Hello All,

How come I rarely, if ever, see discussions about Mont Blanc ink? I use their Blue/Black, Sepia and British Racing Green and have always had excellent results.

Just wondering why.

Bob
San Ramon CA

Hi Bob

People seem to like the bottles more than the ink. Having said that, I bought some for the first time just yesterday - the Bordeaux. I haven't had it long enough to say anything about flow characteristics, drying time and so on; but it's a wonderful colour, and yes, I like the bottle too.

There have been reviews of Mont Blanc ink. Have a look here: Ink Reviews

Although the blue-black is an iron gall, many here still use & like it. Their British Racing Green is one of my favs.

i've only ever bought two inks from them. A red ink that i emptied out and now private reserve avocado resides inside it. And i bought their chocolate scented ink that they made christmas 05. Not cause it smelled like chocolate (it didnt, it smelled like liquorice) it's cause it's the only decent ink i've ever tried from them. It's the best brown i have. All heir colors are not impressive and really not that good

Like everyone else I adore the bottles. I have the Emerald Green, the Blue-Black, the Black, and the Seasons Greetings.

The Emerald Green is a bit watery, but I like the basic color and the shading.

The Blue-black is a great color, very water resistant on paper, but I don't use it much because I'm afraid it will eat my pens. (I believe it's iron-gall ink )

The black is very watery and probably my least favorite black ink.

The Seasons Greeting is wonderful and one of my favorite brown inks.


I've a sample of the Love Letter here and vial of racing green on the way, but I haven't tried either.


More severe judgements and declarations to follow.

I used MB black for years in the 80's, had no problems with it. However, I found other brands I prefer.

Are not MB inks overpriced compared to other inks? They certainly are here in Norway.

I thought MB inks appeared here with some frequency. I personally had a thread recently which discussed MB Sepia.

MB inks contain a good solvent that I like to run through some of my vintge and piston fill pens. I like and have used for several years MB Bordeaux and Turquoise, which are my favorites. I like and use their Blue-Black on occasion. I still find MB Sepia to be more red than "sepia," but I am getting to like it.

I also like the bottles, which I always recycle for others inks. But I buy MB inks because I use them.

If it wouldn't be overpriced everywhere, would it have the MB credibilty?

Anyway, I find the Bordeaux and the British Racing Green quite nice, while the Blue Black iron gall is available cheaper from Lamy. The other standard inks are rather boring.

The scented inks are made by J. Herbin for MB.

Also, I believe NeilB has observed in his blog that he MB Sepia looks a lot like one of J. Herbin's browns.

Would someone familiar with MB inks suggest substitutes? I am particularly interested in Bordeaux and wonder what ink would be the closest to its rich, wine color.

I love the Seasons Greetings. I starting using it so often that I was quickly depleting the little bottle. I just ordered another from Swisher Pens for $13.

I like some of the MB inks and others I don't care much for at all.

I really LOVE the British Racing Green.

Although Bordeaux has many fans, it didn't catch on with me and I traded away my bottle.

I used to like the iron-gall blue-black, but now I think it's a bit too light for my recent moods, although I do like its more permanent nature. I lump it with Noodler's Legal Lapis, another ink that is a bit light for my tastes although permanent (and even more than the MB).

I seem to be an anomaly in that I like the MB Royal Blue. I concede it is not as saturated as other brands (like my current standby, PR American Blue), but I like the fast drying and flow it has. I haven't really seen anyone else who was a fan of this one.

I have not really found a black ink from any company that I really like all that much. I'm going to try Aurora soon (bought some). Like many other brands, I think the MB is too thin looking. I want a really INTENSE black ink, and MB black is not it (although I have a lot of it).

I like the MB Turquoise, but it won't rank up there with my first (or even second) tier favorites.

Over all, the qualities I like most about MB inks are their relatively good flow and quick drying/less smearing. The qualities I dislike about MB inks is their lack of saturation/"thin" color (with some exceptions such as Racing Green).

Margana, I don't really have an eye for color, so be warned. I think J. Herbin Poussier de Lune (sp?) is similar to the MB Bordeaux. To me both inks look like pastel wine stains. By the way, I like both inks very much.

I love the turquoise and the Love Letter Ink.

WOW - I must be a weirdo here because I love both the MB Royal Blue and the Black as well!!! I have compared my MB Blue to the Waterman Florida Blue so many people love and for the life of me I can see very little - if any - difference. In fact, if you wrote with both blues on a paper while I was blindfolded, I am sure I wouldn't be able to pick which was which when the blindfold was removed.

I have also compared my MB Black to the Private Reserve Velvet Black which is a very saturated rich black and - again - I can't tell the difference - I really really can't. They both are identical!

So I guess I am truly an anomaly here with all of you because I LOVE the MB Black and Royal Blue and I also feel it is "safe" for my expensive pens. The bottle also says it has a cleaning agent in it which makes me also feel goos about this ink!

Or maybe my bottles are different than yours somehow???

Hi again,

I started this topic a few days ago and just wanted to add an observation to reinforce my belief that Mont Blanc inks are not popular.

I reviewed many of the posts on the "ink trader" bulletin board and didn't see a single instance of people trading MB ink. I just think it is not a popular ink.

All that said, if you want to trade a vial or two I would be happy to. I have MB Blue/Black, MB Sepia and MB Racing Green (which I would refer to as Green/Black).

If you want to trade send me a PM and tell me what you have to trade. I am interested in Noodlers Blue, Polar Blue and Navajoe Turquoise but will consider others.

Inking of you ,
Bob
San Ramon, CA

The only MB ink I've tried so far is Royal Blue, and it's one of my favorites. Next to Aurora, it has the best flow for my writing, and it dries fast, which is a plus. I have Blue-Black and Sepia on order from Swisher Pens, and I'll probably pick up Bordeaux and Racing Green later on. Definitely not a favorite among FP users, but at least some of us enjoy them.

Well, you see Margana, you have a better eye for color than I. I am glad you found a bottle of the Bordeaux. The uneven drying and the shading is part of what I like about this ink. I still kinda, sorta think it has a lovely pastel look, which I also love.

I look forward to seeing your scans.

I use the MB Bordeaux extensively. I do notice the fading from a rich intense garnet Chateau Latour(!) to a faintly lesser 5th growth color...! While it lasts, it is nice.

Like many others, I planned to empty the bottle when it is nearly depleted (won't consider saving the last refill...) and pour the much nicer PR inks into this bottle. I am still waiting for my Stipula deep red which seemed to have been lost in the mail.

My scanner is not getting along with Photoshop tonight. So while I can see how similar Bordeaux and Ruby are first hand, I am unable to post a decent image. There are two reviews on FPN that show the inks very well though: Mont Blanc Bordeaux by Wim and Parker Penman Ruby by HyperCamper.

When I write with one after the other on quality paper using the same pen, I see no significant difference. Bordeaux is slightly more red as well as slightly more saturated. It also dries more slowly. Ruby is slightly softer and a tad pinker. IMO Ruby has better lubrication and flow. But this is being very nit picky.

The two are close enough that I'd never feel the need to have both in rotation at the same time. Considering the local availability as well as the lower price of Mont Blanc inks compared to Penman at nearly twice the cost (when you can find it), I could be quite happy with Bordeaux. With a bottle of each on my shelf, I won't have to make that choice for quite a while.

After receiving the Blue-Black and Sepia from Swisher Pens, I was disappointed at the performance of the Blue-Black. The most negative comment would be that it wouldn't start very well. Mostly water, and then some shading. I would need to dip the nib and just let it flow on the paper. I haven't tried it with Pelikan, though I'd be reluctant. I'll still use it, but sparingly if need be. The Sepia on the other hand would make a nice complement to my ivory G.Lalo Verge de France stationery.

I don't believe cost of the ink is that big of an obstacle. Most people are willing to pay if the quality is there.

Of the half dozen MB inks I have, the only one I will buy again is Racing Green. The other bottles gather dust and are opened when I want to give the ink another chance, only to flush the pen quickly. One bottle I simply dumped into the sink, saving the neat bottle, of course.

However, based on these posts I will try the Royal Blue.

Bill

Cheaper than Aurora and Visconti, more expensive than Parker and Sheaffer. So I would say middle of the road.

Allan