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Ink Drop Withdrawl!


librarianpirate

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So I rediscovered my love of fountain pens at exactly the wrong moment! I signed up for Ink Drop on September 10th, the last day possible before they take October off to redesign their Ink Drop before returning in glory in November!

 

I still am a complete Ink noob and want to learn more! Back in the day (I was a fountain pen lover from, like, 1998-2006ish? But then I moved a lot and misplaced my fountain pens and got my masters and had babies and got distracted. I just rediscovered my old pens and acquired 3 new ones and I'm back in the game!) I never got past my Levenger Cocoa.

 

So. I'm thinking that in October I'm going to DIY myself up an Ink Drop and order 5 ink samples from Goulet to try and I was wondering what y'all think because you guys are the experts. What one color would you recommend to an ink newbie? I'm willing to try anything but my first love was brown ink and I shy away from blacks and blues. (I say that but I'm loving both of the blues that just arrived in my first ink drop so, ya know, I'm apparently open to anything!)

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If you want a bright blue get Sheaffer Skrip Peacock Blue or Pilot Konpeki.

 

These are different from the BP blues.

Edited by Icywolfe

#Nope

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I'm just going to go ahead and recommend my five favourite inks to you!

 

Diamine Amazing Amethyst (amaaaazing shading)

Rohrer & Klinger Sepia (greyish brown that I just can't get enough of)

Rohrer & Klinger Alt-Goldgrün (weird seaweedy green that has supreme shading. Try it in a flex pen!)

Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun (English name is "Old Man Winter" and it's SUUUCH a pretty cool grey)

Noodler's Nightshade (brown/purple/red/burgundy that looks different in different lightings, on different papers, etc)

 

Also, congrats on getting back into fountain pens! :) I'm still pretty new, myself, and it kills me that ink drop is just a liiiittle too expensive ($15/month to canada) for me to subscribe anytime soon, at least while I'm on a grad student budget.

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I started getting into inks a few months back so am still in my exploration phase. But here are some colors that I really like.

 

 

Waterman South Seas Blue (turquoise)

They call it something else now, Inspired Blue.

I love this turquoise blue and have been using it for decades. However I don't hear as much talk about this brand/color compared to other brands/colors on this forum, so I can only conclude that it is too pedestrian for the hard core FP users.

 

Noodler's Apache Sunset (orange/yellow)

I'm not normally an orange color person but I really love this color, it has incredible shading. It's probably not considered an everyday ink but I use it all the time now for journals and notes.

Edited by FayeV

Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized. -- Albert Einstein

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Noodlers Kiowa Pecan, Noodlers Golden Brown, Noodlers Beaver, Diamine Ancient Copper, Stipula Moschiato (everyone calls it "musk" green, but the word also means "moss", and musk is a smell not a color-can you tell this a favorite rant of mine?)-this color is a moss green with lots of brown, and depoending on the pen, it is more brown with shades of green, J. Herbin Lie de The, Stipula Sepia, Diamine Monaco Red (a very brown shade of a deep dark red, sort of like cordovan, but more brown).

 

Without knowing the blues you are playing with at the moent it is hard to know what to recommend you. I like Diamine Sapphire, Denim, Sargasso Sea, Eclipse.

Some people say they march to a different drummer. Me? I hear bagpipes.

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I have found that I enjoy purchasing my own samples more than Ink Drop. The main benefit of Ink Drop has been that it gets me to try brands I don't know.

 

A few inks worth trying:

 

Noodler's Apache Sunset: a great one for shading

Noodler's Golden Brown: a brown and a good shader

Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama: a very unique brown with unique properties.

Noodler's Black Swan in English Rose: a fun kind of red with black shading

Noodler's Antietam: a fun coppery red and one of my favorites

Noodler's Mata Hari's Cordial: a nifty lavender and really pretty

De Atramentis Blackberry: Kind of a nifty purple, and it's fun to try a scented ink, just for something different

Montgrappa Burgundy: a burgundy in a unique bottle and a chance to branch out. From this list you might be guessing my favorite brand.

Proud resident of the least visited state in the nation!

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The Goulets offer packages of past Ink Drops (look under Ink Sample Packages), so how about ordering one (or two!) of them? Looking over what they have, at least two of them consist of different browns. Or you could use a random number generator and try some totally new colors.

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A couple I've really enjoyed lately are:

 

Diamine Ancient Copper: I loaded this into my Ahab and immediately fell in love with it. It's a dark reddish orange with excellent shading.

Pelikan Turquoise: It's a fairly bright electric blue...really pops off the paper. Another one with awesome shading.

Noodler's Apache Sunset: A couple people already mentioned this, and I have to agree. It's gorgeous.

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So I rediscovered my love of fountain pens at exactly the wrong moment! I signed up for Ink Drop on September 10th, the last day possible before they take October off to redesign their Ink Drop before returning in glory in November!

 

I still am a complete Ink noob and want to learn more! Back in the day (I was a fountain pen lover from, like, 1998-2006ish? But then I moved a lot and misplaced my fountain pens and got my masters and had babies and got distracted. I just rediscovered my old pens and acquired 3 new ones and I'm back in the game!) I never got past my Levenger Cocoa.

 

So. I'm thinking that in October I'm going to DIY myself up an Ink Drop and order 5 ink samples from Goulet to try and I was wondering what y'all think because you guys are the experts. What one color would you recommend to an ink newbie? I'm willing to try anything but my first love was brown ink and I shy away from blacks and blues. (I say that but I'm loving both of the blues that just arrived in my first ink drop so, ya know, I'm apparently open to anything!)

lol I would say you rediscovered your love for fountain pens at the right time... but hey I like general stationary goods at one point in my life... and I first used fountain pens when the internet never existed

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One of my first inks was Rhorer & Klinger Scabiosa and I still love it. It's a dusky purple with nice shading. It's also waterproof, but you do have to clean your pen regularly since it's Iron-gall.

As far as brown goes, I also like the R&K sepia, but I have also been really liking Iroshizuku Yama-guri which is a very dark almost black brown. But I like that it's close to black, but does have some dimension there.

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I have found that I enjoy purchasing my own samples more than Ink Drop. The main benefit of Ink Drop has been that it gets me to try brands I don't know.

 

A few inks worth trying:

 

Noodler's Apache Sunset: a great one for shading

Noodler's Golden Brown: a brown and a good shader

Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama: a very unique brown with unique properties.

Noodler's Black Swan in English Rose: a fun kind of red with black shading

Noodler's Antietam: a fun coppery red and one of my favorites

Noodler's Mata Hari's Cordial: a nifty lavender and really pretty

De Atramentis Blackberry: Kind of a nifty purple, and it's fun to try a scented ink, just for something different

Montgrappa Burgundy: a burgundy in a unique bottle and a chance to branch out. From this list you might be guessing my favorite brand.

 

Mata-Hari's Cordial doesn't really work in a professional setting. It's also not really good at providing contrast against other writing either.

 

Run away, far-far away from Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia ... unless you want to "doctor" your ink. It's the only ink I have in my collection that can make some of my Pelikans choke. I have a bottle, and it resolutely refuses to play nice with some of my Pelikans (M400 and M800). It's notorious for being a cranky ink. If you are new to inks, run away from this one. And, no, I'm not the only one with problems with this ink. I really, really wanted to like this ink due to its features. But, if it won't consistently go onto the page, it's useless.

For brown, I kind of like Iroshizuku Tsukushi ("horsetail"). It's a pretty vibrant brown, but does lack water resistance. I tried Iroshizuku Yama-Guri ("wild chestnut"), and while I liked the color, it was a bit harder to clean out than Tsukushi. Thus, I bought a bottle of Tsukushi and not Yama-Guri.

If you want to try a waterproof "Brown"(?), there's El-Lawrence from Noodler's. It's not for everybody. Based on what's printed on the label, I was expecting something closer to a greenish-khaki color. It does, as other have said, look a bit like used motor oil when dry. I don't mind the color, and appreciate the durability. Think I tried #41 Brown and didn't like it. Same for Polar Brown, which had bad feathering/bleeding issues, and stained the ink window of my Sailor Pro Gear Realo yellow for some time.

Imagination and memory are but one thing which for diverse reasons hath diverse names. -- T. Hobbes - Leviathan

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Waterman South Seas Blue (turquoise)

They call it something else now, Inspired Blue.

I love this turquoise blue and have been using it for decades. However I don't hear as much talk about this brand/color compared to other brands/colors on this forum, so I can only conclude that it is too pedestrian for the hard core FP users.

 

 

 

I too love this ink - it has never let me down in whatever pen I used it in. It is a beautiful, refreshing color; I use it daily. :)

 

I think the reason nobody endorses it is because it is no longer en vogue to use the "Classics," everyone is using boutique brands now.

 

My favorites are the blues, so you may not care for mine, but here they are anyway:

 

Waterman Inspired Blue

Diamine Blue-Black

Diamine Twilight

Diamine Midnight

Aurora Black

J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune, (a dusky purple-burgundy)

J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir, (a bright, true blue)

Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo, (Moonlight, like a blue-black)

 

I also love Visconti Blue, but it is brutal to flush out, so I have qualms about recommending it to anyone.

 

On my short list to try are:

 

Iroshizuku Aso-Gao, (a deep true blue - like cobalt)

Iroshizuku Pine Dew, (I forget the Japanese name)

 

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

Edited by LamyOne

- He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me; and I in him. (JN 6:57)

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- Thank you Blessed Mother and St. Jude for Graces and Blessings obtained from Our Lord.

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You all are the best! I have created myself quite the wishlist on Goulet. I have a feeling is just going to get longer.

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Also, for the record, I'm a children's librarian so I don't care about professional. I can use whatever inks I want!

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Some fall colors...

 

J Herbin Lie de The

Diamine Sepia (enter to win a bottle of this over on my blog)

Diamine Orange

Diamine Ancient Copper

Private Reserve Spearmint - for those who cannot let go of the green ;)

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Well since you like browns, sampling is like a pig in a wallow. Browns, I think, have a huge spread.

 

Kiowa Pecan is absolutely the best.

Monveverde Brown is also a great ink.

Lie de The

 

and then about 50 others.

 

There is a comparison of 30 some Sepias in the Ink Comparison forum that can give you all kind of inspiration.

To hold a pen is to be at war. - Voltaire
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Mata-Hari's Cordial doesn't really work in a professional setting. It's also not really good at providing contrast against other writing either.

 

Run away, far-far away from Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia ... unless you want to "doctor" your ink. It's the only ink I have in my collection that can make some of my Pelikans choke. I have a bottle, and it resolutely refuses to play nice with some of my Pelikans (M400 and M800). It's notorious for being a cranky ink. If you are new to inks, run away from this one. And, no, I'm not the only one with problems with this ink. I really, really wanted to like this ink due to its features. But, if it won't consistently go onto the page, it's useless.

For brown, I kind of like Iroshizuku Tsukushi ("horsetail"). It's a pretty vibrant brown, but does lack water resistance. I tried Iroshizuku Yama-Guri ("wild chestnut"), and while I liked the color, it was a bit harder to clean out than Tsukushi. Thus, I bought a bottle of Tsukushi and not Yama-Guri.

If you want to try a waterproof "Brown"(?), there's El-Lawrence from Noodler's. It's not for everybody. Based on what's printed on the label, I was expecting something closer to a greenish-khaki color. It does, as other have said, look a bit like used motor oil when dry. I don't mind the color, and appreciate the durability. Think I tried #41 Brown and didn't like it. Same for Polar Brown, which had bad feathering/bleeding issues, and stained the ink window of my Sailor Pro Gear Realo yellow for some time.

 

I think all of this is part of the fun of samples. There are lots of inks that are fun to try, but not necessarily own.

Proud resident of the least visited state in the nation!

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If you want a bright blue get Sheaffer Skrip Peacock Blue ...

 

Peacock blue has been out of production for decades.

Only way is to find someone with a stash they are willing to sell.

 

Here are my suggestions off the top of my head.

  • Brown: Waterman brown, Noodlers Walnut.
  • Red: Daiamine Red Dragon, Sheaffer Skrip Red
  • Orange: Noodlers Apache Sunset, Diamine Orange
  • Green: Diamine Ultra Green (bright green) and Sherwood Green (darker green), Pelikan Green
  • Turquoise: Sheaffer Skrip Turquoise
  • Blue: Private Reserve Majestic Blue and DC SuperShow Blue

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