I've tried green. I've tried purple. I'm going to try some brown.....but in reality I'm an ink purist. I really only use blue, black, and blue/black. I just like those colors and don't like using "fun" colors. Is anyone else like this?





Edit: For silly spelling error.

Hi. My name is ethernautrix, and I'm a chromataholic.

That probably doesn't make sense. Anyway, I'm like you.

I've tried other colors. I even REALLY like some other colors.

I just don't use them.

I like my blackest blackety black.

Sometimes I need blue or blue-black for contrast.

I have beautiful inks of gorgeous hues... sitting in their bottles on a shelf, collecting dust.

Sigh.


Well, every once in a while, I fill a pen with a deep red, a dark green... then I hardly use the pen and end up putting black back into it. And then I use the pen all the time. Whaddya gonna do? It is what it is.

Yes, I went through a phase (should that be the phase?) of trying out various exotic colours, but now I've reverted in the main to Blue and Black. A Safari on my desk has a Lamy Violet cartridge in it - that's my only concession to fun. I do occasionally find a use for red ink, but that's about it these days.

I love to try new inks, but even though I use many different colours of ink I find myself returning to the more conservative ones. Most of the time I use blue, blue-black, brown (Waterman Havana) or dark green (Montblanc Racing Green) ink. I hardly ever use anything "wilder" than a purplish blue or a burgundy ink.

I like to think that if what I'm writing is wild or fun, then my ink doesn't have to be.

I'm with you. No greens, reds, oranges or pinks here. But there are soooooo many lovely shades of blue and blue-black, that it pretty much satisfies my inkaholic cravings.

In addition to black, blue-black, and blue, I do like some browns. In my pen wrap, I have a black, a blue, a blue-black, and a brown (Kiowa Pecan).

When I'm working on translation exercises for my Ancient Greek class, I will write the Greek in blue, and the interlinear translation in brown.... the contrasting colors are really a necessity for me there.

Yeah, my Latin notebook has the Latin in black, the translation in pencil (required by my teacher...) and notes in blue. Heck I may even go so far as to coordinate vocab as blue and grammar notes in blue-black!

I have some turquoise, but I really can't handle it unless it's got a lot of black in it, making it and odd blue black. Now, my favorite color is purple so if I ever need a slightly different color I go for a deep purple. But bright colors, I just don't wish to write with.

Αμεν, αμεν λογο σου. Sooner or later, I think most of us come back to blues, blacks and blue blacks. Red is good for annotating copied materials, along with a Noodler's filled highlighter.

You will like brown then... It may suit you.

I'm almost your exact opposite. I have a visceral dislike of blue inks and have yet to find one that I can even tolerate, much less put in any pen I use frequently. I do like Noodler's Aircorps blue-black, but only because it's very green. My default colour is green, although I like all kinds of other colours. I'm not your complete opposite, because I do like black ink well enough, even if it's not my first choice.

Some day I might discover a blue ink I like. Or maybe not. I suppose I might find the motivation to try some out someday, if some colour I like better doesn't leap in front of me first.

I'm searching for the perfect black, blue black, and blue - that should tell you a lot. My favorite is blue black and I love the vintage Quink from the 30's - 40's. I do use brown ink for underlining and have toyed with Binder Blurple.

I like a nice blue/black. But I could put a brown in every pen I have. Call me a poo-colored chromataholic!

As you can see from my signature, I have nary a black or a blue - except my cheapie pen, which I use to address envelopes, etc.

Right now, I am mostly writing on the computer. I use the pens to annotate, correct, or grade papers or manuscripts. For that, anything but blue or black are good. Right now, I like the yellow a lot, but I can't use it where the paper will be photocopied.

I guess I need to get serious some day... soon

Erick

You are not alone!

I prefer blue and black inks as well. I've finally found a nearly perfect blue ink, Visconti Blue (perfect color, but if water gets within twenty paces it practically leaps from the page), and now I'm seeking the perfect black and the perfect blue-black. Aurora Black is the best trouble-free black I've found. I'm currently evaluating Noodler's Old Manhattan Black, but it doesn't look hopeful. And I've yet to find a real blue-black (Waterman Should Be Called Teal doesn't count).

I think you may find that brown is a third acceptable color for the ink purist. I resisted it for quite some time, but finally caved in and purchased a bottle of Caran d'Ache Grand Canyon. I recently filled a pen with that ink for the first time, and... I love it! So I now need to find the perfect brown, too.

I've tried other colors, and I have trouble using them. I can never seem to find the right purpose for them. I like Mont Blanc British Racing Green, but I don't really want to write letters in green ink, and when it comes to notes or a journal, blue is my favorite color, so blue is my preferred ink. I have a bottle of Caran d'Ache Storm (purple), and I still haven't opened it. Even the justifiably lauded Binder Blurple is too not-blue for me. I modified the ratio of blue to purple (3:2 instead of 1:1), and even so it's just not blue enough.

Oh well, at least I'm willing to try a range of pen colors and designs. A friend of mine refuses to admit that anything that isn't black with gold trim is a real pen.

I'm with you, Opus, in the...uh...pipe...in my love for brown. Since I got back into this, I gravitated towards burgundy inks and brown inks and purple inks. Finally, after 12 other bottles, I tried Aurora Black and I had to admit, it's nice too.

Two of my favorites in the brown-red range are PR Black Cherry and Waterman Havana Brown. Herbin Terre de Feu is a nice terracotta shade.

I also love Pelikan Violet and use it a lot. PR Plum is also nice but somehow has less "gravitas" than the Violet.

I don't love pure red or orange shades...don't use 'em. I have a couple of greens but don't use them a lot. I get the urge every so often but it's not an everyday kind of thing.

I do use blue a lot and went through a lot of different options - I guess my favorites at the moment are PR Midnight Blues, PR Tanzanite and PR DC Supershow Blue.

Blacks - Aurora Black and Pelikan Brilliant Black.

I guess I have about half of my rotation inked with blue or black and the other half with more lively colors. Part of the fun of writing in my journal or work notebook is seeing the color shift from day to day.

I mostly stick with blue-black (Noodler's Legal Lapis) and blue (Noodler's Bay State Blue), but I have a couple of pens with Noodler's Fox Red and Hunter Green for when I need the contrast.

If I couldn't have a nice blue-black I think I could live happily with Noodler's Standard Brown.

I receive postcards and letters from people in inks of the most marvelous colors. Many use several different inks in a single page creating a exuberant sense of wonder and appreciation on my part. But I don't like writing in anything other than blue or black or blue-black. I'm using Luxury Blue at the moment and wondering how anything else in the Universe could be so perfectly fountain-penny.

Doug

I'm with you, although I use "funny colors" to highlight something, add corrections to my notes or to my students' exams or compositions. Nevertheless, very often I use disposable rollerballs for that.

I've tried R. Binder's "blurple", but it's too much purple to my taste; I'm going to try a 1/3 or 1/4 mix to get a blue with a purplish tone. It should qualify as a blue.

Juan

PURGE THE CHROMATISTS!

(Unless you have read Edwin A. Abbott's Flatland you wont have any idea what I am on about).

Well I'm with ya on this one too.
BUT WAIT, only 75%.
I love and need and use about 87.5% of the time only blues and blue-blacks. So that only means that I can buy hundreds of 'em.
Still, I love mixing inks and am on the verge of finding my perfect combo. Basically very -- or maybe even only "rather" -- black but with a dash of purple and just a hint of brown.
So, ya see that I DO need purples and browns and blacks and reds too.

Mike <-- my mixture number 17.

Me too!
I have one old Pelikan 400NN and a Lamy vista filled with burgundy and purple. These are my editing pens for any kind of editing at the office.

Other than this all my pens are filled with blue or blueblack. Visconti Blue and Diamine Imperial blue are all time favourites. With other blues every now and then. Sailor blue and Pelikan blue and blueblack 1:1 qualify as blueblack. And Waterman blue (with some South Sea blue and Havanna mixed into) for pens with poor ink flow.

But I am still looking for the perfect blueblack. A blueblack without the green or grey hues so many inks do have. The Pelikan mix is very close used in a wet writer (sometimes I add a little bit of black, too), but maybe there is another one, a better one ....

I'm a bit of a negative here, I can't stand blues or black in a fountan pen... of the ones I have tried... I'm currently hooked on browns with Walnut being my "black" ink I'm putting together a color profile for my writings and looking for shades that are in the "basic" color range... just finding the right shades it's all the fun I can stand HAHA crud broke again...

Yup, I'm in the blue/black/blue-black camp. There are times that call for red, and I have a big bottle of Noodler's Nikita (and the ED-fill pen that came with it) for those occasions. But I have a fairly low tolerance for other colors (novelty factor aside). Green, especially, grates on my nerves. Don't know why, exactly, but it does.

I started my fountain pen life with a Safari and blue ink...then got my waterman with waterman blue/black...for a long time that all i used, even when i changed pens.

for the last year i went into the colour phase...greens, purple, turquiose, red...and even got the Whiteness of the Whale and mixed up some on my own concoctions...

now however i find myself going back to my dupont with black dupont ink...with my pelikan with shaeffer scrip blue

and i also find myself wanting a beautiful dark blue...but not Noodler...i want a quick drying ink for my Yard-o-led...any ideas?

I'm too engrossed in my love of staid, conservative oh-so-serious blacks, browns, and greens to ever dally with anything so frivolous as blue ink.

Good one!

JD

The description of blue as frivolous has somehow brightened up my day.

Doug

Mine too! I was feeling mired in practicality until I realized I have three pens inked with Baystate Blue.

Ahhh...here I sit starring at 22 bottles of ink....they're starring back at me too! If some of these bottles were children, I'd have Child Protective Services knocking at the door, 'cause ...I'm just flat out neglecting them.

Those would be the four bottles of various green tones, three bottles of reds, and a couple of bottles of other stuff including an EL Lawrence and an electric type of blue or two.

The keepers are:

- Visconti Blue
- Waterman Florida Blue
- Aurora Blue
- Aurora Black
- Diamine Blue Black
- Waterman Blue Black
- FPN Starry Night
- and finally Waterman Havana Brown (which I do really like!!)

So yup....between the blues, blacks, and a couple of blue blacks...I'm boring... erhumm....I mean a "purist: too.

Who know's what next week will bring??

Peter

The only colors I own are various blues and blacks, with exception of one bottle of Blurple.

I like blue-black and black in my pens, only. However, I do have a pen dedicated to yellow (PR Buttercup) for highlighting and a pen dedicated to red (PR Dakota Red) for editing. I can't bring myself to use other colors such as brown, green, purple, etc.

If you're a purist then brown and black should be your only colors- going back to the source!

I am in the black, blue, and blue-black group but am looking for a red-black or maybe it would be a black-red. Tom

I kept a slew of fountain pens inked up with many colors for quite a while when I was doing a lot of drawing. Now I stick to Noodler's Black, Aircorp Blue Black, Tahitian Pearl Blue Black or Noodler's Walnut.

I still use all my colors to draw but I like to write with my basics.1 Black,2 Blue Blacks and a Brown.

I use all different colors, but the only color I've gone through entire bottles of is your basic washable blue. I suppose it's because every pen I get is tested with a fill of Skrip or Quink blue, and at any given time I'll have at least one pen filled with it.

But like I said, I use many colors, from staid Pelikan black to wild PR colors to armor plated Legal Lapis. Even coffee on occasion (but only in dip pens, not FP's).

I only ever use blue or black ink, and only ever blue in a fountain pen. I do plan to use red or green for my Christmas cards, though.

I feel the same: blue, blue-black, or black. But I have a good opt-out: because I'm a teacher I am 'forced' (twist my arm!) to mark in other colours and find Waterman's green and Havana brown very nice (the red isn't so well-behaved).

The only trouble is that I can't find a blue-black that is what it says. As many others have noticed, most of them are greenish-grey. Even the Pelikan is a bit greyish when dry. And though I like Florida Blue it is a bit weak when dry - I think I prefer the Quink (non-washable).

I'd love to know of a blue-black that will give the actual colour, be quite a wet writer, and not damage the pen. Any ideas?

Thomas

Pretty much same here, although I can see myself use sepia too. Right now I own three bottles of black ink--Quink, Noodler's, Skrip. LOL
I'm really more of a writer who uses fountain pens than a fountain pen enthusiast, I guess. I have about 6 journals going on right now and one sketchbook (though I use graphite for that and not fountain pen). I don't decorate my scribblings with various colours. I only use the basic blue, black, blue/black.

Yes. I thought I'd like a ton of different inks, but I find myself repulsed by the sight of my own writing if I see it in anything other than the subdued color palette of dark blue. Black is too somber and I like something with color, but I don't use other colors much.

I'm reading a book by Alice Hoffman entitled "The Ice Queen", where the heroine suffers, as result of a freak lightning strike, the inability to see the color red. Cherries are the color of stones, lipstick is white, the world is an icy blue-green.

I wonder what her preferred ink would be?

Red. Which would appear to be the color of stones (ah, a nice slate color perhaps?), white (like Moby), or icy blue-green, which you can't even get from Noodler's. What a wonderful affliction!

Doug