PenBBS - 218 Spicy Crayfish

PenBBS - 218 Spicy Crayfish - Ink drop

I’ve been saving this special ink, and couldn’t wait any longer! Spicy Crayfish (aka Spicy Lobster), is No. 218 in the PenBBS collection. The name matches perfectly with the combination of the ink’s intense coloration, and aggressive gold shimmer. This ink is spicy in the best of ways!

PenBBS - 218 Spicy Crayfish - Light to dark and edge

Visually, there is a lot going on here, but this crayfish is a very spicy feast for the eyes! (It’s the exact color of a good New Orleans Cajun crawfish boil.) PenBBS make some of the nicest shimmer inks, and this is among their best. The base color is an incredibly rich, full-bodied, firey rust orange. This ink shades nicely for a shimmer ink, too. Light areas fade to a soft, creamy, translucent orange, while darks develop to a vibrant burnt umber. Atop all of this is an intense, 24K yellow gold shimmer, regularly distributed across strokes and passages. The combination is in perfect harmony.

PenBBS - 218 Spicy Crayfish - Ink swatch card

As a writing ink, Spicy Crayfish performed beautifully. I didn’t encounter any of the problems sometimes associated with shimmer inks. The ink flowed smoothly, didn’t clog or crust, and cleaned easily. Strokes were sharp and clean on all papers. Shading was seen on all, but really came alive on coated papers. I don’t normally see this much shading with shimmer inks, but wish I did! Drying was reasonable at 15-20 seconds on premiums, and under 5 on office copy. This is a comfortable, rewarding writing ink.

I really like No. 218 Spicy Crayfish. It’s really quite stunning! It’s also a beautiful writing ink. If you’ve been hesitant to try shimmer inks, this is a great ink to try. I couldn’t recommend it any stronger!