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Determining What Ink To Use


Allsop

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This may seem a daft subject from a someone new to the world of collecting fountain pens but here goes! I gather from various posts that what ink one uses is not an easy thing to decide so I have a couple of questions:

 

1) Is it true that an ink that suits one pen may not be the best for another? If this is the case how do you find out which is best for a particular pen?

 

2) What ink manufacturer do folk like most for different coloured inks? (Up until now I have always used Mont Blank Black but feeling adventurous would like to change colours).

 

3) What is your favourite ink for general purpose usage? Only one proviso it must be ne that will not harm any fountain pen.

“They took my books because my message was love.

They took my pen because my words were love.

Then they took my voice because my song was love.

Soon they’ll take myself so nothing remains.

But they don’t know that when I'm gone my love will stay.” Kamand Kojouri

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2) What ink manufacturer do folk like most for different coloured inks? (Up until now I have always used Mont Blank Black but feeling adventurous would like to change colours).

 

3) What is your favourite ink for general purpose usage? Only one proviso it must be ne that will not harm any fountain pen.

 

 

To your question 1 I would have to say "so I am told", so moving along to the others I find a conflict between what I might say and what I am doing. For colour varieties I look to Diamine and J Herbin as safe options with an extensive colour range, yet my current and in-the-mail inks, counted by brand, are:

GvFC 3

Waterman 2

Diamine, J Herbin, Lamy, 1 each

 

My most frequently used ink is currently close between GvFC Moss Green and Lamy Dark Lilac. This may change.

 

From my reading, all of my choices are very safe and conservative with regard to pen welfare, yet I have found colours I really like, for now.

 

I have zero black. I found some blue-black Scheaffer cartridges when cleaning out a draw yesterday, and put them away again at the back. My heirs and successors can divide up those three cartridges as they please.

Edited by praxim

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1. Yes. You try out different pen ink combos to find out which is the best

 

2. I like Noodler's inks. Many of the inks I'm using now are from them. Using a little Diamine and Pelikan Edelstein too.

 

3. My favourite ink for daily usage is Noodler's Liberty Elysium. Partially bulletproof which requires a bit more maintenance, but I'm fine with the trade-off because it's such a beautiful ink :wub:

 

Disclaimer: Solely my views alone - I don't claim to be right.

 

 

~Epic

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A sincere man am I
From the land where palm trees grow,
And I want before I die
My soul's verses to bestow.
 
All those moments will be lost in time.
Like tears in rain.
Time to die.

 

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1. Yes.

 

2. I like sailor for their extensive range.

 

3. I use Nagasawa Kobe #3 or pen & message cigar for daily usage.

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1. Yep. Trial & error with some informed guessing from previous experience.

 

2. Noodler's & Pilot's Iroshizuku line mostly.

 

3. Noodler's Nightshade is probably my fav, but Iro Ku-jaku & Syo-ro are up there.

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1) At least to some extent, yes. The same way one finds out whether a type of tea goes with lemon or milk.

2) For me it is Diamine. Cheap enough. Wide variety in colours. Good availability in EU.

3) Hmm. At the moment Diamine blue velvet or imperial blue.

You do not have a right to post. You do not have a right to a lawyer. Do you understands these rights you do not have?

 

Kaweco Supra (titanium B), Al-Sport (steel BB).

Parker: Sonnet (dimonite); Frontier GT; 51 (gray); Vacumatic (amber).

Pelikan: m600 (BB); Rotring ArtPen (1,9mm); Rotring Rive; Cult Pens Mini (the original silver version), Waterman Carene (ultramarine F)

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What other people have said. A lot of times it's trial and error, but a good rule of thumb is to put drier inks (including most iron gall inks) in pens that write very wet, and inks that are wetter (i.e., are more lubricated or less saturated) into dry-writing pens.

And every brand of ink is going to have pros and cons, just as every brand of pen (or even within the same model of a specific brand) are going to be different.

Some people add distilled water to inks if they have a tendency to feather (which sounds counterproductive, but it works). Some people add Photo-Flo to inks to make them flow better (I haven't tried that -- I just switch pens, or add a little distilled water).

No ink will "harm" a fountain pen except stuff like India ink. I personally limit the use of some inks to specific pens, simply because I've found pen/ink combinations that work, and (in the case of alkaline inks like the Noodler's Bay State series) because I'm not convinced that I am going to get pens as clean as they need to be to prevent bad chemical interactions between inks. [someone tried to mix BSB and Noodler's Black a couple of years ago, looking for what was to be the "perfect" blue-black. It wasn't. I saw the photos....]

At the moment, I'm trying to empty diluted MB Midnight Blue out of a Pelikan M200 Café Crème with a gusher of an italic nib. The ink was way too wet for that pen. So was the ink I tried in it first -- Edelstein Topaz. Trying to decide between Noodler's Blue Upon the Plains of Abraham (can't tell if the ink is actually on the dry side, or if it was just in dry writers before), and just saying the heck with it and loading the pen up with something in the iron gall family.... If that doesn't work, I'll be in the market for a regular old 200 B nib; and may be anyway....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Like others have said, to some degree it is trial and error. It doesn't mean you end up with a bunch of inks you don't like though. That is why samples were created. Also, there are a couple TOD threads that address the issue of what are some wet inks and what are some that are dry. What this can do is give you some idea of what inks might be a good match to your pens. Some pens are "dry" and others are "wet".

 

For example, Pelikan pens are typically wet. Best match for a pen like that is a dry ink such as Pelikan 4001 Blue Black.

Waterman inks are typically wet, Pelikan inks are typically dry. Diamine? They have both, but with 100+ colors that is going to happen.

 

To answer your second question, I have inks from the following manufacturers: Diamine (5), Pelikan (1), Waterman (1) , Noodler's (3) , Levenger (1) KWZI (2), Akkerman (2), Blackstone (8- 4 regular production and 4 that never went beyond the testing stage (I was a tester)) Right now, I have at least one pen loaded with an ink from all of the above.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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All this is most interesting, thank you to everyone who has contributed.

I would like to purchase some Noodler's, specifically Nightshade, Liberty's Elysium, General of the Armies and possibly Purple Heart but the postage from the USA is probably as much as the ink will cost! So I wonder does anyone know of a retailer in the UK who can supply these inks?

“They took my books because my message was love.

They took my pen because my words were love.

Then they took my voice because my song was love.

Soon they’ll take myself so nothing remains.

But they don’t know that when I'm gone my love will stay.” Kamand Kojouri

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All this is most interesting, thank you to everyone who has contributed.

I would like to purchase some Noodler's, specifically Nightshade, Liberty's Elysium, General of the Armies and possibly Purple Heart but the postage from the USA is probably as much as the ink will cost! So I wonder does anyone know of a retailer in the UK who can supply these inks?

You can alway check with Purepens, they have some of Noodler's inks. Maybe they can help you with these.

 

However, I think the cheapest and easiest way is to buy the inks from the US.

 

From Goulet the inks are US$ 50.00 and the shipping to UK is US$ 35.52.

YNWA - JFT97

 

Instagram: inkyandy

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This may seem a daft subject from a someone new to the world of collecting fountain pens but here goes! I gather from various posts that what ink one uses is not an easy thing to decide so I have a couple of questions:

 

1) Is it true that an ink that suits one pen may not be the best for another? If this is the case how do you find out which is best for a particular pen?

 

2) What ink manufacturer do folk like most for different coloured inks? (Up until now I have always used Mont Blank Black but feeling adventurous would like to change colours).

 

3) What is your favourite ink for general purpose usage? Only one proviso it must be ne that will not harm any fountain pen.

 

1) Yes, there are two considerations: (a) start and flow, and (B) how the ink looks from nibs of different sizes. It took me a long time to match pens to inks so they would start well, and even today two still have trouble: Platinum "cool" with an f or mf nib with Iroshizuku Asa Gao, and Lamy Vista with an m nib with J Herbin Orange Indien. That last ink with a fine nib looks like a pale orange, but much darker and sumptuous with an M nib. My Pilot penmanship did not get along with Edelstein Mandarin but works like a charm with Iroshizuku Ama Iro.

 

There are also atmospheric considerations, it has begun to be hot and so my pens dry more quickly.

 

2) I use mostly J Herbin and Iroshizuku, with some Pelikan Edelstein, Stipula, they're all well behaved and spectacular, except for rouge hematite which gunks up the pen, but looks nice.

 

3) All these brands are very nice, none have damaged any pen.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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This may seem a daft subject from a someone new to the world of collecting fountain pens but here goes! I gather from various posts that what ink one uses is not an easy thing to decide so I have a couple of questions:

 

1) Is it true that an ink that suits one pen may not be the best for another? If this is the case how do you find out which is best for a particular pen?

 

2) What ink manufacturer do folk like most for different coloured inks? (Up until now I have always used Mont Blank Black but feeling adventurous would like to change colours).

 

3) What is your favourite ink for general purpose usage? Only one proviso it must be ne that will not harm any fountain pen.

I've experienced pens behaving better with one ink than another. Each pen is sufficiently different from all others (including others of the same model) that the only real way to know is to try them out. For this I recommend samples.

 

Nobody beats Noodler's for color selection, and only Diamine appears to come close. (Well, I might think otherwise if I'd ever opened that Super Sailor All Inks thread.) I'm rather eclectic. My Six Essentials include two Noodler's, one Pilot, two Diamines, and one that has yet to be determined (though it may end up Diamine as well). But I also have Quink, MontBlanc, Sheaffer, De Atramentis, Waterman, and Iroshizuku. I've used Pelikan and Levenger as well.

 

The ink I use most is probably Noodler's Red-Black. I didn't buy it; it was PIFfed to me. It does well in my M200 and isn't too bad in my jade Ahab with 0.8mm Nemosine stub nib. In spite of it being my go-to ink for years, I still have yet to use even a quarter of the bottle. I really like Diamine Sherwood and Noodler's Blue.

 

I'll echo Ruth on "harmful" inks. Some fountain pen inks have the potential to do harm, but only with neglect. As she says, contaminating regular inks with Noodler's Baystate colors (or vice versa) will cause problems. Iron gall inks form a solid precipitate as they dry. And I would never let nano-pigment inks, Diamine Shimmertastic inks, or J. Jerbin 1640 inks dry in a pen, because they all have particles in suspension.

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All this is most interesting, thank you to everyone who has contributed.

I would like to purchase some Noodler's, specifically Nightshade, Liberty's Elysium, General of the Armies and possibly Purple Heart but the postage from the USA is probably as much as the ink will cost! So I wonder does anyone know of a retailer in the UK who can supply these inks?

 

Unfortunately for you, Liberty's Elysium and Purple Heart are exclusive to Goulet Pens, here in the US. So you're stuck with international postage.

OTOH, if you go that route, they will be wrapped so well that you may need a jackhammer to get the package open.... ;)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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This may seem a daft subject from a someone new to the world of collecting fountain pens but here goes! I gather from various posts that what ink one uses is not an easy thing to decide so I have a couple of questions:

 

1) Is it true that an ink that suits one pen may not be the best for another? If this is the case how do you find out which is best for a particular pen?

 

2) What ink manufacturer do folk like most for different coloured inks? (Up until now I have always used Mont Blank Black but feeling adventurous would like to change colours).

 

3) What is your favourite ink for general purpose usage? Only one proviso it must be ne that will not harm any fountain pen.

 

 

#1 - Yes. My standard inks are Waterman (wet) and Pelikan (dry). I will use one or the other in my pen, depending on the flow characteristic of the pen.

Usually will ink up with Waterman, and evaluate the ink flow. If it is too wet, then I deink, clean and reink with Pelikan ink.

When I want to use a specific ink in a specific pen, then I adjust the nib to get the ink flow that I want.

 

2 - Ha, almost anything goes: Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, Pilot, Pelikan, Diamine, Lamy, Private Reserve, Noodler's, etc. etc.

On Noodler's ink I only use some of the inks. I don't care for the characteristics of some of the inks; too WET, too hard to clean, etc.

 

3 - For my personal inks; Waterman green, Noodler's Gruene Cactus

GP/business = Waterman or Pelikan black, PrivateReserve DC-SuperShow blue, Diamine Sherwood Green.

As for harming the pen, that will also depend on the specific pens. Example, you would not want to use an ink that stains in a clear pen, where it may stain the pen. But in a cartridge pen or sac pen, were you can't see the ink, it does not matter.

 

Warning, Goulet Noodler's Liberty's Elysium is a fussy ink. I've use it in several pens, with different results.

In one pen I had so much flow problems that I gave up.

In a couple of pens, the ink would leave a residue behind. That residue has to be cleaned from the nib slit and between the nib and feed or ink flow would eventually stop. This also makes the pen sometimes a hard starter, and has to be dipped in water to get the ink flowing. It has gotten to the point that I may not use it in a carry pen, because I cannot rely on the pen writing when I need it to.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

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Interesting thread. These questions have been asked previously, but here goes again:

 

1. Like others have said, sometimes it is trial and error. And it will also is your preference sometimes. For example, many people love Pilot Iroshizuku inks saying that it is very wet. While I love the colors, I really don't care for the formulation. I feel like I am writing with water. And in some pens, it feels like a dry ink.

 

2. I prefer Waterman, L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio, and DeAtramentis. I do not like most of the Noodler's inks (or pens). They are too inconsistent and unpredictable.

 

3. My "go to" ink is L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bleu Atlantique (ocean blue) and L'A P. Callifolio Bleu Ultramarine (Dk. Blue0.

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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These days I go between de Atramentis, iroshizuku. Sailor ink for my sailor pens. For special needs pens that have extra fine nibs and need a wet flowing ink I go to Diamine Midnight. Levenger inks are also very free flowing but some tend to feather. For a pen that gushes ink, Aurora blue or pilot Edlestein tanzanite or topaz.

That said there are still pens that have their own preference. I just put some Visconti Blue in a MB 146 and boy the pen loves it.

Oddly enough the inks that I could never get comfortable were the Montblanc inks. I just can't get that tingly feeling about them. But I know a lot of you love them. I've tried. They just don't ring my bell. Go figure?

Indulging the whims of our pens is how we end up with boxes and boxes of inks..lol..but you got to love it.

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1) Is it true that an ink that suits one pen may not be the best for another? If this is the case how do you find out which is best for a particular pen?

Absolutely. Each ink may work differently from one pen to another. What may be perfect flow in one pen, is too much or too little in another. Your color can vary wildly from one pen to another too.

 

2) What ink manufacturer do folk like most for different coloured inks? (Up until now I have always used Mont Blank Black but feeling adventurous would like to change colours).

I love Diamine and Sailor the most.

 

3) What is your favourite ink for general purpose usage? Only one proviso it must be ne that will not harm any fountain pen.

Sailor Yama-dori or Sailor Oku-yama are about a tie for first place. These are from the Jentle line, and aren't supposed to hurt any pen. (at least that is what I've heard)

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Hi,

 

1) Is it true that an ink that suits one pen may not be the best for another? If this is the case how do you find out which is best for a particular pen?

  • Ah, I have a problem with 'best'. I found that during my adventure of doing some 138 Ink Reviews, often involving six pens and four or more papers, it seemed to me that paper was often the limiting factor - not the ink+pen combo. Indeed there can be favourite combos, which I put forward as my Personal Pen+Paper Pick for each ink. If I hadn't gone exploring, I wouldn't have found that Visconti Blue with a narrow nib has such a beautiful voice.

2) What ink manufacturer do folk like most for different coloured inks? (Up until now I have always used Mont Blank Black but feeling adventurous would like to change colours).

  • Oooo - too many to list! As my personal interest is the Blue-centric Turquoise through Blue-Black range, if I were to pick one ink Co., then it would be Diamine, though many other ink Co.s have fantastic offerings which I'd pick ahead of similar Diamine inks.

3) What is your favourite ink for general purpose usage? Only one proviso it must be ne that will not harm any fountain pen.

  • My daily writer ink at the office is the discontinued Parker Quink Blue-Black with SOLV-X. It has been the constant companion of my Parker Sonnet for many years. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest Sheaffer Skrip Blue-Black (currently canoodling with a Pelikan M400), Diamine Sapphire, Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, Montblanc Royal Blue and Pilot Blue / Blue-Black to name just a few. All can be cleaned-up with nothing more than plain water and have an admirable performance profile, though some, such as the SSBlBk, can be a bit of a yawn - but that's OK for a daily writer ink when churning out grist for the mill. :)
  • In the field a rotring 600+F with an iron-gall ink (modified ESSRI) is my go-to combo, Pelikan 4001 BlBk in a Pelikan P99+M as back-up and R&K Sepia in a Sailor DE for illustrations doodles.

Bye,

S1

__ EDIT to add: From their outpost deep in the wilds of Suffolk, our friends at The Writing Desk have wee ink samples on offer: http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/inksamples.php

Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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  • Compatibility between pens and inks?
    • Surface tension and converters.
    • Matching flow between ink and nib.
    • Trial and error, using others experience.
  • Ink manufactures
    • No favourite manufacturer
    • Each concoction is different.
    • Manufactures try to keep properties of their inks similar between colours, but results are not consistent
  • Favourite general purpose ink.
    • KWZI IG Green-Gold. It is not perfectly safe though, any IG ink may leave smoky residue on the inside of pen

      and it is not safe to let it dry out in pen. It's colour is not what one would expect from office ink,

      but it has its character, spectacular shading is easy on the eyes and xerox copies of it are very dark.

    • Sailor Kiwa Guro. Deep black, phenomenal properties, good for even cheapest papers,

      but you would not want to let it dry out in pen

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"Is it true that an ink that suits one pen may not be the best for another? If this is the case how do you find out which is best for a particular pen?"

 

The answer to this is to locate a pen shop that sends out sample vials of ink. In the US we have Goulet Pens. The samples are real cheap and you can try out a lot of inks before you ever get to the cost of a bottle of Iroshizuku. The only way to know what inks suit you, your pen, and your preferred paper is to try it out.

I'm an ink sample devotee. If I like them, I buy them. Now I have boxes full of inks. Massdrop has made my ink supply swell even more. I won't need to buy ink for a while. My next purchase will be Diamine Oxford Blue whenever it becomes available in the US.

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