I have been wondering if Kaweco inks are somehow related to Caran d’Ache inks. I have come across similarities that make me ask if, at the very least, they were put together by the same designer.
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I have been wondering if Kaweco inks are somehow related to Caran d’Ache inks. I have come across similarities that make me ask if, at the very least, they were put together by the same designer.
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Fountain Pen Follies 
Kaweco have a history of making pens for others: they make the Cult Pens FPs, and a few years ago Fimo polymer clay offered a fountain pen for decorating with polymer clay, and it was made by Kaweco too. So I could totally see it!
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I’m a scientist, and I’d say that you could easily get a small amount of variation between chromatography runs of the same ink. We always do at least three samples for each test, often more. Some of these chromatographs look indistinguishable to me. I’d suggest that you do them several times just to see how much variation you get. Also, the Kaweco bottle looks like the ones Pelikan uses. Are they from the same manufacturer? Wouldn’t surprise me.
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Hi Don. Yes, excellent point. I have done some of these three times, and all of them twice, because as you suggest I have noticed slight variation before, and I wanted to be sure. The dyes and the ratio or relative amounts of the dyes have remained the same with these. The two colors that are closest to me are the blue black and the pink/red, but the chromas continue to show a difference. I wish I had more sophisticated tools.
The Kaweco bottles do look like Pelikan bottles. I think Delta may use the same ink bottles as well.
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Perhaps someone with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) access could help settle the matter?
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Go for it! However, even paper towel chomatography shows that they aren’t identical. It’s more the resemblance I’m talking about. And I see that resemblance in some of these right down to the dyes used. It just seems like someone with the same eye for color could have had a hand in them. Or else it could be a total coincidence.
Again, I’m clueless. I just posted it because I found it interesting. 🙂
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And that could be true! For sure. I’m clueless. 🙂
I mentioned somewhere that I have no idea how the industry works. It’s possible that one manufacturer produces inks for a number of brands based on the brand’s recipes. It’s also possible that an outside company or individual designer creates ink mixtures for the brands, and that might or might not be the same as the manufacturer. I know that in the flavors and fragrances business, some brands do most of the work in-house, while others hire a flavors and fragrances company.
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Like they have ‘dupes’ for color cosmetics, right? Sometimes those are two products made by companies in the same ‘stable’ (is that the right word? I mean like L’Oréal and Lancôme, which had practically the same lip gloss a few years ago). But sometimes one manufacturer makes stuff for others while at the same time selling under their own name, like Diamine who also make ink for Cult Pens (and I think maybe some others that are not explicit about it, like maybe these Plooms pens).
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That is a really interesting thought. I haven’t bought either a C d’A Chromatics ink or a Kaweco ink. One might have naturally assumed a German manufacturer would be likely to be involved with Kaweco ink.
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What a strange discovery! I’ve always been attracted to the caran d’ache inks (because of the bottle) and I fell in love with Infra-red when I sampled it, but I couldn’t convince myself to pull the trigger and buy a bottle. I wonder if kaweco has a red that would match it… Not the pink. That would save a few bucks.
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I think Ruby Red is Kaweco’s only red, and as you can see it’s very close to Caran d’Ache Divine Pink. Now you have me wanting to try Infra Red. 🙂
I know what you mean, though: the Caran d’Ache inks are pricey. If it helps, I sprung for Divine Pink, and I didn’t regret it once the bottle arrived. It’s a beautiful ink, and the bottle is fantastic.
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