This may be a crazy question, but I've wondered about it for some time. Do some pens flow better with specific inks? Do some inks work better with specific pens?

I have to say without a doubt YES....
This is a topic that will most likely cause a lot of arguements, but in my opinion certain inks definately work better in certain pens...
Certain inks cause problems in certain pens also...
For instance, highly saturated inks may not flow well in come vintage pens... I have more than a few Parker 51s... in some of them I can use any ink, in some the more highly saturated inks make the pen write dry or skip.
Richard Binder, one of the most knowledgeable pen restorers and nibmeisters uses only Waterman Florida Blue as his test ink and recommends it as the ink of choice in all pens.... on the other hand he will tell you to never put Parker Quink Black in a pen...
The arguements over what ink is best for what pen will probably go on as long as we have ink and pens...
Again, in my opinion, the safest inks I have found for most pens is Watermans, Diamine, J Herbin and Pelikan.... but I also use a couple of colors of Noodlers... I have found that some Noodler colors just do not do well in some of my pens, but another color may work perfectly.

Now that I have you totally confused I will let someone else get you more confused.

In a word, yes.

I find "Flow" to be a rather personal matter. Ideally, I like my "note taking" pens to gush like fire hydrants, my "short notes" pens to be a bit drier, and my "journaling" pens to be even drier still. This is mostly due to the various speeds I write with.

Two copies of the same pen may not necessarily be as dry/wet as each other. Add on the fact that all the different inks have different flow characteristics, you really need a spreadsheet or something to remember which pens work with which inks. Speaking of which, I really need to start a spreadsheet of my own.

Welcome to the geeky side of fountain pen addiction.

Got to agree with the chaps above

The search for the right ink for the right pen to give exactly the qualities you want is never-ending. Each combination has subtle differences in feel and effect. And then you might want to match the ink colour to the pen as well.

When you start to make notes of what each combination is like, and then add in comments about different papers, and the effect that has on ink flow, drying time, writing feel, colour etc. you are truly drawn into the inky side, like me

Chris

My favorite example is my Montblanc 146 which didn't like to write when filled with Montblanc black ink but was fine with every other kind of ink I tried.
Ben

Here's a personal example:

I often write with a Sailor Trident. If the nibs on a Trident dry-out; may God have mercy on your soul.

When I use Sailor ink, a hiatus of two or three days causes the nib to go dry and refuse to write until I squeeze the cartridge several times and "flush" the nibs in ink. This usually takes about five minutes and a lot of invective. When I use Noodler's (specifically, La Coulor Royal) I can leave the pen alone for two weeks and it will write as soon as I pick it up.

I just washed out the Quink that was in my Stipula 22. It was a shame because it really wrote well.
Put in Noodlers and I do not like it at all. It flows too fast and feathers worse the any ink I have ever used.
I will edit this as soon as I try the MB ink.
Nix the MB ink. Just got a bottle of PR Velvet Black and it is good stuff.

I totally agree with the guys above.

From my experience my Sheaffer PFM III will only work perfectly with Noodlers Black (thanks Ryan ) With most other inks the nib will leak into the cap.
Also with Sailor ink nibs tend to dry up pretty quick. Even the juicy Realo will dry up. The inks i think that work the best with most of my pens are Aurora Black, Noodlers black, and Lamy Black.

Have to add a "Yep". Monte Blanc Black will sludge up most of my pens, but works fine in the one modern MB I own (don't ask, it is a long story involving cruise ships, a small Caribbean island and emeralds...).

Have had some trouble with a couple of PR inks in, of all things, Estie CA101s and once I had a Hero 3xx (not sure which variety) go hinky on some Sheaffer.

But other than those odd instances, most everything has worked with everything else...

Bill

So I am not crazy. Well not in thinking there is a difference at least.

Great topic, and it'll be interesting to see what the gurus have to say.

It does seem that certain ink feeders lend themselves towards better performance with different degrees of ink saturation (viscosity?), while other feeders are more versatile. I too have seen ink flow differences first hand.

I'm now thinking that when testing out a pen (NOT on-line), that either the seller provide a range of test inks or you bring your favorite inks with you so that you can see how the pen performs overall...

Not sure if anyone else has tried it here, but I find that Namiki black works very nicely in a variety of pens to include Lamy and Parker (and of course, Pilot/Namiki).

While I'm far from the guy who's reached guru status, I'll weigh in as well.

In short, I agree with what's already been said.

However, I wonder if there's a certain amount of either a) personality to our pens, or b ) some training that we may do to our pens that may effect the way that they write.

Case in point: I have a Lamy Flame (XF) that I've owned for several years. When I purchased it from The Pen Place in Kansas City, I wasn't sure what ink to buy (this was my return to fountain pens, and I didn't know much), but the nice folks at the store recommended Pelikan Royal Blue and sold me a bottle of it. For many moons, it was the only thing I had, and the only thing I'd fill that pen with. Then a few months ago as I started to learn more and actually get into (read: infected by) this hobby, I picked up a bottle of PR Velvet Black.

It never worked in that pen. Tried it a half dozen different times. It would never write. I took the pen apart and cleaned the snot out of it (not actual snot...but I'm sure there was something in there...), and still no luck.

I ended up dumping the ink to save the bottle.

I've NEVER been able to get the Flame (XF) to write with anything other than Pelikan Royal Blue 4001. The closest I came to getting a reasonable writer out of it was when I filled it with South Seas Blue, which it responded reasonably well to.

I don't know much about the chemical composition of ink, but I sometimes wonder if we train the innerds of the pen based on what we tend to fill it with most.

Just some comments from the peanut gallery...probably outrageous claims at best...sacrilege at worst.

Fountain pens are far from super precision manufactured equipment, and there is quite a bit of variation in feeds, nibs, and actual assembly. I'm not surprised a fresh from the factory pen writes better with one ink than another, and if you adjust it for one, likely the other won't satisfy you.

Individual pens can almost always be adjusted to work well with any one ink or type of ink, but as the viscocity and wetting vary from color to color from one manufacturer, let alone between makers, you may very well find a pen that works well with only a restricted range of inks, while another similar one writes well with whatever you put in it.

Any of the nib miesters on the form can fix you up, but you must consider the cost, and there is always the possibility that even they may not get a particular pen to "like" a particular ink.

FP appear to be almost as individual as people...

Peter

Having found that Watermans suits all my needs I just stick with that.

With a bit of judicious mixing a range of decent colours can be mixed from their standard stock - just DON'T do what I did - mixed a really lovely burgundy for Sheila and forgot to record the mix
- been there - I found a soak with a little ammonia did the job easier than I had feared. Purely my own fault - I had left it for weeks. Won't happen again

Regards,
Ruaidhrí