Ink Review: Vannes Pen Shop x Kobe Ink Hummingbird

Kobe Hummingbird ($35 for 50ml bottle) is a collaboration between Vanness Pen Shop and Nagasawa Kobe inks. The color was inspired by the Arkansas hummingbird plumage and came about when Lisa Vanness was speaking with the team at Nagasawa Kobe and discovered that hummingbirds do not exist in Japan. So to share the love of these tiny birds fueled by sugar with the world, this vibrant green ink was created. The color is a vivid green with moderate sheen. It will be noticed most often on Tomoe River, with wider nibs but may not be as noticeable on other papers or with finer nibs. I like to test and experiment with inks in a few different ways including using a waterbrush for the title to see the undertones and the range of light and dark qualities of the ink. Hummingbird is definitely green with a slight lean to blue with a reddish pink sheen. In writing (using a Pilot Metropolitan F Nib) the color is a solid evergreen-ish green that is legible with a little shading. Since this is a Kobe…