Is All Diamine Dry Or Just Diamine Grape?

[KaB]

I had some skipping problems and hard starts with a pen filled with Diamine Grape. And a total lack of line variation (an MB 149 broad, ground to stub).

Just changed the ink to GvFC Moss Green. No hard starts, no skipping and beautifull line variation!

 

So here's the question: would all Diamine ink perform as dry as the grape or is this a grape-thing?

[PaganArcher]

In my experience, Diamine inks tend to run wet rather than dry. But, purple inks in general (again, just my experience) run dry. Private Reserve Tanzanite being the sole exception to my knowledge.

[Ergative]

I remember disliking Diamine Grape because it tended to dry out. I was using it in a Pilot Metro F nib, so I can't comment on the line variation, but it definitely did not flow as well as many of the other Diamine inks. Try another color. I love Bilberry and Red Dragon and Misty Blue and Sapphire, and I recall they all flowed quite nicely.

[ENewton]

I've had the same problem as others with Diamine Grape drying out, in several of my pens. I keep wondering whether Diamine Damson would flow better, but I already have enough purple inks, of other brands, that flow well.

[KaB]

..., but I already have enough purple inks, of other brands, that flow well.

 

like which ones?

[ENewton]

 

like which ones?

 

KaB, here are my purples. They are varied with respect to hue, saturation, and other characteristics, but Grape is the only one that has not consistently flowed well.

 

1. Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu – medium purple, slightly blue leaning, floral looking
2. Rohrer and Klingner Solferino – brilliant orchid
3. Montblanc Lavender Purple – rich, slightly red leaning purple
4. Pelikan 4001 Violet – bright medium purple
5. Rohrer and Klingner Scabiosa – dusty purple with dramatic shading
6. J Herbin Poussiere de Lune – dusty color, varies from burgundy to purple to black in different pens
7. Sailor Shigure – very dark, blue-leaning purple
8. Kyo-iro Soft Snow of Ohara – medium grayish bluish purple
9. Diamine Grape – dark purple— beautiful color but need to cap pen for even a short pause
10. Robert Oster Purple Rock – dark grayish purple to very dark gray, depending on pen and paper
11. Kaweco Summer Purple – medium dusty purple with shading

Sorry that I do have the photography skills to provide images, but all of these are reviewed elsewhere on the forum.

[Morphling27]

In my experience, Diamine inks tend to run wet rather than dry. But, purple inks in general (again, just my experience) run dry. Private Reserve Tanzanite being the sole exception to my knowledge.

I find PR's Purple Mojo a pretty wet ink myself. I've only used it in a couple-few pens, but I don't remember any dryness type of problems.

 

Being a super over saturated PR ink with nothing else exciting about it is a whole different problem, but flow was good.

 

But yes, many purple inks are dry. Purple is honestly my favorite color but I don't care to write with it much and as pointed out, purple inks have issues.

[Arkanabar]

I've tried some five purples -- Waterman, De Atramentis Aubergine, Diamine Damson, and Noodler's Violet and Purple Martin. None had flow issues that I could tell. Fading, now, that's another matter. The Waterman is my reference fading ink; it always fades, and often faster than anything else I have. The Aubergine was mediocre at best in my ten-month north window fade test. I didn't like Violet for how red it was, and I didn't like Purple Martin and Damson for how dark they were -- nigh unto black. For color, I really like Waterman purple, but to be one of the Six Essential Inks, a tolerable modicum of fade resistance is required. Diamine Sherwood (which flows well) almost doesn't make the cut on that criterion.

[Tom_Moritz]

Ive found Diamine Grape to be unusable due to its propensity to dry out on the nib while writing. It cannot be used to refill cartridges in any pen Ive tries it in. It feathers so badly that one is incapable of writing a word of four letter or more. Converters havent faired much better.

 

Piston fillers like the Lamy 2000 and Montblanc 149 feather and have some difficulty keeping up when writing quickly and for longer than a few lines, but otherwise perform admirably. My Koloro eyedropper seems to keep pace well enough once started, however it is an extra fine and the ink has stained the acrylic. Even my Homo Sapiens with its large capacity and wet Palladium nib feather and run dry.

 

Perhaps its a dry ink, or fast drying but I would say its not very good. Being this my first tryst with Diamines products, I cant speak to their wares as a hole, but if theyre all on par with Grape I now understand how they can charge so little for so much ink.

Edited February 3, 2019 by ClockworkCollector

[aurore]

A lot of DIamine inks is wet. Asa Blue, Midnight Blue or Bilberry are some of the wettest (Bilberry is very purple btw).

[SLMcc]

 

Perhaps its a dry ink, or fast drying but I would say its not very good. Being this my first tryst with Diamines products, I cant speak to their wares as a hole, but if theyre all on par with Grape I now understand how they can charge so little for so much ink.

I only a have a few Diamine inks, Poppy Red, Steel Blue, Ultra Green, and another I can't remember off the top of my head all from the standard line. Poppy red is a very nice red IMO and flows very well in a couple hooded EF nibbed Chinese pens I use for work. Ultra Green and Steel Blue flow quite nicely in my Wing Sung 3003 with the EF nib also. None ever skip or hard start. I can't comment to the purple but I think the Diamine inks are a good value. They may not be shimmering and shading to a huge degree but for every day inks I find them quite good. Maybe try another color or two before you write the brand off.

[minddance]

Diamine makes over a hundred inks, some wetter than the others, some dryer.

 

As always, it depends on what pens and papers you write with. I have no experience with Diamine Grape but have read alot about how problematic it can be, i.e. convertor staining, flow issues.

 

But it does not represent Diamine.

 

Over the years, I have changed from using broad wet nibs to Japanese Fine and Extra Fine nibs. This change has rendered many inks "unusable". Here is a list of Diamine that make me happy in terms of legibility and flow and being relatively issue-free in my Japanese pens (I often allow inks to reside in my pens for weeks and months to test dryout problems):

 

Green-Black, Graphite, Chocolate Brown, Damson, Oxblood, Teal, Blue Velvet, Midnight, (Denim), Sherwood Green.

 

My dislike list (I actually LOVE these colours but they require wetter pens/absorbent paperss and not for use in Fine and EF Japanese nibs):

 

Indigo, Meadow, Sepia, Autumn Oak, Sunset, Peach Haze, Pumpkin, Umber, Mediterranean Blue, Florida Blue, China Blue, Beau Blue, Aqua Blue, Misty Blue, Tyrian Purple, Monaco Red, Matador, Poppy Red.

 

But still, my dislike list is nothing like the Diamine Grape you described. I dislike them because they have a very light base tint (possibly too much water added) for 'shading'. I love the colours but they only come alive and legible in wetter and/or broad and/or flex nibs. I will still purchase them for fun writing and messing around if the prices do not increase.

 

I hope Diamine separates its inks into 2 or more categories, maybe Fun and Serious - certainly not the best marketing terms, but that's for them to figure out.

 

Swabs are misleading, especially for the light and pale inks - I can never get that level of legibility and saturation unless I pour ink onto paper. But no, we all write, don't we?

 

Many ink companies have gotten way too far in that 'shading' department by adding too much water.

 

You will certainly find a Diamine you enjoy. Diamine Grape is not a good representation of Diamine inks at all.

 

If you enjoy Purples, for the absolute best flow, I heartily suggest Rohrer and Klingner Aubergine, Waterman Purple, Herbin Poussire de Lune. They work exceptionally well, even in my Extra Fine Pilot Custom 74 and Platinum Soft Fine that I acquired lately. Have fun!

Edited February 4, 2019 by minddance

[KaB]

Update from the OP

In the meantime (it's been almost two years since the first post), I'v been enjoying MB Lavender Purple.

But also Diamine Oxblood, Ochre and Chocolate (and yellow, for a preppy marker).

 

So IMO, it's a Diamine Grape thing.

[JakobS]

I have never had a serious issue ( as in does not allow me to write with it) with any of the over 45+ Diamine inks I have and used including Grape, so it is always interesting to see it mentioned so often as troublesome. I find the great majority of them have a medium wetness in a variety of both modern and vintage pens. Over the years, it does appear the most saturated Diamine inks are often the most called out for poor behavior, but there are far more regular or less saturated inks made by Diamine, and thus are poor representives of the company as a whole.

[A Smug Dill]

Diamine Golden Honey proved too dry for the Delike EF nib (on an Alpha pen in 'maple' acrylic) I had in mind, and ink starvation was evident from the get-go. In a Jinhao 51A with a 'Bobby custom handmade' nib (which I suppose writes like a 'Western Fine') it's usable. Diamine Honey Burst doesn't have the same problem in the Delike.

 

Diamine Evergreen is certainly not dry, but just now when I went to flush it out of a Platinum #3776 Century that I haven't used for a while, there was crud around the rim of the converter, and a tiny little bit on the nib. There was also quite a bit of crud on the thread on the neck of the 80ml glass ink bottle. From now on, I'll make a mental note that it's a potentially problematic ink.

[tleek]

I have only used Diamine Sherwood, Pumpkin, Ancient Copper, and Oxblood.

All are really saturated, but none have been exceptionally dry.

[EBGBs]

I'm either lucky or too dumb to see, but I have never had a problem with Diamine inks.

I have used Aqua Lagoon (which is even my all-time favourite ink), Marine, Eau de Nil, Jet Black, Coral, Oxblood, Bilberry, Sherwood Green, Tropical Glow, the Musician inks, and even some of those known as 'problem children' like Majestic Blue and Grape.

Not a bad thing to report; other than some being a pain to flush/ wash away from pens, but that's common and normal for very saturated inks.

 

This being said I don't use fine nibs and I don't have 'dollar pens', so I may just be less prone to encountering issues (?)

[amberleadavis]

Grape (in my experience) is finicky and a hard starter.

[Tseg]

Both my Diamine Oxblood and Sherwood Green are well behaved (dryer) in my sopping wet Pelikan M1000. My Japanese inks all leave puddles with that pen. The Diamine are, however, a tad more wet than my Pelikan 4001 inks which work perfect in my M1000, except for 4001 Blue Black which causes that sopping wet nib to dry out between uses. By far my most temperamental nib, but helps me sort through ink qualities.