Jump to content

Looking For A Budget Turquoise


antichresis

Recommended Posts

Hi all, I'm in the market for a turquoise ink. Still a student—and an unemployed one at that—so it's best not to recommend something on the more $$$ end of the spectrum. It will also mostly be for mark-up of documents so I don't need anything fancy.

 

As for criteria, I'd like it to have things closer to blue than green, a lighter shade, and generally good performance (doesn't take an eon to dry, doesn't feather on average quality copy paper, won't fade like a washable blue, and minimal show-through). Perks like sheen, shading, and water resistance would be nice but are not necessary.

 

So far I am looking at:

  1. Lamy Turquoise
  2. Skrip Turquoise
  3. Diamine Turquoise
  4. Diamine Havasu Turquoise

and would love to hear from owners/users of them, as well as anyone who would have other suggestions. Thanks!

Hero #232 Blue-Black is my Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Your Kilometrage May Vary (#ykmv), a Philippine blawg about ink and fountain pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 24
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • ParkerDuofold

    5

  • antichresis

    4

  • eharriett

    2

  • ErrantSmudge

    2

Waterman Inspired Blue and De Atramentis Adular Blue are the only ones I've used. I like the both, but the De Atramentis is far from the least expensive. Every time I use Inspired Blue, I wonder why I waited so long to use it again, so I'd say it's a pretty good color - and sheens some. :)

 

If you're going for inexpensive, I think your first two and Waterman (and maybe Noodler's Navajo Turquoise or Turqoise Eel, depending on its price where you are) are the best buy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Skrip Turquoise is in my top 5 favorite inks - bright blue (no green), very well-behaved on cheaper paper (even shades nicely), exhibits pink sheen on good paper; no hard starts, doesn't dry in the nib, even in the not-the-tightest caps school pens, you pick it up and it starts right up.

 

Waterman Inspired Blue shares the same traits, the color is a smidge deeper, the sheen redder and more copious.

 

Haven't tried your other choices but they all look decent in the reviews.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sheaffer Skrip or Pelikan Turquoise.

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

www.SFPenShow.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want the bluer end of the turquoise spectrum, I'd highly recommend Noodler's Midway Blue. It has good color, lots of ink for a low price, nice shading, dries quickly, doesn't bleed or feather on quality papers, doesn't fade, and still shows after being hit by water. Don't be fooled by some reviews saying this is a true blue -- it's not -- it's a blue turquoise.

<span style='font-size: 12px;'><span style='font-family: Trebuchet MS'><span style='color: #0000ff'><strong class='bbc'>Mitch</strong></span><span style='color: #0000ff'>

=======

http://exploratorius.us

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello,

 

I'll cast my vote for the Lamy Turquoise... very nice color, very well behaved and it comes in a great bottle. Lamy's bottles are designed with a built-in ink well, so it's easy to get the very last drop of ink, plus, they come with a built-in roll of blotter paper so you never have to remember to bring a Kleenex with you to daub your dipped nib. :)

 

Lamy inks are generally underrated, but especially their turquoise.

 

- Anthony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Diamine Steel Blue is in the right color family. Compared to some of the others on your list not sure where it lies on the blue to green spectrum.

 

KWZI Iron Gall Turquoise is an interesting color as well.

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not tried Skrip Turquoise or Lamy Turquoise (although. I have a sample of one and am planning on getting a sample of the other. But I have tried both Diamine Turquoise and Havasu Turquoise and they're both very nice. Noodler's Navajo Turquoise is nice, too, but might be a little greener (by comparison to the two Diamine inks) than the OP would like.

I will say, though, that when push comes to shove, I had a slight preference of Edelstein Topaz (which is NOT an inexpensive ink) over Havasu Turquoise -- but they are pretty close.

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've tried Lamy, Diamine and Visconti turquoises and found very little difference between them (there is some). The Lamy might be slightly flatter than the others but is probably the cheapest by volume and the best behaved. Plus the 50ml bottle it comes in you'll want to keep once empty as an ink well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Diehard addict of Waterman Inspired Blue (née South Seas Blue) here. It's cheap enough for daily enjoyment, works well in most pens plus proven regular supply & unchanged formulation across the years.

 

Diamine is thrice the price here so I won't try them. Skrip only comes in black or blue downunder.

 

Lamy turquoise looks a bit pale uninspired ;) so haven't added it to my pile of Lamy cubes yet.

 

I like Iroshizuku KonPeki - looks dark in a swab but lightens up in a finer nib; there's also AmaIro and KuJaku for paler blue shades.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you everyone for all the options! Keep them coming. :) I'll go over the inks suggested but I just wanted to add some replies to your comments.

Waterman Inspired Blue and De Atramentis Adular Blue are the only ones I've used. I like the both, but the De Atramentis is far from the least expensive. Every time I use Inspired Blue, I wonder why I waited so long to use it again, so I'd say it's a pretty good color - and sheens some. :)

 

Waterman Inspired Blue shares the same traits, the color is a smidge deeper, the sheen redder and more copious.

 

Haven't tried your other choices but they all look decent in the reviews.

 

Here's another vote for Waterman Inspired Blue. It's my favourite ink!

 

I am horrified to share that no one sells Waterman in my country. :huh: We used to have one, but I think they lost the contract(?) a few years before I got into pens. They haven't come back. :(

 

 

If you're going for inexpensive, I think your first two and Waterman (and maybe Noodler's Navajo Turquoise or Turqoise Eel, depending on its price where you are) are the best buy.

 

If you want the bluer end of the turquoise spectrum, I'd highly recommend Noodler's Midway Blue. It has good color, lots of ink for a low price, nice shading, dries quickly, doesn't bleed or feather on quality papers, doesn't fade, and still shows after being hit by water. Don't be fooled by some reviews saying this is a true blue -- it's not -- it's a blue turquoise.

 

I have not tried Skrip Turquoise or Lamy Turquoise (although. I have a sample of one and am planning on getting a sample of the other. But I have tried both Diamine Turquoise and Havasu Turquoise and they're both very nice. Noodler's Navajo Turquoise is nice, too, but might be a little greener (by comparison to the two Diamine inks) than the OP would like.

I will say, though, that when push comes to shove, I had a slight preference of Edelstein Topaz (which is NOT an inexpensive ink) over Havasu Turquoise -- but they are pretty close.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

While we do have Noodler's retailers, they do not have the complete line. :mellow: I just checked and only Navajo Turquoise is available locally. Midway and Turquoise Eel look very nice though. Hopefully, when the dollar exchange rate is a little bit kinder I can organize another group buy from Goulet or one of the other American retailers.

 

Pelikan is worse. Just look at that. :(

 

Diamine Marine?

 

Diamine Steel Blue is in the right color family. Compared to some of the others on your list not sure where it lies on the blue to green spectrum.

 

KWZI Iron Gall Turquoise is an interesting color as well.

On the other hand, we have all the Diamines and they are pretty easy to find but Steel Blue and Marine look a bit too green for me. I would prefer something of a "blue turquoise" but not yet a "sky blue".

 

I thought of the KWZ because my thinking was that IG = quick drying and no bleedthrough but their Turquoise dries to a Teal and that's just too dark for mark-up. I'll be using supplied paper (pretty cheap; Skrip Red exhibits some show-through) so I predict the end colour to be a bit darker and that would bring teal too close to the printed black text. :(

Hero #232 Blue-Black is my Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Your Kilometrage May Vary (#ykmv), a Philippine blawg about ink and fountain pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Waterman inspired blue. Several reasons.

 

1. I have not found another turquoise quite like it and I love colors that have no exact match. It is my ideal turquoise.

2. Waterman inks are ubiquitous and handle most every pen well and clean out easily.

3. You can get them in cartridge form (Waterman Proprietary, at least)

4. Waterman inks, in general, are really inexpensive and available worldwide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Waterman inspired blue. Several reasons.

 

1. I have not found another turquoise quite like it and I love colors that have no exact match. It is my ideal turquoise.

2. Waterman inks are ubiquitous and handle most every pen well and clean out easily.

3. You can get them in cartridge form (Waterman Proprietary, at least)

4. Waterman inks, in general, are really inexpensive and available worldwide.

The only problem is the OP cannot get Waterman inks in the region he lives in. I'm also extremely fond of Inspired Blue as well as Asa Blue by Diamine... but neither of them were on the OP's list of available colors... so i didn't mention them.

 

I went with Lamy, which IMHO, is the best of his choices, considering price, performance and value.

 

- Anthony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Waterman inspired blue. Several reasons.

 

1. I have not found another turquoise quite like it and I love colors that have no exact match. It is my ideal turquoise.

2. Waterman inks are ubiquitous and handle most every pen well and clean out easily.

3. You can get them in cartridge form (Waterman Proprietary, at least)

4. Waterman inks, in general, are really inexpensive and available worldwide.

The only problem is the OP cannot get Waterman inks in the region he lives in. I'm also extremely fond of Inspired Blue as well as Asa Blue by Diamine... but neither of them were on the OP's list of available colors... so i didn't mention them.

I went with Lamy, which IMHO, is the best of his choices, considering price, performance and value.

- Anthony

It's quickly becoming apparent that Waterman Inspired is the choice of (way way) many. I would prefer something locally available but if it is that much better I guess I'll have to look to import one.. somehow.

Hero #232 Blue-Black is my Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Your Kilometrage May Vary (#ykmv), a Philippine blawg about ink and fountain pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem is the OP cannot get Waterman inks in the region he lives in. I'm also extremely fond of Inspired Blue as well as Asa Blue by Diamine... but neither of them were on the OP's list of available colors... so i didn't mention them.

 

I went with Lamy, which IMHO, is the best of his choices, considering price, performance and value.

 

- Anthony

I would have assumed that if he could get Sheaffer Skrip, which he mentioned, he could also get Waterman inks. I assumed their distribution network was similar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would have assumed that if he could get Sheaffer Skrip, which he mentioned, he could also get Waterman inks. I assumed their distribution network was similar.

I know what you mean; I would make similar assumptions... but apparently not. :)

 

- Anthony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26625
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...