I'm going to be buying my first fountain pen in the next couple of weeks. I'm leaning towards getting the new Omas Paragon.

My question is, what is a good ink to use for this pen? I've been reading the ink forums, and I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the choices. I'm not even sure what color to get. It'll be an everyday pen, at least until I get another :c) So I'm thinking black, blue, blue/black, but I'm not sure. Any suggestions on color, brand and line would be greatly appreciated.

Brandon

Hello,

For regular inks I recommend : Aurora Black, Waterman Florida Blue, & Diamine for Blue-Black.

For water / fraud proof inks I'd try Noodler Black & Eternal Blue.

Also you may want to try a few of the colors in Private Reserve line as well.

IMO you can't go wrong with the above. (Great flow, vibrant color, & true color property.)


Dave

I think the only comment you will ever get is, you must try the inks for yourself.

There is no single ink that is the best, and nobody will ever agree on a favourite colour either. Most of the inks that are currently available on the market and labelled as "fountain pen ink" will be safe to use with any fountain pen, with the exception of some older types like Parker Penman or some iron gall inks like Mont Blanc or Lamy Blue-Black.

It is understandable if you want to stick to blacks and blues, these are the easiest colours to accept. Black inks are easier to choose, as there are a few choices that people rate highly.

Aurora Black is known as the blackest ink, gives a very very black line.
Noodler's Black is my personal choice, since it is very black as well, and is "bulletproof" (resistant to water, solvents, bleach, and all attempts to remove from paper) and also feather-resistant (won't feather on bad paper).
Sailor Black also gets a lot of praise, but is generally only available in Asia.

In terms of blues and blue/blacks, you really need to decide which colours you like. Popular blues include:

Waterman Florida Blue (nice dark blue, but not washes off easily with water).
Private Reserve (DC SS Blue, American Blue, Lake Placid Blue, Midnight blue, many choices).
Noodler's has a variety of blues, some are waterproof too.

There are many many brands of ink, and almost all have their fans.

That is the sensible answer, but if you tell me what size nib and what color barrel, I will tell you what I think you should get.

It will probably be a fine nib, and the black barrel with silver trim.


Thanks for the answers so far!

Ooh, that will be nice.

My magic answer is (wait several seconds, a la the magic eight ball) . . . Noodler's Aircorp Blue-Black. Just a little different than plain black but still very businesslike, and good water resistance (although if it gets wet it bleeds an interesting turquoise color, but the black component won't budge so your envelope, etc. will still be legible). Elegant and classy, just like your pen, and it looks great in a fine point.

Sonia,

What ink to use to maximize the flow in a 51 with a dry-ish fine nib?

Blue, blue-black, black, red, dark green.

Laurence

Pendemonium http://www.pendemonium.com/ carries Sailor ink and has the black (as well as my personal favorite Sailor blue/black) in stock.

I really like theSailor blue-black, and can second the vote for Noodler's Aircorp as well - it's a unique color that is still conservative. Myself I lean toward the blue-black inks, many are unique without being to 'out there' Black always looks 'boring' to me, and for some reason I just can't muster much enthusiasm for any of the blue inks. Another nice color that is a permanant ink is Diamine Registrars ink. It is a blue-black that I think has a nice 'vintage' look to it.

Jim

A common answer to this is Private Reserve Tanzanite, which has been referred to as "the laxative of inks". It'll flow well out of anything. It is a purple/blue colour.

Waterman Florida Blue is known to be a good ink in terms of flow as well, in fact I notice that many pen shops use it for demonstrating pens. Waterman Blue-Black is also good, but I haven't tried it myself.

I think Sailor Black was the answer to a good flowing black ink, but again I haven't tried.

One of my new favorite blues is Noodlers Legal Lapis, it's waterproof ink and I am amazed by how much I love this color of blue. I'm typically not a blue ink person, but this is a great color. It's available only through Pendemonium.com.
If you really want to try several inks why don't you check out:
Ink Sample Exchange a.k.a "The KCat System" in the Inky Thoughts section of the forum. This is a great way to try a color before you buy.

Laurence,

A "51" should write well with pretty much all of the 'traditional' inks, the exceptions being some of the new highly saturated inks and even some of those go OK in an Aero.

If you "51" is too dry, maybe it needs a good flushing and maybe a bit of gentle adjustment. Try flushing it first then flossing the nib with a bit of old 35mm film - minus the emulsion and hot water gets that off. My favorite ink to get a "51" cleaned out and writing well if you don't want to strip it down is Parker Quink Washable Blue. May not be your favorite colour, but it does the business.

Jim

I've had the same question as Laurence (although I blush to say that my experience got better once I learned to fill my "51" properly, per Richard B's good instructions)--mine also runs a little on the dry side.

I may well try Tanzanite. Any other favorite Ex-Laxes out there?

The Waterman Florida Blue might be more to my liking in this pen--it has a blue-black barrel and Tanzanite would clash somewhat. Can't have that!

Am I remembering correctly--isn't the Diamine Registrar's Ink one of the iron galls? That might be a bit gunky for an Omas; I have heard their feeds clog easily. Though perhaps that is mere lore.

I am not sure if it is an actual Iron Gall or not. It does work fine in my Omas (Ogiva w/med nib)

Jim

i find the Black Magic Blue to flow as well as Tanzanite. In fact, I suspect it is Tanzanite and Midnight blue in a 1:1 mix.

oh - every Diamine ink i've tried flows like mad. Love 'em

Lovely, thank you! Black Magic Blue would suit this pen very nicely, I think. I do love some of the Diamine colors as well.

What about Zhivago? I kind of like the idea of having an ink that looks a bit old. Any other inks that might have that affect? I know Diamine Registrars was mentioned...


Thanks for all the help everyone, this has helped alot.