Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist
I seem to have been on a notebook and ink-buying streak lately. And I blame my penabling friends and the fountain pen accounts I follow on Instagram for this. There is something about seeing a beautiful ink swatch or a notebook that makes you think, I could use one of those! Before you know it, your wishlist has grown, your cart is full, and your wallet is begging you to exercise some self-control.
Two inks that recently made their way into my collection are Lennon Tool Bar’s Ying Piao and Pumpkin Soup. I have been using both in my fountain pens, and each has given me a reason to reach for it again. One is a lovely, shimmery teal, while the other is a cheerful yellow-orange that reminds me of autumn and, naturally, one of my favorite vegetables.
Lennon Tool Bar Ying Piao: Is It Worth the Hype?
If you have been hanging around fountain pen communities lately, you might have come across Ying Piao, an ink from Lennon Tool Bar’s The Poetry of Light collection. It has been getting attention from fountain pen enthusiasts, particularly those who love teal inks and shimmer.
Before trying it myself, I looked into what people online were saying about it. Think of this as my little sentiment analysis of the fountain pen community’s reactions.
1. A striking combination of teal and shimmer
One of the most frequently praised aspects of Ying Piao is its color. Its base is a lovely light teal that can lean toward blue-green or muted green depending on the paper, lighting, and how the ink dries. The gold-green shimmer adds another dimension, catching the light as you tilt the page.
It is the sort of ink that makes an ordinary page of handwriting look a little more special. Even a few sentences can turn into an excuse to admire your own penmanship. Not that I need another excuse to stare at my notebooks!
2. The shimmer is the main attraction
The shimmer is a big part of Ying Piao’s appeal. Those metallic particles catch the light in a way that gives the ink a luminous quality, and some users report that the shimmer remains visible even when writing with finer nibs.
This is particularly appealing to those of us who enjoy fine nibs but don’t want to miss out on the fun of shimmer inks. After all, not everyone wants to use a broad nib just to show off a bottle of pretty ink.
3. The hype has been amplified by its scarcity
Another factor behind Ying Piao’s popularity is the difficulty some buyers have had finding it in stock. Discussions about restocks and people searching for bottles have helped keep the ink in the spotlight.
Of course, scarcity can make a desirable product even more tempting. When everyone seems to be talking about an ink and bottles are difficult to find, the urge to get one becomes stronger. Fountain pen enthusiasts know this cycle all too well!
4. Lennon Tool Bar’s artistic identity
Lennon Tool Bar is a Taiwanese stationery and fountain pen ink brand known for evocative ink names and collections inspired by nature, culture, and visual experiences. The Poetry of Light collection gives Ying Piao an appealing artistic identity that complements its appearance.
The result is an ink that offers more than just a color. It has a distinctive look and a story that makes it even more interesting to collect.
My personal review of Ying Piao after two weeks
After reading all those comments, I finally got to experience Ying Piao for myself. And yes, it really is as pretty as people say!
I have been using it consistently for two weeks because I absolutely love its light teal color. What makes me especially happy is that, even with the fine nib of my PENBBS 498 Hehe Cat fountain pen, the shimmer appears in random places across the page. I don’t need to use a broad nib to appreciate the effect.
The ink also flows well in this particular pen. I have filled pages with it without experiencing hard starts or skipping, so my experience with its performance has been very positive. Of course, ink behavior can vary depending on the pen, nib, paper, and writing conditions, but my PENBBS 498 and Ying Piao seem to get along very well.
One thing I noticed is that Ying Piao is relatively dry compared with my Pilot Iroshizuku inks, which I often use as my benchmark for wet-flowing inks. In my experience, it produces thinner lines than those inks in my pens. This is not necessarily a disadvantage. In fact, I discovered that this combination works quite well on ordinary copy paper.
I have used it on regular copy paper without noticeable bleed-through on the reverse side. For someone who writes a lot and doesn’t always use fancy fountain pen paper, this is a practical bonus. Pretty ink is wonderful, but pretty ink that behaves itself on everyday paper? Now we’re talking!
As for how I acquired it, here’s a little story. I actually got my bottle through an exchange. The seller wanted some of my art prints, so we traded a full bottle of Ying Piao for my first batch of prints. I was more than happy with the arrangement. My artwork found a new home, and I got to bring home an ink I had been wanting to try. I would call that a successful exchange!
After two weeks of use, I can say that Ying Piao has lived up to my expectations. I love its light teal color, the way the shimmer shows up even with a fine nib, and its practical performance on ordinary paper. For me, it has been worth the hype and every peso I spent—or, in this case, every art print I exchanged for it.
Ying Piao is definitely staying in my ink rotation.
Lennon Tool Bar Pumpkin Soup: A Little Sunshine on Paper
The second Lennon Tool Bar ink I want to talk about is Pumpkin Soup, a yellow-orange ink I picked up during a pen meet last Sunday from the same person who exchanged Ying Piao for my art prints.
I had a specific plan for this one: I wanted an ink to pair with my yellow-orange Hongdian N1S fountain pen. There is something deeply satisfying about matching an ink to a pen. Is it necessary? Absolutely not. Does it make me happy? Absolutely!
Yellow inks can be tricky. Some are so pale that you can barely read what you’ve written, especially on white paper. Others look more like highlighters than writing inks. Finding a yellow or yellow-orange ink that remains legible while retaining that cheerful color can be a challenge.
Pumpkin Soup is one of those inks that works for me. Its yellow-orange shade has enough presence to make my writing visible, and I love how it complements the color of my Hongdian N1S. The combination is a delight to use, and I have already used it for writing notes on paper.
As with Ying Piao, Pumpkin Soup feels relatively dry compared with my beloved Pilot Iroshizuku inks. In my experience, this makes it a useful choice for ordinary paper. I have used it on papers around 80 GSM without noticeable feathering or bleed-through on the sheets I tested.
Naturally, paper quality varies, so your mileage may differ. Still, I appreciate an ink that lets me enjoy my fountain pens without having to reserve every writing session for premium paper.
And can we talk about the name? Pumpkin Soup is such an appropriate name for a yellow-orange ink. It reminds me of warm autumn colors and, of course, pumpkin, one of my favorite vegetables. I may not get to experience the full autumn spectacle here in the Philippines, but at least I can bring a little of that seasonal palette into my notebooks.
I absolutely love the combination of Pumpkin Soup and my yellow-orange Hongdian N1S. It is cheerful, coordinated, and practical enough for everyday notes. What more could I ask for?
Final Thoughts
Ying Piao and Pumpkin Soup have both earned a place in my fountain pen rotation, albeit for slightly different reasons.
Ying Piao is the ink I reach for when I want something visually special. Its light teal base and gold-green shimmer make ordinary handwriting more interesting, and I appreciate that it has performed well in my PENBBS 498 Hehe Cat with a fine nib. Its relatively dry flow has also made it suitable for the ordinary copy paper I use.
Pumpkin Soup, on the other hand, is a cheerful yellow-orange ink that pairs beautifully with my Hongdian N1S. It has the sort of color that makes me smile when I open my notebook, and its relatively dry flow has worked well on the everyday paper I have tested.
Neither ink needs to be the wettest or most extravagant performer to deserve a place in my collection. Sometimes, an ink simply makes writing more enjoyable—and that is a perfectly good reason to own it.
If you are considering Ying Piao, I can understand why it has attracted so much attention. It is beautiful, the shimmer is delightful, and it has worked well for me so far. Just remember that shimmer inks can behave differently in different pens and may require more attentive cleaning.
As for Pumpkin Soup, it is a lovely option if you enjoy yellow-orange inks and want to add a little warmth to your writing.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to stop looking at ink swatches online before another bottle somehow finds its way into my collection. My penabling friends are dangerous people, I tell you. Dangerous!
xoxo,
Grass
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