The Aesop of Fountain pen Ink? | Birmingham Pen Company Ink Review

The tales of any startup might start in one of two ways - either a person worked something out by themselves with a few other friends in the basement typing away at a computer, or in this case, the sound of machinery turning away the chip of a rod of resin by the hands of the father, or the screeching of tapes and cardboard boxes containing beautiful fountain pens and ink bottles. The latter seems too specific to be just a random startup story, but it was how the Birmingham Pen Company (BPC) started. Even though their current workshop is not in the exact Birmingham of the UK, but the little Birmingham was named after it to recall to the manufacturing hub that specialized in, among other things, pen and nib manufacturing with thousands of craftspeople employed in the industry. Well, that’s what was written on their About Us page anyway, but the main focus of today’s article is not really about the history of the company, but the interesting ink colors they are creating for the fountain pen community.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post by Birmingham Pen Co., these bottles were purchased by a friend and I, hence all opinions are my own.

Eroded Bronze

One of my pick in this batch of ink: color wise, it’s in line with the whole old-man aesthetics that I’ve been looking into in inks. BPC’s ink bottles have this 1940s research lab vibe and man it rings some bells. The opening of the bottles are large enough for your extra-large Namikis or Montblancs, and the height is also deep enough for a full dip. The glass bottle also has this neon-green hue under the sunlight, and from what I am guessing, the glass has a bit of iron oxide content that gives it a bit of that aged feeling even better.

Eroded Bronze comes off as a subdued blue black, somewhat faded in a way that in certain light I can see a few hints of green and purple in different places, and of course in day to day writing the subtlety wouldn’t be as clear but it is always nice to know that this ink has more than meets the eye.

Corroded Tin & Ingot

In huge blobs these two look rather similar - more or less black with hints of gold sheen. But spread apart, the differences started to come out more clearly - Corroded Tin has a brown-grey ish undertone in contrast with Ingot’s teal-ish hues. Both are definitely to my taste, but I only get to keep one, so you guys can expect to see more of Corroded Tin in the future :)

Allegheny River

Another blue black to follow it up - but the purple undertone is a whole lot more prominent than Eroded Bronze. In a fountain pen this one is a bit bright to my taste but still a gorgeous shade of blue nonetheless.

Starfruit

The naming is on point with this one - you have a greenish yellow that actually resembles the innards of - you guess it -  a starfruit. This would make a vibrant drawing ink and a wash for the vintage planner crowds.

Wisteria

Purple inks have a special place in my heart as they were the first that I got familiar to during grade school. Even when the shade of purple Wisteria possesses is not as close to the original students’ purple we used back then, but this one still rings a bit of melancholic nostalgia in my eyes.

Conch Shell

Orange shades have been a bit lacking in my collection, but this one caught my eye. The orange was bright and in a few minutes it dried into a sort of coral red orange. Fascinating!

Antique Sepia

Probably the most unique among the set of ink I got a chance to test out today. Antique Sepia started off teal and dark on the page, but after a while the dried out blob changed into some sort of goldish green and pale brown. I’ve never tried anything like this before and this one really makes me curious on what Birmingham Pen Co is going to create in the near future.

Overall, BPC has a lot going for it in terms of aesthetics and quality, but they don’t yet have the worldwide recognition they deserve. The family owned business has a charm to it and in the fountain pen community, it is this sort of stories that make us connect more with the beautiful writing instruments we hold dear, knowing that it’s not created without a soul and a touch of man. Thank you for reading and looking forward to the next review!