Ink Suggestions

[jjrez0216]

I am a new user to fountain pens but I do have some knowledge about them. I ordered a Pilot Metropolitan in a fine nib but I am having trouble choosing ink. I am a college student who will be using cheap notebook paper, I know expensive paper is better but I cannot afford purchasing it. I am looking for a black ink and maybe a blue black or blue ink. Currently I am looking at the Pelikan brilliant black ink and the noodlers black or noodlers 54th Massachusetts. I am clueless because I have yet to test any of the inks but I was hoping for some guidance. If anyone can tell me what their favorite ink for cheap paper is or what they believe the best ink is, that would be appreciated. I am a new member here and I am excited to be a part of it! Thanks

[casualmerlinconstant]

Noodlers Black was formulated with cheap paper in mind. It behaves fairly well on even the worst of papers. It doesn't seem through and rarely feathers. It does tend to cause nib creep however. Pelikan Black is a very close second in terms of behaviour. It is not as water resistant nor as Black as Noodlers Black. It does tend to keep your nib nice and shiny and free of nib crud however.

Edited August 28, 2016 by superglueshoe

[TheRealMikeDr]

You probably can't go too wrong with Noodlers Black as a first choice and everyday ink. 54th Mass - from my experience - is pretty dry and caused hard starts in several of my pens.

 

My favorites of late have been Waterman Serenity and Pilot Blue - both very robust inks that flow well.

[jonesberg]

I'm studying for a professional exam right now and all my notes so far are written using Noodler's Black. I am really, really happy with it.

It takes some time to dry completely, but once it is, it stays on the paper.

I haven't seen too much nib creep so far and I carry an old glasses cleaning tissue just in case there is some ink on the nib.

 

What's really awesome with Noodler's ink is that you have so much for what you're paying for: the bottle comes REALLY full.

 

Since we're talking about a first bottle, I think Black is the perfect color to start with. Once you want to try another one, 54th Massachusetts is one of my all-time favorite. :-)

[Bo Bo Olson]

In your Met, will be a skinny nib...you need a 'boring' mono-tone vivid supersaturated ink ...to be able to see it well. Many Noodlers are supersaturated.

Later when you can afford 90g laser paper, you can buy non boring 'two-toned' shading ink.

 

A Japanese M= European/"American" F, a Japanese F = Euro/American EF.

In until the mid-late '90's Japanese pens were nitch products...sold basically only in Japan or Asia, they marked the nibs for their own tiny little printed script....and Euro/American nibs were made for cursive, so were 'normal' and not the extra skinny Japanese markings.

 

You will need both. Supersaturated and shading inks.

A good blue is nice to have. Black can be very boring and we are living in The Golden Age of Ink.

 

You need a rubber baby syringe to clean your pen. A needle syringe....if a sharp needle one then use a stone to make it dull, to load your cartridges.

 

Cartridges are Super Expensive compared to bottle ink....out side of the absolute most expensive Graff Faber-Castell...even relatively expense MB ink is much cheaper than cartridges.

Cartridges have always been super expensive....and I remember when they first really came in in the '50's....too expensive for a working mans kid or a collage student.

 

Later when you have better paper and want to have fun with shading inks...Euro/American F and M are good nibs for that....I find Euro/Am...EF to be too narrow for that.

So a Japanese B which = real M would be good.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[sandy101]

Parker Quink works well on cheap paper.

 

Pelikan or Waterman will also be pretty good. Pelikan's 4001N Brilliant Black is better than Parker's black Quink.

[tinta]

IMO, for a sustained read, blue/black ink is easier on the eyes than straight black.

Blue/black ink is business appropriate & is also great for taking notes.

Waterman's Mysterious Blue is their renamed blue/black & writes well on lesser papers. My particular favourite is Platinum's blue/black, which is more blue than black & being an iron-gall ink, it's also water resistant.

 

BTW:

Edited August 30, 2016 by tinta

[shawndp]

For blue-black Pilot sells these 350ml bottles for around CAD$ 25 - the ink is a solid professional colour that is very well behaved. You can try it in cartridges to see if you like that colour (always carry one cartridge for emergencies). Coming out of a F nib will take you a couple of years to burn through. All the best with college!

[jjrez0216]

Noodlers Black was formulated with cheap paper in mind. It behaves fairly well on even the worst of papers. It doesn't seem through and rarely feathers. It does tend to cause nib creep however. Pelikan Black is a very close second in terms of behaviour. It is not as water resistant nor as Black as Noodlers Black. It does tend to keep your nib nice and shiny and free of nib crud however.

I went with the Noodler's and I love it!

[jjrez0216]

I'm studying for a professional exam right now and all my notes so far are written using Noodler's Black. I am really, really happy with it.

It takes some time to dry completely, but once it is, it stays on the paper.

I haven't seen too much nib creep so far and I carry an old glasses cleaning tissue just in case there is some ink on the nib.

 

What's really awesome with Noodler's ink is that you have so much for what you're paying for: the bottle comes REALLY full.

 

Since we're talking about a first bottle, I think Black is the perfect color to start with. Once you want to try another one, 54th Massachusetts is one of my all-time favorite. :-)

Hoping to get my hands on a 54th, I love the bulletproof black at the moment!

[Slider20]

I really like the Waterman Inks, the mystery blue might work well for you, that and the Waterman Serenity blue is what I use on cheapo copy paper.

[Sasha Royale]

In college, many years ago, I salvaged full sheets of paper, that had a blank side. Printer paper, typewriter paper, junk mail, etc. With help of family and friends, I had plenty. I found it very easy and fast to take class notes on one side of the paper. Bleed-through was no concern, as I always edited and recopied notes. It helped me

study. For those who write on both sides, spiral notebook or ring binder is more practical.

 

Normally, rain drops, drink-glass condensation, and perspiration are the primary concerns for ink. Data damage from other liquids is not likely, unless you write in a chem lab, or frat house.

 

For class notes, I recommend the use of ink cartridges. They are clean, quick reload, easy to carry, and refillable (med syringe). Horseback riding, pogo-sticking notwithstanding, open cartridges will not leak, when carried in a candy tin (Altoids, Vela-mint, snuff box, etc.). (The column of ink, in the cartridge, is not sufficiently heavy to overcome the surface tension of the ink at the opening.)

[Arkanabar]

Before I got back into fountain pens, I worked at a corporate Domino's store. We got a 2500-sheet box of letter sized coupon sheets, printed on only one side, to be glued to every pizza box that left the store. There was still a six inch stack when the expiration date came. I asked if I could have the box. I three-hole punched it, put it in ringbinders, and wrote on the back of it for years.

I still salvage paper. After I finish off my current notebook, I am going back to using salvage paper for writing (assignments are printed or emailed). I have something like three reams of the stuff sitting around.

I've used Pelikan Brilliant Black in a Pelikan M200. It is a very good ink, that resists feathering, fading, and water. I've used Noodler's Black, and while it is bulletproof when dry, it can be smudgy; minor dilution (anywhere from 4 to 10 parts ink to 1 part water) corrects this. I prefer Noodler's Heart of Darkness among the bulletproof blacks, as it dries more quickly, and has never given me any problems. I have some Bad Black Moccasin, but I only use it as a penitential practice, and diluted 1:1, in an Indian-made Noodler's eyedropper that I can pull apart and scrub with a toothbrush, because my wife let it dry out in her Ivory Darkness Nib Creaper a while back, and I still haven't gotten it all out.

I suspect that the very best value in ink today is Pilot Blue-Black in the 350 ml bottle (part no. INK-350-BB). You can get it on Amazon, and pay around 7c/ml. Like Pelikan Brilliant Black, it resists fading, feathering, and water, and it is supposed to flow a bit better. Sandy1's review is definitive.

[Buzz_130]

If you head to the Inky Thoughts forum, you will find a range of experts (and those of us with just opinions) about every characteristic and color of fountain pen inks. When you find yourself on the fence between several inks, I recommend you get a few samples. 2 or 3 ml will give you 3-5 fillings for your pen, and you'll be able to write dozens of pages to determine if a full bottle purchase is in the cards.

 

Buzz