Ink Newbie

[em_the_pen]

Hello! I am pretty new to the world of fountain pens but especially so when it comes to inks. I have been using Noodler's and Quink and have had decent experiences with both. However, since joining this site, I've realized that there is a whole world of ink out there. I'd been mostly sticking to Noodler's since it was recommended to me by my uncle. But now I'd like to branch out and be more adventurous. So I'd like to hear your recommendations. A few criterias for what I'm looking for:

1. gentle on vintage pens

2. bright, vibrant, and/or unusual colors (particularly pinks, oranges, greens, and

purples)

3. Not Noodler's

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. I also adore inks with shading.

Edited March 16, 2018 by em_the_pen

[LizEF]

I don't know about safe with vintage (except that Waterman seems to have a good reputation in this area), but on the rest, I'd recommend looking at these brands:

• Robert Oster (lots of bright, shading inks)
• Sailor (just plain good inks)
• Diamine (good and generally inexpensive)

There are lots of other brands I've tried and liked, but I generally prefer murkier colors, so my favorites probably wouldn't be yours - still the brands have a lot of variety and I think are good for an ink newbie.

[JakobS]

Diamine Tyrian Purple,

KWZ Brown Pink,

Diamine Woodland Green,

Diamine Apple Glory, which a really nice bright green.

Diamine Orange, but it can crust on nib if left to dry out, does not damage the pen, just can be surprising. Diamine Autumn Oak probably is the better shader though.

Diamine Violet

KWZ Raspberry is something else, a really fun ink to write with.

Edited March 16, 2018 by JakobS

[Noihvo]

[Torrilin]

I don’t love orange. In fact I kinda hate it. But there’s several stunning oranges in this thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/332142-five-orange-inks/ and it sold me on Kaweco Sunrise Orange.

 

I’m also enjoying the shading of Kaweco Paradise Blue. Nice and bright, a useful drawing color, good flow and excellent dry time.

 

For violet, my two favorites are Lamy Violet which only comes in cartridges and J Herbin Violette Penseé. They’re very difficult to tell apart, have excellent dry time and excellent shading. Very cold and blue toned tho, so if you prefer more red violet I’m not sure what I’d suggest. They’re very flexible about nib size too, so they look good in both narrow and fat nibs.

 

I can’t pick just one green. Too many aspects. Do you need readable, pretty, murky, good for drawing, vivid, soft? For readable maybe Platinum Mix Free Leaf Green. Rohrer and Klingner Alt Goldgrun gets recommended a lot and it’s a very useful drawing ink. It’s also readable.

 

I don’t have any favorite pinks, tho I love red.