Good Student/ Beginner Ink?

[Scrawler]

Pelikan, Skrip, Quink or Watermans. These are the classic student/beginner inks for a reason. They are cheap, widely available, unfussy, and utterly reliable. Okay, they may not have the wide range of colours or specialised properties of Noodlers or PR, but they also don't have the more finicky natures of those inks either...

 

... G

Skrip etc. are the gateway inks. If we can get the new FP users using those inks, we'll have them hooked.

Argh Skrip. Warn your children. It was my downfall. It started with a bit of experimentation with a little of their black, then I tried some green and a bit of red. Now I am hardcore and all I can do is sit in a corner noodling. I am a sad case. I use needles now, to get that last bit out of the bottle and inject it into cartridges so that I am always sure to have a bit with me wherever I go.

[drgonzo2]

Pelikan, Skrip, Quink or Watermans. These are the classic student/beginner inks for a reason. They are cheap, widely available, unfussy, and utterly reliable. Okay, they may not have the wide range of colours or specialised properties of Noodlers or PR, but they also don't have the more finicky natures of those inks either...

 

... G

Skrip etc. are the gateway inks. If we can get the new FP users using those inks, we'll have them hooked.

 

So true. It's easily forgotten that a beginner FP user generally isn't interested in the finer details of the more specialised inks, they just want something reliable and unfussy to use. To the average beginner, an ink that needs regular flushing or permanently stains clothes is seen as a p.i.t.a, wheras to a more experienced FP user may see those attributes as advantageous. Let's face it, when compared to the convenience of a rollerball or ballpoint in everyday use, a FP is already on a bit of a losing streak. Adding an ink with more finicky requirements (regular flushing, etc) could easily be the deciding factor between somebody becoming a regular FP user, or their reverting back to a ballpen...

 

Start new FP'ers out on the classic inks. Leave the "boutique" brands for later, once they've already got hooked on the FP experience...

 

... G

[calhoun tubbs]

I agree with drgonzo2, but I'll cast my vote for Pelikan Blue-Black. It is inexpensive, well-behaved, and waterproof. I haven't had much issue with it at all.

[Flaneurette]

I agree with drgonzo2, but I'll cast my vote for Pelikan Blue-Black. It is inexpensive, well-behaved, and waterproof. I haven't had much issue with it at all.

 

I second that. I love Pelikan Blue-Black. It is reasonably priced, no luxury, no fuzz, just a very reliable ink. The colour is just great, neutral but still more exciting than black and not as soft as blue. Everytime I see a beautiful blue-black, it turns out to be Pelikan. I also notice when I read through my journals that Pelikan Blue-Black is the most pleasant to read.

[laiki]

Lamy inks seem to do well on just about any type of paper (especially the blue). I've used the ink on the cheapest recycled papers at school (a sharp pencil could leave large tears on those papers but this ink managed to get me through). I think this would be a good choice for someone who wants an ink that isn't moody.

[Northwoods]

Start new FP'ers out on the classic inks. Leave the "boutique" brands for later, once they've already got hooked on the FP experience...

 

Agreed.

 

Just slightly above the Skrip & Waterman I'd put Diamine. Very friendly inks and a wide color palate.

 

Save the Private Reserve, Noodler's, Levenger, etc for more experienced users who are more accustomed to regular pen maintenance. Good inks, but they benefit from a higher degree of pen care than the average newcomer is used to.

[psfred]

Sheaffer blue-black is a very nice ink. Quite water resistant, drys quickly, easy to use. Don't know about staining clothes, so I'd assume permanent since it's water resistant on paper. Very well behaved, I used it quite a bit in school.

 

X-Feather is a real problem on good paper -- it takes FOREVER to dry, and I've tracked it around half an hour after writing on good paper in damp weather. Wonderful if you have to use crud paper as I do at work, but messy on anything else. Works great in lab notebooks, well known for sponge like paper, it's the only thing that works well there. However, you won't be able to use it without making a mess on much of anything else, so you would need more than one pen, etc.

 

I would assume the Sloveninan Skrip black is also good. It's darker than the old stuff, which I could never get myself to like.

 

Peter

[Pulsewidth]

I've been using Noodler's Bulletproof Black in an XF Lamy Safari on cheap paper for over a week now with no problems. It does have nib creep but I don't count that as a problem because it doesn't affect writing.

[Possum Hill]

I've been using Noodler's Bulletproof Black in an XF Lamy Safari on cheap paper for over a week now with no problems. It does have nib creep but I don't count that as a problem because it doesn't affect writing.

That's a very nice, very usable ink. My only reservation about it and other bulletproof inks is that some people attract paint, tar and ink as if they were magnets so one might want to start with something washable, just in case.

[Ray-Vigo]

When I was a student I regularly relied on Waterman Florida Blue. I've since discovered Waterman Blue-Black and Waterman Green. All of them are well behaved and mild.

 

I once committed a cardinal sin by just leaving a Florida Blue cartridge in my Phileas all through summer break. When I opened it back up in August, after having let it sit 3 months, it wrote as if it'd been used the day before.

[watch_art]

After just buying a bottle of Pelikan Blue Black, I gotta plus one to that. It's a beautiful ink with lots of shading in the right pen.

[khymeera]

I can't decide between Pelikan Blue black and heart of darkness...so I got little vials of both for my friend to try. We've formed our own little ink exchange with me as the dealer and several friends as "addicts". I even have a handy trenchcoat to wear to dark corners to exchange the "goods". This is gonna be fun

[bluebellrose]

Student question, so I decided to post here.

Is noodlers polar black a good choice for students? Mostly because I take the bus to campus and it's sub zero out there half the time. I ruined two cheap gel pens out there already. I'll mosey over to Lonsdale Quay one of these days after I'm done with papers and exams and pop by Perks. Somewhere around here, I noticed it was posted that Perks has Noodlers.

Waterman's Black is readily available locally at the local staples. The noodlers requires a special trip by bus and seabus. Maybe I'll do some pokemon go catching while I'm grabbing my noodlers.

[lgsoltek]

Pilot Black, Blue Black or Blue.

 

Personally I dont find Noodlers inks beginner-friendly.

[domzals1]

Pilot Black, Blue Black or Blue.

 

Personally I dont find Noodlers inks beginner-friendly.

 

+1

 

Waterman is another good beginner choice.

[LanceSaintPaul]

Student question, so I decided to post here.

Is noodlers polar black a good choice for students? Mostly because I take the bus to campus and it's sub zero out there half the time. I ruined two cheap gel pens out there already. I'll mosey over to Lonsdale Quay one of these days after I'm done with papers and exams and pop by Perks. Somewhere around here, I noticed it was posted that Perks has Noodlers.

Waterman's Black is readily available locally at the local staples. The noodlers requires a special trip by bus and seabus. Maybe I'll do some pokemon go catching while I'm grabbing my noodlers.

 

Go with the Waterman's for all reasons - cheap, ubiquitous, and safe. It's also a very decent black.

[Runnin_Ute]

Beginner ink?

 

Pelikan Blue Black

Waterman Serenity Blue

 

One wet-ish (Waterman)

One dry (Pelikan)

[displacermoose]

Student question, so I decided to post here.

Is noodlers polar black a good choice for students? Mostly because I take the bus to campus and it's sub zero out there half the time. I ruined two cheap gel pens out there already. I'll mosey over to Lonsdale Quay one of these days after I'm done with papers and exams and pop by Perks. Somewhere around here, I noticed it was posted that Perks has Noodlers.

Waterman's Black is readily available locally at the local staples. The noodlers requires a special trip by bus and seabus. Maybe I'll do some pokemon go catching while I'm grabbing my noodlers.

I've never used any polar inks, so I can't say how well they write. I sometimes clip my pens in an inside coat pocket if I'm worried. But even carrying pens around in a briefcase I've never had a problem. Note: my winter experiences reference southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Your location my be more extreme.

[Arkanabar]

For the OP's question:

You won't go wrong with any of the recommendations thus far. I find Heart of Darkness a little more well-behaved than Noodler's original bulletproof Black.

That said, my first recommendation would be Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black. Even if you should spill some water, coffee, tea, or soda on it, it's likely to remain legible, and it resists fading. It's also low-maintenance and isn't too prone to feathering.

And if you can get it, I'd say that Pilot Blue-Black (Pilot INK-350-BB or INK-70-BB) could well be The World's Most Workmanlike Ink.

@BlueBellRose: if you keep your fountain pen in a shirt breast pocket, well inside your coat, Polar Black should not be necessary. If you plan to write outside, then yeah, I can see taking the time to go get it, especially if you're citing sub-zero in Farenheit, rather than Celsius.

Oh wait, I've looked up typical winter temperatures in Vancouver, and unless you're writing outside where and when it's plenty cold enough for ice fishing, you're not likely to need Noolder's Polar ink.

Edited November 21, 2017 by Arkanabar

[welch]

In the Olden Dayes of the late '50s, our parents pushed us to use washable inks. A "student ink" should wash off the hands and wash out of clothes.

 

Incidentally: no reason a kid should use "polar" ink. Classrooms are indoors.