I have been writing with fountain pens since I was a kid, and have always used the cartridges. Now, I have a small collection of pens, each with its own cartridge needs. Finding the cartidges locally has become impossible (? I do not understand why ) so I am stepping up to the bottle. I found a decent selection of Sanford/Higgins inks at an art supply store, but my gut says to check around online first. I currently use a Sheaffer, a Parker, and a Sensa and I ordered a Genius to carry around ( I only carry what I wouldn't miss if lost or broken). I like a fast drying, bold ink that resists bleeding/feathering. I have been looking at samples online and judging from the idealized images, so far I thInk I might like Namiki black, J. Herbin's Lierre Savage, and PR Copper Burst. So...can/should I use the Higgins or should I go for one of these others?
Any advice you can offer the novices on this forum I'm sure would be appreciated greatly.

I'm right handed, firm grip and pressure, fast, skinny (lines instead of loops), scratchy looking writing so I also prefer fine or extra fine nibs.

definitely don't use the Sanford/Higgins - these are not for fountain pens and unless you want to clean out pens every time you use them...

I've used Pilot (Namiki) black and red and both are good inks. The red is a bright true red (somewhere is a pic of it from a Pilot Parallel pen - I'll try to dig it up and link it).

J. Herbin's Lierre Suavage is a lovely dark green. Not quite Penman Emerald but very rich in its own right.

I'm not big on Copper Burst as there isn't nearly as much "copper" to it as I would like. At least not in my experience. I expected a redder brown. But a lot of people like it just fine. I found it a bit dry writing which might actually suit your purposes. But I wouldn't say it's a "bold" ink.

WRT fast drying - you will find many of the Private Reserve inks (and Noodler's) are rather saturated with dyes and therefore not as quick to dry. Swisher's sells their ink (a Noodler's off-shoot) that is quick-drying but will likely feather on cheaper papers. Still, good ink. Diamine inks that I have tried thus far have all been excellent with pretty good drying times and no smearing. Personally, Diamine is becoming one of my favorite brands and I've always been a PR fan. Copper Burst should dry quickly enough however.

Any of the other major brands will do just fine - Waterman, Quink, Sheaffer. I don't care for Lamy - anemic to my eye. Some "brands" are rebottling (Cross, Conway Stewart and Delta are Pelikan inks - though some of their colors may not be in the official Pelikan line.)

now... after you've read all that and decided on what you like - sometime down the line try some "subtle" inks just for grins. I used to avoid them if at all possible, but i'm in a subtle ink stage and avoiding the heavily saturated inks for some reason. Once you go to bottled ink - you may find it is as consuming an interest as the pens.

though there are few oddballs here that only use one or two different inks.

here's the pic using Pilot Red - the screen doesn't do this bright red justice.
http://www.ghg.net/schwerpt/founts/parapen.jpg

From what you've said, Waterman, Diamine, and Noodlers permanent grades would seem to fit the bill. For specific colors, I'd recommend taking a good look through the Ink Review forum and getting a good feel for samples. That should help you narrow the field a bit.

If you must write on low-quality paper, Sheaffer Skrip ink behaves better (less bleed-through and less shadowing) than Waterman ink does.

Herbin inks are very good, but Auckland, being very humid, is bad for paper. In this very adverse climate, I find some Herbin colours a bit prone to feather. This is probably not a problem in most climates.

A good blue to start with is Waterman's Florida Blue -- well behaved, not expensive, available most places that sell bottled ink, and a lovely blue.

Have fun -- once you start with inks, there is no end

Michael