Like many of you, I’m a big fan of Noodler’s- but not when I’m topping up a pen from their tall bottle.

Although their ink is not so exciting, the Lamy bottle is excellent. It has a crater design at the bottom to allow you to draw ink reliably right to the end. Better yet, the base features a built in blotting paper for cleaning off the nib after a fill.

The Mont Blanc bottle is a favorite also- although I hear mixed things about their ink.

On occasion I’ve bought Mont Blanc or Lamy black ink to burn up in my doodling pens- just so I can save the bottles for my favorite inks. Surely other people have done the same?

-Ryan

I have only used Private Reserve and Noodlers but am anxious to try the Visconti as the bottle design is delightful looking!!!I also like the Omas bottles.

Handlebar

Agreed, the Italians are great for aesthetics! I nearly bought some Visconti Sepia the other day on account of the bottle.

I love the Levenger ink bottle! See my comments here, on page 4.

I agree about the Lamy bottle. The MB bottles are good in concept, but the well isn't deep enough for some big nibs (which is pretty odd when you think of the sort of pens MB make). I think they changed the height of the weir at some time in the last decade, which made things worsed.

The Parker Penman bottles I find especially convenient. Nice wide base and the little plastic well that sits in the neck is just the right size, and easy to remove to refill the bottle.

Best

Michael

who remembers that Pelikan make a bottle with a well, somewhat like the idea of the MB bottle, but different, but again the well is a bit small for big nibs. The FountIndia ink comes in it.

Yes, Lamy bottle is good; so too is the MB (big nibs excepted). I find the MB the best all round home for my "ink of the month" and often decant ink into (my only) one from its own bottle, especially if it is one of those awkward shaped bottles.

Sheaffer Scrip used to come in glass bottles with a well on the inside that was very practical, but the caps were sometimes terrible and leaked if the bottle was tilted - no good for travel.

Penman bottles are great for the desk drawer (and big nibs), but can be tricky to open if the threads get inky and are not a convenient size for travelling in a briefcase. Nice looking, but bulky.

I am still looking out for the larger Pelikan bottles with a pen rest on the side, and I didn't know their FontIndia came in a bottle with an internal well; nice to know.

Chris

I’m quite satisfied with the pre-Slovenia Sheaffer Skrip bottles which have an ink well (earlier ones didn’t), though the metal caps, admittedly, are stylish rather than practical. By far the most beautiful (industrial) bottles I know were by the Dutch ink maker Talens. High, faceted, with an ink well, too. Now the company makes only paint and drawing ink, but in earlier days they also made dip pen ink. Perhaps Wim can remember.
I still treasure one of those; I would post a picture, but I don’t have a digicam...

Wide shaped bottles are the devil for my school bag. I like the Mont Blanc bottle, but the one that I feel best taking with me is my Aurora Black. The Waterman bottles are thin too.

Montblanc is my favorite bottle. I can fill my MB 149 from it by elevating the non-filling end on a notebook so it's tilted a little. Another bottle I really like is Waterman's. It's shaped so one can set it on its side before filling a pen when the ink level would otherwise preclude it. Works great, too!

Ditto on the Mont Blanc bottle, but am no fan of their ink either. It seems too diluted. I use Quink in on Mont Blanc bottles.

BTW, folks, am a newbie to the board here, can anyone say WHERE is a good source for bottles, without ink or is there a thread here with pictures of various preferred bottles?

Pelikan bottles work this way, too, even the smaller ones. They aren't quite as sturdy on that edge as the Waterman bottles are, but they get the job done. When I was in university, I was never without a Roting Art Pen with a converter, and I found the 1oz bottles very carry-aroundable.

Ryan.

Its frightening when one looks to increase colour density by switching to Quink!

I do not know of a good source for empty bottles.

-Ryan

How about the 1 OZ bottle from Noodler's? Assuredly, you would have to top it up more often, but its awfully convenient for traveling.

-Ryan

The Diamine bottles are the prettiest, in my opinion. They hold more ink and are sort of squarish. :bunny1:

My favorite is probably the MB bottle. I also like the well in the old Parker Penman ink bottles. Waterman bottles are kind of plain, but they are pretty stable when tipped on their side to get the last bit of ink.

Larry

One of my reason for getting so many different branded inks is for the different bottles I'm nuts.

Waterman bottles have the advantage that you can tilt them when there is little ink.

As my avatar indicates, the Visconti bottle is my favourite. It's a precarious little beast, though, so I tend to leave it in the box when filling from it. Like Handlebar, I'm also very fond of Omas bottles.

Neil

exactly what I was thinking. I think the Mont Blanc blue is definitely more instense than the Quink. I don't speak for the either black colors though.

I should have mentioned the color! I was referring to Quink Black and Blue-black versus Mont Blanc Black. By comparison, an intense black is like that from India ink.

The most functional bottles are Lamy, Namiki and Montblanc. You can really get the last few drops of ink. Waterman is also really good because you can tip the bottle a bit to get the last 1/2 of the ink left.

Visconti is nice too because they made it to where you can get some of the last few drops of ink. The unfortunate thing is that I have to place the bottle in the box because the bottle is top heavy and prone to tipping.

OMAS is a nice bottle too but not as good as the above ones.

The Bottles I like the least are Private Reserve. They make it too wide and if you use larger nibs, it becomes a juggling act to try to tip the bottle at the right angle so you can fill your larger pens. Everytime I fill from a PR bottle, I always get ink all over my fingers!!! There has not been a time where I have not got ink all over my fingers!!

To remedy the problems, I just use my Visconti Ink Pots. I already own 2 and I am ready for a 3rd one. Yes, they are expensive but a wonderful investment. If I am not at home or at work and I am on the road, I NEVER bring bottles of ink. The Ink Pot fits nicely in my pen case!!

Are there any inks that come in a refill type container? Like a bag? I would think that most of the cost of reordering ink would be in the glass bottle? I haven't used anthing other than cartridge ink but am looking to buy a bottle and I am leaning toward the MB bottle for astetics and fillablility with my converters. I guess if I had an MB bottle I would refill it with what ever struck me at the time. I would just be more inclined to buy something that I didn't have to get another bottle just to empty it into another.

<_< I hate those PR bottles. It's hard to fill if there's only a little ink left.

My goodness, that's a beatiful ink bottle, Neil!

I've got a Mont Blanc Blue bottle that will soon be dedicated to Noodler's Black.

The only "economy size" ink packaging I've come across is from Pelikan: plastic, narrow-mouth bottles, 250 ml and one liter. Pelikan Royal Blue and Pelikan Brilliant Black are both available in both sizes. Either size is a lot of ink! Pendemonium is the USA merchant for those, $15.90 and $45.35 respectively before shipping. The prices per milliliter are impressively low.

The Noodler's 4.5-oz. (133 ml) eyedropper bottles are cheaper per unit volume than the 3-oz. bottles of the same ink color and formula, and you get an eyedropper in each 4.5-oz. bottle, but I wouldn't call it an economy size.

I wonder what motivates the purchases of the big Pelikan bottles? I'm starting a new thread for that question, so please don't reply to it on this thread.

I'd like to put another vote for the Levenger bottle. After reading this review, I went to a friend who uses Levenger ink. I couldn't see the well at first in full bottles, but in used bottles its clear.

What a design. It has a closed funnel shaped ink well about the length of the bottle right when you open the cap. This well has large slit-holes lining its top [near the bottle cap], so to recharge the well, you need to invert the closed bottle for a touch, then turn it up, and this puts ink in the well.

I'm not sure it works for very larger pens, but it does work for my pens. The Mont Blanc well is somewhat adjustable in that you can tip the bottle over to load larger pens.

Now I'm as much a convert to the Levenger bottles as I am to Mont Blanc. I like them better, in fact because the bottles are much more stable, and they feel good!

Many thanks for your insight!! I am now a proud owner of 2 empty Levenger bottles ready for filling with my favorite inks!

Probably has something to do with the fact tha packaging is at a minnimum. Cost comparison of a sealed poly bag with possibly a closable cap verses the heavy glass bottles and you have to see the money savings in cost of product but also shipping as well. I would think MB or someone like that would have put a bag out there by now. I mean they are MUCH smarter than I am If only that they have shown the marketing and branding that has put them at the top, you would think this would have been done a while ago. Maybe a pen club or local dealer could use the liter size as a bulk purchase and sell refills at a profit. Would still be cheaper than buying a new bottle.

Also if anyone has any MB bottles out there they want to get rid of PM me. I could use a couple extra.

Anyone out there knows about the special Stipula clean filling ink system 'Netto'?

http://www.stipula.net/index_en.html

"Netto is the Stipula patented device that makes possible a clean refill of fountain pens. The Netto accompanies and completes high quality writing instruments helping them to be practical and easy to use.
The Netto is a system consisting of a small device that screws onto the Stipula ink bottle neck. This device allows one to fill the fountain pen without dipping the nib and the grip directly in the ink. The nib will be put in a clean and dry well, where the liquid converges thanks to a multitude of micro-pipes, by means of the principle of capillarity.

The benefits of using Netto are several:
1) the filling is clean, rapid and practical;
2) the Stipula glass bottles in the case can be filled with your favorite ink .
3) the micro-pipes allows you to make use of every last drop of ink;
4) your pen will last more: precious material such as celluloid, cellulose acetate and silver are vulnerable to ink and a frequent contact with it can damage their brilliance and color."

Oh, that's the manufacturer! Levenger sold it for a season. Yes, it's very cool and practical. I'll have to start saving up for one.

I love the Lamy bottles, but the Namiki has me befuddled. I bought one for the first time last weekend, and tried to fill my 1936 Vacumatic from it. Couldn't do it! It seemed like that plastic cup insert just wasn't deep enough. Is there some trick to it?

Afterwards, I used an eyedropper to transfer the ink to another bottle. I filled a Lamy Safari with it, and when I saw how the Namiki (blue) ink stained the outside of the Safari I was glad I hadn't gotten it on the inside of my Vacumatic. Have other folks experienced staining issues with Namiki ink?