🖌️ Easyou Hukaiwen Ink Block: Handmade Pine Soot Ink for Chinese Japanese Calligraphy and Painting (31g) Review

Interesting smoky smell. The pen is easy to sand and the resulting ink has a distinct blue tint, which is very nice. As it dried onto paper I noticed a glossy but mostly matte finish. I heard that all ink used to be made from burnt pine. However, artists may want a different effect than the one I am describing. I am very happy.

At first I didn't like the ink this block produces but I tried again with just 3 drops of distilled water on my stone and I rubbed slower and longer until the ink got thicker . as water. Then I added a few more drops of water and mixed it all up again with the ink pen. The result was a very black ink that worked well for Western-style calligraphy with my broad and pointed nibs. The sides of the ink stick appear to be covered in sealant and you need to rub it in a bit before you can get to the…

It takes a while for the ink to work on the first rub and I mean a lot of time. But after you break it through it sands very well and gives a very smooth black finish. However, it's not very aromatic like other high quality ink sticks I have, it just smells like regular pine black ink. But I suspect the lack of scent doesn't mean it's cheap quality, it's just that higher quality inks tend to be scented. But anyway, great ink, didn't come across any random bits of sand that could scratch the…