Must Have Inks For Newcomer (Lamy Safari)

[Vunter]

I bought several inks when I bought my first several pens so I had a little bit to sample from. Here are the inks I initially bought:

Noodler's Eternal Polar Blue. (Bought it with my Lamy Safari at store and was the only blue available.)

Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku

Boxed Set (Bought it for Kon-Peki)

Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki
Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji
Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-Yake

I've been happy with all the colors above in all my pens except I don't like the Noodler's Eternal Polar Blue all the much; I especially don't like it in my Lamy Safari. I've put all those inks in my Safari over this last week and the Iroshizuku inks seem to flow better in the Safari. The Noodler's Polar Blue seems to make my Safari have slow starts. Anyways it has seeped in my mind that the nib on my Safari may be out of alignment which I plan on looking at as soon as I pick up a good loupe. I have a magnifying glass, but it just doesn't have a high enough magnification to really get a good look at it.

Has anyone else noticed issues with Noodler's inks? Someone else had a thread recently about Noodler's Elysium not working well in there Safari. I would like to try some other Noodler's blues, turquoises, and other colors; but now I am afraid that I'll have similar issues as with the polar blue. As I mentioned above The Iroshizuku inks seem to flow significantly better in the Safari.

I plan on buying some more inks to try, but there is so much out there would like to hear from people on what they think are the "Staple" or "Must Have" inks that all newcomers should get / try. I tend to lean more towards the blues and turquoises, and greens. Having said that I recently stumbled upon some reds like Sailor Oku-Yama and Diamine Ancient Cooper and purples like De Atramentis Aubergine and Sailor Shigure that looks really cool and may pick them up so really I am open to all color suggestions.

[LizEF]

Personally, I think the answer is "whatever floats your boat". At least, if there's really any consensus on this topic, it's well hidden (or the list is so long you'd have to be rich to afford it). I recommend just getting ink samples of things which look / sound interesting based on pictures & reviews. When you find one you like, get a bottle.

 

I will say, Waterman Serenity Blue (formerly Florida Blue) is possibly the most commonly mentioned ink on the planet. (But I don't like the color, so once I'd used up the cartridge that came with my Waterman Kultur, I didn't get more - though I do have other Waterman colors.)

 

I'll be watching with great curiosity to see everyone's contributions.

[Vunter]

Personally, I think the answer is "whatever floats your boat". At least, if there's really any consensus on this topic, it's well hidden (or the list is so long you'd have to be rich to afford it). I recommend just getting ink samples of things which look / sound interesting based on pictures & reviews. When you find one you like, get a bottle.

 

I will say, Waterman Serenity Blue (formerly Florida Blue) is possibly the most commonly mentioned ink on the planet. (But I don't like the color, so once I'd used up the cartridge that came with my Waterman Kultur, I didn't get more - though I do have other Waterman colors.)

 

I'll be watching with great curiosity to see everyone's contributions.

Yeah I knew when asking that question that it may be tough to answer since people have preferences and what not; however I Would love to hear some of your favorites?

[LizEF]

Yeah I knew when asking that question that it may be tough to answer since people have preferences and what not; however I Would love to hear some of your favorites?

 

Well, I'm not much more experienced than you, probably, but here goes... A couple background facts - I like using nice paper (Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Apica, Mnemosyne, etc.), so I don't really care much if the ink behaves well on cheap paper. I also tend to use extra fine nibs (though not exclusively). Favorites so far are bold.

 

Diamine: Misty Blue - this might be my favorite, but I only tried it in one pen. It's next on my list of inks to put into three pens once I'm ready to ink again. If I remember right, it shades pretty well. Denim - it was too dark for me - I found it hard to distinguish the color in my EF nibs - looked almost black.

 

Pilot: Blue (the cartridges that come with some pens). Boring shade, IMO - looks like what I'd expect out of a ballpoint.

 

Iroshizuku: Tsuki-yo - really nice for flexing with - shades and halos well in a nib that will flex a bit - if you plan to flex, I would highly recommend this one. Blue-teal. Maybe a little too dark, but I am tempted to buy a bottle.

 

De Atramentis: Steel Blue is interesting while still normal enough to use for anything (already own a bottle) - it was one of my first inks and it's been too long so I need to try it again so I can compare to others. Pigeon Blue is not blue - I'm not sure whether I like the color - which I can't name - but I love the shading - even my EFs shade with this ink (bottle is on my wish list). Adular Blue is pretty and has some shading, but it's not really my color, so I don't plan to buy any. Aubergine is extremely wet and a very dark purple - I don't plan to buy any.

 

Noodler's: Apache Sunset - Holy shading, Batman! It's really wet - takes forever to dry on Rhodia, for example. It's gorgeous, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a real-life application for it - it's too pale for notes or letter-writing. I think it would be fun for you to just try it out (if you're interested), but unless you draw, or someone has better ideas than I do, I'm not sure what you'd do with it. Bad Blue Heron behaved badly in my pens - kept drying on the nib. I have a little left which I plan to dilute and try again later, but I can't recommend it right now.

 

Waterman (I have these in bottles): Harmonious Green - I really like the color, but don't remember anything spectacular otherwise. Used at least two fills of a TWSBI Eco before I got bored and went looking for other colors. Audacious Red - this was in the other Eco at the same time and used just as much. Again, nice color, but nothing spectacular. Inspired Blue - this one shaded well for me and I remember really liking it in my fine-nib Kultur. If you like the color, I'd say try it.

 

More ink samples are on their way to me, so I haven't found an ink that makes me want to stop and just use that for a few months, but De Atramentis Pigeon Blue has come closer than any of the rest, so far.

Edited October 13, 2016 by LizEF

[clazbill]

Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku. Great choice! I'm biased, as that was the first ink I bought. Along with Noodler's Black, since it came up a lot as a Good Generic Black.

 

 

For Staple or Must Have inks, I'd direct to a very recent thread: What Are the Benchmark Inks to Try

[DrDebG]

I have several Lamy Safaris. They are all a little on the "dry" side, meaning their feeds do not allow a lot of ink to go to the nib. As a result, and especially with an ink that is not very lubricating, they can have difficulty starting to write, or write somewhat scratchy. Overtime, I have found that Waterman Inspired Blue works really well in my Safaris. Also, they like most of the Pilot Iroshizuku inks I have used. They also seem to really like L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio inks (all but the yellow-orange colors which are a bit drier). These are all not water resistant at all.

 

Personally, I am not a big fan of Noodler's inks. I love many of the colors but I don't care for the formulations in any of my pens. But, other people here love Noodler's inks.

 

My very favorite inks would include:

 

Waterman: Inspired Blue, Serenity Blue - these are my standards

Aurora Blue

Graf von Faber Castell: Cobalt Blue, Hazelnut Brown

Franklin Christoph Midnight Emerald

Pilot Iroshizuku: Asa Gao, Ajisai, Ku-Jaku, Shin-Kai, Yama-Budo, Fuyu-Gaki, Chiku-rin

L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio: All of the blues and turquoises, Andrinople, Grenat, Violet

DeAtramentis: Too many to mention, but especially Pearl Violet, Sapphire Blue, Edgar Allen Poe

[OCArt]

I suggest a visit to http://xfountainpens.com where they sell rebranded Diamine ink under their Chesterfield label. Their prices are very good and you can also get 3ml "sample" bottles and try all the colors. Antique Oxford and Capri are two of my favorites and Archival Vault is a iron gall ink you should try.

(The usual disclaimers-- I have no relation to the vendor aside from buying many of their inks.)

[vojtahlad]

If you lean towards the blues, turquoises, and greens, I would recommend Diamine ASA Blue (great medium-dark turquoise) or Pelikan 4001 Dark Green (dark green, fairly serious with gentle shading).

[senzen]

Given that it's a question of colour preferences, there cannot be a one size fits all answer; I would second LizEF's suggestion of getting decent paper, it can make a huge difference: HP 32 Lbs should be readly available, Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Tomoe River less so but oh so worth it. Tastes also change, one of my earliest inks is Lamy Turquoise which I instantly hated, but was one of the few locally available; now it's kinda sorta not looking that bad.

 

Some inks I think of as wild:

 

Ajisai.

Verde Muschiato.

Fuyu Gaki.

Ama Iro.

 

The classics:

 

Vert Empire.

Lie de Thé.

Yama Guri.

Tsuyu Kusa.

Kon Peki.

Asa Gao.

Myosotis.

Pelikan Königsblau.

Skrip Blue

Perle Noire.

Diamine Poppy Red.

Verdigis.

 

Off the beaten path:

Mandarin.

Orange Indien.

Chiku Rin.

 

What was I thinking?

Violette Pensée

 

[thudthwacker]

I've been enjoying this hobby for less than two years, so my experience is fairly limited. That said, I have some inks that I both love and which have helped me learn about various brands.

 

Waterman Inspired Blue: one of my flat-out favorite inks. A turquoise with great shading, a subtle pink-red "halo" sheen around where the ink pools; well-behaved; Generally Regarded As Safe for all pens; practical and beautiful bottle; very inexpensive.

 

Sailor Oku-yama: typical (in my limited experience) of Sailor inks -- well-lubricated, well-behaved, saturated, gorgeous and bold color, sheen for miles.

 

Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo: well-behaved, nice shading, smooth, elegant and beautiful color.

 

There are other inks I like, of course. Lamy Dark Lilac is, to me, a lot like Sailor's inks -- and that's high praise. I fell in love with the offbeat green-leaning-teal color and good behavior of Sheaffer Skrip Green, but in many ways, it's a classic, safe ink much like Waterman's offerings.

[Vunter]

Lots of cool ideas I like it :-) As would be expected lots of different color suggestions; however common brands seem to be popping up. This helps a lot in terms of what brands to go next. I ended up narrowing down a list of my next inks; well sort of narrowed hahaha.

Waterman
Serenity Blue
Inspired Blue
Mysterious Blue

Harmonious Green

Diamine
Steel Blue
Majestic Blue
Asa Blue
Ancient Copper
Red Dragon
Oxblood
Oxford Blue

De Atramentis
Steel Blue
Pigeon Blue
Atlantic Blue
Edgar Allan Poe
Aubergine

Sailor Jentle Four Seasons
Oku Yama
Shigure
Miruai
Yama-Dori

Pelikan Edelstein
Topaz

Montblanc
Irish Green

Akkerman
#05 Shocking Blue

#11 Treves-Turquoise

Pilot Iroshizuku
Asa-gao

J. Herbin

Eclat de Saphir

I'll pick one or two out of that list with my next purchase. I'm thinking one of those Watermans, Diamines, De Atramentis, or Sailors.

[LizEF]

Lots of cool ideas I like it :-) As would be expected lots of different color suggestions; however common brands seem to be popping up. This helps a lot in terms of what brands to go next. I ended up narrowing down a list of my next inks; well sort of narrowed hahaha.

[redacted: list of 27 inks from 9 manufacturers]

I'll pick one or two out of that list with my next purchase. I'm thinking one of those Watermans, Diamines, De Atramentis, or Sailors.

 

Bwa ha ha ha! Enable-ment has succeeded! Teasing - that's not so different from my own wish list. Thank goodness for samples! My own Yama Dori should be arriving next week (first Sailor ink for me) and I'll finally know (1) if it's as good as everybody raves, and (2) what color it really is (cuz it looks different in nearly every review / swatch I see).

 

You'll have to share your experiences with the rest of us, so we can sample vicariously...

Edited October 14, 2016 by LizEF

[ItwasLuck]

Must have for newcomers would definitely be Noodler's Apache Sunset. But since I'll neve recommend Noodler's or PR to anyone, I will recommend the next best "shade" of Apache Sunset which happens to be Iroshizuku Yu-Yake. =D

 

For newcomers to vintage pens, Waterman Serenity Blue, I know it's bland but it won't mess up with those old vintage sacs!

[Vunter]

 

Bwa ha ha ha! Enable-ment has succeeded! Teasing - that's not so different from my own wish list. Thank goodness for samples! My own Yama Dori should be arriving next week (first Sailor ink for me) and I'll finally know (1) if it's as good as everybody raves, and (2) what color it really is (cuz it looks different in nearly every review / swatch I see).

 

You'll have to share your experiences with the rest of us, so we can sample vicariously...

Yeah some of the inks I have already I first got when I bought my first few pens from Gouletpens. Only bummer part is trying to fill a pen with those samples. Any tips on that? I tried to fill the converter the normal way, but the ink level was too low. I then made a tiny funnel and tried to fill the converter out of the pen, but for some reason the ink wouldn't go all the way down. Anywho love the samples but need a good way to fill pens with them.

[LizEF]

Yeah some of the inks I have already I first got when I bought my first few pens from Gouletpens. Only bummer part is trying to fill a pen with those samples. Any tips on that? I tried to fill the converter the normal way, but the ink level was too low. I then made a tiny funnel and tried to fill the converter out of the pen, but for some reason the ink wouldn't go all the way down. Anywho love the samples but need a good way to fill pens with them.

 

Yes, blunt-tip syringes. (Goulet also carry them, under "Nibs, Parts & More" > "Pen Cleaning Supplies", if you prefer to buy from there.) You use it to suck the ink out of the bottom of the vial and gently squirt it into the converter. For some converters, I've had to turn the piston down, fill the open end of the converter a little, then turn the piston to suck that ink into the converter, then add a little more ink, etc. But the Lamy converters have a wide opening and you can just stick the needle down in there and fill it right up.

 

(Just go easy on the squirting it back out part or ink will spray back out around the needle (don't ask). Make sure the needle isn't blocking the opening, so air can come back out.)

[Vunter]

 

Yes, blunt-tip syringes. (Goulet also carry them, under "Nibs, Parts & More" > "Pen Cleaning Supplies", if you prefer to buy from there.) You use it to suck the ink out of the bottom of the vial and gently squirt it into the converter. For some converters, I've had to turn the piston down, fill the open end of the converter a little, then turn the piston to suck that ink into the converter, then add a little more ink, etc. But the Lamy converters have a wide opening and you can just stick the needle down in there and fill it right up.

 

(Just go easy on the squirting it back out part or ink will spray back out around the needle (don't ask). Make sure the needle isn't blocking the opening, so air can come back out.)

Sweet tips; Thats such a good idea as far as using the converter to suck it down; I can't believe my slow man brain didn't think of that. I will also be picking up those syringes; def be helpful

Edited October 14, 2016 by Vunter

[LizEF]

Sweet tips; Thats such a good idea as far as using the converter to suck it down; I can't believe my slow man brain didn't think of that. I will also be picking up those syringes; def be helpful

 

Don't feel bad - my slow brain is the one that sprayed ink back out a cartridge I was refilling, getting it everywhere, in a very fine mist... Mistakes are good teachers (those, and other people's experiences).

[Arkanabar]

Regarding problematic Noodler's inks:

Noodler's Black (a co-worker's sample) was smudgy, and Red-Black got that way. I was able to remedy that in Red-Black by adding water.

Bad Black Mocassin was annoyingly featherocious. When it dried out in a Nib Creaper, I wasn't able to rinse it out, and I'll probably have to dig out the ultrasonic cleaner to get it all removed.

Borealis Black was also prone to feathering. I have yet to try dilution to moderate this, as my current black is an old bottle of MontBlanc-Simplo Black with SuperCleaner SC21 (which is probably phenol).

All of Noodler's Baystate colors -- Blue, Cape Cod Cranberry, Concord Grape -- must never be mixed with other inks. Pen hygiene when switching between a Baystate ink and any other ink is very important. They also are much more prone than most to fading.

Some resources to use to decide what you want: Amberlea Davis' TOD color swatch and thoughts threads. Each is crosslinked to all the others. Here's brown.

The Ink Reviews Forum.

The swabs at (e.g.) The Goulet Pen Co. and Anderson Pens (satisfied customer of both, no further affiliation).

I will echo the suggestion that you buy samples before bottles.

For me, the ideal ink has good contrast, good behavior, good color, and good fade resistance. I refer you to my Six Essentials post.

[HoosierGeek]

I would recommend Waterman Inspired Blue - it's easy to clean and a gorgeous color. It's similar to Kon-peki but much cheaper.

 

Iroshizuku Yama-budo is the ink I currently have in my Safari, and it is the best behaved I've used it in. It flows very well.

 

I tried Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin in my Al-Star and found the nib creep to be horrible. It behaves much better in my TWSBI Eco. In fact, I haven't had great luck with any Noodler's inks I've tried in my Lamy pens. Diamine inks have been hit or miss in them. My best experiences have been Waterman and Iroshizuku inks. I actually think they do better than the supplied Lamy cartridges, although I don't have any bottled Lamy ink to truly compare with Waterman or Iroshizuku inks.

[bone215]

My Safari behaves with Lamy Blue.