It seems the more interested I become in fountain pens, the fewer there are to be had, the dearer they become, and the supply of ink seems to literally dry up. I remember when I could go to my nearby art supply shop and peruse a variety of fountain pens and inks. Today, when I ask for ink they show me an Epson cartridge. And Pens? It's like they hardly know what I'm talking about. And Ink? They have two brands, each with a couple of variations of black. It's the same at the stationary shops. Inks are limited to Parker black or blue-black, and remarkably, Sheaffer's black. At the pen specialty store I admired the sample of Sheaffer's turquoise. I like the way painterly way the the dried pigment changes density and tone at the edge of the ink mark. I chose it; out of stock.
It all seems strange to see so little available.
Paper’s a problem too. I’ve found so few papers that take ink well. My moleskins are all a disappointment, a waste of money. They bleed awfully. Moleskin’s email address for comments on quality isn’t valid.
Most commercial notebooks are semi-blotters or close to newsprint. The French Rhodia and Clairefontaine papers are too slick, glossy and slippery for my taste. I’d like a somewhat matte surface, but quality papers are becoming scarcer, I see.
Not to paint a totally horrible picture altogether; I am delighted to have found a wonderful Sheaffer Sovereign fountain pen with a FF3 nib. It’s real flex, a never-used Fine Flex Snorkel. It's my dream pen. If I were to part with all my other pens I wouldn’t mind, because this pen delivers a delicious line, far finer than my new Extra Fine Pelikan, with a spread wider then my Pelikan BB. My older Pelikan 120s deliver a delicate line from the old gold plated steel EF nibs, and they do offer some flex, but not like this Sheaffer.
So, I’ll wait for some Sheaffer turquoise ink to appear on the shelves and in the meantime, see if I can find satisfactory paper for my new acquisition.
I think the Japanese make some papers I will like.

Interesting post, but I would venture to say that there are plenty of places to get ink in Toronto...

Laywine's has a ton of inks from Private Reserve, de Atramentis, J. Herbin, and others (some Omas inks, etc). They also have a ton of different notebooks and papers.

B. Sleuth and Statesman in First Canadian Place carries a bunch of Noodler's colours, with some Sailor and Aurora inks.

Essence du Papier carries a number of Visconti colours.

All of the above carry pretty good selections of Waterman's, too, I believe. Montblanc inks are also widely available (for some colours, the Montblanc boutique on Bloor is the place to go).

Laywines and Sleuth & Statesman are good places to buy ink, but their pen prices are...well... ah, gasp. If you live in the hinterland of Toronto, as I do, however, places selling ink, let alone FPs, are few and far between. I have little occasion to go into Toronto (thank goodness), but when I do I drop by either Laywines or FCP to pick up a bottle or two of ink.

Essence du Papier is right next to my work so I verture into there shop a lot just to drool over there pens.
A sales lady knows me well and I show her all my new pens (She loved the Visconti Romanica) and I buy most of my inks there.Their ink prices are resonable but in general I dont buy pens anywhere in Toronto as I feel their prices are too much and I can get the pens for a lot cheapr in the good old USA.

I know what you're saying about "hinterland". I live on an Island so I've been using the good old internet and mail system. You can get ALMOST anything. Also no need for parking. You do however need to wait, and that sometimes is a bother.


..................Stani

Agree on Laywine's and Sleuth & Statesman. Good variety of inks.

No way! It's like a hop, skip, and jump away from my school!

Anyways, Sleuth & Statesman has quink, skrip, noodler's [+ an exclusive], private reserve, pelikan, waterman, aurora [iirc.], and more. I'm not saying that they overprice [*ahem* Pilot Knight for $75, MSRP $45 *ahem*], HOWEVER, if you order at least two bottles of ink from any of a number of sites, you start to save money even with shipping in the equation and that would be my suggestion.

PS: Nice to see so many fellow Torontonians on here.

Essence du Papier? Is that the one in Sears at Eatons? Thats where I got my second pen.

Especially with combined shipping, most of the time you're better off with purchasing goods online from other countries than in Toronto; that's a pity since I personally enjoy seeing the product first.
I've been to BS&S and their service is pretty good. However... Pricing is a completely different matter.

One of the best places I have found to get ink is Loomis art store in Oakville. Right at Dundas and the 403.
They carry a ink From France called Aladine and have a full selection of colors to choose from. 30mm bottles.

Chris

Another vote for Laywine's!

Oh I wholly agree on pen pricing; it's ridiculous in Toronto (unless you luck into a big sale; I got my Lamy Studio for $60 at a 40% off sale!). Ink prices, while on a percentage basis are significantly higher, on a $$$ basis it's only 2-3 bucks more than in the U.S. in general.... from a time-is-money and shipping perspective, just fork it over and buy the bottle at the B&M if you can. Especially at places like Laywine's with such awesome service.

Actually probably worth it to bring a glass pen with you so you can dip!