Brown Ink

[etaylor33]

I have my favorites in the blue family and the green family and a private mixture of red I made up. I was looking for something in the brown family. Not just any old brown. It had to be dark, and it had to be a rich brown color and it had to be unmistakably brown. So I sent for some samples from Mr. Goulet.

I got : DeAtramentis Tobacco ( they say it's scented and it is, but not a nice scent), Noodlers #41 Brown, Noodlers Walnut, Noodlers Polar Brown, Diamine Chocolate Brown, Diamine Macassar, Private Reserve Chocolat. I tested all of these with a "M' nib to get the best representation from each one.

I found the DeAtramentisTobacco to be too light and washed out, ditto with the Noodlers #41 brown and the Noodlers Polar Brown. The Noodlers Walnut was only a little better as it was a bit darker. They all worked great in the pen, layed down a good line of ink and gave no trouble with pen cleaning or staining. Private Reserve Chocolat was dark enough but had a reddish tint to it. Don't know if it was just me or the ink, this also flowed well and almost looked good, but no dice.

Diamine Chocolate and Macassar were the only ones I found, of the samples, that came close to what I was looking for. The Diamine Chocolate was rich and dark brown looking. Flowed great, and was almost too dark, dark to the point where you almost lost the brown. A quick look and one might almost think it was black.

The Diamine Macassar was a shade or two lighter in color than the Chocolate, but it was undeniably a brown. Dark, rich, brown but I have to give the edge to the Diamine Chocolate. I'm not convinced I've found the perfect brown yet, but I'm sure there is one out there. I'm holding off buying my bottle of Diamine Chocolate until I can try a few more browns that I can't get through Goulet Pens. So I'll have to hunt them down. If I could get maybe just a hair lighter than the Diamine Chocolate I might have a winner. I know that gauging colors is tough, even in first hand experiences because what is horrid looking to one person, may be the color that another person absolutely loves. So if you know of any brown inks that come close to the Diamine Chocolate, please leave a post here, I'd appreciate it and if you can tell me where to get a sample, so much the better. The search goes on.

[Aurko]

My personal favorite brown is either rohrer and klingner sepia or montblanc toffee brown.

[Tas]

My favourite brown brown (ie one that doesn't look like black, which would be Sailor Doyou and one that doesn't make it's mind up depending on the pen and paper, that would be KWZI Hunter Green) . . . Cult Pens Deep Dark Brown.

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_deep_dark_brown.jpg

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_deep_dark_brown_swatch.jpg

[Chrissy]

Another vote for Montblanc Toffee Brown. This one doesn't look black like Sailor Do-you does.

 

Monteverde Brown is a nice colour in addition to being a well-behaved ink.

 

Waterman Absolute Brown is another decent contender.

[mmg122]

Tas: Cult Pens Deep Dark Brown.

 

+1

[kapanak]

My favourite brown is a 10:1 mixture of Iroshizuku Yu-Yake and Aurora Black

[Liis]

If you prefer Diamine Chocolate then I would suggest to stay away Waterman's Brun Absolu - it will be too red and too thin (beautiful brown in a wet pen though).

Chocolate is my favorite dark color and in an Pilot Metropolitan fine looks just like a warm black but not quite black - absolutely beautiful thin dark line. In my less wet pens it does not seem as dark.

 

I'd also suggest to try the Deep Dark Brown, Chocolate's cooler looking dark sister.

(I expected Macassar to look like Deep Dark Brown, was a bit of a surprise that Macassar was not as dark as I envisioned).

[Arkanabar]

Try diluting the too-dark browns a bit with distilled water.

I recently got to try a sample of Iroshizuku Yama-Guri. I was really hoping this would be the color for me. It has excellent properties. It flows well, and has both excellent fade resistance and water resistance. It's clearly brown and not black.

But it's a cool brown with a noticeable gray component. It reminds me of dead sticks and frozen mud. I intend to put a little bit into a slightly wider pen soon, but I'm not planning another fill without adding some red.

I remember Waterman Havana Brown. I loved the color. That it fades to teal under relatively benign lighting conditions (ie, indoors), not so much.

I have a sample of Noodler's Walnut to try. I'm going to have to read some reviews of it, first, to see whether it has any of the sort of problems that are often remediated by dilution.

Diamine Macassar is on my list of samples to obtain. Diamine Chocolate has a reputation for growing crystals on the nib.

[lapis]

Definitely at least try FPN's Galileo Manuscript (not sure if it's still/again available) and CdA's Grand Canyon (which I know has been discontinued).

Good luck with both!!

 

Mike

[rudyhou]

My favourite brown brown (ie one that doesn't look like black, which would be Sailor Doyou and one that doesn't make it's mind up depending on the pen and paper, that would be KWZI Hunter Green) . . . Cult Pens Deep Dark Brown.

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_deep_dark_brown.jpg

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_deep_dark_brown_swatch.jpg

 

this sketch is such an eye candy. being a brown ink fan, i really enjoy looking at it. nice job

[Tas]

 

this sketch is such an eye candy. being a brown ink fan, i really enjoy looking at it. nice job

 

Thank you.

[C-town]

I would try to get your hands on a bottle of Montblanc Toffee brown if I were you. It is the deepest and most brown ink I've come across. Just straight brown. It is also very well behaved in the pen and on the page.

[Diderot]

I bought Montblance Toffee Brown on a whim expecting to not use it at all.

 

I like it a lot and do use it.

[Pravda]

I bought Montblance Toffee Brown on a whim expecting to not use it at all.

 

I like it a lot and do use it.

+1 I'm on my second bottle already

[Runnin_Ute]

I went through this process- samples of different inks - probably a half dozen or more. Ended up getting Diamine Saddle Brown. When I want a brown that is like dark chocolate, I put it in something with a fine nib. (currently a Esterbrook J-Venus Fine) Something a bit lighter, I go wider. (TWSBI Eco 1.1 stub) Looks like two completely different inks.

 

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af283/Runnin_Ute/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-04/IMG_20160413_202911_zpsyexkmdrt.jpg

[AndyYNWA]

How does GvFC Hazelnut Brown compare to Montblanc Toffee Brown? Anyone who can provide a side-by-side comparison?

[amberleadavis]

Brad and I agree that Diamine Saddle Brown is a great ink. I am not a huge fan of brown inks (Where is Cyber6 - she loves rich browns and murky greens). I found that Kobe Nada Brown was a wonderful wet ink.

[Arkanabar]

I don't think Diamine Saddle Brown has a fade resistance rating in your spreadsheet, Amber. Do you have any impressions regarding its fade resistance?

[etaylor33]

My search for the perfect brown has come to a conclusion. I did try the Montblanc Toffee Brown. Although brown, it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I finally settled on the Diamine Chocolate Brown. Although it seems too dark in some applications, depending on the pen and paper it is just about as close as I think I can get to what I had in mind. Thank you to all those that took the time to offer suggestions, they are appreciated. I think I tried out about 14-17 samples of browns. Some quite nice, some nothing like I thought they'd be. But it was fun. I wasn't a big fan of browns, I just wanted one to fill in my brown niche for when the urge struck for a brown ink. I now like brown inks more than before, so the Diamine Chocolate Brown should be getting a workout. Anxious to see how it looks in my new TWSBI Eco 1.1 stub.

[etaylor33]

Try diluting the too-dark browns a bit with distilled water.

 

I recently got to try a sample of Iroshizuku Yama-Guri. I was really hoping this would be the color for me. It has excellent properties. It flows well, and has both excellent fade resistance and water resistance. It's clearly brown and not black.

 

But it's a cool brown with a noticeable gray component. It reminds me of dead sticks and frozen mud. I intend to put a little bit into a slightly wider pen soon, but I'm not planning another fill without adding some red.

 

I remember Waterman Havana Brown. I loved the color. That it fades to teal under relatively benign lighting conditions (ie, indoors), not so much.

 

I have a sample of Noodler's Walnut to try. I'm going to have to read some reviews of it, first, to see whether it has any of the sort of problems that are often remediated by dilution.

 

Diamine Macassar is on my list of samples to obtain. Diamine Chocolate has a reputation for growing crystals on the nib.

I tried the Diamine Macassar, I liked it and it was a close contender with the Diamine Chocolate Brown, but the DCB won out over the DM. Thanks for the suggestion.