Diamine Inks

[Bexinthecity247]

I probably should have done this BEFORE buying them but anyway -

I bought some blue and dark purple Diamine inks to use with my Mont Blanc 146, 149 and 14 but before I do I want to get some expert advice from other users - is this a good ink to use in them?

I did thorough googling before and found things to be hit and miss (some say Waterman was great others say it's terrible, others say Waterman have poor choice in colour which I agree with).

I'm only moving on from Mont Blanc ink because the colour choice is a bit lax and I already have 75% of all the colours. Though I still collect one every time I go abroad but because of this I've ended up with 2 Royal Blues and 2 Lavender's so far.

Anyway so thoughts on Diamine and if negative, which inks do you guys use?

Thank you

[tetto]

Based on my experience, Diamine is good, however I don't suggest to use the shimmering series on a piston pen, very hard to clean the 'glitter' when you want to change the ink. Noodler's is reliable with a wide range of colour, but some of them are hard to clean, may even colour your pens. I would also recommend J.herbin.

[Chrissy]

I agree that Diamine inks are fine to use in your Montblanc pens, and I use them all of the time in mine. However, I don't use Diamine Shimmer inks in my Montblanc, Aurora, Omas or Pelikan piston filling pens as I prefer to use those inks in pens that I can clean out more easily.

[alwayssunnyalwaysreal]

I use Diamine Asa Blue in my Montblanc 149. No issue after many fills.

 

I wouldn't use the Diamine Shimmertastic inks in any of my pens, other than the TWSBI pens and Noodler's pens, since they are lower valued and easy to fully disassemble.

[BT_Summers]

I am going to see MB later today, I will ask for their opinion and if they will do an email for me so that I can share.

 

Diamine stained my Twsbi barrel, I used Parker black in it from new, for a change I went to a blue Diamine and the barrel is now stained blue.

 

Will post the reply if they are prepared to put something in writing.

 

My father had problems with a 146 about 5 years ago, he took it into MB and the first question was 'have you used any ink apart from Montblanc'.

[Tom Kellie]

~ Bexinthecity247:

 

Diamine inks have performed very well in my 149s, including in broad OBBB nibs.

Diamine China Blue is a regular in several of my pens, including in cartridges for a Platinum Mozart EF.

It was excellent Diamine ink reviews by regular contributor Chrissy which convinced me to use them.

I hope that you'll find ink colors which suit your preferences.

Tom K.

[Bexinthecity247]

Thank you for for the unanimous agreement I had read not to use shimmer inks and glad to see that was correct, since I avoided those like the plague.

I got the Royal Blue, a deeper blue and 2 dark purples in the 30ml (thought I'd buy the small bottles to try out before moving to bigger ones) and as I travel for work every month I'll be happy to have a small bottle to take with me to fill up with instead of lugging that big ole glass MB blue!

Smiffy - my understanding is that MB can't actually tell if you've used ink not from them if you don't tell them. Not sure how foolproof that is though.

Edited December 1, 2017 by Bexinthecity247

[BT_Summers]

 

Smiffy - my understanding is that MB can't actually tell if you've used ink not from them if you don't tell them. Not sure how foolproof that is though.

 

Just had a problem with a stuck piston on a TWSBI, first question TWSBI Taiwan asked was have you been using a saturated ink such as Diamine, (I had), the explanation for the question was that saturated inks can can cause the piston to stick. TWSBI Taiwan refused to help saying that the stuck piston was my fault, if it hadnt been for Niche Pens then I would have had a non working pen.

 

When my father took his 146 into MB at the Royal Exchange, the piston was difficult to move and I think there was an issue with flow, again the first question was, have you been using any ink apart from MB. As luck would have it there were traces of an MB ink colour in the pen, if there had not then there might have been an issue, I dont know. Prior to the last fill of ink he had been using other makes of ink.

 

If MB write to me I will let you know what they say, I suspect that it will be something bland such as MB only recommends MB inks.

[EBGBs]

I have used a number of Diamine inks in Montblanc pens and have never had a problem.
Most of my Diamine inks are blue and purple too; Midnight blue, Aqua Lagoon, Grape, Bilberry. I have used Jet Black too. Those have all worked great

 

I have a bottle of Majestic blue as well but I think I remember reading some not so nice reports about it (?) so I have not inked a pen with it.

[Chrissy]

Diamine, like all other ink manufacturers, make some inks that are more saturated than others. It is possible that a very saturated ink might stain a FP barrel. As far as Diamine is concerned, Sargasso Sea and possibly Majestic Blue spring to mind as potentially being their most saturated blue inks. People used to say that red inks are more likely to stain barrels than other colours, but although I use lot's of different red inks, this has not been my own personal experience.

 

Montblanc will definitely advise you to only use Montblanc ink in their FP's, but they can't tell which ink you've actually used.

 

IG inks will stain barrels, especially if you leave them in there for lengthy periods.

 

There is a test you can do if you get ink samples. If it stains the inside of the sample vial, then it's going to stain your pen. All of the Noodler's ink samples that I have had, have stained their sample vials, and the caps. So I'm confident they would stain a pen barrel. However, this can clean out using a cotton bud, but you need to be able to access the stained part with a cotton bud. That's difficult in a piston filling FP.

 

Another test that I always do is the bar soap hand wash test. If an ink washes off of my hands with one wash using bar soap, then it's not too saturated to stain a barrel.

 

In the event that you ever get a stained FP barrel, some people say that Sailor Do You ink can clean it. This didn't work for my stained Montblanc Bernstein window.

 

I also use Platinum FP ink cleaner kits for European pens. I mix a sachet as directed and store the liquid in a jar. I find this cleaner is a good one for ink stain removal in converters, but it hasn't worked on my Montblanc Bernstein window either.

[BT_Summers]

 

Just had a problem with a stuck piston on a TWSBI, first question TWSBI Taiwan asked was have you been using a saturated ink such as Diamine, (I had), the explanation for the question was that saturated inks can can cause the piston to stick. TWSBI Taiwan refused to help saying that the stuck piston was my fault, if it hadnt been for Niche Pens then I would have had a non working pen.

 

When my father took his 146 into MB at the Royal Exchange, the piston was difficult to move and I think there was an issue with flow, again the first question was, have you been using any ink apart from MB. As luck would have it there were traces of an MB ink colour in the pen, if there had not then there might have been an issue, I dont know. Prior to the last fill of ink he had been using other makes of ink.

 

If MB write to me I will let you know what they say, I suspect that it will be something bland such as MB only recommends MB inks.

 

 

 

This was the response from MB

 

We would recommend to abstain from using other inks than ours in your Montblanc pen.

Our ink was developed to perfectly match our nibs.

Other inks might be more fluid or thicker which could affect the writing performance or lead to leaking or clogging of the nib.

Edited December 1, 2017 by smiffy20000

[Chrissy]

 

This was the response from MB

 

We would recommend to abstain from using other inks than ours in your Montblanc pen.

Our ink was developed to perfectly match our nibs.

Other inks might be more fluid or thicker which could affect the writing performance or lead to leaking or clogging of the nib.

 

Predictable

[Bexinthecity247]

I think one of the ones I got was Majestic Blue ... hmmm might keep that for my far less pricey Faber Castell or my cheap Jinhao ...

That response from MB is textbook - note how they can no longer state you MUST use their ink. They can only advise it these days, (not sure how long this has been the case in terms of law mind you).

EDIT: Oh I tell a lie I got - Royal Blue, Damson, Bilberry and Grape (and Sherwood Green as a 5ml free sample)

Edited December 1, 2017 by Bexinthecity247

[Bexinthecity247]

I have used a number of Diamine inks in Montblanc pens and have never had a problem.

Most of my Diamine inks are blue and purple too; Midnight blue, Aqua Lagoon, Grape, Bilberry. I have used Jet Black too. Those have all worked great

 

I have a bottle of Majestic blue as well but I think I remember reading some not so nice reports about it (?) so I have not inked a pen with it.

Grape is one of the purples i got - it looked gorgeous on the website

[BT_Summers]

I think one of the ones I got was Majestic Blue ... hmmm might keep that for my far less pricey Faber Castell or my cheap Jinhao ...

 

That response from MB is textbook - note how they can no longer state you MUST use their ink. They can only advise it these days, (not sure how long this has been the case in terms of law mind you).

EDIT: Oh I tell a lie I got - Royal Blue, Damson, Bilberry and Grape (and Sherwood Green as a 5ml free sample)

 

 

You need to take a view on what to do for the best. Buying a new MB pen is an expensive business, I havent heard of MB pens being damaged or blocked or clogged up by MB inks, but the limited range of MB colors and the high prices may put you off.

 

Richard Binder used to say that he would only advise the use of pen makers inks, that line appears to have been softened although he does say:

 

Some Diamine colors, however, especially their reds and colors containing red dyes, such as pinks, violets, oranges, and browns, appear more prone to clogging issue..

 

The full article is at:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/care/inks.htm

[Bexinthecity247]

It was because of Richard binders article that I came into contact with diamine to be honest and I figured if I stay away from the reds (since I detest writing in red anyway) it should be fine I think.

 

I might not be trying it in my 146 or 149 as they are usually kept in a pen box and only used occasionally

[siamackz]

 

 

 

This was the response from MB

We would recommend to abstain from using other inks than ours in your Montblanc pen.

Our ink was developed to perfectly match our nibs.

Other inks might be more fluid or thicker which could affect the writing performance or lead to leaking or clogging of the nib.

If only Mb managed to ensure such consistency in the tuning of their nibs!! My experience has been that every nib is tuned different, so there is really no question of their inks best suiting their pens, etc.

[niksch]

I use some blue and blue-black Diamine inks in my MB pens. I've gone on travel for several weeks, l left the pens on m desk, and upon return have noticed no staining of ink windows, or degradation in performance for that reason. However, I mostly use MB inks of all vintages I can find, and I love the colors of Private Reserve.

Edited December 3, 2017 by niksch

[dcwaites]

One of nice things with Diamine Majestic Blue is that you can dilute it with up to 50% water, and it still makes a very nice blue ink. That makes it, if it needs to be, 'safer' for your pen, as it is now half water.

 

Mind you, if the MB pens are so 'delicate' that they need 'special' ink, then I would have serious doubts about them.

 

While I don't have any, my understanding is that the Pelikan FPs are consistently wet, and so the consistently dry Pelikan inks (4001 & Edelstein) suit them well.

[Chrissy]

I use some blue and blue-black Diamine inks in my MB pens. I've gone on travel for several weeks, l left the pens on m desk, and upon return have noticed no staining of ink windows, or degradation in performance for that reason. However, I mostly use MB inks of all vintages I can find, and I love the colors of Private Reserve.

 

I would not use PR DCSS Blue or PR EDC Blue in any of my Mb pens, especially those with an ink window.