

#Karkos #Violet #FountainPenInk #KarkosViolet #AliExpress #TheLifesWay #TechBlogger #Youtuber #Johannesburg #SouthAfrica 

Aum Namah Shivay!

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for historical tech, new gadgets, stationery, product reviews

and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay Link to other platforms - https://linktr.ee/thelifesway

Your Lifestyle and Technology Blog for the Last 11 Years!

Stationery Review 10: Karkos Orange Fountain Pen Ink (USD 1.97) 30ml Bottle

Hi Guys, 

Karkos Orange is really a bright orange ink from the Karkos range of inks. I really loved it because I love yellow colour and this is the closest in terms of a combination of orange and red. Yellow-coloured ink is one thing that's needed if you want to experiment with creating your own unique colours. I am still in search of yellow ink and only have some Lamy Mango Cartridges from the sale at Exclusive Books. Those cartridges I used to create some unique ones by mixing them with Green and thereafter with blue or something to get to some unique colours in my Yellow Lamy Safari Fountain Pen. 

Karkos Orange is having a little bit of difficulty reading as the ink is a little bit of dull as compared to the other inks. I will have to experiment with this ink with the thick nib may be bold or stub ones as it will leave much more ink on the paper. But one thing is sure the Orange is definitely an ink to have in your collection. It will really help if you love drawing sunrise or sunset and many expensive inks are there in this colour as well like Noodler's Sunset. 

After my first order with the Ali Express App, I was glued to the platform mainly because of the two games that give you gold coins that you can pay for your products with. I found some of the fountain pen inks that I wanted to try. Whatever Inks I was getting here in South Africa were very expensive and I thought of not investing that much amount of money into the same.

I bought this Karkos Orange Fountain Pen Ink in a 30ml bottle for USD 1.97 (ZAR 38) each.  Express Pencils Store is available on the Ali Express App from where I ordered this ink. Check it out and if you like it, you can also order it.

 

Also, the South African Post Office charged me only ZAR 36 to release the packet so based on the items inside the package that got equally distributed to all the 6 ink bottles and 1 glass pen. The overall cost of the ink then came to ZAR 45 approximately based on the exchange rate for a 30ml ink bottle. 

Link to Video - https://youtu.be/UWMtNDCfim4 - Your Views Are My Only Blessings!

The ink comes in a plastic bottle with a simple sticker saying the name of the ink. The opening of the bottle is protected by a plastic seal that can be taken in and out to not spill during transport etc. The plastic quality of the bottle is fine. The cap is in the same colour as the ink but it doesn't truly match the same. It takes a little while to take the plastic seal out but on its way from China to South Africa, it's kept in a ziplock bag and there was not even a single drop of ink spill. All the inks came fine and perfect.

#Karkos #Orange #FountainPenInk #KarkosOrange #AliExpress #TheLifesWay #TechBlogger #Youtuber #Johannesburg #SouthAfrica

If any ink brand wants to send us their inks, please contact me at editor@thelifesway.com. Even if they cannot ship to South Africa, I can provide them with the Aramex Global Shopper Address where they can send the same to their local country address as well and I pay the courier charges to get them to South Africa.

Aum Namah Shivay!

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for historical tech, new gadgets, stationery, product reviews

and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay Link to other platforms - https://linktr.ee/thelifesway

Your Lifestyle and Technology Blog for the Last 11 Years!