Hello all,

First off congratulation on the site and the community it is awesome!!!

I've already read/searched "Ink Recommendation" posts, yes I know those are frequent.

Ever since resuming using my Le Man I'm worried about "trying" new ink, afraid that they would clog. When I first got my Le Man a long time ago I recall having issues with a few inks I tried (Mont Blanc Black was an offender back in the days). It had to undergo repair at some point (not due to the ink) and then I stopped using it. I just resumed using it (10 years later) and everything about that pen is better now that it ever was, at least according to my failing memory

Are LeMan particularly picky in term of ink? I like intense color but so far I'm sticking mostly to Waterman inks. After looking at the Ink Review forums I'm quite tempted to explore. I'd just like fellow LeMan owners, to share experience in that regards as well as to know if there are any ink brand that are known to be generally worst in term of clogging.

Thank you.

edit: Forgot to specify it is a Medium nib.

I'm waiting for my Le Man 200 to arrive, just purchased a couple days ago on ebay. I can't wait. Well, I was planning to give it a go with the all time star -and very much indicated in this case- Waterman Florida Blue. Same manufacturer, and one of the best inks around. And then work on others from there. Waterman Black and Blue-Black. And For sure Purple. Love that color. Not too keen on Waterman's greens. Other one on my list is Havana brown.

If I can get my hands -and wallet- on Herbin inks at my place, I may want to try those as well. Maybe some of the smelly stuff.

Let me know how your Le Man progress. Nice pen, by the way.

Congratulation for your LeMan 200!

Waterman Florida blue is what I used mostly too but I'm looking for a change from Waterman inks. So far I've tried some Waterman's color: black, blue-black, turquoise and green. Beeing from the pen's manifacturer I assumed it would be clog free. It's mostly other brand that I am wary of.

I have tried Waterman's green a long time ago and I remember it as very light. I'm not sure if I should thrust my memory though I never tried a purple ink before but after looking at the Ink Reviews (and previews) I am tempted. I'm going to check back the ink review to see if there is a sample of Waterman's Purple, if not is it almost black or rather light in your experience?

Thanks you

I've been using Noodlers Legal Lapis in my Le Man 200, and have a "new old" Gentleman that is working well on Noodlers Bulletproof Black.

I run Private Reserve and J Herbin in my Carenes with pretty good results. Watch out for Noodlers tho'. The FPN Tulipe Noire made my Carenes leaky and samples of other Noodlers I've tried haven't agreed with my inlaid nibs.

Thanks for the info!

An ink I'm really tempted to try is Noodler's Saguaro Wine the mix reports on Noodler's dont make it easier to chose Outside of making your Carene leak did the Noodler's ink clog it?

Try to remember that inks are water soluble. If you find an ink clogging your pen, flush it with water, and if necessary soak the section in water for a couple of hours.

I have several Waterman pens, including a couple Le Man 100's. I use any ink I feel in the mood to use. I use J. Herbin inks, some of which might be pale coming from a M nib. I also use Pelikan and Waterman inks, as well as Noodler's. As Ghost Plane said, some of the Noodler's inks will creep up the nib, but I have only had that hapen with one Noodler's ink.

I will suggest that if you do not experiment, you will not know what works well in your specific pen. Try to have fun with the experimenting and, if any ink clogs your pen, just flush it out.

Nary an ink problem with my Le Man (2) or Gentleman, all M nibs. Have used Waterman Blue/Black, Herbin Blue Myosotis, Visconti, Diamine, Mont Blanc, Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue, some more saturated than others.

I have also used various cartridges too: Pelikan, Schneider, MB, Diamine, DuPont, Waterman, whatever is available when I am on the road and run out of ink. Still good to go.

I say give what ever ink you want a whirl. It's a great pen, good with any ink. Good luck!!

Most modern fountain pen inks will be fine, particularly given decent care of the pen (regular use, periodic flushing, etc.). I wouldn't hesitate to put in Aurora, Diamine, Pelikan, Waterman, R&K, Omas, Lamy, Visconti, Noodlers, CdA, etc.

Thanks for all the info. You cleared up any worries I might have had

Now if I can only find a PR or Noodler dealer in town

I've heard of Waterman mix of 1:1 Purple and Florida Blue (or was it South Sea Blue...) but couldn't find any picture of the result. What's the result like?

Thanks again!

Ghost Plane -- Noodler's permanent ink seems to make my Carene Deluxe Prussian Blue medium-nibbed pens a bit leaky, as well. No issues with Waterman inks, initially, but once I used the Noodler's, I began to experience some seepage near the top of the nib (leading to inky fingers). Even after reverting to the Waterman inks, the inky finger issue continued. Over time, the Waterman inks may have brought about the same result? This did not happen to the fine-nibbed Carenes or other Watermans with the Noodler's -- just the medium-nibbed Carene deluxe models (three different Prussian Blue pens). Apart from a bit of nib creep (which I do not mind), The Noodler's inks otherwise perform extremely well and are quite striking.

Noodlers was the farthest thing from clogging I could imagine. More like laxative for pens! I've learned to have a hanky handy even if I'm just using the ink on the desk. Nothing more frustrating than finding the pen I keep strictly for my phone log had a soaked section just from lying horizontal on the desk. That's my definition of bad behaved ink.

Watermans ink is the best behaved. I use the cartridges for travel. Herbin is a joy, but may be too light for you as I have B nibs that put down a lot more ink. Much as I love my FPN Tulipe Noire, I've stopped using it in these pens as I got as much on my hands as the page.

Private Reserve colors are the best behaved saturated color inks in my Carenes. Blue Suede, Black Cherry, Plum, Sherwood Forest, Copper Burst, all have behaved well with no clogging. The pens may sit in their case for weeks when I'm keeping a travel bag packed, then start right up [except in desert conditions, which are wholly different anyway]

I love the Noodler colors, but the behavior is not for inlaid nibs, especially broad nibs. I reserve them for traditional nibs where the nib and section are separate. And it's the least portable ink. Glorious colors, bad bahavior on travel. And some, like Apache Sunset, can make the wettest pens drag dry on the page.

Remember, when I talk about travel, I'm not talking about a guy in a suit with a breast pocket pen that stays upright 90% of the time as he moves around a climate controlled office. I'm talking about pen cases in purses that get dropped; briefcases that are swung, flung and stowed in addition to pressurized or unpressurized altitudes; or clipping the pens to a shirt or shoving them in a pants pocket that's moving around actively. Think of all the places a woman might shove a pen to keep it handy while being physically active. Your mileage may vary.

Thank you Ghost Plane, I thought higher dye necessarily implied clogging, happy to know that Noodlers is laxative in your experience!

I'm carrying a Le Man 100 right now and have two Le Man 200's. Great nibs in my opinion.

I pretty much stick to the Waterman Ink and prefer the Havana and Waterman Blue and Purple mixed two parts blue to one part purple. I also use the Aurora Black and Blue in the pens with no problems. I pref ere the Aurora Black to the Waterman.

I did use the Noodler's Walnut in one of the 200's for several months and experienced no problems. I'm no expert, but the main thing is to wash out your pen every few weeks. I try to wash mine out at least once per month.

Back in 1995 and 1996, I was using Penman Mocha which has since been discontinued. I used in mainly in my Parker Duofold and it was said that the Penman Inks clogged pens. I never had any problems whatsoever with it, and I believe it was from a good rinsing of the pen every couple of weeks.

Any good standard ink would be ok from my experience - just rinse the pen every so often. The more saturated the ink, such as Noodler's or Pr, the more frequent I would rinse.




John

Thanks for the feedback and advice

Last time I had clogging issue was 10 years ago with a black ink and it is true that at that time I never rinsed my pen except when I was switching to a new ink color, (which I was never doing)...

I bought Aurora Black but hadn't tried it yet, I guess I will no longer be wary of inks

P.S. I resumed using FP 6 months ago and, with the help of FPN am now feeling a strong urge to buy WAY more pens lol