Krishna Ink - Vaikhari

Krishna Ink Vaikhari - ink drop

Today’s ink, Vaikhari, is part of Krishna’s RC series of heavy sheening inks. Krishna is the product of one man’s passion for pens and ink. Dr. Sreekumar, a medical doctor by day, hand mixes Krishna inks in his workshop in Kerala, India. The name Vaikhari comes from Hindu philosophy and the Marathi language. In Hinduism, it’s one of the four degrees of speech. It’s the speech of daily life. In Marathi (the 10th most common language in the world, spoken by 83 million people in West Central India), the meaning broadens to cover expression, in general.

Krishna Ink Vaikhari - ink color range

This is a gorgeous, deep, syrupy combination of colors. It’s a nice shading ink. Lighter areas are a creamy peach cappuccino, while darker areas are a rich mocha chocolate. Wetter areas show a striking dark avocado or deep olive green sheen. The combination is unusual and quite attractive. The sheen is highly visible on written strokes.

As a writing ink, performance was consistent and extraordinary. Strokes were crisp and well-defined, without a hint of feather on any of my test papers. Sheening was strongest on Rhodia, Apica, and office copy, but was nice on the others, too. Halo was darkest on Mnemosyne, Kokuyo, and office copy. Drying was faster on uncoated paper, with coated at 20-30 seconds. Mnemosyne and Kokuyo were my best performers, but it performed well on all five!

Krishna Ink Vaikhari - ink swatch card

This is an interesting and unusual ink. If you’re looking for a brown sheening ink, I definitely recommend Krishna Vaikhari. I also recommend strict cleaning habits, as I think it has the potential to stain. So be careful, but you’ll enjoy this one!

November 2020