Krishna Mumbai ink arrived in stock this week alongside the Krishna Dilli ink (both from Krishna’s India fountain pen ink series). This is particularly exciting because these shipments have been difficult to get due to the ongoing pandemic. And this isn’t the only long-awaited shipment we’ve received recently, so if you’ve been searching for a particular ink (or pen), and it’s been out of stock, now is a good time to see if it’s available! Now…for more on this week’s featured ink!
All About the Ink Maker: Krishna
Krishna inks are Dr. Sreekumar’s creation. Dr. Sreekumar is a medical doctor by day and ink connoisseur by night and in between a master nib grinder. Dr. Sreekumar’s Passion is producing inks with a variety of styles and traits. Krishna inks come in a variety of types, from regular to sheening inks to basic inks to iron gall inks, etc. Krishna Inks come in over 70 colors combined.
All About the Ink Series: Krishna India Ink Series
Krishna Mumbai ink is part of Krishna’s India Ink Series (JUST RELEASED!) The Krishna India Ink Series includes two new colors, named after two of India’s largest cities:
- Krishna Mumbai Ink
- Krishna Dilli Ink
While this is the most recently released ink series from Krishna inks, it is not the only Krishna ink we have available for you to fall in love with! Check for current stock and great prices on Krishna inks at PenChalet.com.
This Week’s Featured Ink: Krishna Mumbai Ink
Krishna Mumbai ink is a beautiful, deep, dark maroon, red-base ink with a green metallic sheen. The combination is striking – particularly when you maximize the sheening possibilities with a wet nib or dip pen.
***In a rush? Don’t worry, you can skip ahead to enter the giveaway for this week’s ink – we’ll allow it. Just jump straight to the end of the review and enter to win! But you should definitely try to come back and read the full review later!
It’s Time: Krishna Mumbai Ink
Ready to dive into all the little details and results that came from this week’s ink review? Here’s the nitty gritty, and we’ll summarize for you below.

Ink Review Testing Factors (to keep things scientific):
For our review of Krishna Mumbai ink we used a French made J. Herbin spiral glass dip pen on Rhodia dot pad paper. The dip pen has a tip that is similar to a fine-medium fountain pen nib. (Please note that different pens and paper may produce different results and a wetter, broader nib produces more sheen than a thin nib).
Let’s Talk About the Krishna Ink Bottle:
The Krishna India Ink series inks are packaged in a small, standard Krishna Super Rich 20 ml. glass bottle. The Krishna India Inks feature new labeling and packaging that is simple, and clear. The cardboard box is concise (without much internal protection for the ink), but instead of the basic, corrugated cardboard packaging used previously, the India inks’ packaging uses a white cardboard that is cleaner and easier to read.
How Much Does Krishna Fountain Pen Ink Cost?
Krishna Mumbai ink is an economical ink – costing just slightly more than the standard Super Rich Series of Krishna inks. As always, check for the current pricing at PenChalet.com.
How Did This Week’s Ink Fair in the 1-Dip Test?
We applied a one dip test to see how far one dip could write on paper (dipping the pen into the ink only one time). Krishna Mumbai ink easily wrote across the paper on all three writing samples. (The pen was dipped in the ink just one time per writing sample: “S” “X” and scribble lines).
How Fast Does the Mumbai Ink Dry?
Mumbai Ink showed a dry time of approximately 13-14 seconds with medium to high saturation. This is a little high in our opinion to designate this Krishna ink as an everyday ink (we prefer to see a dry time below 10 seconds for everyday inks), but it’s not bad for a medium to high saturation fountain pen ink.
Does Krishna Mumbai Ink Bleed Through?
During the review, we saw absolutely no bleeding during normal on Rhodia dot pad paper. There was also absolutely no bleed through during the cotton swab test (which is fairly unusual for a medium to high saturation and sheening ink).
Was There Any Feathering While Using Mumbai Ink?
During this week’s review of Mumbai ink, we saw no feathering during normal use, but we did see some slight feathering during water test.
How Does the Ink Stand Up to Water?
During our review of Krishna Mumbai ink we conducted a simple water test* where we let our ink sample dry for about 3 minutes. The results:
- Some line distortion
- Some slight feathering
- Lines remained legible
- Some significant color smearing running wet swab over ink sample
*Of Note: Mumbai ink is not a waterproof ink.
What About Shading & Sheening Traits?
While reviewing Krishna’s Mumbai ink, we saw more sheening traits than shading, but you may get both with the right nib and penmanship.
Final Conclusion on this Week’s Featured Krishna Ink:
This week’s ink was a nice, dark red-maroon color with nice sheening possibilities. Mumbai ink is not waterproof and doesn’t have a super quick dry time, but it’s economical ink AND the first from Krishna’s new India ink series, so it’s already a popular choice. Happy writing from India!
Enter to Win a Krishna Fountain Pen Ink:
Enter to win the actual bottle of Krishna Mumbai fountain pen ink that Pen Chalet used in this week’s ink review:
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