This week we’re going to take a look at Wearingeul The Song of Reed. As you may already know, Wearingeul is a Korean ink manufacturer that has literary themes for many of its inks. This particular ink gets its name from Korean poet Kim So Wol. I also learned that it has been discontinued, but at the time of this writing is still available in some shops. If you like what you see here, I’d act fast and grab a bottle while you’re still able.
Wearingeul The Song of Reed
To start, let’s take a look at the ink itself. It is a light golden brown color that gets fairly dark with heavy application. At its darkest it really reminds me of Lie de Thé. I saw very good shading while writing and doodling with it. Without shading it would be a pretty boring ink. It has no sheen.
When exposed to water, it has a bit of color separation. I saw a few oranges and even a bit of grey come out of it, but not enough to be considered complex. Once dry, it is not waterproof but a good amount of light grey remained on the page. I feel like what was written would still be legible even if the paper got completely wet, but I wouldn’t guarantee it.
You can see a bit of color separation in this ink
While not waterproof, it may still be legible if it gets wet
Dry times are fairly fast. Once dry, I didn’t see any smudging. This makes it a great ink for both writing and doodling.
The Pens I Used
Each week I choose five different pens to fill with the ink I’m testing. My goal is to get a variety of nib sizes and styles, as well as a mix of modern and vintage pens. Here are the pens I chose this week and some writing samples from each:
Pens of the week (L-R): Lamy Al-Star, Parker 45, Jinhao 100, Lamy 2000, Bonecrusher Velma
Nibs of the week (L-R): Wing Sung EF, Parker M, Jinhao M, Lamy architect grind, Bock #6 B
Lamy Al-Star – EF nib
I had a spare EF nib from my Wing Sung 3008s laying around, so decided to put it onto this Lamy. Being so fine, it made this ink look quite light. Still, it did show some shading, which kept it interesting. I didn’t mind this combo, but since I don’t like EF nibs, it was my least favorite of the week.
Writing sample with Wing Sung EF nib
Parker 45 (vintage) – M nib
This old Parker nib is quite wet, which made the ink look fairly dark. Shading was inconsistent, which makes writing look a little sloppy. For doodling, it made the ink look quite dark, which I liked.
Writing sample with M Parker 45 nib
Jinhao 100 – M nib
This medium Jinhao nib had better flow control than the Parker. While it wasn’t as wet of a writer, it had more consistent shading. Definitely an enjoyable combo to write with.
Writing sample with M Jinhao nib
Lamy 2000 – Architect grind nib
This custom grind on a Lamy nib is so nice to write with. I got great shading with this combination. I don’t really enjoy doodling with architect nibs, but really enjoyed writing with it.
Writing sample with Lamy architect grind nib
Bonecrusher Velma – B nib
This nib is big and wet, just the way I like them. Shading was minimal because so much of the ink came out dark. It’s almost like writing with a darker ink that has light shading. Doodling with it was also a lot of fun, mainly because I could lay down so much ink. I liked the way the ink looked the most with this pen.
Writing sample with Bonecrusher B nib
Paper
On cheap paper this ink bled through a bit with all nibs. With the wetter nibs it also feathered a bit. On good paper, I didn’t see any bleedthrough or feathering. While it was far from unusable on cheap paper, I’d stick to good paper with this ink unless you don’t mind a bit of bleedthrough or don’t use pens with very wet nibs.
Writing sample on Apica CD11 paper
Writing sample on Perpanep TsuruTsuru paper
Writing sample on Rhodia paper
Cleaning The Ink Out Of Pens
As you’d probably expect from a ink that is this color, it is quite easy to clean out of pens. It has low saturation and a light color, so it rinses out very quickly. Even if a bit of color did remain in your pen, it would likely be completely covered up by whatever new ink you filled with next. I would use this in any pen that I own.
Conclusions
At the beginning of the week I wasn’t very excited about Wearingeul The Song of Reed. I originally purchased this ink because I like browns and thought it had a nice color that would shade nicely. After using it a bit, it seemed too light and kind of boring. Fortunately, the more I used it the more I grew to like it. It does have great shading and really looks dark in a wet pen. Is it my new favorite ink? No, but it is likely to get used more often. It feels like a great color for fall and winter, so I expect it will get some use in the coming months.
