Just received a VP F Black carbonesque from Richard Binder - I am enjoying it very much! It is very smooth.

I'm wondering what inks you use or have found work well in your VPs. I am currently using Sailor Jentle Blue - it is a perfect match, but I wish the ink were darker. I didn't like the slight green tinge of PR midnight blues, and Pelikan Blue-Black did not flow too well. I'm looking at branching out into some more colors soon.

Thanks for your responses!

EDIT: just realized I posted this in writing instruments. It might be better off in Inky Thoughts.

I used Visconti Black in my black carbonesque VP at first but I wanted to try the carts so I have currently a pilot blue cart and its very nice, maybe a shade darker than my lamy ink.

Aurora Black, Diamine Prussian Blue, Waterman Florida Blue, Noodler's Legal Lapis are some of the most recent. I haven't yet found an ink that the VP didn't like.

All I have used in cartridges in my Carbonesque VP. Pilot blue. It has worked well and is a pretty color.

I've been using only Pilot cartridges - blue, black, green, and red. All work very well, and I like the colors.

Hi David

(I suppose it has more to do with inks than the pen - debatable really - so I've taken the liberty of moving this thread into Inky Thoughts)

I found, as in most of my pens, that Aurora Black flows very well in my nib units (I have a couple of Fs, an M and a Mottishawed 0.6 cursive italic). Most of the time, I like to keep them inked with the more permanent Noodler's inks like Aircorp BB, Zhivago or Red-black - these tend to turn the pen into a slightly drier writer, but that's still ok with me. Haven't used any carts yet.


raf.

Mostly I use Levenger's Cobalt Blue in my VP. Cobalt Blue tends to be very free flowing and slow to dry, but in my fine point VP, I think I have found the perfect pen for this ink (of which I love the color). The VP has a bit of a stingy flow, but combining the stingy flow of the pen with the generous flow of the ink is as close to perfection as I've had with this ink.

Just beautiful!

Andy

Have you tried Pilot/Namiki Blue Black? No green tinge, nice dark blue. It has good water-resistance, too.

Noodler's Blue in my '94 faceted VP. Gonna switch to Red-Black next fill I think.

My VP with Binder stub nib is currently filled with PR American Blue. Great color, great nib.

I've also had the VP going with a fine nib and Namiki Blue-Black, and that was very nice also.

Don

I like using the Pilot Blue/Black cartridges. When I need a change, I refill the cartridges with Noodler's Gulfstream Blue from Swisher's.

Bill

I have never used anything but Pilot Blue/Black cartridges. Huh, I have never even thought about another ink for this pen.

In one Décimo I have Noodler's Black, in the other one, I'm using the Pilot cart (blue-black) that came with the pen (the seller forgot to include the converter - which they quickly sent to me - but I was too impatient to try the pen and popped the cart in it). Love the Noodler's, not all that crazy about the Pilot cart ink, but for some reason the ink is a gem on Post-It notes. Go figure. But anyway, that's why the cart's still in the pen and why I haven't used it up yet. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense to me, either.

I have an older regular VP (the one that's larger than the Décimo) but it's not currently inked up. A bit too large for my grip. Also have a Fine VP nib that I bought from Richard Binder that's just waiting to be used. Maybe I'll go write a bunch of Post-Its today.

I use whatever suits my fancy at the time, and that includes Omas, Visconti, Waterman, Diamine, Noodlers (regular and bulletproof), Pilot, Aurora, R&K, J. Herbin, and Lamy. None have ever given me any problems.

Right now? Waterman Florida Blue. In the past? Pelikan Royal Blue, Noodler's Blue, Lively Green, Skrip Emerald, Quinkerman Blackberry, Skrip Black, Pelikan Brilliant Brown, and Levenger Fireball.

Next fill? Might give PR's American Blue another shot.

I have a blue Carbonesque VP with one of Richard's tuned F nibs. I thought it would be appropriate to fill it with "Binder Blurple". That's Richard's blend made by mixing equal parts Waterman Florida Blue with Waterman Purple. The F nib is a rather wet writer, and in my opinion, Blurple ink looks best when used with a wetter nib.

(Wakes up...) Eh? (Searches...) Oh yes, Ryan's mix - very nice.

Aurora Black. There's something so businesslike about my VP, I could never bring myself to fill it with a more colorful ink.

Wondered if that'd catch anybody.

I've been using Waterman Black/Blue-Black and both have been fine. I occasionally mix the two and that has also worked well.

Namiki/pilot carts, purple, blue or blue blue-black.

I use nothing but Pilot cartridges, either blue/black or blue ones, they work great and in my case are readily available at a local B&M store which is even nicer. In a fine point they last a good while, the color is nice and they both have some water resistance. Plus it is one of my travel pens so I like that I can take a few cartridges along as backup. And the cartridges have a much better capacity than the small converter.

It is the only pen that I regularly use cartridges in, actually.

Same here -- I've used every ink brand that I own (too many to list) in my Pilot Decimos, but I refill the cartridges with a syringe. I'm not sure why, but the ink flow is remarkably better with cartridges than converters in my Decimos. When I travel, I use the Pilot Blue and Pilot Blue/Black cartridges. Both are conservative colors for business use -- even in a pink Decimo.

Hey
I used to try out all sorts of inks with my Carboneque Blue VP: virtually all worked great. One of my favorite combinations was my Mottishaw Stub with J. Herbin Lie de The. Just beautiful. However!! I have since grown fed up with the ridiculously small converter capacity, and have not bothered to try refilling cartridges. So, I switched to Pilot Blue in cartridges and have never looked back. Awesome, reliable.

Scott

When I had mine I used 2-3 different Noodler's inks in it, worked very well.

Carts are kind of a must for this highly practical pen. After Pilot Blue was too light and low contrast with the fine nib and the Black is nothing special, I'm using Blue-Black carts in my blue décimo, although the blue-black colour is nothing special either. I wish I could use Sailor carts in it.